Félicia Sisco

With a wealth of experience in photographing weddings, Canon Ambassador Félicia Sisco has perfected her style to focus on life, emotion and light.

French wedding and fashion photographer Félicia's agenda is simple: to create lasting memories that accurately, yet beautifully, reflect a couple's big day. Ambient, full of light and above all natural, Félicia's style has stood the test of time – she's clocked up an impressive four decades in the industry. "I just shoot every couple as they are," Felicia responds when asked what makes her brand different. "My photography is as unique as they are. It's their story, and every love story is unique. I ask them to be natural and be themselves, and I do that too. I'm just myself. My photography is not unique, it's simple and well lit, and that's the true meaning of wedding photography – light and love."

During a summer break between her first and second year at university (where she was studying to become a translator), Félicia took a job at a photography shop. "I started in that shop thinking I would just be selling the films, but on my first day they asked me to shoot a wedding," she remembers. "Then, a little while later, I had to do the studio portraits, but at that time this was normal, even with no professional experience." The temporary summer job turned permanent and two years later Félicia took the leap and started her own studio. "I had no say over what I shot back then," she continues. "Being a photographer then meant being able to shoot everything, so I had to work on improving my skills for every genre."

Félicia, who now has a QEP (Qualified European Photographer) certification from the Federation of European Photographers, eventually settled into her niche: photographing bridal fashion for magazines and bridal stylists, which became a gateway for photographing real weddings. Today she splits her time between one base in Corsica and another in Paris, while also journeying to other parts of the world at the invitation of her international clients.

"My customers already know my work when they choose me, they don't want posing, they want natural," she says. "I shoot a few formal pictures of the couple posing, but the majority are taken just as they are. For the ceremony it's very important that I anticipate every moment. I don't want 'stolen pictures'. I want to actually live the moments, to be able to capture them with good light and the emotion that I feel with them."

Along with capturing imagery, Félicia has captured the imaginations and propelled the ambitions of legions of wannabe professionals while running wedding photography workshops for over 25 years.

How does photographing a wedding with a digital camera compare to the days of film?

"For a wedding, before digital I would use a maximum of 10 films, each with 36 shots. Now it's 10 times that number, and workflow and retouching can become a problem. So the better you shoot, the less time you spend in post."


How do you divide your time at a wedding?

"I spend three hours before the ceremony photographing the bride getting ready, and 30 minutes with the groom. Then I'll be with them all day, for between 10 and 12 hours, capturing intense and beautiful moments, finishing up with the first dance and cutting the cake."


What's been the most valuable lesson you've learned during your career?

"That it's okay to go your own way. When I started I knew I didn't want to do poses, I didn't want to follow a particular style, I just wanted to be myself. That was the best decision I ever made, because if you copy someone else's style, you're stuck, and obliged to copy it again and again."


What is the wedding genre missing right now?

"All the pictures are the same. You see different styles but they all have the same look. These photographers are all missing the most important element. They should respect the fact that every couple is different, and not be closed in to a style of their own."


So how can a photographer really excel in this competitive industry?

"Shoot for the clients, not for awards. I don't want to hear 'you're an artist', I just want to hear that my pictures bring back the emotion of the day. Their memories are more important than my career."

Félicia Sisco