Conversations with Francis Sylvest

Today we’d like to introduce you to Francis Sylvest

Hi Francis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I first picked up a camera in 2015 as a hobby and then quickly started making videos with friends that were comedy based. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after school, so the whole photography videography side of things wasn’t really even on my mind but I really enjoyed it. At the time I was also about to graduate in recording industry management from my university and then started to photograph concerts and festivals in the area.

Quickly after, I started photographing weddings in 2016 in New Orleans. A photographer I knew asked me to help them. It was quite interesting as I had never photographed a wedding and had very little experience at the time – I was put into some very nice, high budget weddings from the start which really gave me a great base knowledge from the start of what I now do full time.

In 2018 I moved to Colorado with my wife, and worked a few different corporate jobs, all in the photo/video realm, before going full time photographing and filming weddings in early 2021 and haven’t looked back since.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. From someone who was not from Colorado, I had to completely start over what I was doing from the ground up. Working a full time job doing something that you don’t love is very hard when you know exactly where you want to go with your work and career. It was very much a constant battle of trying to be happy with where I was, even after switching to working for myself full time. There will always be something bigger and better that we want, but in reality those things will actually never make us happy, rather just wanting more. Now with being at year four of being full-time in this business, I’ve found a great balance, have been fairly successful at cutting out the noise that you can see online or hear from others and really just do what I enjoy most at a capacity that I know is healthy. While I still have a ways to go to get to where I want to be – I now know how to trust the process and really enjoy what I have and the people that I’m honored to say hire me.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a photographer and cinematographer by trade that now specializes in weddings. I’m not going to lie – it’s hard to truly stand out in this field. The days that you work are (fairly) similar in most capacities due to traditions and some industry standards. However, I do very much believe that I offer one of the most down to earth wedding experiences for couples regardless of the size or budget of their event – especially in the videography realm. Many wedding videos these days are fast cut hype reels and I’m the literal opposite of that. I’m a laid-back, non attention seeking person by nature and I really incorporate that approach into my work.

Most of the couples that hire me (for photography or videography) care deeply about how their wedding photos and video look and feel, but not because they want to become famous or go viral for it. They want an honest depiction of their day but also want it to feel like a piece of art that was created just for them. Unposed as much as possible and just the realm raw moments of them being themselves with the people they love most.

I’ve always seen wedding vendors try to sell couples on the idea that, “their story should be captured” but I’m from the approach that while story matters – sometimes you don’t need a story to truly appreciate art. If you look at it and it makes you feel something that’s all that matters. It doesn’t have to move others, as long as it moves you (the couple) that’s all that matters to me.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I’ve recently opened a studio office that I work out of and rent in Longmont called ‘Colorado Creative Collective’. It’s a small studio space for photoshoots, creative hangouts and just a place to bring people together!

Pricing:

• Weddings From $7000 For 8-Hours Of Coverage
• Studio Rentals From $45

Contact Info:

• Website: https://francissylvest.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afsylvest/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afsylvest
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@coloradoweddingphotographer
• Other: (Studio Website) https://coloradocreativecollective.com/

Image Credits
Francis Sylvest