Event photographer · Paris
Event Photographer in Paris
Raphaël Molina, event photographer, mostly shooting on film, and cinematographer based in Paris: festivals, concerts, club nights and street parties. Photos and aftermovie from the same event, across France and Europe.
Fill in the form or call me on +33 6 60 82 31 80
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An event to cover?
Tell me about your event in a few lines: type, dates, location. I’ll get back to you with my availability.
See the Château Perché series →
Photographing an event up close
I am Raphaël Molina, an event photographer based in Paris. My eye comes from cinema: I am also a cinematographer, and I look at a festival or a concert like a scene, with its light, its faces, its gestures and its turning points.
A good event report conveys the atmosphere as much as it documents: the crowd, the artists, the details, the sets. It takes anticipation, discretion and the habit of working in difficult light, at night as well as in daylight.
My event experience
Château Perché: photos and aftermovie
Château Perché is an electronic and experimental music festival that puts creativity, inclusion and self-expression first, with gardens, installations, performances and avant-garde costumes. I brought back the photo series from the 2024 edition, then shot the festival aftermovie (2025), directed by Titouan Stéber, with whom I shared the cinematography.
Distortion in Copenhagen
Distortion is a festival whose street parties take over the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen: bodies in motion, colour everywhere, music bouncing off every façade. I photographed several editions: 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Concerts, club nights and artist portraits
I have also photographed club nights and concerts, including at La Bellevilloise and with La Fusée, as well as a DJ photoshoot. All the series are gathered on the Photography page.
What I cover
Festivals and concerts
Stages, crowd, artists, backstage and venue details: complete coverage that captures the energy of the event and that you can use for communication, social media or press.
Club nights and street parties
In the low light of a club as in the rush of a street party, I work without interrupting the event, close to the people and the music.
Artist and DJ portraits
Posed portraits or candid shots, before or after a set, to support a release, a line-up or an artist profile.
Photo and video: one eye
As a cinematographer, I can cover the same event in photo and video: aftermovie, teaser, live capture. The look stays consistent from one medium to the other, and you deal with a single person on site. See the showreel and the videographer page.
How I work on an event
Before the event
Everything starts with a conversation about your expectations: the type of event, the audience, the key artists or speakers, the moments not to miss and how the images will be used. When possible, I scout the venue beforehand or study the site map, the programme and the schedule, so I know where to be and when. This preparation makes me efficient on the day and lets me give my full attention to what is happening.
During the event
On site, I stay mobile and discreet. I move between the stage, the crowd, the backstage and the quieter areas to tell the story of the event in all its variety: the big collective moments as well as the details, the looks, the gestures, the set design. I adapt to the rhythm of the night or the festival without getting in the way of the artists, the technical crews or the audience.
After the event
I have the rolls developed and scanned, then make a demanding selection of the images, keeping consistent colours and atmosphere across the whole series. Developing and scanning can be done within 24 hours, so you can receive your images the day after the event, for your social media or your communication. The photos are delivered in formats suited to your needs.
Shooting in low light
Concerts, club nights and free parties often take place in the dark, with highly contrasted stage lighting, lasers, haze and saturated colours. It is a field I know well thanks to my experience as a gaffer and cinematographer: I know how to read this kind of light, anticipate its changes and make the most of it rather than fight it. The aim is to convey the real atmosphere of the event, with sharp, readable images that are true to what the audience experienced.
Which images for which uses?
Event coverage often serves several purposes at once. The photos feed social media during and after the event, illustrate press releases and articles, thank partners and artists, and help prepare the communication for the next edition. They also form a memory of the event, valuable for the organisers and the audience alike.
That is why I define the formats and priorities with you beforehand: vertical images for stories, wide shots to show the scale of a festival, artist portraits, set design details. A well-built series lets you tell the story of the event in different ways depending on the medium.
Why a photographer with a film background?
My work as a cinematographer directly shapes the way I take photographs. I think in sequences, light and framing: every image needs an intention, a composition, an atmosphere. This approach gives the series a visual consistency that sets them apart from simple coverage. It also means I can offer, for the same event, photos and an aftermovie that share the same eye.
Event photographer in Paris, France and Europe
Based in Paris, I cover events across the Île-de-France region and all over France. I also have lodging in Lyon, Montpellier and Vannes, which makes it easier to travel to festivals in the regions. I also work abroad, for example in Copenhagen for the Distortion festival, and I speak fluent English, which makes working with international crews and artists easier.
Film at the heart of my work
I mostly shoot on film. I deeply love the look of these images: their grain, the softness of the colours, the way film reacts to stage lights, neon and daylight. This look gives the series a texture and a sincerity that I rarely find in digital.
Shooting on film also changes my relationship with each image. The number of frames is limited, so every shot counts: I take the time to observe and to wait for the right moment, the right light, the right gesture. I don’t spray and pray, I choose. You can feel this in the series: fewer images, but images that mean something.
I have a special attachment to the photos I take. Waiting for the rolls to be developed, discovering the images afterwards, scanning and selecting them is part of both the pleasure and the work. It is a slower, more attentive way of photographing, which matches the way I look at people and events. And shooting on film doesn’t mean waiting: with developing and scanning done within 24 hours, the images can be delivered the day after the event. And if it better suits the project, I also have a digital camera that I can use.
Contact
Looking for an event photographer in Paris for a festival, a concert or a party? Send me the date, the venue, the type of event and how the images will be used. I will get back to you with my availability.