Photographing Les Fetes Galantes, Versailles

Les Fêtes Galantes is unlike anything else — a rare chance to step inside the Château de Versailles and experience it as the royal court might have, centuries ago.

Once a year, I find myself photographing clients attending this extraordinary event, and each time, it feels suspended between reality and a dream. I am endlessly grateful to have discovered this special niche. The setting, and the devotion to beauty, history, and community — it’s everything I love to capture: people fully immersed in a moment that feels timeless, elegant, and alive.

The evening unfolds in the Hall of Mirrors and the adjoining royal apartments, where every detail seems frozen in time. One year, I even attended myself — dressed in full 18th-century attire, complete with a MA-inspired wig — and photographing it felt surreal. The dress code is incredibly strict, and everywhere I turned, there was a sense of devotion: to history, beauty, and craftsmanship. The care people put into their costumes is astonishing, and as a photographer, it was pure joy to capture that artistry against the iconic backdrop of Versailles.

Unlike the larger and more theatrical Grand Bal Masqué, Les Fêtes Galantes is intimate, refined, and deeply immersive. The evening includes a dance class where guests learn the elegant movements of the era before taking to the floor for the main event in the Hall of Mirrors. The adjoining royal apartments are also open to explore, alongside a curated menu of other enchanting activities: attending a baroque chamber orchestra, creating a signature scent, having your fortune told, or enjoying an opera performance. Every corner of the palace offers a new scene to photograph, and every guest embodies a living piece of history.