A Chit Chat With Elie Azar of ParAzar Productions
Wedding photography is far more than just capturing moments; it's about artfully telling a couple's unique love story through a dynamic and creative lens.
We recently had the pleasure of a fascinating discussion with Elie Azar, the visionary founder of Parazar Productions, a leading force in the photography and videography industry in Lebanon and the wider region.
In this exclusive interview, Elie takes us on a journey through his career, which began in television, and explains how that experience laid the groundwork for his pioneering business. He delves into his company's unique philosophy of being a trendsetter rather than a trend follower, and shares how they push creative boundaries with innovative services.
Join us as we explore Elie Azar's approach to creating timeless images and the passion that drives him to make every couple's special day a true work of art.
Tell us about how ParAzar Productions started in the business?
ParAzar came to be as the natural evolution of a career that started back in 1993 in Television. Along the way, I co-founded another agency that had become among the top providers of similar services. With ParAzar Productions, I was looking to build both a company and a brand that strongly reflect my work ethics, methodology, and my drive for always pushing things to new limits.
This has been possible only with the help of a team that I built during almost two decades, and who transitioned with me from one venture to the next.
ParAzar has always been a passion project, and in many ways, is still the youngest member in my family, growing in strides by the day with all the challenges and rewards that a soon-to-be teenager brings.
How has Parazar Productions evolved over the years, adapting to new trends and technologies in luxury wedding photography?
ParAzar has been on a steady course over the years. Our strategic vision has not changed and is still customer-centric first. What has changed are the tools at our disposition.
We ensure that through a constant learning process our staff is always attuned to the latest hardware and software solutions.
In the age of AI the challenge is not how to do more but how to do just enough and how to use these magnificent innovations to make the work just more efficient without becoming artificial.
What are the services you offer for weddings other than traditional wedding photography services?
We offer a very wide array of services for weddings beyond what has become the standard offering in a modern wedding. Such services range from our usual creative Save The Date clips that are often approached with a cinematic methodology that incorporates the wedding theme and the couple's preferences, to our newly introduced Live Edit where we generate same-day reels and photos to the client as the event unfolds.
Our Immersive 360 degree photos and videos are now even more powerful as we bring this feature to drones and enable it with live-stream capacity to allow the spectator to have an immersive experience into the wedding itself especially for those equipped with Virtual Reality headsets. This goes with the wonderful work that our designers have been doing in graphic animation in 2D and 3D and our use of our ever growing social media platforms.
What new creative approaches or techniques are you most excited about incorporating into your work for discerning couples?
We are leaning more into our impromptu filming style, using additional documentary filming techniques to make the end product even more memorable.
Our constantly evolving skill sets have also allowed us to film in a variety of ways requested by clients ranging from vintage style all the way to actual virtual reality as done recently.
In terms of AI and innovations, we are embracing the future without totally surrendering to it.
What are the latest wedding photography, cinematography and visual trends for weddings that you are using?
At ParAzar we try to be trend setters rather than trend followers. For this purpose we acquire the latest equipment and ensure our staff are always informed of the various technical innovations whether in color grading, post-production work, photo editing... etc.
However, our approach in blending the classical aspects with innovative filming and photography is what sets us apart. Bringing in the right dose of natural on-the-spot captures side by side with pre-planned shots has allowed us to offer a unique product that has been often replicated in the market.
Given the rise of content creators, how do you see the role of traditional wedding photography complementing or transforming?
Content creators have always been around, what has changed is the number of people in this field and the number of platforms for them to be on. ParAzar was among the first to empower serious content creators through a collaborative approach. We feel that each has a role to play and each caters for a different audience.
Traditional Wedding photography, if handled well and packaged properly for the new age of technology, is here to stay as the definite memory box of major life events.
What are the biggest shifts in client expectations you've observed, particularly for high-end and destination weddings?
With the prevalence of content creation online, clients have become even more discerning, not only in technicalities but also in the manner which a provider handles their event. Clients look for a supplier with whom they can relate on a personal level, they seek storytelling that allows for emotions to shine through the final work; and this has honestly worked to our advantage as their needs already match our work methodology
What remains the most rewarding aspect of capturing love stories, and how do you ensure each event is uniquely reflected?
Weddings are often the culmination of a love story and as no two persons are alike no two love stories resemble each other. Our philosophy has always been to establish a human rapport with the clients first and foremost. This opens up the door to us discovering the uniqueness of each couple which we then strive to crystallize through our coverage of their big day.
Looking ahead, what opportunities or new ventures are you exploring for Parazar Productions in the global market?
Living in today's volatile markets and environments makes it hard for any company to plan ahead in the long term but our duty is to always remain on the cutting edge of know-how, investing in our team and being ready to seize the opportunity when it presents itself. For me personally, I would like us to go global even more in the future, catering for weddings in new unexplored territories.
What are the biggest or the most luxurious weddings you have worked on in 2025, and what did you do to make them unique?
As I have often stated, we do not look at weddings from the perspective of luxury, budget or size, and we ensure that each wedding we commit to being part of, gets the royal treatment from us.
We feel that each wedding can have a wonderful side and a less appealing one and it is our work that can make the difference in showing the public the more beautiful aspects of a wedding regardless of the challenges faced in the preparation of that wedding.
What I can share without revealing our trade secrets is that we invest ourselves in each wedding well before the event starts, and approach it the same way any big production would be approached. This allows us to permanently ensure that the best photos and shots are captured at the right time in optimal circumstances. From here on, we leave it to the public to have the final word upon watching the final product.
