Public institution · Recurring event
Every summer at Forum Fribourg, hundreds of young people receive their CFC. Our assignment: capture the emotion of that day. The relief, the pride, the raised arms, the parents' tears.
The context
Every year, the State of Fribourg hands the Swiss federal VET diploma (CFC) to hundreds of young graduates. The culmination of several years of training, to be covered with care and without disturbing the ceremony.
What we did
Two editions in a row, in 2025 and 2026: the photo reportage and, for the first time, a film. One single intention, from the first shot to the last: capture the emotion and joy of these young people who made it. Not the ceremony for its own sake, but what it sets off: the cry of victory on stage, a parent's embrace, the laughter between classmates. The film gives the central place to the graduates, so you can relive that pride.
The result
Our approach
These young people made it. What we want to keep is their smile, their pride, the moment when everything lets go. Not an ID photo in front of a lectern.
The starting point
For years, the CFC ceremony was covered the same way: each graduate walked past the lens, under the flash. Clean images, but all a bit alike. The State wanted something else, and that is why it called us.
We step out of the walkway. Most graduates are not used to posing and are not comfortable in front of a photographer. The less we are seen, the truer the emotion.
A camera films each presentation for the big screens, and the graduates celebrate facing it: shout-outs, raised fists, waves to their loved ones. We set up right behind it. They face us, in full joy, and we disturb no one.
Never done before. We offered to film two ceremonies out of four: more than enough to carry the emotion, without weighing down the set-up or the budget.
Sorting and retouching the same evening. The next day, the graduates and their families find their photos, and the State has material to publish.
We also received our CFC one day. Coming back for the second year running and photographing those who are succeeding in their turn is an honour. Congratulations to them.
2025 edition · Photo
On 11 July 2025, from 8am to 7pm, at Forum Fribourg. We did not look for protocol, we looked for what the graduates were living: the moment the name is called, the glance towards loved ones, the raised fist, the laughter between classmates. And outside, in the sun, the joy bursting out in families' arms.
Anecdote of the day
During the third ceremony, one of our cameras started to overheat. The solution we found in the end: the fridge at the information stand. Ten minutes later, it was as cool as on day one, ready for the last ceremony.
The image team for three garages, all year round.
A ceremony, an awards evening, an institutional event?
30 minutes, no commitment. You tell us about your event, we tell you how we would cover it, and what you will receive the next day.
