We describe the self-stabilized holographic recording in Fe-doped LiNbO3 crystals reaching almost 100% diffraction efficiency using weak interfering beams of 514.5 nm wavelength, even for relatively low light pattern modulation values. The evolution of the recording process is shown to be adequately described by a simple mathematical formulation based on Kogelnik's coupled-wave theory in spite of the dynamic nature of the recording process. Crystal parameters computed from this experiment are compared to the available data from literature. © 1995.