About Me
I don't like writing about myself, but I feel like you need to know something about the person who could potentially be around you and your loved ones, all day, on the biggest event of your life! So here’s some stuff about moi!
Originally trained in graphic design/fine art, I made the switch to photography after completing a module during my Art Foundation Course, and boy was that a game changer for me! I got better grades in photography than the two subjects I’d spent years studying. Now, at the tender age of 29, I am happy to say that I have been a full-time wedding photographer for 6 years!
Oh, you wanna know more?
Enjoy cooking/baking! I’m from a big fat Greek family, so not holding your own in the kitchen is exile-worthy. If you were to come over for dinner, I’d be firing up the wood-fired oven for a pizza medley followed by some negroni’s!! Also, I was into baking sourdough before it was cool!! Although let’s face it, it’s never been cool…
Love films. My favourites include: You Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally. Anything with Meg Ryan that falls into the Rom-Com category. Some other favourites include Clerks, Superbad and Mean Girls (the 2004 version obs and yes I know the Kevin G Rap by heart!)
I got married myself last October in my homeland of Cyprus, so yeah, I’ve been in your shoes! The planning is not always fun (I didn’t know my best side during this part!) but believe me when I say it is worth every second of stress when you see all your loved ones showing up for you! So yeah, that’s me in a few paragraphs! Now If you’d like to know more about how I approach weddings, keep scrolling!!
My Approach
I like to be close and in the mix of a wedding day, not right In your face with a flashgun close, but I'm not a "hiding in the corner" kind of photographer either!
I want to feel the emotion and energy of the wedding day, to see and capture the embraces, the kisses, the expressions, the belly laughs, the silly moments, the emotional or quiet reflective moments; I want to document it all and in a way that feels like I've just been another guest, mingling and moving throughout the day, capturing as it unfolds before my eyes. When it comes to the question, “But what’s your style” I stare blankly into the distance and just think… eh!? Guess what I’m trying to say is I don’t really have a style. I definitely lean more into the fun and high energy side of weddings, but my work can also be editorial and emotive when appropriate.
I want my images to feel honest and genuine, to tell a story of the day, to make someone who wasn't there feel like they were, and to provide a visual journey for the end viewer.
So this is just a brief page to describe how I like to work the day. From morning ‘till night.
Morning
So, the morning is finally here!
You’re drinking champagne way earlier than usual and the excitement is reaching its peak. That’s when I come in. However, I don’t like to arrive all guns blazing; I usually reserve taking the cameras out of the bag for about 10 minutes. I want to learn everyone’s names, catch up, and relax the environment before any photos take place.
Usually starting around 3 hours before the ceremony, I’m there to capture it all; cards/gifts being opened, the emotions, anticipation, and all those usual key wedding morning moments.
Ceremony
The crux of the day and whether you’re going symbolic, religious or just legal, the way I cover the ceremony doesn’t change.
Whether you like it or not, all eyes are on you for this bit and I don’t want to distract from that! You won’t find any flashes going off or loads of running about from me. I like to keep my movement to a minimum but still grab all those crucial shots and all important guest reactions you aren’t noticing.
When the ceremony is finished and you’re successfully covered in confetti, I like to leave you both to it. I don’t want to go into any formal portraits or couples photos just yet. I’ll always try to leave that first half hour uninterrupted so you can hug your mates, enjoy a canapé and get a damn drink down ya! Sounds good right?
Family Photos
Oh, the dreaded family photos!
I get it, they aren’t usually the most exciting, sexiest, or enjoyable photos to take, but believe me when I say it can be a way better experience than you’re thinking. It just takes a couple of things;
Don’t go crazy with the amount! I tell all my couples to keep the variations to 5-8 family photos. When you start getting aunties, uncles, and third cousins twice removed involved, it can quickly descend into chaos and eat up a lot of valuable drinking time.
Appoint someone to help me gather the people needed. The actual photo taking is quick; it’s the finding people we need who have decided to explore the venue’s wine cellar that takes ages! I always ask to have 1 or 2 people who know both sides of the family to help gather people with me. That way we can finish these quickly which in turn prevents everyone in the photos from looking bored.
So if you’re already thinking you’d like 100s of group shots with tonnes of variations, I may not be the guy for you! But if you want a few nice pictures with those closest to you, I can certainly help!
The Portraits
We’ll let the light and mood of the day drive these.
Nothing forced or contrived here!! I’ve always sold/conducted my wedding photography in a way I’d like it to be on my wedding and I would never want to spend 10-15 minutes doing cringey poses, or following whatever trends are currently popular (Remember when people wore fox masks for a photo? What the f was that about…)
So this is genuinely going to be some uninterrupted time for you two to decompress, chat about the day, and enjoy each-other’s company. The most direction I’ll give is where to walk to and where to stop.
Usually, I shoot two 10-minute sessions: one before sitting for dinner and one at sunset (or just after speeches). This is so you have a variety of locations and lighting in your portraits instead of missing your whole reception to do photos that all look the same! Remember, like in the 80s!?
Party Time!
Remember when I said the ceremony was the crux of the day? Like just a few paragraphs ago? Well, I lied, this is!!
Really, it’s all about getting to this point. Fully relaxed, hair down, good music, and making those all so embarrassing memories. I love it all and that’s why I stay ‘till the very end. No leaving after the first dance here. I never wanted to be an hourly photographer because naturally things might run behind on the day and I never want you to stress that I’ll have my keys in the ignition before any key moments have happened.
Although I’m there all night (some people probably wish I wasn’t!) it’s never annoying or intrusive. I don’t have millions of flashes firing off or staying in someone’s space for way too long. I just want to capture the fun and outrageous moments. Not people looking a little worse for wear!
That’s the gist of it!
So yeah, in a nutshell, that’s how I work on a wedding day. If you like what you’ve seen check out more of my work over on the portfolio page and if you really dig the whole vibe, why not ping me an email? I always recommend a video chat before any booking takes place. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other, I can go into a bit more detail about the whole shebang and answer any questions you may have.