articles/Profiles/loucakariolides-page2
by Sofie Louca Published 01/10/2010
The beginning
When did you decide to become a professional photographer?
Photography was something I loved so it was logical that I make it part of my life on a regular basis, but I don't actually think it was a conscious decision, rather the next stage of my photography journey. I was born in the UK but moved to Cyprus at the age of 21 and I was living in Cyprus at the time I began photography in my mid twenties. I moved back to the UK when I was in my late twenties where I took a two-year photography course and even before I finished the course I began to work in a studio in the UK. Working in a studio was my first step into learning how to deal with clients and making them feel at ease in front of the camera.
The field of photography
In which field of photography do you mainly work and why have you chosen this specialisation?
After shooting contemporary portraits for three years, I felt it was time to move on but I didn't know what aspect of photography to go into. A friend asked me if I would photograph her wedding and my initial reaction was 'absolutely no way'!! At that time, wedding photography was the lowest link in my photography 'food chain'. My mistaken concept of wedding photography was traditional, soft focus, doubleexposure effects, etc and I really didn't want anything to do with that! When I did some research on the internet, I was pleasantly surprised to see just how far wedding photography had come and there were wedding photographers who were really pushing the boundaries and creating contemporary and fashion-inspired images at weddings. What I saw online inspired me so I ended up accepting my first wedding photography commission in 2005, but always with the view in mind that I wanted to shoot weddings in a style that I could be proud of. Wedding photography gives me the opportunity to work with people on one of the happiest days of their lives (and most stressful!). It has been a great learning experience, teaching me to adapt to different lighting situations and working quickly under pressure. Being a wedding photographer also gives me the opportunity to be my own boss and to have a flexible working schedule.
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