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Interview with portrait and wedding photographer Sanne van Pinxten
Dutch portrait and wedding photographer Sanne van Pinxten loves capturing memories. She started out as a photographer in 2017, when she was asked to photograph a few weddings of friends. She enjoyed it so much that she threw herself into it, and she has now been working for several seasons. In total, Sanne has captured almost 100 weddings. She has also won several awards for her wedding photos. On top of that, she has delved deeper into portrait photography, and since December 2022 she has had her own studio.
Sanne recently became a Kamera Express ambassador. She's happy to tell us more about her work as a wedding and portrait photographer, and she has some handy tips up her sleeve too.
“I look for real emotions and real people. My goal is for people to look back at their photos and relive the feeling of the day.”
The road to full-time photographer
Sanne tells us she has been interested in photography for a very long time. She learned the basics when she worked for Belfoto at V&D at the age of 21. “Even after I left, my love for photography stayed.” In 2017 she registered her business with the Chamber of Commerce with the idea of ‘maybe I can do something with this’. “Back then I photographed a few weddings for friends. It was a favour, but I enjoyed it so much that I started to dive deeper into it.”
The ball started rolling and she shadowed several photographers to gain experience. “I also took a number of workshops and after a while I started getting paid assignments. 2020 would have been my first full wedding season, but then covid came along. That was really tough.” She didn't let it get her down and started photographing portraits by the window. “I really enjoyed that too, and I used the time to learn more about it.” In 2021 she quit her job. “I went all in on my own business. It was the best decision I've ever made.”
Capturing emotions
She has now photographed almost a hundred weddings and many portraits, and Sanne has no intention of stopping anytime soon. What does she love about photography? She doesn't hesitate: “I love capturing all the moments and emotions.” She also enjoys giving people more self-confidence through her portrait shoots. “I'm always so grateful and happy when they think they look beautiful in the photo and gain more confidence as a result. That's when I feel a shoot has truly succeeded.”
She explains that as a wedding photographer she is always looking for the moments in between. “I look for real emotions and real people. My goal is for the couple to see their photos and relive the feeling of the day. To me, that's the most important thing about photographing weddings.”
She says that as a wedding photographer she gets to capture very special moments. “Recently I photographed a wedding while the bride's mother was dying. She was brought to the wedding by a wish ambulance. That really gets to you.” A moment like that brings a lump to her throat, and that's exactly the feeling she wants to convey. “It means so much to the couple. Moments like that are almost more important than the ceremony itself. I'm grateful and honoured that I get to capture them.”
‘Don't just work through a checklist’
The most important lesson she has learned as a wedding photographer is that you shouldn't only look through your camera. “You shouldn't just tick off a standard list. As a wedding photographer you also have to look around you, so you can capture beautiful, fun and spontaneous images of everything that's happening. There's so much going on at a wedding that you can't capture it all if you only work through that list of standard moments. The spontaneous moments are often the most fun to look back on.”
Last year Sanne photographed a wedding abroad for the first time. “It was a truly amazing experience. I think it's an honour to be brought along as the photographer.” Next year she's going to Croatia. “I don't want to become a destination photographer, but one or two weddings abroad a year make me really happy. If I could dream, I'd love to photograph a wedding in Italy one day. That would be so cool. But a wedding in the heart of Amsterdam, with a photoshoot on the canals, is on my bucket list too.”
More than 6,000 photos per wedding
At most weddings, the photographer is there all day, Sanne explains. These days that easily means 12-hour days. “On average I take around 6,000 to 7,000 photos.” These photos then have to be culled and edited. “In the end, a few hundred photos remain that go to the couple.” She once calculated that she spends an average of around 60 hours on capturing a wedding. “That's from preparation and the first meeting to shooting and post-processing.”
She explains that it's important for couples to look for a photographer who suits them and their style. “Really look at the kind of photos a photographer takes, and meet them. It's important that you click, because after all you're inviting a stranger to your wedding to capture it and create lasting memories.”
Tips
Feeling inspired and want to get started with portrait and wedding photography yourself? Then be sure to read these tips from Sanne.
Discover your own style. “By discovering what you like and what you enjoy working with, you develop your own style. That's why people book you: they love your style and your photos. They know what they're going to get.”
Take workshops. “I think you really become a better photographer by taking workshops. I try to take at least one workshop a year myself.”
Experiment. “Set things up for yourself, like personal projects, and just try things out and experiment. That way you can find out what you enjoy, so you can focus on it.”
Be proactive. “Don't sit around waiting for assignments to come to you. If you want to build a portfolio, you'll have to take the lead yourself.”
Sanne's work
Website: sannevanpinxtenfotografie.nl
Instagram: @sannevanpinxten_fotografie
Equipment
Sanne uses the following equipment for her photos. When she photographs a wedding, she always has two cameras with her: the Sony A7 Mark III and the Sony A9. She pairs them with 50mm, 35mm and 24-70mm lenses. She also always carries eight batteries and ten memory cards. “Of course I don't drain or fill them all, but it's nice to have backup batteries and memory cards.”
Sanne's photos
Curious to see more of Sanne's work? Take a look at a selection from her portfolio below.
