Winter is a more reflective time of year for me. I have less work, spend more time at home and naturally look inwards to reflect on the year ahead. What I would like to achieve, what I need to learn and how much I would like to meet more self-employed creatives. Working from home has its perks but it can be lonely and social media only gets you so far.

– My journey as a photographer so far

I grew up surrounded by cameras and photos. My Dad documented my every move – from birth, first steps, my awkward teenage years, Christmas dinners and beyond. Every time I go home I flick through the family albums and love the process of reliving countless memories through photos. This is where I learned the importance of photography and where my relationship with cameras began – always being the willing recipient of Dad’s old cameras.

Like lots of young people I left school not really knowing what I wanted to do. I was drawn towards something creative, but like any concerned parents, mine advised me to keep my artistic outlets separate and pursue something more vocational. Skip on 10 years and I have a successful career but a job that I don’t really love. I dreamed about a more creative life and had absolutely no idea how to achieve it.

Then I met my fiancé and he made me realise that life is too short to do things that don’t make you happy. After only knowing each other for only a few months, we quit our jobs, left London and set off on our own journey. To discover new ways of life, get back to nature and give something back. Using WorkAway we travelled and volunteered our way around Europe for 18 months. We built straw houses, looked after children, picked avocados, grew vegetables, rode horses, lived in a shed, a tent and a dome made of mud, collected honey and made jam.

I was on this adventure when I was asked to photograph my first wedding. A bride reached out to me after seeing my photos on social media. I had been documenting our travels with my camera and using Instragram as my visual diary. I said yes immediately. Naively! Luckily for me, the setting was a stunning little village in Mallorca and the wedding was small and intimate. I loved every minute of it. Yes, I look back at the photos now and cringe a little. The technical mistakes, the exposure, bad lighting etc but I also smile at the memories I captured and feel proud that the Bride and Groom were so happy with the results.

After that experience I realised that I wanted photography to be more than a hobby. Initially, I was terrified (actually, I still am!). Luckily my fiancé believes in me and is the most encouragingly optimistic person in the whole world. I wasn’t really sure how to create a business, so with his support, I focused on building my portfolio and practising. I photographed everything from newborns to interiors and couples to yoga classes – whilst working as a waitress and a cleaner. Slowly I found new clients and started to develop my own style and preferences.

And this is where you find me now. Living in Mallorca, with 4 weddings booked for 2017, a new passion for life and a hunger to learn. My corporate, London life far behind me.

– Why I want to succeed as a wedding photographer

I wouldn’t call myself a huge romantic but I am fascinated by the dynamic of love. The way a groom looks at his bride, the way a mother cries during the ceremony, or the way a father carefully prepares and delivers his speech. Weddings are full of love-filled moments – both big and small. People are brought together, new love stories are made and emotion is the order of the day. As a naturally introverted character, I tend to notice the small but profound moments when I’m behind a camera – those moments that are so often lost in the commotion of a wedding.

I want to succeed as a wedding photographer because I want all of the above AND more. To dig a little deeper. I want to tell the story of a wedding day by showing how it looked but also how it felt. I want to become the sort of photographer who can do that.

– Anything else I think you should know

I love music, peanut butter and sunsets. No matter how many I see, they are still magical to me.

Also, if you meet me, I’m a hugger.

Emma x