Prague wedding & portrait photographer Est, 2008

intimate pre-sunrise / sunrise / Golden Hour portrait session in Prague

An intimate pre-sunrise / sunrise / Golden Hour portrait session with Tiffany & Kiu captured at Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square.

When Tiffany contacted me she was not a happy lady. She already had a pre-wedding session and instead of capturing natural styled images that captured her and her fiancee Kiu’s personality the photographer instead posed them with a series of boring portraits. As Tiffany stated, ‘we deserve better than this‘ and then asked if I could do better.

To be honest, I was a bit worried as they were already feeling crushed by their bad experience and truth be told – there are some people you really can not make happy… After spending time listening to her and discussing what was important to them, their backgrounds, their styles and their previous experience here, I decided to give them a try. Sometimes you really do pay for what you get here in Prague…

Experiencing the magical atmosphere of Prague Castle in the very early am before the city awakes is something I will never tire of. The history, the grandeur, the peaceful oasis of calm it offers is truly worth experiencing. By starting their session up there and before sunrise I felt it was a laid back way to get them comfortable again in front of the camera. Yes, there was some posing involved – as you must direct a bit, but the look and feel of those images were what she really wanted.

After our portraits at the castle we headed to the Charles Bridge where the light was starting to break across the City of 100 spires. Sometimes you just get lucky and the flaring imagery was something I wanted to work more with. Tiffany being a West Coast girl – knew exactly what I was going for and was all smiles when I showed her some of those stunning flare shots.

As we were on the Charles Bridge I pointed to them the playground down below and the look in her eyes was all I needed. It was truly magical.

When we hit our 4th hour it was time to say our goodbyes but before we left I showed them a few more images on the back of the camera and then I asked Tiffany what she thought about her session and she responded with a huge smile: ‘everything is awesome!’

Presented here is a small collection of their images captured on that beautiful summer day in Prague with two wonderful people.

For photographers: If you are looking to take your photos up a notch, shooting during the golden hour can make a big difference to your outdoor photography. Here’s another resource on golden hour photography to read.

Portrait Locations: Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town

{pre wedding photo Prague / Lifestyle & Engagement photographer / pre wedding photographer available worldwide}

婚纱摄影海外婚紗攝影布拉格布拉格婚纱摄影

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To have us capture your beautiful wedding day or your fabulous pre wedding or E-session simply contact us here for our latest brochure and info.

rainy autumn pre-wedding engagement session in Prague

People often ask ‘what happens if it rains during our pre-wedding session in Prague?‘ Truth be told if we are available the next day – we will happily change it. After all who wants to get soaked during their photo session?

The lovely Irene & Ryan – who hail from Vancouver – contacted us for a last minute Engagement shoot here in Prague. A week out from their session date they contacted us asking to change the date due to the weather forecast. As they seemed really sweet (though clearly stressed with the weather) and their second date was my day off, I thought why not? The crew being available was also a big plus as we all agreed to give up our day off. The day before their session, well, you guessed it: the forecast called for rain and once again contacted us frantically asking to change the date once more. Unfortunately I was committed to another client and was not able to do both at the same time.

There is a difference between the American / North American Engagement Photo Session and the ‘Asian pre-wedding‘ or ‘overseas photo shoots‘. The pre-weddings sessions tend to be more structured, lit ( lighting crew ), hair & makeup prep and at times in attendance and of course wedding outfits (2-3 wedding gowns is quickly becoming the norm) and a more posed look. Whereas the Engagement sessions are really about two people exploring the city and are photographed in a natural – spontaneous way with their normal clothes with very little posing or even directing. On the morning of the session we met up with them at the castle where Irene was wearing a white wedding dress and her always smiling fiancee Ryan was wearing a dark outfit – and they (like ourselves) were already soaked. Truth be told, as a professional photographer one who works with a crew – you can create stunning images with the rain. After capturing a few images (the castle gates in both color and B&W for starters) and showing these images on the back of my trusty and nearly waterproof Canon EOS 1Ds MarkIII everyone relaxed, smiled – everything was going to be ok.

One of my favorite moments was when we were shooting posed portraits of Irene under the Powder Tower and there was a group of 10-12 Japanese tourists all with cameras (and flashes going off like mad) as she posed for a few images. It was quite funny as they were very excited to show us their images and of course Irene being the center of attention was all smiles as well. Even in the worst of situations something funny, beautiful and unforgettable occurs making it all worth while – fate is like that. We took leave of our new friends and headed up to one of my favorite places overlooking the city down below for our session wrap. It was really at that time the rain stopped and the sky lightened a bit. After a few sitting shots overlooking the valley down below, we said our goodbyes and left them to enjoy the park – after all the sun was starting to shine.

Pictured here are various styles captured during that session – a session where having the right kind of lighting crew really does make a difference.

To Irene & Ryan, congrats on getting married this month – and thanks for bringing that Vancouver weather 😉 On behalf of my team, I wish you both the very best in your new lives together as husband and wife. BTW I am personally quite pleased to hear how much you enjoyed the book as we are always quite proud creating something truly unique for our wonderful couples like yourselves.

Portrait Locations: Prague Castle Gates, Charles Bridge, Old Town, Letna overlook

{pre wedding photo Prague / Lifestyle & Engagement photographer / pre wedding photographer available worldwide}

婚纱摄影海外婚紗攝影布拉格布拉格婚纱摄影

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To have us capture your beautiful wedding day or your fabulous pre wedding or E-session simply contact us here for our latest brochure and info.

a night time lifestyle / fashion photography engagement session in Prague with A+D (USA)

Just like fashion photography styles come and go. There has been a recent trend (that is already fading) of simply putting every couple dead center in the frame, shooting horizontally with very shallow depth of field (35mm or 50mm at 1.2) and have them cuddle up (like the are freezing) and let us not forget to underexpose so that there are no details really in their faces and everything looks dark & gloomy…or as most now do – slap on a VSCO filter in Lightroom… Truth be told that particular style looks great but what about the other images from that session? Do you really wish to have 20, 30, 40 images of the same thing?

One of the latest trends that has really caught on is simply capturing two people in an unobtrusive style – one where the shots look like ‘grab shots’. Some call it lifestyle portraits while others call it fashion photography or fashion catalog. When done well the reality of this particular style lies somewhere in between documentary photography and classic portraiture. A documentary photographer will have the ‘fly on the wall’ approach, catching life as it happens without trying to interfere – which is the look this style is really striving for. While the classical portraiture photographer is concerned (or obsessed like the old timers) about what is in the frame, the light (and type of light) the clothes and of course he or she will be very concerned about the subjects body position, the angle of their head(s) or how their hands are placed (which is actually something that drives me up the wall)…

My own lifestyle photography sessions (not that I am arrogant enough to say what the actual definition of it truly is) is a mixture of the authentic and staged. Though I am keen on shooting what actually happens in real life the reality is I would never be able to capture such a diversity of images unless I was there to direct as well as use light in a way that is flattering. Most sessions are 2-4 hours and as such you have to take a bit of control. Just like in classical (or traditional) portraiture, I am still choosing to control a few things (such as the lighting) or at times placing the couple to maximize the beauty of the location (or decreasing the amount of background ‘noise’ such as people and cars) and placing their bodies in a way to make them look better overall (thinner, taller, sexier…).

When one of our latest couples, the successful Amanda & Derrick (who live in sunny California) contacted us she mentioned she was keen on a certain blogger: @wendyslookbook. As Amanda wrote ‘she is a fashion Instagram person but she has a lot of photos with her boyfriend that I admire. I love that she uses a lot of beautiful architecture as her background for photos.‘ What I enjoyed about this work is how clean the images were (no people or distracting objects) and how the colors of the outfits truly stood out (which is what she is pushing). The photography is beautifully executed (considering there is very little or not artificial lights) and is something you would expect with a successful Instagram blogger (1.2M followers) who is successfully making a profession out of it.

With Amanda and Derrick the idea was roughly the same, capture them in a way that looks unobtrusive & natural and use their choice of the Charles Bridge as the starting point. Our shooting was mostly before dawn (lighting assistant definitely required) and instead of colorful outfits they wore black or dark tones – against a black or dark sky… And lastly, instead of having many single portraits we have two stylish & hip people experiencing the goth & dark atmosphere of Prague. Funny enough I have met with two fashion bloggers (as well as photographed a lovely couple from Malaysia) who are wishing for this same style of shooting for their ‘brand’ so I think we will be seeing more sessions quite like this and soon.

A special thanks to Amanda & Derrick for allowing me to share some of their favorite images from their Prague session.

Prague Locations: Charles Bridge, Kampa, Malostranske, Na Plavka (riverside), park

{pre wedding photo Prague / Lifestyle & Engagement photographer / pre wedding photographer available worldwide}

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To have us capture your beautiful wedding day or your fabulous pre wedding or E-session simply contact us HERE for our latest brochure and info.

an engagement session in Prague with A&P (USA)

Introducing our very cute & fun couple Andrey & Phillip who live in sunny Los Angeles. They are good friends with a couple whose engagement portrait session we captured a few years back at Prague Castle. As Andrey & Phillip were going to be in Prague for a few days they contacted us and inquired if we could create a session for them. Unlike our usual portrait sessions where we work with a crew of assistants, hair & makeup and at times a full video crew, they wanted a more toned down, simplistic approach: just the two of them and myself. I must admit, I very much enjoy these very simple ‘natural light sessions’ as couples are far more relaxed when they feel that no one is watching them or fussing about with their hair & makeup all the time. Plus the great thing about Andrey & Phillip, they know how to have a great time in front of the camera.

What follows is a wonderful morning of two people in love exploring the sites of a beautiful city.

I am often asked: do I ever tire of photographing the same locations in Prague? The truth is, it is not about the locations as it is about sharing & capturing couples who are experiencing this city for the first time. The bonus: capturing those beautiful, intimate moments shared between. That is what I enjoy best.

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To Andrey & Phillip I hope that when you view these images (hanging on your walls, or presented in a beautiful designer book) you relive that special time here in Prague.

{Prague wedding & pre wedding photographer / lifestyle photographer / Engagement photographer available worldwide}

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To have us capture your beautiful wedding day or your fabulous pre wedding or E-session simply contact us here for our latest brochure and info.

Prague Lifestyle Portrait Session / Amala & Emeka

Introducing one of our many gorgeous couples from this year: Amala & Emeka who hail from Nigeria.

They wanted a session that incorporated the best locations in Prague but without the hoards of tourists who over take this city daily and so a sunrise session was especially tailored for them.

Since they flew in from London the day before they had not had a chance to take in the sights yet and so we decided to start our session in front of one of the most beautiful buildings in Prague: the Praha Assurance building. This Art Nouveau masterpiece is one I highly recommend and visiting this building at dawn where the neon ‘Praha’ is lit is really a wonderful way to start off the day.

Led by our favorite hair & makeup artist Eliska who brought them down to where the crew was waiting, you can tell that this was a great starting point as Emeka & Amala were simply blown away by the atmosphere and the buildings beautiful & ornate facade.

Later we headed to the historic Charles Bridge and luckily there were not that many tourists. Seeing the sky change colors and the early morning light hit Prague Castle is truly a site to behold. The smile on Emeka’s face watching Amala take in the incredible atmosphere was worth the entire trip and she absolutely glowed standing there with a parasol in hand.

Our next location was the Old Town Square where luckily there were only a few stragglers left over from the previous nights partying. Without a doubt Old Town Square should truly be enjoyed at sunrise. Watching the sun break above the skyline of spires and especially when you walk hand in hand under Tyn Church with your partner in a nearly empty historic location as this is in a word – unforgettable.

But like all wonderful session they must come to an end and Emeka and Amala chose my personal favorite place – the Letna overlook for their final location. This truly is a stunning location as the city awakes and the sounds of trams, boats and many cars (too many actually) and pedestrians start their new day in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

After a few moments of soaking up the sunshine it was time to say our adieu’s and let Emeka & Amala explore this wonderful city on their own terms – hand in hand.

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Kurt, first of all, let me thank you for the amazing pictures. Amala (thanks for the compliment by the way) and I are extremely excited… Once again thanks for giving us a wonderful gallery of pictures which we will enjoy for the rest of our lives.

A special thanks to my crew: Eliska (hair & makeup), Kari & Zu (lighting) – the best crew in Prague!

{Prague wedding photographer / lifestyle photographer / pre wedding photographer available worldwide}

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To have us capture your beautiful wedding day or your fabulous pre wedding or E-session simply contact us here for our latest brochure and info.

An engagement session with two gentlemen in Prague

Graham (left) and Wayne (right) are two incredible people who’ve faced their share of hardships. Graham, who lost a leg serving in Iraq, has been through a lot, but he’s unstoppable—always smiling, with a positivity that’s contagious. As someone who understands the challenges veterans face, I was especially excited to show them the beauty of Prague.

Graham had visited Prague before and fell in love with the city’s architecture and charm, so he knew it was the perfect place to celebrate with Wayne, his love and now husband. They traveled from San Francisco, bringing along their little dog, for this post-wedding portrait session—a heartfelt gift to Wayne.

On the day of their session, the city was bathed in a golden light, with spires glowing in the distance. We started at Petrin Hill, under the cherry blossoms—a spot made for romance. Then we wandered through Prague’s picturesque streets, ending at the iconic Charles Bridge at sunset.

It was truly a magical day, filled with laughter (and some very ‘kampy fun-filled moments’) and love.

Graham and Wayne, thank you for letting me capture these beautiful moments. Wishing you both endless love and happiness, and I can’t wait to welcome you back to Prague someday!

{Same sex wedding photographer Prague / gay & lesbian lifestyle photographer / pre wedding photographer available worldwide}

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To have us capture your beautiful wedding day or your fabulous pre wedding or E-session simply contact us here for our latest brochure and info.

Prague photographers / Lana & Mike’s Lifestyle session

A picture perfect lifestyle portrait session with Lana & Mike who traveled over from Canada.

Lana & Mike have experienced traveling and living in Europe, and so they were looking for ‘a fun and vibrant city, and we felt that (Prague) really represented our relationship well.’ They were not disappointed in choosing the ‘city of a 100 spires.’

Though, the first day started off beautifully, the weather quickly turned unleashing lots of rain, in fact, it looked as if it did not want to stop. So for the first time ever, we cancelled our session. Though 20 minutes after we cancelled, the sun came out again, teasing us with a beautiful sky. But no worries, as most of the team was available the next day (Bara was able to step in with the hair & makeup), we were richly rewarded with perfect weather and clearly took advantage of it.

So where to begin in Prague?

One of my favorite places is the Jerusalem Synagogue, which is a fusion of Art Nouveau & the Moorish style. It is a bit off the beaten track and yet it is one of the most beautiful buildings in Prague. For those who have never seen it – they are missing out on something quite special. Lana & Mike were keen on visiting and luckily for us, we timed the light just right as normally this building is sitting in the shadows. Some of my favorite images of these two were captured here and I believe for Lana & Mike this is also a very special place as well.

From here, our session only became better as nearly every location we went too had wonderful sunlight and was not swarming with tourists – well, except Wenceslas Square, Mustek, the Charles Bridge…

The idea of simply taking a leisurely tour of the most beautifully interesting locations and letting each couple explore it on their own terms and pace is always something I know they will appreciate. I have always felt that the key to capturing wonderful portraits is to let the day flow naturally. Of course this only works when you have two fun, easy going people who are relaxed in front of the camera – after all it is their day.

After looking through this small collection, one can surmise that Lana & Mike had a very special time here and the images speak volumes about them as individuals and as a couple: sexy, smart, fun and open to new experiences. Personally, Lana & Mike’s session is one of my favorites, and what was their reaction: ‘The pictures look incredible!’

To Lana & Mike, thanks again for selecting us. You two are wonderful, on behalf of all of us here, we wish you both much love, happiness and future success as you journey through life.

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A special thanks to the crew: Martina for arranging, Cary for assisting, Jitka for the hair & makeup on day 1 and for Bara for stepping in and doing a fantasist job on day 2.