If you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain, there's a good chance that we're going to get along pretty well. Also, if you sang that line in your head as Rupert Holmes instead of just reading it, we may just as well buy our friendship bracelets right now.
In all seriousness, I am truly humbled to be invited into your life and document your most sacred moments. I love being behind the lens, because that is where I can let my imagination run wild and at the same time show people how beautiful they are when they're free to love and just be.
I’m here to remind you that it wasn’t all just a dream.
HOPELESS ROMANTIC. INFP. UGLY CRIER. CAT MOM.
CONFIDENTLY AWKWARD. AKA CHAR, CHARNIZZLE, CHARDONNAY.
MEET
CHARNÉ
YOUR
EXPERIENCE
Throughout my life photography has served not only as a form of expression, but a form of escape. It is the one thing that frees me and grounds me all at once. I want our time together to be the same for you. The fun factor is SO important! Before anything else, your experience should not only be enjoyable, but an unforgettable one. Because while it is easy to trick the eye, you can never force or fake how someone felt at a given moment.
My first priority, therefore, is creating a safe space in which you have the freedom to express yourself, explore your vulnerability and interact organically with your partner and/or surroundings. I’ll be there every step of the way, talking and guiding you through the entire process.
I’m also known to become quite enthusiastic when I'm shooting, so expect a LOT of positive affirmations, lame dad jokes, mild-to-spicy innuendos, cringey dance moves and the occasional shriek of excitement.
MY APPROACH
I am an intuitive shooter. I often tend to go off-script and sometimes I don’t even have a script to begin with. I find excessive planning overrated - and a little boring - to be perfectly honest. I thrive on the anticipation of a moment and almost not knowing what the image will look like until the shutter has clicked. It is this exact intuition and spontaneity that has served me so well in giving my clients intimate, emotive images filled with movement and mood.
Sure, having a spreadsheet with a complete shot list is nice and puts the mind at ease, but it leaves little room for the imagination to breathe. Your story is original and not a copy of someone else’s. Your photos should reflect that. Whether the weather takes an unexpected turn or a global pandemic forces you to ditch plan A and go straight to plan C, I will always encourage you to embrace the chaos, to dance in the rain. That is where the magic lives.
WHO AM I...
Outside of Photography
Even though I allow myself to be defined by my art in many ways, at my core being I am merely human, with my own life, quirks, aspirations, insecurities and fears. Apart from photography, I love acting, dancing and writing. When I'm not working, I'm most probably out road tripping, hiking, scouting flea markets for fresh flowers, enjoying live jazz, or rewatching The Office for the fourteenth time.
Furthermore, I can easily be bribed with good coffee, ice-cream sandwiches and pizza spring rolls (yes, they are a thing and yes, they will change your life). A very reliable colour test I once took online revealed that I was 55% extrovert and 45% introvert, which may or may not explain why I am both a cat and dog person as well as both a morning and night person. I love the ocean as much as I love the city as much as I love the mountains.
Okay, I'm lying - I may love the ocean just a little bit more.
An elevator pitch of useless facts:
I once starred in an ad for a Polish beer
My toxic trait is responding to compliments with self-deprecating humour
I will most likely beat you in a staring competition
I am physically incapable of turning down a hash brown (and taking a wee in the ocean)
I have a ginger cat named Django and he gives me chronic hay fever but I love him to death
I binged the entire first four seasons of Stranger Things in one week. So there’s that.
I spend most of my hard-earned money on takeaway coffee and salad ingredients that end up getting tossed (because who TF likes salad anyway?!)
FAVE FILMS
Wes Anderson
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Tim Burton
Sherlock Holmes
The Prestige
FAVE PHOTGRAPHERS
Tim Walker
Ginger’s Eyes
Jennifer Moher
Anni Graham
Phil Chester
FAVE PODCASTS
Modern Wisdom
Not Overthinking
Other People’s Lives
Cleaning up The Mental Mess
Make Your Break
FAVE MUSIC
Avi Kaplan, Panama, Coldplay, Frank Sinatra, Alt J, Tash Sultana, Matt Corby, Mumford & Sons, Monsters and Men, Petit Biscuit, Dayglow, Billie Eilish, GoodLuck , Goldfish, Lord Huron, KALEO, electro-swing, lo-fi jazzhop.
FAVE CHILD
Django
SOME
THINGS
I LOVE...
Jesus, the smell of freshly baked bread, children’s cereal, mom’s spaghetti, 70’s fashion, jazz bars, film photography, waking up to the sounds of the forest, falling asleep to the sound of the waves, prayers that get answered, love notes from clients, sticky skin after hours on the beach, impromptu coffee runs, fresh hotel sheets, getting up before sunrise, a cat sleeping on your lap, grocery stores in foreign countries, afternoon naps, slow dancing, deep sleep, conversations that flow, mental health podcasts, cinema nouveau, music festivals, local markets, mid-century modern, thunderstorms in the summer, campfire, art museums, good acting, airports, wildflowers, solo road trips, blossoms in spring.