Akis Douzlatzis is an award winning wedding and portrait photographer based in Greece. His pictures capture emotions and special moments between people. We asked him to answer a few questions for our readers.

What do you enjoy about photographing weddings?

For me, it’s all about feelings. Every little moment hides an emotion, a relationship, a bond. That said, I really enjoy creating images with an explosion of feelings. My goal is to show the unique bond between every couple and create a timeless moment.

So many of your pictures seem to capture a real moment. They don’t feel staged. How do you accomplish this?

I direct all of my couples. It has to do with you as a person and as a photographer. You need to feel and live the wedding day before you go to the actual wedding.

Every couple is unique. I give directions in a way that they can feel the moments and I can caputre their feelings through my camera.

Over the years I’m sure you’ve shot in exotic locations. Please share an image from a special destination and explain why that particular location was different than others.

This year I travelled to Istanbul, not for a wedding but for a christening. I had the chance to shoot on Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and to meet Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch in person. It was a lifetime experience.

Please share a photo that you’ve taken this year that you’re particularly proud of. Tell us why you’re proud of it.

I don’t think that I will ever come to a point that I will be proud of my images, but if I have to recall an image from this year’s season, it would be one with huge technical and nature difficulties. It was windy, the air temperature was dropping fast , the shot had a concept with a big splash of water and we couldn’t control it because of the wind, my light was constantly moving because of the blowing air and my couple had began to get chilly.

But it’s a moment that all things align together and you have your shot. I am proud of my couples.

Tell us about a particularly challenging shoot. How did you overcome the obstacles? Share an image from this shoot.

It was a shoot in famous lake Kerkini in Greece. Everything was covered with mud, moisture in the atmosphere, plus mosquitoes the size of small birds. I had the idea to put my couple in a small wooden boat into the lake. So it was me, the couple and my assistant. I had to get wet and covered with mud, and to sit in a split leg position over my couple for the entire shoot. Plus, I had to keep them calm and give them specific directions while the ambient light was falling dramatically fast. It was extremely hard because with every breath the boat was moving like a leaf in the ocean and I had to keep my balance with all of the equipment hanging on me. You need to stay focused in situations like this. It is the key to get what you want.

During a wedding, so much happens so fast. How do you prepare to capture moments quickly? Do you use specific gear to accommodate this need?

As I said before, you have to feel and live the wedding day before the actual wedding happens. So when it comes to a lifetime one-day event, the most valuable piece of equipment is planning.

I pre-plan each wedding weeks before. I take all the info I need from my interview seasons with my couples, I visit the event places, I even give a timeline of the day to the couple.

As for the technical part, I shoot with two Canon bodies, with a 27-70 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8 fixed on and I use light in any form, from ambient to LED and speedlights.

Tell us something few people know about you.

Until the age of 23, although I had graduated from a photography school, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue a career in photography. After I realized that photography was my life career, I literally locked myself in my room and began studying intensively for over a year. I still study for about 6-7 hours per day.

Check out more work from Akis Douzlatzis on his website and follow him on Facebook.