PHOTOGRAPHER | Keryn Sweeney

Keryn Sweeney has spent more than twenty years behind the camera, with a practice that moves between documentary, editorial and art. Working across digital, 35mm and medium-format film, she photographs weddings throughout New Zealand and internationally. Her work is layered and instinctive — considered portraiture alongside imperfect moments, intimacy alongside chaos, and the many smaller stories unfolding within a celebration. Beyond weddings, personal work is an important part of Keryn Sweeney's creative practice, from ballet and travel to analogue processes and an ever-growing collection of vintage cameras.

Tell us about your business!

Photography was my first love. I knew from a very young age that it was what I wanted to do, and more than twenty years into my career, I still feel incredibly fortunate that it has become my life’s work.

I’m based in New Zealand, photographing weddings and editorial work both here and internationally, alongside personal projects that allow me to keep exploring photography outside of the wedding world.

What I love about weddings is the collision of everything — people, fashion, family, emotion, place and celebration. There are moments of complete intimacy alongside beautiful chaos, and I love moving between the two. It’s a world that continually gives me something new to photograph.

What would you like couples to know about you?

That I really care about the experience as much as the photographs. I want people to be present at their wedding, not feel like they’re spending the day at a photoshoot.

I’ll step in and direct when it’s needed, but I also know when to disappear into the background and let things unfold. A lot of my favourite photographs happen in those in-between moments when nobody is really thinking about the camera.

Outside of photography, home is my husband Jamie, our two beautiful girls and Billy, our dog. They’re very much the centre of my world. I think having my own family has made me even more aware of time, connection and how much more valuable photographs become as the years go by.

I also think my clients are a huge part of where the images go creatively — my muses, if you will. Every wedding and every group of people gives me something different to respond to.

How would you describe your style?

Documentary photography with an editorial feel.

I love fashion and contemporary photography, so of course that influences the way I shoot, but I try not to get too caught up in trends. At the end of the day I’m photographing real people and their families, and these photographs need to mean something in the future, not just look good right now.

What inspires you?

Inspiration is everywhere for me. I love the simplicity of a close, intimate photograph that feels like one small part of a story, but I’m equally drawn to layers and layers of people — different conversations and moments all happening within the same frame.

I love a deep dive into photography and fashion documentaries & books. Old magazines. Cinematography, art history, or finding a new vintage film camera to play with. Spending time in art galleries fills my cup too.

I think all of those things sit somewhere in the back of my mind and somehow merge together when I’m photographing. I’m not necessarily thinking about any one reference in the moment, but they all influence the way I see.

How would you describe your working style?

Very intuitive. I’m constantly watching — the light, the room, the people and the energy.

There are moments when I’ll take control and create something more intentional, particularly with portraits, but then I’ll pull right back again. I don’t want to over-direct a wedding or manufacture moments that aren’t there.

I think after doing this for so long, you develop a pretty good instinct for knowing when something is about to happen. A lot of it is simply being in the right place and paying attention.

Do you shoot digitally, on film or both?

Both. I shoot digital alongside 35mm and medium-format film.

Film has become a really important part of my work. I love the slower process and the way it makes me think differently about a frame. There’s also an unpredictability and texture to film that I don’t want to replicate digitally — I want it to be its own thing.

Using both gives me the freedom to move between different ways of seeing throughout a wedding and creates a really rich final body of work.

What is your most memorable career moment?

This is such a hard one after 20 years!

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph backstage and side stage with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, which was incredibly special. Ballet has been part of a personal project I’ve been working on, so being able to document that world from such an intimate perspective felt like a real full-circle moment.

I’ve also been incredibly lucky to photograph weddings all over the world and have my work featured in publications such as Vogue. There have been so many pinch-me moments, but I think I’m always most excited about whatever I’m creating next.

Where would you love to travel to for work?

I’m so indecisive about this because I love both extremes.

Big cities like Rome, Paris and New York really make my heart sing. I love the architecture, fashion, movement and energy — there is always something interesting happening in the frame.

B

ut I also love that my job takes me to incredible remote places I might otherwise never experience. Give me an amazing group of people and an interesting setting and I’m happy pretty much anywhere.

Who is your dream client?

I’m always drawn to people who have a strong sense of themselves and bring their own point of view to the day. They don’t necessarily work in creative industries, but they appreciate art, fashion, design and photography, and trust the people they’ve chosen to work with.

There’s something really exciting about that exchange of ideas. My clients become a huge part of the creative process — muses in a way — and I think the most interesting work comes when there’s that mutual trust and freedom to respond to each other.

Ultimately, I want to photograph people who care deeply about the photographs, but care even more about actually living the day.

What is your advice to couples getting married?

Make a day that couldn’t really belong to anyone else. Forget the weddings you’ve been to, the ones you’ve saved, and the things you feel like you’re supposed to do. Keep what means something, lose what doesn’t, and let it feel like the two of you.

Then forget about the photographs. Be with your people, eat something incredible, drink the champagne, stay at the table too long, dance until you’re done. Give yourself permission to actually experience it. That’s always where the good stuff is.

Keryn Sweeney Weddings Website: kerynsweeneyweddings.com 

Instagram: @kerynsweeneyphotographer