"Who is she?"
I'm Carmen, a Dutch/South African wedding and lifestyle photographer based in Leiden, The Netherlands. I moved here with my husband in 2021 from Stellenbosch, South Africa. A beautiful baby girl joined our family in 2025.
I have always loved photographs. As a young girl I would sit for hours paging through my parents' wedding album, or looking at photos of us as babies, past travels, or family weekends. I saved up really hard, and finally on my 13th birthday I bought my first little camera. I took pictures during holidays and did all sorts of creative shoots with my friends. I traveled through Europe for a year back in 2015 and kept a blog of my adventures to share with loved ones back home. This was where I fully realised the power of photography. This is where I found my love of storytelling.
Since then I have documented 100+ stories for people all over the world.
My photos are artistic, authentic, and frame ordinary moments in an extraordinary way. Photos are incredibly nostalgic by nature, not only for the people in the photographs, but for loved ones and future generations too. I believe a shoot is more than just taking photos. It is a beautiful memory of a moment in time, and having trust and a level of comfort with whomever is front of my camera not only makes the experience more enjoyable, the photos come out more authentic too!
I am an outgoing introvert. Enthusiastic, but grounded. As Elisa writes in a review, "she felt like a lifelong friend", and this is the level of comfort and warmth I strive to create during every shoot.
A few ditjes en datjes:
- I have a Bachelor's degree in piano performance, and a Master’s degree in piano pedagogy
- I am fluent in Dutch, English, and Afrikaans
- I have a mild obsession with children's books, and own a rather impressive selection
- I have travelled to 22 countries on three continents
- My favourite books include "A Man called Ove", "Anne of Green Gables", and "Theo of Golden"
- I feel equally at home in a luxury hotel or sleeping under the stars on a roll-up mattress
- I'm a firm believer in pluk geluk - there are always flowers in my house
- I rarely paint my nails, but when I do, I can conquer the world
- A beautiful piece of midcentury wooden furniture will always have my heart
artistic,
authentic,
nostalgic
Things I love:
- Spending time with loved ones
- Nature and its inhabitants
- Beautiful details, I can deeply appreciate it when something is beautifully crafted
- The small things in life (beautiful light, flowers, a crisp sunny autumn day, the anticipation before opening a new book, the perfect coffee mug, you get the idea)
- Beautiful photographs, my photo albums being the first thing I would grab in case of fire
- Thrifting (is there anything more thrilling than finding gems at a second hand store?)
- Decorating my house and making it a home
- Making and eating delicious food (preferably shared with loved ones)
- All things HAY
Creating is part of who I am. I absolutely love what I do, and there is nothing that gives me more energy than capturing stories. I forget the time and get lost in the moment.
1 Corinthians 16:14 — "Let all that you do be done in love."
If you'd like to get in touch, click here. I look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully meeting you soon!
x
Carmen
