This was a bridal session, part of a private wedding in Mykonos. The bride, the gown and the three locations set the pace instead.

The session moved through Little Venice in the early light, before the waterfront fills with people, then to the windmills above the town, and finished at Paraportiani, the whitewashed cluster of churches on the western edge of Mykonos Town. Each location gave a different backdrop: water and colour at Little Venice, open sky and structure at the windmills, and the church's soft, layered architecture at Paraportiani.

Working ahead of the wedding day itself meant no time pressure between ceremony and reception, and no guests to work around. The gown could be worn simply to be photographed, in a setting chosen for it rather than for a schedule.

A bridal session takes an editorial approach to bridal portraits. Away from the ceremony and the guest list, there's room for relaxed beauty shots and carefully planned portraits, images built around the bride's own pleasure and vanity rather than the schedule of a wedding day. She is the model of the day, and gets our full attention. Same category as bridal boudoir, only not as daring.

The groom can be part of this session too, timed as a first look ahead of the wedding itself. It gives the couple a quiet moment together before the day fills with guests, and gives us a second set of images built around that first look rather than the ceremony.

Working across three locations in one session meant planning around Mykonos Town's own rhythm, shooting Little Venice before the crowds arrive and moving through the windmills and Paraportiani as the morning light opened up.

For our work across Mykonos visit our dedicated page Wedding Photographer Mykonos, and for a more intimate approach to bridal portraits see Boudoir Photography.