Sophocles Alexiou - on becoming international professional photographer

Sophocles was born in 1961 in Chelsea – not the posh part but in a basement and delivered by his father. A fitting start to life for someone who comes from a long line of peasants. Having Greek-Cypriot parents and growing up in a Cypriot community, there were only a few career options open for a smart Cypriot lad: Doctor, Lawyer or Teacher. Once it had been established that the gene-pool he had inherited would not stretch to such dizzy heights, great words of wisdom were spoken by his father – ‘son, be a barber – everybody needs to have their haircut.’

Alas, the now established average Cypriot young man had become a Bouzouki player in a band playing at weddings and in the hashish dens of London. Ironically, this is where Sophocles developed his people skills so vital in social photography. The transition into photography was rapid and success followed quickly. The string of awards and qualifications he holds is proof of his passion for photography. He is, at the time of writing, the only Cypriot to hold Fellowships in Portraiture, so his father and mother and the entire village back home are well pleased and thank God he gave up the Bouzouki playing - the night life was no life for a married man.

From an interview in Cyprus Mail

But what does it take to win the title of Wedding Photographer of the Year? " A good wedding photographer is a special breed. He has to have great people skills because the day is charged with emotion, stress levels are running high, so the photographer has to have a calming influence. I am often complemented before the client has even seen the images, on how I conducted myself through the day and interacted with family and guests. The technical side has to be second nature. Wedding photography is portraiture at the gallop; you have to understand light, posing, composition and at the same time inject spontaneity and your own spin into the images without making them look like snaps. You have very little time and I am often surprised myself when I look at the finished wedding books. It looks like I had all the time in the world."

"...Alexiou is no ordinary high-street snapper."