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In the Studio | Lucy Douglas of Lucie Weddings

In the Studio | Lucy Douglas of Lucie Weddings

When sitting down to write a new segment of interviews with creatives and wedding industry insiders; Lucy immediately came to mind. I met Lucy years ago when her now fiancé Eddie moved into a co-share office that I was working from. We were surrounded by wedding industry heavyweights WedShed, Alex Marks Photography, Petter Karlstrøm, and resident tech legend Tom; and the communal creative energy was inspiring on a daily basis. 

Lucy has always had some magic about her; her talent is diverse, she is warm with has a subtle magnetism that draws you in gently and she's welcoming. It's absolutely no wonder why the couples' she capture love her so much. Since first meeting Lucy, her creative practice has only grown and grown; and her approach to design & creative projects continues to inspire me. I know you'll enjoy this interview as much as I did — and I cannot recommend jumping on 'Unveiled' the podcast more if you find yourself planning your wedding and wanting some insight on how to best work with the industry. 

1 | Name, age, and where you call home?
Lucy, 29, Northern Beaches 

2 | What is your job, side hustle and/ or creative pursuit?  
Primarily a wedding photographer, however I also dabble in a bit of fashion & product photography, a touch of video production and have a degree in Visual Design and communication.  

3 | Your creative practice is so impressively diverse; what have been two of your favourite projects /  campaigns to work on and why were they so meaningful to you?  
I’m a true Aquarius in the sense of thriving on change and newness. It’s very rare that you’ll find me sticking to one thing, which as a result has blessed me with opportunity to have worked across so many amazing  projects. The two projects that stand out to me would be; a shoot I did with The Lane at China Heights Studio. The shoot consisted of three immersive sessions - lifestyle, couples and bridal fashion. With an aim  to seek the unexpected, find pockets of beauty and tell the story of each installation in my own poetic way. This project, I believe is where my confidence was established and I found my niche as a photographer.

On a completely different note, next in line would be a brand video I produced for creative studio; The Make  Haus. Dani Dean is up there with one of the most creative & talented people I know and while she believed  I’d nail the job, videography is more of a passion rather than a skill. This project challenged me in more ways  than one, but it made the end product so much more rewarding and seeing it live on The Make Haus website was a real ‘the only barriers are the ones you put there yourself’ moment. 

4 | You have an incredible eye for photography and a signature way of capturing light, emotion and  texture in a delicate balance; how has your work and aesthetic style evolved – 
So sweet Lauren, thank you!
From the moment I decided I wanted to pursue photography as a career I knew I never wanted to be confined or labelled. My work has always been created with intuition at the forefront & trusting the skills I have to produce in ways that not everyone loves or understands but speaks so vehemently to a refined few. I think as creatives we can get so fixated on being everyones cup of tea, that we lose sight of our true essence.  

5 | What sparks your interest most when you’re looking down the lens?  
The humanity of the moment. And light - the light is what makes a photo worth taking. 

6 | What comes easily to you in your creative process and what have you had to hone your skills in?  How did you hone your skills?  
Creative thinking, composition & visualisation. I’m not so great at the technical side of things, for example wrapping my head around flash photography was really hard for me, it wasn’t until I was actively doing it over and over again that the penny dropped.

7 | Where do you turn to for inspiration to fuel your ideation and creative process?  
I love writing, poetry, photography & interior design books, and JANE Magazine. If I’m ever stuck creatively, I pick up my film camera. It seem’s contradictory as you only have so many photos on a film roll, but find I don’t over-think when I shoot film, I take the shot and revisit the why when I eventually get it developed. I’m  also heavily influenced by famous fashion photographers like Mario Testino, Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh.  

8 | I believe the home and creative studio play a huge part of giving us the space to ideate and create.  What is your philosophy / aesthetic around your home / studio styling and what are your favourite pieces or moments in it. 
I couldn’t agree more! Due to COVID, our studio has been our second bedroom for the last year & I do recognise the extra effort that I have to make to stay inspired unlike when I worked out of The Ware Studio  and amongst other creatives. I’m such a big believer in less is more & find myself primarily stimulated via the senses rather than things I.e; plenty of natural light, white space, a fresh bunch of flowers, essential oils &  soulful music. 

9 | You & your fiancé Eddie have launched an incredible podcast, ‘Unveiled’ - a wonderful resource  for couples’ planning their big day full of insider knowledge. And sometimes you shoot weddings  together. How do you balance working together as a couple with your life outside of work?  
Let’s just say, it’s taken time for us to get to where we are haha. Eddie and I both learnt very fast that we had to implement structure for it to work. We start our day with a walk, coffee & a hard-no on any work  conversation. Anything work related that we do together I.e. Meetings, a-daily-download, catch-ups with clients, weekly podcast WIPs etc must all be entered into the calendar and we always do our best to clock off (computers off, office door closed, phone’s on aeroplane mode, no more work chat) at a reasonable hour. We both love our work, but we both love & value our relationship as a couple far more. 

10 | For other couples’ in creative business together, do you have any advice on making space for  your relationship?  
While it’s important to have boundaries, I think it’s just as important to be flexible. Eddie and I have worked to establish a really great routine, but we’re also conscious that things can chop & change from time to time so there needs to be a level of understanding, flexibility and LOTS of communication; to avoid frustration. 

11 | What advice would you give to couples looking for their wedding photographer?  
Dig a little deeper than instagram feed! While it’s a great starting point & will help you establish a photographers style, checking out their website and viewing a few full galleries will allow you to set your favourites apart. Also, don’t be afraid to give them a call, ask them as many questions as you feel you need & be transparent with what you’re looking for. You can check our ‘All things Photography’ episode on the  Unveiled podcast for more pointers on this.  

12 | What are some of your favourite moments in the course of booking clients and shooting  editorials & weddings? 
I love supplying couples with their final wedding gallery, it brings me pure joy knowing every one of those photos holds a special memory & will forever allow them to relive their day. It’s a similar thing with my commercial clients, when the final product is delivered & all of sudden that brilliant idea is now a brilliant, tangible reality. 

13 | Between the many facets of your work, do you pursue or engage in anything creatively for  yourself? What practices or processes do you indulge in that feed your soul, and are just for you?  
I’m really, really interested in Astrology and not just in a sense of star signs, but the deep, deep layers of the roles and the facets it plays in our lives, independent to everyone. My nan studied Astrology & I’m often asking her to do my chart, I find it to be a beautiful, bright & trustworthy guide to not only my life but also my creative process.  

14 | What are you working on now and what can we expect to see from you in the future?
Eddie and I have a lot of hope for the future with our new wedding podcast Unveiled; we’re both so excited that we have found a way to give back to couples in a way thats fun, interesting and all in one place. I have a few balls up in the air that might ride the back of the podcast but for now, it’s shooting love stories, creating innovative & creative content for brands and my biggest adventure yet…becoming a mumma! 

Where can you find Lucy? 
Website | luciestudio.com.au
Instagram | Weddings @lucie.weddings and Studio @luciedouglas__
Unveiled Podcast | @unveiledthepodcast__

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