Eileen, Pretty Little Mantras: from a borrowed camera to destination weddings

Eileen is a destination wedding photographer from Northern France, now based in Lisbon, who works as Pretty Little Mantras. She first joined a Sparkling Moments workshop experience in Paris in 2024 and has come back to one every year since, each time in a new country. We asked her how she started, why she keeps coming back, and what these experiences have changed. Her answers are below, lightly edited.

A borrowed camera

“I grew up in Northern France and for the longest time I had no idea what I wanted to do. I remember thinking I had no talent and no passion, and I didn’t even feel I had a creative mind.”

“I first touched a real professional camera in 2019, when I was living in Australia. A friend asked me to take some photos of her, she loved them and told me I should pursue it. I played around with Lightroom, practised outside with friends, joined a photo-walk group with other amateur photographers, and became obsessed: I was doing practice shoots two or three times a week.”

“In the middle of Covid, between lockdowns, I found a job as a booking consultant for a photography studio. There I learned everything about photography. My boss had a great reputation and let me assist him at weddings and be his shadow. At the end of 2020 I shot my first wedding, a very small one with ten people. I was nervous, but something clicked: that is what I want to do. I called my parents and told them that one day I would be a wedding photographer and travel at the same time.”

“In 2023 I left Australia to come back to Europe, opened my business and moved to Lisbon. Everything set off naturally from there: couples from the US, Canada and the UK booking me for their weddings, or for a shoot while they were travelling in Lisbon.”

Why a Sparkling Moments experience, and why every year

“I first signed up for a workshop in Paris in 2024. Doing a workshop or a retreat was my goal for that year. A reel popped up on Instagram and my intuition kicked in: this is a sign, I feel confident about this, let’s do it.”

“Then I decided to do one a year, in a different location. My goal as a destination wedding photographer is to be able to travel anywhere for weddings, so a workshop in a different country lets me show work from there and attract clients.”

What changed

“I learn by doing and observing, and a workshop is a great way to focus only on your art and try new things. The team provides and directs everything, so you don’t worry about details and logistics. I learned new poses, new ways of directing, new angles. Coming home with amazing new photos to post and show gives you confidence, and good feedback from your audience gives you a boost. I got better after each workshop.”

“The workshops gave me a variety of quality photos taken in different places, settings and countries for my portfolio. But it is also because I never stop learning on my own: podcasts (The Vendor Table is a very good one), my camera settings, marketing, social media. A workshop won’t give you magical results. It’s the work you keep putting in afterwards.”

The best part: her own crowd

“What felt special was the fun with people from my community. My own circle loves what I do, but they have no idea what a wedding vendor goes through. At a workshop you are with a crew you belong to: the same struggles, the same doubts. I love asking the other photographers for tips and helping each other, and then following each other on Instagram and cheering each other on when someone posts a photo. It’s incredible.”

Her advice to photographers

“Never stop learning. You never fail, you learn. You will make mistakes: when you do, laugh, tick it off your list, because everyone has made them, and learn so it doesn’t happen again.”

“Don’t feel you don’t stand a chance because the market is crowded. Focus on perfecting your art and put your personality out there. Clients don’t book you only because you take pretty pictures; they book you because they like you. Study sales: a good sales mindset helps you book more and better weddings. And be patient with yourself. Go at your own pace.”

Credits

Photography: Eileen, Pretty Little Mantras (@prettylittlemantras on Instagram).