Chic Sponsor Spotlight | Patricia Kantzos Photography

For months we've been dying to share the work of one of our favorite New York City photographers, the tres-talented Patricia Kantzos... Patricia's work is absolutely gorgeous. She has a penchant for capturing beyond brilliant moments, wonderfully chic details and heartfelt memories with an elegant, classic photography style that we swoon over time and time again. In fact, our admitted hesitation for showcasing her work in our chic sponsor series was that it was - truly - so very difficult to narrow down the amazing assortment of images she submitted to us!
Grand introductions aside, we hope you enjoy our spotlight with the lovely Miss Kantzos...
What was missing in the market that your product fulfills?
Transparency of photography as I call it. I felt a lot wedding activities were very forced, unfortunately all for the purpose of creating photographic moments. I still often hear how couples plan their day around the photography, instead of living in the moment and really experiencing the most important day of their lives.As I work to capture great moments out of what might seem ordinary, I believe the couples really have fun and feel it, rather than pretend. And, I get to photograph beautiful moments - Creating photographs as the couple is enjoying their wedding day. Getting married a few years ago helped me to understand what's most important - marrying the man I love, sharing this day with family and friends and enjoying it.

When did you decide to begin this type of work?
A very close friend asked me to photograph her wedding. I never thought of wedding photography until that moment. I enjoyed the experience and other friends of hers saw the work and approached me, and it grew from there. I always feel that my gift to my friend was her was wedding photography and her gift to me was a start of this amazing career.Where do you draw everyday inspiration from?
Hmm... mostly from people, from feelings and emotions that drive us. I always find myself searching for the truth in life. I love all the smaller details that make things special. I like capturing the connections and interplay between the people and the details. When I am photographing I like stripping away all the extraneous and focus on the emotion, the spontaneity and wonder of the moments in between the expected. I like keeping my photography simple yet thoughtful and elegant. I also try to keep things natural and organic.

Where did your company begin? Where is it located now?
Like myself, my company was born in New York City, and is located on the Upper West Side... I studied at The International Center for Photography here in New York and at The Center for Photography at Woodstock. But mostly I am self taught.
Brag about yourself for us!
Hmm... this is something I don't like to do much :)
I have an incredible understanding of light. Even on location. It's one of the first things people comment on when looking at my work. My lighting and also the emotion. My background is in documentary and photo photojournalism - so for me it's not about just what looks pretty, but the emotional truth in any given moment. I love color, but always have a healthy mix of black & white in my final delivery. I shoot in film and digital, love both. My first love was black & white 35mm but more and more I shoot with my vintage camera and my medium format cameras. The image is what's most important to me.
I try to stay away from trends and attempt to create beautiful classically simple images. It's important to me that when I look at my photographs - in 10 years or 30 years from now - and still love the images I've created.
Share a few things about yourself that we wouldn't ordinarily think to ask!

• One of my favorite photography moments is when I photographed Ahmet Ertegun and his wife Mica at their home is Southampton. They kindly invited me to stay for the weekend. I only had a few minutes though to photograph. Sometimes it works like that.

• I do some film work also. My husband is a filmmaker {documentary} and we often work together on projects. It's a very different experience to see your work up on a 55 ft screen. Photography is all about compressing a moment and film is the opposite, it's expanding on a thought.

• I love dance. A few years ago I had the opportunity to work on a project for Jacobs Pillow in the Berkshires.

Where can Merci New York's readers find your work? Where is your studio? Any non-wedding work you'd love to share?
You can see more of my work on my Web site and blog! I have also featured in New York Magazine, The Knot, Brides Magazine, Vogue Greece, WellWed, Style Me Pretty and Instyle Weddings.

I take appointments with clients at my studio:
Patricia Kantzos Photography
250 West 93rd Street
Penthouse E
New York, NY 10025
917.608.9074
patricia@kantzos.com

Other projects I've worked on are:
Museum of Science & History in Florida, Nauticus Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, and the Dance Heritage Project - Celebrating 100 Years of Dance in America.

All photos courtesy Patricia Kantzos Photography.