Andrea Esposito - Wedding Photographer
Q: Why photography?
A: Expression, artistic, and something that’s in my blood. As a young child, I saw my father process his very first photograph in a darkroom. Watching a plain piece of paper turn into an image felt like magic, and I thought my father was a magician.
Q: What sort of photography did your father do?
A: He had a three-level studio in Naples. Mostly portraits with continuous lighting, sometimes weddings for friends. We had an 8x10 view camera, which I still own. But what really shaped me was that he worked on movie sets at Cinecittà in Rome, shooting cinema stills during the spaghetti western era.
Q: When did you arrive in Australia?
A: In 1972. I couldn’t speak English, but my parents worked hard to put me in a good school. I joined the camera club, only to be told by a teacher I’d never be a photographer. I stood up to him, and I said, “One day I’ll be a photographer and you’ll still be a lousy teacher.”
Q: What happened when you left school?
A: I didn’t leave—I was thrown out after standing up to bullies. My father was disappointed, but I eventually found work at a major printing firm where I learned graphic design and photo composition. Later I worked with great masters of photography and still learn from them today.
Q: Did you reconcile with your father?
A: Yes, definitely. He was my best friend. He’d taken me out of Naples to avoid trouble, and although I stumbled a few times, we found our way back to each other.
Q: When did you begin wedding photography?
A: It wasn’t an obsession, but it became my path. I was told I had a gift for communicating with people, and that became the heart of my work—listening, respecting wishes, and earning trust. Studios I worked for believed in hiring talent, not just staff, and that shaped me.
Q: Where does your photographic eye come from?
A: It’s something you either recognise in yourself or it eats away inside you. You can train your mind to not just look but truly see. I challenge myself to come back with at least one great shot, even if it takes hours. That discipline shaped my vision.
Q: What influenced that way of seeing?
A: Partly my graphic design background, but also a turning point in my life when I met a priest who helped me release anger and see the world differently. From that moment, I felt I’d been given a gift, and I haven’t looked back.