Not Another Beige JPEG: Why I Opened AMELPOMENEM PHOTO

How It Started (and Why It Had to Start)

Back in March 2025, I signed a tiny office lease wedged between a tax accountant and a language-school classroom: two doors of pure paperwork, and then my room full of lights, and reckless energy. I just wanted to test the water. 

A few friends came in, Nathan (that’s him in the leather top dodging the flash) among the first. After each session people kept saying, “I’ve never had anything like this; this feels alive.” That’s when it hit me: this town doesn’t need another family photographer; it needs a little fire. 

Months later, I moved into a bigger studio in Wexford city center. This time with real backdrops, proper setups, and room to actually move. No communion queues. No corporate grins. No “say cheese.”

Just a door you walk through, and maybe, if we do it right, walk out a little different.

Why I’m Obsessed With This Work

Believe me, nothing beats finally landing on the thing you were meant to do — especially after detouring through, well, everything else. I’ve taught English to toddlers in China. I’ve juggled a dozen brand accounts as a social-media manager. I once stood on a trade-show floor translating torque specs and pretending I cared about gear ratios. All great for the CV, none great for the soul.

Then twenty-five rolled around (frontal lobe fully online) and the long road snapped into focus: I’m here to make pictures that feel alive. Every weird job paid for a light, a lens, or a lesson, and now all of it pours into the studio.

What I love is this:

• Control meets surprise. I set the lights exactly how I want them. Then a client walks in and does something unexpected. That mix keeps me awake and curious every single shoot.
• Tiny shifts feel huge. Someone arrives a bit nervous. Thirty minutes later, they’re seeing a version of themselves they’ve never met. Watching that moment click is addictive.
• Adults need playtime. We crank the music, dig through props, and pull faces the camera usually never sees. It’s fun, simple as that, and most grown-ups don’t get enough of it.
• Ireland deserves better pictures. If one honest portrait replaces a stale one, I’m happy.

Who Books Me

Not everyone comes in knowing exactly what they want — and that’s the fun of it. Some people arrive with a full moodboard, others just follow a feeling. These are the kinds of humans who find their way into my studio:

• Girls freezing their twenties before life gets busy.
• Guys testing eyeliner because why not.
• Artists who need a portrait that actually feels like them.
• People rebranding their lives: new job, new hair, new energy.
• Brands that prefer personality over stock art.
• Couples who want something cooler than kissing in a field.
• Parents who want a family photo without beige sweaters.
• Anyone who hates the camera but suspects it might hate them less in my studio.

And honestly? A lot of people who don’t know why they booked, just that it felt like the right time to try.