Yana Peneva: Emotional. Natural. Real.

“To tell stories. To see, to feel, to show the world through my eyes. Your world, my world, our world. Each of us inhabits their own reality. I want to see what yours looks like and tell about it.”

Some artists chase spectacle; Yana Peneva chases truth. Her work begins in quiet places—a small village near the sea, with 40 inhabitants—and expands into vast inner landscapes. She travels, reads, observes, and builds images that feel lived-in and alive.

I have been photographing since 2010. I live in a small village with 40 inhabitants, near the sea. I travel a lot, move a lot, read a lot. I am interested in capturing and creating worlds. In discovering new worlds. In dreaming. In playing with the imagination - both mine and someone else's. I'm curious.

Meet the Artist

Experience: “15 years”

Style: “Emotional, natural, authentic, real.”
Gear: “Sony gear. My favourite lenses are 50 1.2 GM and 24-70 GMII”

Her language is feeling; her method is presence. Yana arrives gently, watches carefully, and photographs without forcing the moment.

“I allow them to be themselves.”

The Journey

Fifteen years behind the camera have refined a philosophy anchored in curiosity and freedom. She began in 2010 and never stopped moving—across countries, across ideas, across the unseen spaces between two people in love.

I am interested in capturing and creating worlds. In discovering new worlds. In dreaming. In playing with the imagination - both mine and someone else's. I'm curious.

Those “worlds” show up as breath, touch, and light: the hush before vows, the roar after a speech, the way a hand finds another without thinking.

Style & Philosophy

Ask Yana to define her visual language and she answers without hesitation:

“Emotional, natural, authentic, real.”

That ethos governs everything: how she composes, how she directs (or rather, how she doesn’t), and how she honors the day’s true pace.

“To see, to feel, to show the world through my eyes.”

There’s no over-choreography—just honest storytelling that keeps you recognizable to yourselves years later.

Tools of the Trade

Reliability and intimacy lead her technical choices.

Sony gear. My favourite lenses are 50 1.2 GM and 24-70 GMII

The fast 50 1.2 GM draws her close to emotion; the versatile 24–70 GM II lets her move with the scene as it unfolds.

Working With Couples

Yana’s guidance is spacious. She creates room for real connection and natural movement.

“I allow them to be themselves.”

She’s flexible in how the story is covered and happy to tailor coverage.

Custom packages: “Yes”

What matters most is how it feels—for you, in the moment.

What She Loves Most

Photography, for Yana, is a passport to people and places.

Meeting new people, experiencing moments together with them, visiting new places.

That shared experience—being with you, not just photographing you—becomes the through-line of her work.

Destination Stories

Yes, she travels. And certain places have left a mark.

“Yes. My favourite so far are Goa, India and Mallorca.”

Sun-soaked color, textured streets, sea air—destinations that echo her love for warmth and lived-in beauty.

Advice to Her Younger Self

If she could go back to the beginning, she’d keep it simple and brave:

“Trust yourself more and take more risks. Make the photos you like.”

It’s advice she still follows—choosing authenticity over trend, feeling over formula.

Tips for Your Session

Couples often ask how to prepare. Yana returns to the essentials:

Relax and enjoy. Be themselves and show their love for each other.

She’ll handle the light and timing. You bring truth.

Final Word

“Each of us inhabits their own reality. I want to see what yours looks like and tell about it.”

If you want wedding images that feel unguarded and unmistakably you, Yana Peneva meets you there—with curiosity, care, and a lens trained on what’s real.