Iceland · Photographers · Working together
Styrmir & Heiðdís – the Photographers I Love Working With in Iceland
If you have seen my films from Iceland, you have probably seen Styrmir and Heiðdís somewhere in the background – crouching on the black sand, climbing a lava ridge or laughing with the couple in the rain. They are a husband-and-wife team of wedding photographers from Iceland, and over the years we have shared glaciers, waterfalls, super-jeeps and even an erupting volcano. Here is a little about them, the weddings we have done together, and why a photographer and a filmmaker who know each other make such a difference on the day.
- Who
- Styrmir Kári and Heiðdís – husband and wife, Iceland wedding photographers
- Weddings together
- From the Glymur canyon in 2018 to Vestrahorn and Írafoss today
- Most famous day
- The volcano wedding at Fagradalsfjall in April 2021
- Their website
- styrmir-heiddis.com
Who they are
Styrmir worked as a photojournalist for a national newspaper and Heiðdís as an editorial and portrait photographer for Iceland’s largest magazine publisher before they started photographing weddings together in 2015. You can feel that background in their pictures: they never stage a moment that could happen on its own, and they know how to work fast and quietly in wind, rain and snow. They are also teachers – they host workshops for other wedding photographers in Iceland together with Way Up North.
The weddings we have shared
Our first big adventure together was Jess and Tim’s elopement in 2018: heavy rain and storm winds made us move the ceremony from Glymur to Þórufoss at the last minute, before we all hiked to the top of Iceland’s second-highest waterfall. Since then we have met at Írafoss, in the green valleys of Þórsmörk, on the dunes of Vestrahorn and in Reykjavík – many of the days planned by our friends at Pink Iceland.
The day nobody will forget was in April 2021. A few weeks after the eruption began at Fagradalsfjall, Jónsi and Sumarliði got married on the lava field with the volcano glowing behind them. Styrmir and Heiðdís took the photographs and I made the film – and the pictures travelled around the world, all the way to the BBC. Read the story of the volcano wedding.
Behind the scenes
A few of the stories we have shared from our days together over the years – most of them, unsurprisingly, from the volcano.
Why it matters that the photographer and filmmaker know each other
On a wedding day, a photographer and a videographer are always looking for the same moment from almost the same place. When they do not know each other, they step into each other’s frames, compete for the best spot or ask the couple to repeat things. When they do, it feels like one quiet team:
- We stay out of each other’s pictures. I know where Styrmir and Heiðdís will stand during the vows, and they know where my camera is.
- One plan for the day. We agree on the light, the locations and the timing together with the planner, so the couple hears one voice.
- No posing twice. Portraits are shared – they photograph, I film, and the two of you just enjoy the walk.
- Calm in bad weather. In Iceland plan B is part of every day. We have moved ceremonies together in rain, snow and storms, and it never feels like a crisis.
Booking us together
If you would like Styrmir and Heiðdís to photograph your wedding and me to film it, just mention it when you write to us – we will check our dates and coordinate everything between us and your planner. You can see their work at styrmir-heiddis.com. For ideas where to get married, see my guides to the best places to elope in Iceland and the best time of year.
Planning your elopement in Iceland?
Tell me your date and place – I’ll let you know if I’m free.
Check your date