South African wedding and elopement photographer

Meet Sharyn Hodges

Photographer, light chaser, awkward nerd, dog mum, coffee snob, and the person who will care about how your day feels as much as how it looks. Based in Plettenberg Bay, Sharyn photographs weddings and elopements across South Africa, Iceland, and wherever a good story leads.

Plettenberg Bay

Home base

Since 2015

Photographing stories

South Africa and Iceland

Where the work leads

Documentary and guided

How it feels

The reason behind the camera

A photograph can return a voice, a laugh, a whole feeling.

There is a photograph of Sharyn’s grandparents in her office. She sees it every day and still tries to remember their voices, the way they looked at her, and how they made her feel. That picture is more than an image. It is a living reminder of a story that still matters. That is why she chose this work. Since 2015, Sharyn has photographed weddings, elopements, couples, and families with the hope that years from now, the people in those pictures will feel it all again. Not only how everything looked, but how deeply they loved, laughed, and lived.

More than turning up with cameras

Support that lets you stay inside the day.

Good photographs begin long before the shutter. They begin with trust, thoughtful preparation, and knowing someone capable is paying attention to the things you should not have to carry.

Your experience

Feel like yourselves

Sharyn gives gentle direction when it helps, then makes space for the laughter, nerves, quiet glances, and glorious chaos that already belong to you.

Your planning

Use the local knowledge

From trusted vendors and thoughtful timelines to weather, light, locations, and backup ideas, Sharyn helps turn a beautiful plan into a day that can breathe.

Your photographs

Remember how it felt

The final gallery holds the sweeping landscape and the smallest human moments, made to take you back to the feeling rather than simply show what happened.

Feel like yourselves

Your experience Sharyn gives gentle direction when it helps, then makes space for the laughter, nerves, quiet glances, and glorious chaos that already belong to you.

Use the local knowledge

Your planning From trusted vendors and thoughtful timelines to weather, light, locations, and backup ideas, Sharyn helps turn a beautiful plan into a day that can breathe.

Remember how it felt

Your photographs The final gallery holds the sweeping landscape and the smallest human moments, made to take you back to the feeling rather than simply show what happened.

When the cameras are down

Salt air, golden retrievers, and coffee worth arguing about.

Home is Plettenberg Bay, morning walks with the dogs, an urban jungle of rare plants, strong coffee, and a growing collection of Harry Potter Lego. Sharyn has followed Formula One since childhood, is unapologetically Team Max, and still dreams of watching a race at Monza. Travel is the other great love. Twenty four countries so far, with a particular pull toward cold, historic places. Iceland feels like a second home, but Portugal, Patagonia, Japan, and New Zealand are still calling.

South Africa, Iceland, and the roads between

Curiosity is part of the job.

Exploring new places keeps the work alive. It teaches Sharyn to read changing weather, find honest light, notice the quieter route, and keep making photographs that feel connected to the landscape.

sharyn photographing a geothermal iceland landscape

an iceland elopement couple on a black sand beach

golden light across the river at emily moon

an adventurous iceland elopement photographed by sharyn

a couple exploring robberg near plettenberg bay

a wedding couple seated together on reflective water

Find the story that sounds like yours

Where do we begin?

Sharyn photographs celebrations and connections in different forms. Choose the route that matches what you are planning, then explore real work, practical information, and the right next step.

Close to home

South African Weddings

Garden Route coastlines, forests, rivers, vineyards, and celebrations photographed with honest energy.

Into the wild

Iceland Elopements

Planning insight and documentary photography for couples drawn to glaciers, waterfalls, black sand, and weather.

The whole crew

Family Stories

Relaxed Plettenberg Bay family sessions filled with movement, connection, sandy feet, and the people you love.

Just the two of you

Couple Sessions

Engagements, anniversaries, proposals, honeymoons, and ordinary love made memorable along the Garden Route.

South African Weddings

Close to home Garden Route coastlines, forests, rivers, vineyards, and celebrations photographed with honest energy.

Explore South Africa

Iceland Elopements

Into the wild Planning insight and documentary photography for couples drawn to glaciers, waterfalls, black sand, and weather.

Explore Iceland

Family Stories

The whole crew Relaxed Plettenberg Bay family sessions filled with movement, connection, sandy feet, and the people you love.

Explore family sessions

Couple Sessions

Just the two of you Engagements, anniversaries, proposals, honeymoons, and ordinary love made memorable along the Garden Route.

Explore couple sessions

Kind words

The person you invite matters.

Couples remember the photographs, but they also remember feeling safe, understood, and able to enjoy the people around them.

“

Sharyn was the first vendor I knew I needed to secure. She made us feel comfortable, relaxed, and completely ourselves.

Kirsten and Jonty

“

Sharyn captured not just how everything looked, but exactly how it felt. When we received our photographs, we both cried.

Camille and Nick

“

This woman is not just a photographer. She captures moments and she creates art.

Michaela and Andrea

Kind words

Kirsten and Jonty Sharyn was the first vendor I knew I needed to secure. She made us feel comfortable, relaxed, and completely ourselves.

More kind words

Kind words

Camille and Nick Sharyn captured not just how everything looked, but exactly how it felt. When we received our photographs, we both cried.

More kind words

Kind words

Michaela and Andrea This woman is not just a photographer. She captures moments and she creates art.

More kind words

The useful details

A little more about working with Sharyn.

Good fit is about more than loving a portfolio. These are the questions couples often want answered before reaching out.

Where is Sharyn Hodges based?

Sharyn is based in Plettenberg Bay on South Africa’s Garden Route and photographs weddings, elopements, couples, and families locally and further afield.

Does Sharyn travel for weddings and elopements?

Yes. Sharyn photographs celebrations across South Africa and internationally, with particular experience in Iceland and destination elopements.

How would you describe Sharyn's photography style?

Documentary, emotive, adventurous, and lightly guided. The aim is natural connection and honest moments, supported by thoughtful use of landscape and light.

What if we feel awkward in front of a camera?

That is completely normal. Sharyn uses simple prompts and gentle direction, then lets you settle into being together. You never need to arrive knowing how to pose.

Does Sharyn help with planning?

Yes. Support can include timelines, trusted vendor recommendations, location ideas, light and weather advice, and practical planning resources for South Africa and Iceland.

How do we enquire about a wedding or elopement?

Use the dedicated wedding and elopement enquiry page to share your date, location, and the first pieces of your story. Sharyn reads every enquiry personally.

If the photographs feel like you

Bring the story. Sharyn will bring the whole heart.

Tell Sharyn where you are, what you are planning, and the version of the day that already feels most like the two of you.