About Me
Bird · SiamelleA wedding day is full of moments most people forget until they see the photos: the nervous laugh right before the ceremony starts, the look a couple gives each other when they think no one's watching. Those are the moments I chase.
I'm Bird, or Anuphong Khienthong on paperwork, a wedding photographer and filmmaker based in Thailand, with Koh Samui as my main base. For two years, I've covered weddings on the island and across the country.
A documentary eye, with room for creative portraits
My style blends documentary storytelling with creative portraiture. There's a moment I look for at every wedding: right after the ceremony ends, before anyone pulls the couple into group photos, I ask them to just walk. No direction, no posing, just the two of them moving toward the reception or down to the water. I stay back with a long lens and let it happen. It's usually the shot couples end up loving most, because it's the one moment all day where nobody told them what to do.
A lot of the couples I work with tell me, before the day even starts, that they feel awkward in front of a camera. Usually I don't even bring the camera up for the first ten minutes. I'll ask what they had for breakfast, tease the groom about his shoes, anything that gets them talking to each other instead of posing for me.
Experience across cultures and ceremonies
Thailand draws couples from all over the world, and my work reflects that. I've covered beach ceremonies, villa weddings, and celebrations at resorts on Koh Samui and beyond, alongside destination weddings for couples who fly in specifically to marry here.
I've photographed Catholic ceremonies, Christian church weddings, Buddhist blessing ceremonies, and civil and symbolic ceremonies, each with its own structure and its own moments that matter most to the families involved.
Multi-day, multi-tradition celebrations bring their own demands. On the Indian weddings I've covered, I've worked across the full run of events, from the pre-wedding celebrations through to the ceremony itself and the reception that follows.
Coverage like this only works with preparation. I work closely with planners and families ahead of time, so the order of events, the key family moments, and the traditions that matter most are all understood before I take the first photo.
How I actually cover the day
A wedding day rarely goes exactly to plan, and that's fine. I try to stay close enough during the ceremony to catch the small reactions, but far enough back that nobody in the pews is thinking about the camera instead of the couple.
Weather in Thailand can change quickly, especially outdoors. I keep shooting whenever it's safe to do so, and I have backup plans for indoor locations when needed. Flexibility is part of the job here, not an exception to it.
I shoot on two Sony A7 IV and A7 V bodies, so a single equipment failure never means lost coverage, and every card gets backed up before I leave the venue. It's not glamorous, but it's the part of the job that protects the day you can't repeat.
Working with a crew
For most weddings, I don't work alone. Depending on the size and pace of the day, I bring in a second photographer to cover angles and moments I can't be in two places for at once.
On video projects, I work alongside an optional second videographer, so ceremony coverage, drone footage where it's permitted, and quieter behind-the-scenes moments all get captured without either of us rushing between tasks.
Language and communication
I communicate in both English and Thai, which helps when I'm working with international couples, local vendors, and venue staff on the same event. Clear communication before the wedding day is a big part of why the coverage runs smoothly once the day arrives. Most clients just call me Bird, so feel free to use that from the first message.
Why this stays worth doing
I've photographed over 100 weddings across Thailand at this point, and the moments that make me stop and pay attention are still the small ones, not the posed ones. Outside of weddings, I keep developing my skills in photography and filmmaking, and I spend time traveling and exploring new places, which shapes the way I see light and story on every new shoot.