IG: @zoeandreas - website

Briefly say hi and tell us a little about yourself.

Hi! I'm Zoe Andreas, a UK-based travel photographer, writer and professional space hopper. When I'm not in my editing and literary hole, I flit between artworking, retouching, and project-stroke-production management for fashion houses and creative agencies. The line between my working and out-of-office hours is (and has always been) blurry because I have a lot of desk-based interests; before photography, there was illustration, and before writing about travel, I wrote fictional stories—both of which I casually dip back into. 

How did you get into travel photography?

It was a very amateur start with my travel blog in 2014. I was just point-and-clicking—mostly on my phone because I didn't like lugging my camera around. A few years later, I got myself a compact cam, but I was in auto mode and shooting JPEGs until 2019, when I enrolled in a beginner's course at the London School of Photography. It wasn't until almost a year into the pandemic, when the UK entered its third national lockdown, that I considered taking photography more seriously—purely out of boredom, which seems insane now. Even as restrictions began to ease, I stayed inside, pouring over other photographers' work, honing my style, and learning about lenses and the travel journalism industry. I was still resisting the idea of shouldering a bulkier camera until it was forced on me (in the best of ways) last year when I met Lottie Rose on Instagram (@lottiie). After our first video call, she sent me her old Fujifilm body in the post—from Croatia to the UK, with love. I owe a lot to her act of kindness.

Does where you are from affect your work/style? If so, how?

I forever want to escape the grey of England, so the majority of my photography takes place in sunnier climes. My editing style somewhat stems from my day job: depending on which hat I'm wearing, I'm either the person retouching other photographers' photos or marking up their images with retouch notes. So, I'm well versed in Photoshop and have an acute eye for cleaning an image without stripping its authenticity. 

Where do you find inspiration and what are some things that influence your work?

I'm a romantic—everything inspires me. My influences are an amalgamation of everything I consume. The sun, the moon, the stars; the books I read and the films I watch; design in all its forms—editorial layouts, fashion campaigns, architecture and interiors; Instagram (I have a purely photography-focussed account so that I don't get distracted). And, of course, travel. Also, there's nothing quite like heartbreak to get the writing juices flowing—sob, sob.

During your travels, what are some of the places that have left a lasting impression on you?

One of the great things about being a photographer and writer is that your work savours the memory. So, in that sense, mostly everywhere leaves some form of lasting impression on me. I have a huge crush on Greece's mainland in general; it's less commercial than its islands and is road-trip heaven. But there's magic by night in Florence's opera-filled streets and the starry sky of Monemvasia—those are my two favourite places.

Do you have any travel tips for others?

I used to have this rule of never returning to the same place twice—the world is big, time is short, why tarnish a memory with a trip that may not live up to the first? I broke that rule to reunite with someone I met while traveling, and I've not stopped breaking it since. So, if you love a place, my tip is to go back to it. When you visit somewhere once, you skim its surface; when you return, you skip all the touristy stuff you crammed into your first trip, so your lens changes. You start to build a connection to the area. It becomes familiar, homely even.