SURRENDER COMMISSIONS

“Over the years, I have come to see marriage as a journey of deep self-acceptance and mutual surrender. Surrendering means allowing yourself to move away from what you think “should” happen. Releasing the pressure of the expected creates space for genuine, unscripted moments of connection.”

I am a photographer drawn to capturing our last universal ritual. My purpose is to free images from expectation and show my subjects simply as they are.

My role in a wedding often sits outside the typical. Rather than directing from a distance, I work through immersion by building trust, forming genuine connections, and participating fully in the day. The works I create aren’t editorial or commercial—they are honest portraits of humanness, captured through shared experience.

Each collaboration begins with a conversation and casual portraits. We will get to know each other and find the approach that makes you feel most comfortable.

On the day of the celebration, I am the photographer whom some people will mistake for a guest. Even though I sit amongst family and friends, I am always photographing and always moving, capturing moments from the inside.

After the celebration, we meet inperson for an informal unveiling of your handmade folio. This meeting is an opportunity to reflect on the work together and to discuss the creation of a handmade artist book. These books offer a way to experience the photographs away from screens, as lasting objects meant to be held, shared, and returned to over time.

These are the fundamentals of my approach. Let’s meet or chat on the phone so that I can answer any questions you may have.

Holger Thoss

+1 212 627 8829
holger@holgerthoss.com

THE SURRENDER MANIFESTO

The SURRENDER series is a departure from traditional event documentation. It is a commitment to the unscripted, the quiet, and the profound. To achieve this, I operate under the following principles:

OBSERVATION OVER DIRECTION The camera serves as a witness, never a director. By stripping away the artifice of the pose, I invite the genuine cadence of the moment to reveal itself.

PRESENCE OVER PERFORMANCE The most profound truths inhabit the pauses. I prioritize the "quiet eye," capturing the high-stakes theater of human connection exactly as it is lived, rather than how it is performed.

THE PHYSICALITY OF GRACE A celebration is a dialogue between people, light, and space. I document the environmental context that grants a ritual its gravity and its grace.

MUTUAL SURRENDER The process requires a shared release. When the subject abandons the expectation of what "should" happen, they create the sanctuary necessary for an unscripted reality to emerge.

THE TANGIBLE LEGACY A digital file is ephemeral; a physical archive is an inheritance. Every chronicle finds its ultimate expression in a tactile, handmade work of art—the artist book and fine print.

Enduring Aesthetics I eschew fleeting industry trends in favor of a minimalist, sophisticated aesthetic designed to remain powerful for generations.

HOLGER THOSS

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