Jason (& Carley)
A surprise proposal in ghent.
Mariska was absolutely outstanding. Not only did she take such beautiful & creative photos, but they were also ready to view much earlier than originally anticipated. We could tell how much effort and care she put into this. Not to mention, she gave such great instructions on where to go and made a very stressful day (proposal) so much easier. She didn’t stop there though, she even went as far as to recommend places for us to eat & visit when we were in Brussels. Her attention to detail, care, positive energy & creativity were second to none. We were thrilled to have booked with her and would highly recommend her!
GOELE & IDRIS
A city hall wedding in ghent.
Voor onze trouw zochten we een fotograaf met 'een hoek af', iemand die niet op de klassieke, maar wél tijdloze manier onze dag zou vastleggen. En de foto's zijn nog te beter dan we hadden kunnen denken! Ze zijn uniek, met een vintage vibe en zeker een hoek af. Zo zo blij ermee.
Ook belangrijk om te weten: mijn man en ik zijn beide niet zo comfortabel om op foto's te staan. Wel, Mariska is een expert om hiermee om te gaan. Tijdens onze fotoshoot vergaten we soms dat er foto's genomen werden. Terugdenkend aan onze dag, was onze wandeling met Mariska door de stad om foto's te nemen, echt een hoogtepunt. Zeer op het gemak, oprecht,....Niets ongemakkelijks aan!
Ook onze gasten waren vol lof over haar. Ze blend in, maakt hier en daar een grapje en heeft oog voor mooie momenten vast te leggen.
Uiteindelijk zeggen beelden soms meer dan woorden, dus graag delen we enkele van haar prachtige foto's
Merci Mariska!
Je bent echt een talent.
Brussels' city hall Ceremony.
I found Mariska through an Instagram account I was following, I looked at her page and then her website and found that her photos were different from what I'd seen before. My husband and I aren't comfortable in front of the camera, as most people are, and what mostly struck us in Mariska's photos is that everyone looks relaxed, natural, and living in the moment. And she is just there to witness it and click at the right time. We liked that the photos were not posed or over-edited and that they had this romantic feel to them, so very artistic. I got in touch with her, and she replied really fast and made herself available to meet for a chat. We asked her to just do a Love Story for us right after the ceremony. Unbeknown to us, she showed up before the ceremony and snapped some shots of my husband while he waited for me! And then she clicked the city-hall ceremony and stuck around with us, for the Love Story session. She was so generous with her time, she made us feel comfortable in front of the lens, never told us what to do, just gave us some pointers, cracked some jokes, played some Whitney Houston, and worked her magic. I was ready to wait for my photos for 6 weeks, and she surprised us again by turning them in faster than we hoped. We loved all the photos, we never knew we could look so good, they are all exactly the way we could only have dreamt of; the sequence, the story they tell, Mariska is not a photographer, she is an artist and knows where to find the beauty in your special moments. Each photograph is a work of art, she has a gift I had never encountered before. My mom can't stop raving about our photos a month later, and I never tire of looking at them, they're perfect, natural, unphotoshopped... I can see us smiling at each other with so much love and reliving the happiest day of my life through my photos. I am so glad and grateful that we got Mariska to walk by us that day and that she captured these moments in time forever.
Laure & Damien.
Rose & Sigmund
A fairytale elopement in lake bled.
Dear Mariska,
Words cannot describe how grateful we are with my husband Sigmund for the opportunity to work with such a talented and friendly photographer! We are truly delighted! 💛
All the pictures are so beautiful that we could just stare at them all day. We absolutely love every single one of them!!! 😍
Your photos tell a story that even a million words couldn't express in such a beautiful way!
You truly have an amazing style of capturing beautiful moments.
Thank you so much for your great work that we will cherish forever.
Harrison's surprise proposal.
Our surprise engagement shoot with Mariska could not have been more perfect. Her professionalism and communication in handling everything from location, time, and route took all the anxiety out of planning a perfect moment. We could not be happier with the amazing pictures she took. Her eye for capturing us in the iconic spots of Ghent as well as several hidden gems resulted in an album that we absolutely loved.
Harrison & Anne Marie
Ghent, June 2023
Mariska was wonderful to work with. She photographed our family of five (children ages 18, 20, 22). It was our first family photos in five years. Mariska helped us feel comfortable and walked us around Bruges to the most scenic spots in early evening. She captured beautiful family pictures with outstanding scenery and lighting. We couldn't be happier.
Carly & family.
What others think of Utopia Photo:
“Waaaauwww Mariska!!!
Je foto’s zijn ZOT MOOI 😍😍!!
Zo blij dat we jou als onze fotograaf hadden: jouw stijl, jouw ideeën, de compositie ... De sfeer van de dag heb je zo mooi weergegeven. We beleven de dag weer helemaal opnieuw. Het dringt precies voor een tweede keer hoe zalig het was en hoe dankbaar we mogen zijn deze dag te hebben gehad!! Nagenieten in het kwadraat hier!!! Ontzettend bedankt!!”
“We are blown away and so moved! The colors, the attention to detail, the style ... they are just perfect! You have done a wonderful job and I am sure that you will make many others couples very happy! Thank you, they are crazy beautiful! I just love it! It will be so hard to make a choice for the album!”
“In 1 woord: WAUUUUUW!
Deze foto’s konden onze stoutste verwachtingen niet inlossen.
We zijn opnieuw verliefd!
Het was de mooiste dag van ons leven en nu herleven we die dag gewoon opnieuw.
Je bent geweldig in je werk en dat merk je ook.
Onze gasten en vrienden spraken ook vol lof.
Onze verlovingsshoot was al geweldig, maar dit is echt te gek voor woorden.
Bedankt om onze dag zo mooi vast te leggen! 😍”
“Mariska merci beaucoup pour les photos elles sont sensationnelles !!!
Mon père a versé une petite larme en les regardant.”
“Mariska.. comment dire.. Tu as fait des merveilles et tu nous sublimes des souvenirs figés dans le temps, que bébé aura la chance de contempler et de re- re- contempler.
Je suis admiratif de ton travail! Tu nous as bien cerné. Je repasserai par toi comme photographe attitré de la famille. Milles mercis!”
“It was a very great experience to let Mariska capture our wedding moments. She is such a professional, gentle and artistic photographer. We loved very much the way Mariska set up the scene with music, let us to be natural. She responded to our questions very fast and efficiently with clear explanations. If you liked vintage, artistic style, we do recommend Mariska. Any moment of your life could become a beautiful story under her lens. Also, she speaks perfectly English, French and Dutch.”
“Mariska is an outstanding photographer, she covered our small wedding last summer and really exceeded our expectations. Not only did she perfectly understand our personal preferences, she also brought in super creative ideas, we got absolute best wedding photos we could dream of, perfectly reflecting the mood of our day. Mariska is also super empathetic & friendly, it is obvious she really loves her job and is passionate about it. We recommend her to anyone who’s looking for a truly talented photographer.”
“Thank you again for capturing the special day for us.
"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment to tell us otherwise gone."
With your work, we always can go back in time and even share these memories with all who could not join us. And in the future also with our son.
Thank you again and keep on picturing memories in your special way. Love,”
“Incredibly kind, accommodating, and talented. Highly recommend!”
“Thank you for capturing our day!
You are so positive and nice, really happy to get acquainted with you!
Thank you so much for the wonderful wedding day shoot!
We watched the pictures with pleasure and joy, remembering what our day was like!
You perfectly conveyed our emotions. We've already sent them to our parents to share our joy.”
“Mariska is a great photographer. My fiancee and I did engagement photos with her and were very satisfied with the service. She brought many ideas to the photo shoot, but at the same time was open to listening to the ideas of my fiancee and me.
Highly Recommend her!!!”
“Merci énormément pour ces superbes photos. Nous sommes TRÈS contents de la qualité, du style et du rendu de tes photos! Ce sont des souvenirs inestimables et ils seront d'autant plus appréciés avec la superbe touche que tu as su leur apporter. Merci mille fois d'avoir été à l'écoute de nos envies, d'avoir capturé tous ces sourires et la spontanéité de ces instants.”
“J'ai été très contente et satisfaite d'avoir choisi Mariska comme photographe. Son travail est superbe et elle nous a mise à l'aise lors du shooting. C'est une personne vraiment humaine, professionnelle et le résultat est tout simplement magnifique ! Je la recommande sans hésiter et espère renouveler très bientôt cette expérience ! Merci infiniment !”
“Dankjewel om onze dag zo mooi vast te leggen!
De foto's zijn een prachtige herinnering.
Liefs,”
“Definitely my go-to photographer in Brussels for my social media channels. Mariska is great to hang out with, has a great understanding of contemporary styles and yet manages to create original and outstanding images.”
“I absolutely love our pictures from Utopia Photo. Mariska is very talented and I love her artistic style. I highly recommend her!”
“I highly recommend Mariska for all your photography needs! She arrived at our session with her equipment ready to go, making me feel like I was in professional and capable hands. Our photoshoot lasted about an hour
and she delivered the best portraits of myself I have ever seen faster than I anticipated. Mariska is such a friendly and confident photographer, she made me feel completely at ease during our shoot. 10 out of 10 for Utopia Photo!”
“Thank you so much for your dedication and effort!
THEY ARE AMAZING !!! :D
You have a great talent, keep walking with passion you will give so much happiness to the world !!
See you next time :D”
Eerder toevallig bij Utopia Photo terechtgekomen (na een oproep op Facebook), maar wat ben ik blij dat we Mariska als onze huwelijksfotograaf hebben gekozen.
Ikzelf ben amateurfotograaf, en had zo mijn (buitenproportionele) eisen. Een foutloze technische beheersing, een leuke, warme en consistente stijl, artistiek, oog voor detail, iemand met passie en zo veel meer... :-)
En dat hebben we gekregen!
Bovenop de wondermooie foto's, stijl van fotograferen, hoe ze alle emoties perfect op foto vastlegt, hebben we ook nog eens mogen kennismaken met de persoon Mariska.
Mariska was niet te zichtbaar, wel de hele dag aanwezig. Onopvallend weet ze de mooiste foto's te maken! Ook bij de huwelijksshoot, weet ze onze verlegenheid gemakkelijk te omzeilen door haar spontaniteit en coole muziek!
En dan krijg je heel de dag door nog eens complimenten van familie en vrienden omwille van haar joviaal, warm karakter en vlotte omgang met iedereen. Tot zelfs een dans met zoonlief! :-D Enkel positieve reacties!
Mariska kent duidelijk haar vak. We wensen haar nog veel succes in haar verdere carrière, maar dat kan volgens ons niet mislukken!
Kevin & Kelly
“I had the opportunity to do a "solo" shoot in the streets of Brussels with Mariska, for my Instagram account. I was delighted with the result! I received a lot of compliments on my photos! She is very professional; she took the time necessary to take beautiful photos, and these were sent to me very quickly and in top quality. Whether for an experienced model or a beginner,
I recommend Mariska a 100% because she is kind, patient and has no difficulty making people feel at ease.”
“Mariska a été très réactive et m’a mise à l’aise immédiatement. Le shooting a été très agréable et le processus a été très naturel.”
“Thank you for the photos! We love them, they are all super beautiful! You did a great job and the light is incredible!! Now we just have to choose one for save the date cards.”
