Jo Simoes

Jo Simoes is a professional photographer based in Gland, between Geneva and Lausanne, who photographs weddings across French-speaking Switzerland alongside portraits, families, corporate and event work. His Nyon wedding page says he has more than 200 weddings to his name and describes 15 years of weddings photographed without interrupting their natural flow. He promises to accompany the couple "avec sensibilité, discrétion et un regard artistique" (with sensitivity, discretion and an artistic eye), with the stated aim of turning memories into timeless images.

The wedding approach

Simoes describes his approach as natural, sincere and centered on real emotion. With the experience of so many weddings, he writes, he knows how to spot the small gestures, knowing glances and sincere emotions that tell a couple's love story, and the reportage is built together with the couple to stay true to who they are. His page on weddings in French-speaking Switzerland sets out the method in three short lines: he tells the wedding as it unfolds, without artifice; he records the big moments as well as the subtle details; and his goal is to let the couple relive their emotions again and again.

Three practical promises sit under a heading on the Nyon page. Delivery is quick, with photos ready in 15 to 30 days. Every image is backed up on several secure storage media. And under "Expérience & discrétion" he repeats the point that he works without breaking the natural course of the day.

Where he works

Gland is his base, and he describes himself as close to Nyon, Lausanne and Geneva and adaptable to any venue. Nyon gets a page of its own. In his words, "Nyon, avec sa vieille ville, ses vignobles, le château et sa vue sur le Léman, offre un cadre magique pour des photos naturelles et élégantes": the old town, the vineyards, the castle and the view over Lake Geneva make a fine setting for natural, elegant photos. He adds that he knows his way around there, with his own favorite corners.

Beyond Nyon, he writes that he photographs weddings throughout French-speaking Switzerland, and names the kinds of settings he covers: the historic lanes of Geneva, the lakeshore at Lausanne and wine estates in Lavaux. For a destination couple marrying on the Lake Geneva shore, that is exactly the stretch he calls home.

Prices

The Nyon page gives a clear starting point: his wedding services begin at CHF 450. Because every wedding is different, he offers packages adapted to the couple's wishes and day, from an intimate civil ceremony to a large celebration. The full detail, which he describes as example reportages, 2025/26 rates and included services, sits on a dedicated wedding page that the site links to, and he also runs a separate website specialized in weddings.

His portrait price list is published in full and gives a sense of how he structures work. The Express session is CHF 190 for 30 minutes with a choice of 5 photos, Classique is CHF 290 for 60 minutes with 10 photos, and Premium is CHF 390 for 90 minutes with 15 photos, each for 1 person and each with basic retouching. Options include studio hire at CHF 50, full makeup at CHF 120, an extra person at CHF 50, and all unretouched photos of a shoot for CHF 150. Sessions are mainly outdoors in natural or urban places, with a studio or a home visit possible. The prices cover private use; professional use gets a separate quote. After a portrait session he emails a link with all the photos within 24 hours so the client can pick favorites for retouching, and every photo from a session is kept, backed up twice, for 3 years, so extra images can be ordered later. The portrait page does not say whether the same rules apply to wedding photos.

Background

Simoes came to photography by an indirect route. He was a football goalkeeper in his youth and chose to keep football as a passion rather than turn professional. After an apprenticeship in retail management he worked in that field for several years, and discovered photography in multimedia roles. Self-taught, he started with landscapes and macro work on a Nikon, then moved to Canon. The turning point came when a friend asked him for portraits: the results were well received and his work quickly became known.

He went independent in 2008, after juggling a full-time job with photography, and opened his first studio in Gland in 2010. In 2019 he launched a YouTube channel with photography tips and tutorials and switched to Sony, marking the move with a video on the channel. Over the years his work widened from portraits to weddings, events and concerts. He mentions collaborations with well-known brands and newspapers and is the official photographer of the Miss & Mister Suisse Romande contest. Demand for training followed, and he now teaches through courses, workshops and the channel.

Booking and what to ask

The Nyon page closes with an invitation to talk: he would like to hear about the couple's date, venue and wishes, and to design a tailored photo reportage with them. The site offers a contact page and a "Discutons de votre mariage" (let's talk about your wedding) button rather than a published booking process for weddings.

The site is written in French and does not say whether he works in English, so that is the first thing an English-speaking couple should ask. The Nyon and Suisse romande pages also do not say what the CHF 450 starting package covers in hours, how many images a wedding produces, whether a second photographer or video can be added to a wedding, or what travel beyond the Lake Geneva region costs. Those answers sit on the wedding page he links to, or come in reply to an inquiry.

Who he suits

Simoes suits couples marrying around Nyon, Geneva, Lausanne or Lavaux who want a discreet, natural reportage from an experienced photographer who lives in the area. The low published entry price makes him approachable for a small civil ceremony, while his long portrait career and teaching work point to a photographer at ease with guiding people who are unsure in front of a camera. The caveats are a French-language site and wedding package details that have to be requested or read on his separate wedding page.