Alexia Rae Costello at just 24 years of age is a renowned photographer of the region, shooting for clients in Samoa, Fiji and beyond.

The journey to becoming the photographer started fresh out of high school when she co-worked for NADI BAY PHOTOGRAPHY (a wedding photography company in Nadi, Fiji). 

She later moved on to complete a 6-month mission with YWAM in Hawaii and Nepal. The rising photographer set her anchor in the shores of Samoa following this project as her family migrated into the country.

Alexia says photography has always been a dream yet it wasn’t until requests for photoshoots started coming in had she realized that she could definitely take her talent to the professional level. What was mere fun and art in capturing moments with her friends on Instagram later evolved into the company she now manages: Sincerely Alexia Rae.

The photography company has grown with her creativity and eye for detail. She loves travelling and capturing the moments as she discovers the marvel of new sights. Her inspiration comes from downright loving life and interacting with people.

Capturing a moment and keeping it forever is a persistent aspect that fuels the energy and art behind the shots. It is as if time was frozen with every scene she captured.

Sustainable living, is a message Alexia conveys with her shoots. With the impact on the climate, she believes that recycling will make a difference in our world and the lives of people.

Thus she has advertised thrifting as a form of sustainable living, a fast road for fashion and as a fun process in which excitement and curiosity pour in.

With the rising mass production and sales of synthetic clothing material from plastic; landfills will be continually full of this waste as synthetic fibres cannot decompose. 

As a contribution to the community, she has mainly collaborated with brands that stand for such sustainability to uphold the awareness of this issue through her work.

The extraordinary innovation and development of her career not only as a skilled wedding photographer has truly been reflected from her work as she has collaborated with sustainable brands such as MATTER Prints, Mailelani and Aleph Beauty. 

As a manager, editor and travelling photographer majoring in weddings and brand collaborations at once, her schedule is almost always fully booked. So photography like any other occupation is a challenging feat indeed. 

Yet the challenge does not hinder her from pursuing her passion. Alexia’s faith and trust in Jesus Christ has been the core motivation and strength behind her success as a photographer. With her faith, she intends to help clients and friends by conveying spiritual fruits of love, kindness and joy as she believes this a part of sharing God’s love.  

In addition to planning, thinking creatively and capturing photos, the most time-consuming part in photography is editing the photos. With the imperfection of man-made lenses, the actual colours, contrast and atmosphere is not depicted to completion as the photographer would see. So if you are thinking of making photography your career you will be editing a great deal.

Alexia believes that aspiring photographers should not limit themselves to a certain area. Although weddings are her forte and cup of fervour she has gone out of her comfort zone to pursue shoots for fashion labels to showcase sustainable living with brand collaborations. Think big!

Young people targeting to pursue photography should not take the step ahead for the sake of joining in the craze or hype is Alexia’s advice. Career decisions should be intentional as it is not always easy, there is a lot of work behind producing the vivid and artistic photos. 

There is advertising, going in to securing a deal with the client to actually carrying out the work requires a great deal of effort and time. If you have the heart and passion for photography, then all you need to do be committed, research, develop your skills and expose yourself.

And most importantly, be unique and do not limit yourself to one country, area or circle of clients.  You can travel the world and expand your horizon doing what you love!

You can follow and keep up with Alexia Rae’s journey on Instagram or Facebook at @sincerely.alexiarae, @alexiarae.weddings and @shop.alexiarae