Hi, I'm Mateusz

Q: Do you travel outside Warsaw for shoots?

Yes. Warsaw is my base, but I travel. By default I plan trips that fit into a single day: Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, Lodz, Lublin, Bialystok, Kielce, Radom, Olsztyn, Czestochowa, the Tricity area (Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia), and the whole Katowice metropolitan area. Longer trips are possible too: if the shoot needs two days or the place is further out, we price it individually. Travel up to 50 km from my address (shortest road route) is included; beyond that it costs 1.50 PLN per kilometre over that limit (the rate already covers the round trip), and beyond 150 km I price it individually. Your city not on the list? Get in touch, I'll check whether the trip makes sense.

Mateusz Pawlik — commercial photographer, Warsaw

My name is Mateusz Pawlik, a photographer from Warsaw, Poland. I shoot tests for model agencies, modelling portfolios, personal-branding and creative sessions for private clients, and sessions for brands. I’m at home on set in both Polish and English. I spent years writing software, and I set up light the way you hunt for a bug in a program: step by step, lamp by lamp, with the whole picture already in my head.

My style

Strong color, a bold concept, frames that stand out in the feed: that’s my direction. Every session gets its own idea, not a ready-made template.

Where the light comes from

Studio light pulled me in before I properly started taking photos. In secondary school a friend and I built our own disco lighting. More improvisation than electronics, but that was the first time I saw that light can steer the mood of a room.

For years after that I wrote software, and it turned out the analytical approach works on set too: light goes together the way you hunt a bug in a program: one step at a time, one lamp at a time, with a finished vision in your head of how the whole thing should look. It sounds unromantic, and what comes out of it is calm on set: when something doesn’t look the way I want, I know what to change instead of guessing.

Who I learned from

I learned photography at workshops with Maciej Pestka, Filip Klimaszewski, Jakub Kaźmierczyk, Mariusz Tokajuk and Piotr Stach, among others: photographers whose style and approach I respect. Their work appears in the press, on billboards and in campaigns for well-known brands and people.

A few specifics

Working in the studio regularly since 2024.
More than 100 sessions delivered.
I run sessions in Polish and English.
Reviews of my sessions are on my Google Business Profile. I’m also on Kavyar and Klisha.
A reply usually within a few hours: write through the form, by email at foto@matee.net or on Instagram @matee.photo.

Who I work with

Model agencies (tests and digitals), models (portfolio), private clients (sessions) and brands (signature campaigns, commercial collaboration).

Where I shoot

I shoot mostly in Warsaw, but if you’re somewhere else, that’s not a problem. I travel and I like doing it: tell me where you are and I’ll tell you how to make it work. There’s usually a way.

I don’t own a studio and I treat that as an advantage: I start from what the photos should look like and pick the place afterwards. One interior works for agency polaroids, another for a sunlit summer shoot, another for a brand’s shooting day. Outdoors it works the same way: the first decision is the time of day and the light, not the address. More on how I pick a place is on the Warsaw studios page.

From message to photos

You tell me what you’re after, and I come back with a concept, a date and a place. Then we settle the moodboard (a set of reference images showing the mood, the light and the framing) and styling, we shoot, and you get the photos within the timings listed next to that session’s price list.

The options are model tests and digitals, a women’s photoshoot, outdoor, sports and boudoir. If your idea isn’t on that list, there’s the tailored session. Brands will find the terms on the commercial collaboration page, and examples in signature campaigns and portfolio.

On set

The pose serves the picture, not the other way round. On a test or a private session that means natural: I’d rather have a frame where the person in front of the camera looks like themselves on a good day than a rehearsed pose. In high fashion or twisted wide-angle street work it’s the opposite: the pose is meant to be exaggerated, because that’s what the concept rests on. Then we settle it before the shoot, with references, instead of inventing it on set.

That’s why the decisions have to be made beforehand: a moodboard with specific frames, styling agreed, the light ready for the first shot. What’s left on set is the best part: seeing what comes out of it. Models and clients say it’s relaxed and professional at the same time:

“Mateusz is an awesome guy, super positive, and a first-class photographer. He’s very well organized and full of ideas.” — Joanna Urbańska, makeup artist

“Friendly atmosphere, lots of great ideas for photos, highly recommend.” — Angelika Kusa, model

Want to chat about a session? Get in touch, I usually reply within a few hours. Working with a brand? Check out the commercial collaboration page.

FAQ

I've been working in the studio regularly since 2024. So far that adds up to more than 100 sessions delivered: with model agencies, models and private clients.

Polish and English. The brief, the moodboard and the directing on set work the same way in both: pick whichever you're more comfortable in.

Usually within a few hours. Write through the contact form or by email at foto@matee.net.

No, and I treat that as an advantage. I rent a studio for a specific shoot, so I start from the question of what the pictures should look like (bright and soft, or dark and raw), and only then look for an address. You don't have to pick the place yourself: I book it and send the address together with the date confirmation. More on the Warsaw studios page.

Because the date and the place are one decision, not two. I don't have my own studio, I rent one for a specific shoot, so until I know what kind of pictures we're making, I don't know which space can carry it or when it's free. A click-to-book calendar would promise availability I can't confirm before we've talked. Get in touch, tell me what you need and roughly when suits you, and I'll come back with a proposed date and place.

Yes. Warsaw is my base, but I travel. By default I plan trips that fit into a single day: Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, Lodz, Lublin, Bialystok, Kielce, Radom, Olsztyn, Czestochowa, the Tricity area (Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia), and the whole Katowice metropolitan area. Longer trips are possible too: if the shoot needs two days or the place is further out, we price it individually. Travel up to 50 km from my address (shortest road route) is included; beyond that it costs 1.50 PLN per kilometre over that limit (the rate already covers the round trip), and beyond 150 km I price it individually. Your city not on the list? Get in touch, I'll check whether the trip makes sense.