About

Elias outdoors in a beanie and hiking jacket with misty trees behind him.

Elias Choi-Buttinger

Meet Elias

Art and Nature

Elias sitting among sunlit rock formations.

Growing up in the Austrian countryside

I developed an intimate relationship with the mountains and the land.
Already as a child my safe and joyful space where the forests and hills around my home, so I started exploring – and expanded my radius bit by bit and finally started travelling the mountains and then the world, which to this day are still some of my biggest passions.
After may years of working on dark stages in my dance and choreography career I decided to replace lighting and stage design with the insane backdrop of the wonders of nature and make a shift to bring my art to the people and the environment that just makes me happy.

Your wedding – my choreography

My Story

I grew up in Austria as the son of artists Barbara Buttinger-Förster and Andreas Buttinger-Caspar, surrounded by art from the very beginning. I started breaking (breakdancing) around 2003, then moved into contemporary dance around 2011. Over the past roughly 12 years, I’ve worked professionally in contemporary dance. During my studies in contemporary dance, I met Wendy, my wife from Macau, who not only stole my heart but also became my perfect creative partner.

Together we’ve choreographed our way across three continents, while collecting awards as well as becoming kids – this two join us everywhere since then.

After dancing in many music videos like e.g. Parov Stelar Matilda, in 2014 I found my 2nd artistic love – MY CAMERA and started creating my own film and photography projects. I’ve always been chasing visual poetry in motion.

When I’m not capturing elopements in breathtaking landscapes, I’m probably getting outpaced by my kids on mountain trails or being reminded by my wife that not every sunset needs to be documented. My background in dance means I can not only capture your perfect day, but also teach you headstands on the top of the mountain – just if you want 😋.

Portrait of a woman looking back towards the camera on a beach.

Two children playing in the waves on a sandy beach.

Family of four sitting on a rocky viewpoint above the sea.

My Family

I met my wife Weng Teng (Wendy) during our common dance studies here in Austria and we have been creating art together ever since. She is from Macau originally and we married in 2016 – soon after we welcomed our first and then second children.

Between dance rehearsals, elopement shoots, and school pickups, we’ve learned that creativity doesn’t pause for parenthood—it just finds new expressions. Our children have become headstand experts and 1st AC by age five and have strong opinions about composition that they’re not shy about sharing (“More Mountains, Papa!”).
This delightful challenge of cultures, creativity, and constant movement isn’t just how we live—it’s the perspective I bring to every elopement I capture. I understand that the most meaningful moments happen in the beautiful in-between spaces: between countries, between traditions, between careful planning and wonderful surprises.
And that’s exactly where I‘ll meet you on your adventure.

The feeling we wanted to experience for ourselves

When Wendy and I got married 10 years ago, we didn’t know about eloping. Looking back, the idea of making space for just the two of us — and celebrating in a way that felt entirely our own — speaks to something we believe in deeply.

So later, we organised an elopement-style shoot together. It wasn’t another wedding ceremony. It was a chance to step into that feeling, understand it from the other side of the camera, and create beautiful photographs of us together.

That wish is personal to me: to have time for each other, to feel present, and to make photographs that hold more than the way a day looked. It is part of why I care so much about helping you find your own way to celebrate.

These photographs of us were taken by the wonderful Australian photographer Jed Foster.

Some of my favourite video projects

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