A couple of days before the bridal shoot with Rose, I went ahead and hired a simple (yet elegant) dress for her. Having had the wardrobe on hand, I confidently went location scouting. I did look at a number of venues, but one that kind of stuck was (more…)
Andrew Abrau – Riverhead Forest Model Shoot
So this post is a few weeks late, but I am a firm believer of ‘better late than never’. I received a message on Facebook, from a drag artist (a very talented one at that!) wanting to do a little collaboration with some set pieces that she had created. I jumped at the chance! And the great thing was, I had only just (more…)
Aaron & Kyla – Queenstown Wedding
Photographing Aaron and Kyla’s wedding was an interesting experience, partly because they are both wedding photographers based in Auckland! Throughout the day they would improvise on certain poses and that made the entire day much more enjoyable. Queenstown is truly a great location for weddings, more so during the Autumn season!
This entire experience was enriching and just filled with beauty. I cannot thank Aaron and Kyla enough for giving me this wonderful opportunity to document their big day!
Markus & Katharina – Lake Tekapo Wedding
Upon meeting Markus and Katharina for the first ten minutes, it was not hard to see how these two individuals got together in the first place. THEY ARE SO ALIKE! Granted that was just my first impression of the couple, but throughout the day this notion just gets strengthened more and more, they were made for each other. The dynamics between the two was just incredible. The couple chose to have their wedding take place in Lake Tekapo, in the South Island of New Zealand. We had the opportunity to hold the ceremony up on Cowans Hill, with a great view to Mt. John and the lake.
Markus and Katharina were fun, spontaneous, and game for pretty much anything. I had a great time photographing their wedding! Thank you guys!
Michael & Nicole – Lake Tekapo Wedding
When I heard that Michael and Nicole would be bringing their little girl to the vow renewal, I just could not help but imagine all the wonderful memories and moments that would be created. Vow renewals are such meaningful occasions! The wonderful couple decided to have their vows renewed in the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Lake Tekapo New Zealand. Having gone through the ceremony, it was obvious just from the way they looked at each other, that Michael and Nicole’s feelings for each other hadn’t changed a bit since their marriage ten years ago, if not deeper.
The ceremony’s intimate ambiance was enhanced by the attendance of their close friends, who clearly shared their joy and excitement. We ended the day with a thrilling helicopter ride up to one of the snowy peaks surrounding Mt. Cook, and we had a great time up there (yes, the understatement of the day..)
The day ended with everyone feeling thrilled, tired and happy. Michael and Nicole, thank you so much for entrusting me with your memories! It was my genuine pleasure to be a part of it.
Wayne & Selina – Auckland Winter Gardens Wedding
It was quite a last minute arrangement, when I was contacted to cover Wayne and Selina’s intimate wedding just a few days prior. They were a great pair to work with, and it was a pleasure to have met their family members (some of the nicest people ever)! They chose to hold their ceremony at the Winter Gardens in the Auckland Domain and (more…)
Peter & Ashleigh – Auckland City Wedding
An Auckland pre-wedding shoot, from a different perspective
One of the better ways to keep my mind fresh and my eyes keen, is by being the secondary shooter in weddings, or a pre-wedding shoot in this case.
It was a typical day in Auckland (in Spring), where the skies go from blue to grey in a matter of seconds. I was photographing a couple at Cornwall Park, but this time as a secondary photographer. Even though being the main photographer is great, but sometimes taking a back seat to the ‘action’ and capturing events unfold (more…)
Perspective
My partner had to leave the country (more…)
Unplugged Weddings: Yay or Nay?
From what I have noticed during conversations with my clients, not many couples consider whether to keep their wedding unplugged or not. This is totally understandable as phones with cameras have become a norm in our lives. Having such a device in your pocket does tempt you to document things that you used to just happily ‘soak in’ with your eyes – and one of the things here include weddings.
Now it is not to say that the entire wedding has to stay unplugged, I think even many photographers can agree that is both unreasonable and virtually impossible :p In my opinion, keeping the ceremony unplugged is the key here. Let me list the simple reasons and you can see if you agree with them.
The first thing that comes to mind is that ceremonies typically last only 15 to 30 minutes, which is a very reasonable amount of time to have guests leave their camera phones in their pockets, since the duration is short. This also enables them to better immerse in the experience, to listen and react to the wedding vows that you and your significant other had painstakingly come up with before the wedding! Occasionally, a guest might forget to put his/her mobile device on silent and the sound of cameras ‘clicking’ can take the experience away from the intimate moments. Another obvious point is that having smart phones and even tablets waving in the air during key moments of the ceremony does affect the ability of the photographer to do his/her job! Yes the same photographer that you have invested in to document your wedding, and it is really hard to capture the moments when you are competing with a bunch of other LCD monitors shrouding your view of the couple. Ok this paragraph is super long, but bear with me as this will be the final point, which is also the one that most people seem to miss out on. With the use of social media, your wedding photos may see itself floating around in cyberspace earlier than you would want it to, because guests can easily post them on Facebook or Instagram right when the ceremony is still on-going. From talking to my clients, a lot of them prefer that the photographer provide a couple of ‘sneak peak’ photos for them to post on social media which allows them to share their big day with their friends and relatives, instead of having snapshots of their wedding making rounds in cyberspace even before the day has ended.
Phew.. that was a long one, and I appreciate your effort for sticking till the end! So for those of you who are still in the midst of planning, do keep this in mind and I am sure you will make the best decision that suits your needs and preference 🙂
Have a look at my previous posts on wedding FAQs here and here to see if you missed out on any aspects of your wedding planning 🙂
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