Hey! I have been a wedding photographer for 3 years now, photographing my first ever wedding in December 2019, right before covid came along and changed our world. It’s been an incredible journey so far, full of highs and lows, a lot of learning opportunities with thousands and thousands of photos created! During the past 3 years, I have really found my flow, my style, the way I like to work with my clients and I have discovered the type of wedding photographer I want to be.

What is most important for me, is that my clients feel comfortable in front of the camera. I think it takes a bit, to warm up initially, that is only natural as most of us are not models. I myself feel un-natural and awkward when having my photo taken so I have a lot of empathy for how my clients feel in that situation. I like to focus on tasks, such as walking, holding hands and dancing with each other to break that initial ice and get my clients to forget about the camera and instead focus on themselves.

After 5 to 10 minutes (some people take longer than others), I start to notice couples relax and start to enjoy it, and get a bit more confident and that is when the photoshoot really begins. Then we can move onto the more directional prompts, me offering a lot of posing advice such as how to stand, where to put those arms, what to look at, whether to smile or look serious. I love to use this phase of the photoshoot to get creative and try new things, discover the best poses that work for the couple.

And then the final phase, once the shoot is really becoming a lot of fun, I let the couple just be themselves, embrace as they feel comfortable, forget that I am there, just enjoy one another and be together. By this point, they are used to being in front of my camera, more relaxed, happy to just let loose and be themselves.

I love the different style of photos I get with these 3 phases of the photoshoot, it creates 3 very different vibes and a good variety of images with different emotions and body language, as you can see from these 3 photos.

These techniques are just a small part of my way to help my couples to relax, feel natural and comfortable during a photoshoot with me, and I have many other tricks up my sleeve to help, but I know it is so important for the whole photography experience to be enjoyable and easy, not stressful and nerve-wracking. Ultimately if I can make it fun and relax, I have done my job well and I know I will get the best photos.

These photos were all taken at Allely Estate in Kumeu, Auckland, where they have a beautiful field of long grass that is the perfect location for amazing wedding portraits.

To see more of my Auckland Wedding Photography work, head HERE