What is your most memorable wedding?
Oh goodness, every single one! I could sit and describe them all!
Describe your style in 5 adjectives.
Relaxed. Calm. Classic. Emotive.
What about your business are you most proud of?
The reputation that we've built for great service. It's one of the things that sets us apart. We think it's as important to have a wonderful experience as it is to get great photos.
What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?
Be yourselves! Do what feels right for you rather than what you think you should do or following tradition because it's traditional. That way you'll feel relaxed, at ease and have a great time; which means you'll really shine in your photos.
What is your favourite personal touch you have seen at a wedding?
I videoed a wedding at Swancar Farm a couple of years where the Groom (a professional singer song-writer) played piano and sang a song that he'd written for the Bride as a surprise during his speech. There wasn't a dry eye in the room!
Describe your typical process with a couple.
I'll try to keep this short ... it usually starts with a consultation and then before the big day there's a pre-wedding shoot and planning meeting. Couples give me feedback on what they like best from their pre-wedding shoot so I know what to focus on for their wedding day portraits. In the planning meeting we go through timings, group photos and any specific requests. I'm always around to answer questions via email and on the phone too. Come the wedding day, I generally photograph from getting ready to the first dance. Afterwards there's a lot of post-production and then couples come to see their photos (usually a couple of weeks after the wedding) at our office (which looks nothing like an office BTW). Most couples have an album and we start work on that as soon as the photos are ready.
What is the No. 1 photo that you think every couple should take?
A picture of the two of you together. Even if you only spend 5 minutes on it and it's as simple as going for a walk and having some photos taken along the way. That might be your only chance to get a photo where you can both be seen clearly at the same time.
What is the most original photo you’ve been asked to take at a wedding?
As a documentary wedding photographer this is a tricky one to answer because most of our work is captured naturally as things happen. So in a sense every photo is original.
But a photo that sticks out in our mind at one wedding was a group photo of everyone that we had to take from the raised scoop of a digger to get high enough! The farmer thought it was funny to pretend he'd forgotten about us and left us up there to fret for a while!
What do you recommend for a rainy day wedding?
Plan for it! When you're choosing your venue make sure there's an indoor space that's large enough and that has plenty of natural light to do your group photos. Be flexible over your list of group photos - larger ones may not be possible inside. Have large umbrellas; plain white ones are best as coloured ones tend to reflect colours onto your face and logos can be distracting. If it does rain on the day go with the flow and you'll still have a great time.
Describe how you got into photography.
I came to photography as a second career after working in marketing for around 8 years. I've always seen the world in pictures so one day I went on a course to learn how to use an SLR camera, loved it and decided to give it a go professionally. I've been doing it for 10 years now and love every minute.