My Approach to Photographing a Session or Wedding
Like any art form, photographers all have their own unique approach to creating a photograph. As a people photographer my goal is to capture the real, natural and raw expressions of people that make them so wonderfully unique. While some people like to pose their subjects with a “smile for the camera” approach, my approach is quite different.
Relaxed & Fun
Knowing how uncomfortable I can feel when people take a photograph of me (especially the “say cheese!” kind), I decided to take a far more natural approach to taking photographs. With the goal that by an end of a session with me you won’t even feel like you’ve just spent hours having photographs taken.
Instead of taking an entirely directive approach such as “tilt your head this way”, “smile for the camera” etc I like to engage on a more personal level. “Tell me how you met!”, “Show me your best dance moves”, “run at me!”, “sway around”, “give her a little kiss”. These are more the phrases that you’ll hear me using during one of our shoots together. We’ll go for a walk, have a chat and relax, so that you don’t even feel like we’re taking photos. The result is organic photos full of real laughter and emotion! Personally, my favourite kind!
Lots of Movement
During a shoot I like to move around a lot! My favourite lenses are prime lenses (no zoom), so I’ll be running back and forth getting all kinds of angles. I’ll also get you to move a lot too! We’ll walk, run, sway and dance. I’ll talk to you during the shoot to capture those natural in between expressions and little glances at each other. Life is full of movement, and so I love my photos to be full of movement too!
I reeeallllllly love what I do
If I see a gorgeous ray of light or a big old beautiful tree I will get excited! I love using beautiful light and taking photos in beautiful places full of a character all their own. I normally have a crystal, prism and/or piece of glass in my bag (or I’ll just borrow a wine glass!) loving to take artistic photos with prisms, reflections and a little bit of haze, created right there in camera. I’ll also involve nature in my photos, a lot! Guaranteed if there is a bush or tree or some flowers you’ll find me crawling into the bush or crouching down behind the flower to create some gorgeous forced framing and natural bokeh. I love trying new and creative things, and staying fresh in my photography.
I'm Like a Moth
Just like a moth, I'm drawn to the light! I'm at my happiest when the sun is out and shining brightly, creating long and delicious shadows and lots of yummy flares, halos and haze. If I know beautiful light is just at the top of "that hill", I'll ask you to climb the hill with me. I love seeking out the most beautiful light of any location, sticking with natural light as much as I can! (But always with a flash handy, just in case.) I have a sun compass on my phone, and I will follow it to the sun and use it to get sunset photos at just the right time. I plan shoots as much as I can around the light.
And thats me in a nutshell! If you don’t like having your photo taken, or you love having fun, or you love photos that are natural, real & organic, then that’s me! I don’t like fussy posing or being overly directive and controlling. But I do love creating images that are full of natural beauty, life, movement and emotion. I love the whimsy of natural and candid life. xx