Black sand, bush and that long west coast light. This is the part of Auckland I know best, and the part that photographs like nowhere else in the country.
There is a specific thing that happens on Auckland's west coast about forty minutes before sunset. The light comes in low off the Tasman, the black sand goes from grey to pewter, and everybody's face turns gold. You cannot build that in a studio and you cannot fake it afterwards. You just have to know when to walk your couple down onto the sand.
Knowing a place properly changes the photographs. I know where the best spots are, and I work with the weather and the tide rather than against them. I know how long it actually takes to get a bridal party down a track in heels, which is always longer than the timeline says.
One thing to know up front. Unless you are getting married close to the coast, a trip out to the beach does not fit inside a wedding day. The drive, the walk in and waiting for the light are a big deal, and a wedding day simply does not have that time in it. So I book beach sessions as their own shoot, usually the day after or another day entirely, rather than pretending they squeeze in between the ceremony and the entrees. That is exactly why those photographs look unhurried.
A session on the coast is its own booking rather than something thrown in. Tell me what you are picturing and we will sort it out when we meet.
If your venue is already out this way, that changes everything and we can absolutely work the coast into the day.
I do not interfere with how you want your day to go. If you want the family photographs done quickly so you can get back to your guests and the food, that is exactly what we do. My job is to plan carefully around what matters to you, not to rearrange your wedding around the photographs.
We start with a coffee. That one is genuinely just getting to know each other and hearing what you have in mind, and if your ring is ready I will photograph it while we are there. Nothing to sign and no pitch.
The planning session comes after that, and it is where the real work happens. I walk you through the timeline, and after a hundred weddings I can tell you what each part actually costs in time. The clifftop photographs at the top of this page took an hour and a half away from the day. The winery frames in my portfolio were not shot on a wedding day at all, they were a separate session at another venue. Neither of those is a problem when you know in advance. They only become a problem when nobody says it out loud.
What usually happens is that couples change how the day flows once they can see it laid out, and they end up with more of what they actually wanted from it. We go through the shot list and the family photographs in the same session, including who is going to round people up when the time comes. That one person is the difference between fifteen minutes and forty-five.
By the time your day arrives I know all of it, and I am working to a plan. You should not have to think about any of it. Stress free is the whole goal, and that is the bit I am actually selling.
My pick when you want drama without the crowd. The cliff lookout gives you height, which almost no other Auckland beach does, and the sand is wide enough that a big bridal party does not look crammed. It is also reliably windy, which is wonderful for veils and brutal for hair, so we shoot the hair-dependent frames first.
The one I will push for if you are relaxed about a short walk. Te Henga has dunes, a stream, rock stacks and bush all within a few minutes of each other, so you can get four completely different looks without moving the cars. It is the best single location in Auckland for couples who want variety in half an hour.
Not every west Auckland wedding is on sand. Bush venues through the ranges give you that deep green canopy light that is kind to skin, and there are vineyard and garden venues out this way too. If your ceremony is inland and you have your heart set on the black sand, that is the separate session above rather than something we fit around the speeches.
A practical note on west coast weddings. Mobile coverage drops out in places, the tide genuinely dictates where we can stand, and out here the sun sets into the horizon rather than behind hills, which gives you a longer and kinder golden hour than the eastern beaches get. All of that goes into the timeline before the day, not on the day.
Candid first. I am not going to run your reception like a sergeant major, or spend ninety minutes posing you while your guests drink without you. I turn up early, learn the room and the light, photograph the day as it actually happens, and pull you away for a short golden hour walk when the light is worth it.
Packages start at $2,950. The full breakdown is on the wedding photography packages page, and if your day is just the two of you, have a look at elopement photography.
Tell me your date and I will let you know straight away whether I am free. Then we have a coffee, no obligation.
Check my date is available