Waipuna Lodge Auckland NZ Wedding

A lovely Autumn wedding held at the Waipuna Lodge in Auckland.

After the garden ceremony we walk along the bank of the estuary & got some great photos.

The big old oak trees were just starting to turn & the colours were awesome!

The power pylons are always a bit of an issue at Waipuna... so we thought if you can't beat them join them !! Hence we got this cool shot of the Bride & Groom standing on the base of one. :-)

Then there was the jetty, the kids playground & more trees ... fantastic & all within a 5 minute walk of the venue.

As always plenty more to see at www.afpnz.com & www.go4photos.com

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Tauranga NZ Wedding

Once again we got one of those perfect days, where everything is just how it should be for a dream wedding.

We had a stunning Bride, a hot Groom, they had chosen our favorite Tauranga venue(the outstanding Olive Tree Cottage) & they had their photos done at the beach. Magic!!!

Added to that the Bridal Party were all so helpful & totally concerned that everything went right on the day.

End result... we got some fabulous pictures & video footage.

Plenty more to see including the webclip from this wedding at www.afpnz.com

Cheers,

Faith.

Windy Ridge Ohaupo NZ Wedding

This was a fun wedding we did back in April.

The Bride is the second of 3 sisters whose weddings we are covering... Adrian & I are starting to feel like part of the family :-)

Although the options for photos were a bit limited at the venue, we had a lot of fun with the Bridal Party & they were great about doing some crazy things.

I just love the one of the Bride in front of the fence with the Groom looking over...

Windy Ridge has the most beautiful tree in their garden so we made the most of it.

We are just so excited about the fact that the family likes our work so much that we are covering all their weddings. It makes us feel that we are doing something right :-)

You can check out their video here

Also more photos here

With any luck I will get round to another post tomorrow.

In the mean time plenty more to see at www.afpnz.com

Cheers,

Faith.

Auckland NZ Winter Wedding

Right, I'm baaack!!!

My mid-year resolution is to be a better blogger :-)

These 3 photos are some of my favorites from a great wedding we covered a couple of weeks ago in Auckland.

It was a wet miserable day & the poor Bride had the flu & was such a great sport for the whole day.

Lickily for everyone involved half way through the photoshoot it stopped raining & we got some absolutely beautiful light.

The first photo is under one of the trees outside Sorrento in Cornwall park where the reception was being held... this was where we had the stuning light.

The second one was in front of the monument at the top of One Tree Hill, the rain clouds made for some very dramatic photos.

And the third is obviously a picture of the rings... I have a thing about the rings, I love taking photos of them & try to get something different for every wedding incorporating a theme that is unique to that couple.

In all we got some great photos & video & the so-so kind of a day turned out to be in our advantage after all.

Plenty to see at www.go4photos.com & also www.afpnz.com

More photos & words of wisdom tomorrow... I'm going to retrofit all the weddings I have neglected since March :-)

Cheers,

Faith.

Wellington NZ Wedding

Way behind on upudating the blog as usual! :-(
This was a wedding we did in Wellington last month.
They had their service at Old St Paul's in the city & then we went to several inner city locations for photos.
At sunset we took them out to the lookout by the Skyline restaurant at the top of the cable car for more photos & these came out great!
Also on the way to the cable car we shot the second photo in the middle of Lambton Quay... we were all so stoked with that one.
AFPNZ now has a Facebook page ...
don't laugh at it I have only just started it & am trying to figure it all out.
Here is the link http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge/AFPNZ-A-F-Productions/63766596693#

Please feel free to add us as a friend.... I'm not sure yet how it works so bear with us!! :-)
Cheers for now,
Faith.

Castaways Beach Wedding NZ

Held at the wonderful Castaways at the beach 10 mins out of Waiuku, this was a lovely wedding.

They had the most stunning day for it, fortunately it was a late afternoon start or everyone would have fried!

As you can see from the photos we went to the beach for the Bridal Party shoot. It was the groomsmen that stole the show on this one, they were such posers!!

Adrian has a video trailer on his blog here & as always there is plenty more to see on our recently updated websites www.afpnz.com for video & www.go4photos.com for photos.

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Fairytale Hamilton Gardens Wedding by AFPNZ

Held at the Hamilton Gardens in the Italian Garden, this truly was a fairytale wedding.
It was one of those rare times where everything goes the way it should :-)
After the service we moved to the Indian Garden for the family photos & then back to the Italian one for the Bridal party photos.
We got sidetracked for quite sometime by the awesome archways at the top of the Italian Garden... just magical!
The Just Married photo was taken just before we left for the reception, Brett from Hudson Hire has the suitcase in his car & it makes such a cute touch :-)
The other photo is one of my all time favorites now ...
To me it is just magical & romantic ... exactly what this wedding was all about.
Check out the video trailer on Adrian's blog
http://www.afpnz.blogspot.com/

Plenty more video trailers to see at www.afpnz.com
We have just revamped our main site ... so check it out.
And of course more wedding photos than you could shake a stick at on www.go4photos.com

Cheers for now,
Faith :-)

Pukekohe NZ Wedding

This was another visual feast of a wedding...

The Bride had put months of time & effort into getting the gardens looking just right & colour coordinated for the wedding.

They were such an awesome couple & talk about laugh... I don't think we got a single serious photo all day.

It would have to have been one of the most fun weddings with an absolutely fantastic atmosphere.

And everyone got chocolate with their name print on it as favours... what more could you want as a guest :-)

The girls at the table next to us were trying to steal as many as they could!

Plenty more to see at www.afpnz.com

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Sorrento Auckland NZ Wedding

This was one of those weddings where we had it all... a beautiful bride, handsome groom, large bridal party, well behaved flowergirls & pageboys, a stunning setting & the weather behaved itself for just long enough!!!
The whole thing was held at Sorrento in Auckland's Cornwall Park, which is a great venue.
Then we had the whole park to do the photos in so it was great.
I love the first one ... it seems to have a magical feel to it in black & white ... these guys were so co-operative with all the photos.
The second one with the whole Bridal party was taken just to the right of where the first one was.
It was great having so many people to play with & all the black outfits contrasted so nicely with the green surroundings & the Bride's dress.
Check out www.AFPNZ.com for a great video trailer from the day & also their very cool first dance.
So thats it for my first post of the New Year... I hope you are all having a good one.
Cheers,
Faith.

Wildernness Wedding

This seemed like an unlikely place for a wedding ... it is the site of an old quarry & now is a 42 acre gardens & scuplture park.
However it was an absolutely stunning set to get married in.
The wedding had a 40's airman theme & they had taken great trouble to keep the theme going throughout the whole day.
The Bridesmaids had flapper cocktail style dresses, the boys had Biggles hats & goggles & the invitations were done in the form of airline tickets.
It was really well though out & made for a unique event.
We did all the photos at the park ... as there was plenty of room to choose from!!
They were a great couple & bridal party to work with & we even had an audience comprised entirely of cows at one stage.
They then had their reception at an airport hanger at the Hamilton airport .... which fitted in perfectly with the overall feel of the day.
A great time was had by all.
Plenty more to see & watch at www.AFPNZ.com
Cheers for now ,
Faith.

Crazy Cool Fun Wedding

This wedding was so much fun... the couple had come back from the UK to get married in thier hometown of Napier.

She was one of the funniest Brides we've ever had, between her & the bridesmaids we were in hysterics all morning... & they were all so laidback about everything.

The ceremony was the Mission Estate at Napier & I bet it's the first time they have had a Bride get into thier fountain!!!

He was really cool to, just went along with everything & kept on smiling all day. We got some great photos of him & the groomsmen prior to the service, which was a bit of a treat for us!

Then when we went to do the Bridal party photos after the service the whole lot of them got into the act. :-)

We all had a great time & meet heaps of really nice people, both their families were so nice.

Another wonderful day was had by all.

Plenty more to see at www.AFPNZ.com

Cheers,

Faith.

Forest Wedding

Well this was a beautiful wedding...
Held in a park next to Otorohanga's Kiwi House.
It was a great setting ... there was a bit of consternation about the weather as it started drizzling just before the bride was due to arrive, all the guests had their brollies out.
But the wet held off & the service went ahead as planned under the gaint pine trees.
Afterwards we went into the foresty part for the photoshoot & got some brilliant pictures.
The bridesmaids were so good they were freezing cold but they kept on smiling the whole way through & the Brides parents were the official brolly holders & kept up all the way through.
As for the groomsmen they were funny as a fit ... especially when we loaded them into the van on the way to the reception & I told them I only had a learner's liscence ... talk about backseat drivers!!!
All in all a great day was had by all.
Check out the video at www.afpnz.com

Elegant Auckland Wedding

Hi There,
well here are a couple of photos from Adrian's elegant & sophisticated wedding last Saturday.
They were quite a young couple, but she looked just like a 50's movie star.
The ceremony & reception were at Butterfly Creek in Auckland & then the bridal party headed off to the Botannical gardens for the portrait shoot.
The boys had a great time with the whole group & they had one of the best behaved flowergirls we've ever encountered :-)
Both of us really love this second shot ... it seems to have a Hollywood quailty about it.
All in all a great day was had by all.
Plenty more photos & the Movie Trailer to see at www.afpnz.com
The DVD has turned out absolutely superb.
Cheers for now ,
Faith.

Laidback Raglan Beach Wedding

Well this was one of the most casual weddings I ever been to.... it was all about being relaxed & enjoying time with their family & friends for these guys.

The bride was so lovely & was just so happy to be getting married that she wasn't going to let anything bother her.

They had planned on an outdoor hilltop ceemony, but the weather was a little diffident so they settled for the verandha of the surf club, which worked out just fine.

After we went down to the beach for the bridal party photos, lovely walk down the hill.... bit of a struggle on the way back with all the gear. :-)

Everyone was having a fantastic time the whole day.... which is what a wedding should be coming together with your family & friends to CELEBRATE one of the most important milestones in your life.

OK... rant over ... tomorrow will be Adrian's elegant, sophisticated wedding.

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Rock On Auckland Wedding

We had an awesome weekend with 3 weddings... they were all quite different & all fantastic.
These photos are from Fridays.
This was a great wedding with 3 of my favorite things...
1) Rock music,
2) Stunning Bride,
3) Candles.

This first photo I just love as it was a lowlight shot which I love doing & it was one of those times where you couldn't plan it better.
The second one is another of my asthetic fetishes... Brides & mirrors... what can I say ... its cool.

We have plenty more excellent pictures from the day at www.go4photos.com & video at www.afpnz.com
We all had a great day with these guys... the boys photo shoot before the wedding was an absolute riot, they were great.
Then the girls all looked so beautiful & elegant, they were all a real credit to their family.
So tomorrow there will be pics from my extremely laid back beach wedding & then Wens some of Adrian's from his sophisicated elegant wedding.
Cheers for now,
Faith

Portrait

I took this photo of this young lady yesterday... a bit of a departure from photographing Brides!

We were trying out new lighting techniques & this was the result we got.

My new assistant is still at high school so am making the most of the holidays to get out & train her & get some practise of my own in.

The other good news is that Adrian now his own blog featuring our videos.... he can be found here

http://afpnz.blogspot.com/

He is going to embed all the latest Movie Trailers on his blog so you will have more access to the wonderful world of AFPNZ.com :-)

Well it's a bit of a slow news day here ... practising more lighting today so tomorrow I should have something new to show you.

Cheers for now,

Faith.

More Favorites

Well... this first one was from a great wedding at the Mission in Napier. They were a really fun young couple ... first time we have heard "Highway to Hell" as recessional music!! We all had a fantstic day with them & their families, it was the second in a cluster of weddings for the same group of families. They had this picture done as a huge canvas.
The second one was a lovely wedding on New Years Eve last year at Taupo.What a beautiful couple ... it was one of those wedding where you could really feel the love ... awesome.
Adrian & I really enjoyed this one & once again the families were great ... we have been so lucky most of the weddings we have done the families have just made the day by being so nice. Maybe it's just a natural part of being a Kiwi.
We had a beautiful day for this multiculural wedding. They had a Catholic service & then at the reception they had Cook Island dancing & Nuiean dancing. This picture is one of my all time favorites as I caught it when they didn't know it was being taken & it just captured their essence perfectly.
This Bride was so excited to be getting married ... she was almost beside herself! It was also our first traditional Maori wedding & what a wonderful experience. It was a really moving day seeing all the emotion that everyone in family had put into making sure that these guys had a truly wonderful wedding. At the reception everyone that spoke had to also sing a song & some of the singing was just fantastic, especially the bridesmaids & their brother.
We have been so lucky to experience so many peoples big day & to share with them the joy that they have felt.
Then to be given the privelege of capturing those moments forever is truly an honour.
This would have to be one of the best jobs in the world & I can honestly say we don't do it for the money.
If you wanted to go into wedding photography with just the money in mind you are probably not going to last.
It is one of those things that you have to put your soul into & by the end of the day you are absolutely exhausted & just want to crawl home.... then when you get home you just can't wait to download the footage & see what you got :-)
Well that's it for me.
Cheers,
Faith.

Action Shots

Well I was going to post more favorites & then as I was looking through my folders I found some great action shots of the boys from the last wedding... So here we go :-)
First one is Adrian showing the Groom how to do the dip which ended up resulting in a great photo ... both this one & the actual one of the couple.... wedding photography is a crazy career !!!

The second one Adrian is adjusting the off-camera flash before he gets into position for the photo. He ended up standing off to the side of the bridal party so he could throw in some side lighting.
Last one I took to show how the team works together on the day.... so any photographers reading ... don't panic the video guy is not in the way :-) This is how we work taking turns to get the shots we need for both video & photos.
Hamish is getting walking shots of the bridal party & Adrian is getting into positon with the flash light for when it's my turn.
Movement shots generally look better on the video than in stills, so I tend to hang back & let the boys do those & just grab the odd one that looks like it might work well.
We work this way at every wedding & have found it makes it a lot less of a trial for all involved as we have to remember that the people in the photos are not professional models & it is THEIR big day not ours. So we try not to drag the photos out for too long as they really want to get back to the party ( especially the boys !)
So that's me for today.
Cheers,
Faith.

More Favorites

Ok... so more favorites today :-) The first one I just love ... it was one of those things where everything was just right... I have also done it in Black & White & have it as a big canvas ... awesome!!!
This second one ... well this young lady was such a beautiful Bride & as a couple they were just fabulous. In this picture it was one of the first times I have tried getting the girls to do more fashion model poses & this just worked for her.
Number 3 ... we had a great venue with lots of different options & I saw this bridge & thought "Got to be a good one here" & this is what I got. Again just a fabulous couple, she is an aircraft engineer, so being all dressed up & having her make-up & hair done was a real treat for her.
Last one ... animals & weddings always unpredictable .... the usually well trained horse got stage fright & was VERY reluctant to co-operate. However before it all went pearshaped we got this one & a couple of others that were also what the Bride had in mind. They liked this one so much that they had a huge canvas done of it.
We have also had weddings with dog ringbearers, dog flowergirls, several horse & carts etc
This is what I love about wedding photography you just never know what you are going to get!
Well that's me for today ... I think there may be more favorites tomorrow ... I still have lots :-)
Cheers for now,
Faith.

Some of My Favorites

So, something different again today...
these are 4 of my favorites from weddings in the last 2-3 years.
I like them for different reasons... none of which is their technical excellence ( which is quite often lacking)
They are mostly favorties either for the emotions they captured or how they well represent the day we had with that particular couple.
So....
In the first The Doves ... this was shot at Willow Glen near Hamilton & straight after the service they ring a bell & all the doves come & land by the couple.
Photographically it makes for stunning pictures ... for the bride it makes for a bit of a worry about dove poo on her dress :-) But they all love it as symbolically it is so cool.
The second one I love for it's colour, the bright blue, the reds & the greens ... awesome.
The balloon release idea was a really touching way to remember loved ones who have passed on.
We had so many great pictures from this wedding ... it was one of those days where everything goes just right.
And she was the most laidback Bride we've had & that's saying something as our Kiwi Brides seem to be of the laidback variety on the whole. Third one ... this was from our first big traditional Samoan wedding, & it just tells the story of the day perfectly. Such a happy Bride she spent the whole day laughing & being so happy to be getting married. Considering that they had to start their hair & make-up at 5am in order to get it all done for the 11am service she did really well.
Last one ... this I took at my very first wedding, I was so lucky they were an absolutely beautiful couple both inside & out ... Just wonderful to work with & they had a stunning venue near Tauranga. We all have great memories of that day as it was so lovely.
Well that's it today ... I might try & find some more for tomorrow .... I seem to get a new favorite every wedding ... It is my goal to shoot a new favorite evry time that way I know that I am constantly trying to improve.
Cheers for now,
Faith.