Michelle & Emerson's intimate Freycinet elopement
Ashleigh and Phillip's intimate coastal wedding
8 portrait session tips for first time couples
(5 minute read time)
Picture this, You've never been photographed before. Do you think you will feel a bit awkward in front of the camera? Not big on PDA? Don't know what to do with your hands? Never had a person watching you kiss? I got you! I've been photographing couples just like you for the past 6 years.
Being a documentary style wedding photographer, my photoshoots are never super stylised or posed because I know that you want photos that are authentic and candid. You want real photos? Here's a few tips!
1) Focus on your partner
If you begin to feel awkward or uncomfortable in front of the camera, focus back on your partner. Check each other out, admire the colours in their eyes or focus on your favourite freckle!
2) Have something, or someone to hold
If you’ve ever thought ‘what do I do with my hands?’ while you’re getting your photo taken, you’re not alone. Why do you think people do peace signs in photos? The best part about couple photos is there's two of you, so you should pretty much always have something to hold! When you feel a bit awkward with your hands and what they are doing, hold each other, grab onto something, some skin, some clothing, whatever! It’s comforting and makes for natural and romantic photos! If you opt for some solo portraits, be sure to bring along your bouquet or a cool accessory. If your pants or dress have pockets - utilise them too for some casual chic!
3) Have something to say
Whether it’s a compliment, a movie quote or an inside joke, note down something ahead of time. Keep it to yourself until it’s just the two of you (and your photographer) and then whisper it to each other when you’re being photographed! This is a great way to capture a truly authentic moment between the two of you!
4) Don’t be afraid to improvise
In between directions if you feel like trying an epic dip, a spinning hug or a gentle forehead kiss, just do it! No matter what your photographer directs, The most authentic moments in your photoshoot will always be those unplanned moments that just happen and that just feel right.
5) Always finish a kiss
If your photographer or videographer asks you to have a pash for a minute while they get the shot from a few different angles, don't give yourself pash rash!
Let your kiss naturally finish like it would if you were having a smooch on the couch. End it with a few little pecks or a neck kiss or ear nibble. Then, once its over, start again if you need to! 5 small kisses is much more enjoyable than one long one, and again, it's often those in between moments that translate better on the camera anyway!
6) Close your body language
This tip is huge! Imagine you are both facing the camera and your photographer told you to kiss. What would you do?
I've found 9 times out of 10 couples will keep their feet facing the camera, have their outside arms just dangling there, inside arms around eachothers backs and necks turned for the kiss. This is awkward as!!
Try turning your entire bodies, face your feet towards eachother and grab eachother with both hands and kiss.
That feels better, doesnt it? It looks better too!
7) Bring mints
Your partner might love you regardless of your stanky breath, but it will make you self-conscious and lets be honest, its not going to be enjoyable for either of you, especially whoever is on the receiving end! The last thing you want is to feel uncomfortable with any part of yourself while you are being photographed. So, I can’t stress this enough: pack mints!
8) Get to know your photographer!
This one might not always be possible, but try to catch up with your photographer for a quick drink one night before your wedding or catch up for a coffee a few times before your day. If you are friends with your photographer, it will show through in your photos and you and your partner will feel at ease and comfortable. You might be a super busy person and that’s okay, Try to jump on a zoom call, ask them for ideas or show them your ideas. Keep them in the loop with your planning or send them photos of your pets! I’m sure they would appreciate that. Why not book in an engagement session before your wedding. It’s a great way to get comfortable in front of the camera and you can use the photos for your save the date or wedding website.
Chat & Gerry’s Tasmanian MONA wedding
Chat and Gerry, Engineers and Formula 1 addicts who live together in Canberra and work together in Canberra, Both decided early on, that they wanted to have their wedding ELSEWHERE! There are so many places in the ACT to get hitched but they thought "why the heck not get married at one of the most beautiful art museums in Australia?!" ..Or something like that. Bye Canberra! 👋 Hello Tasmania!
These two legends actually went to primary school together but didn't take too much notice of each other until many years later. Their lives beautifully intertwined again when they studied the same degree at uni. They shared the same classes and as luck would have it, both ended up getting hired in the same workplace.
After developping a crush on Chat, it took Gerry 6 months to work up the courage to ask her out.
Over a decade later, Chat & Gerry got hitched in beautiful Tassie! Joined by their family and closest friends, they tied the knot inside the incredible and quirky Tasmanian icon, MONA. As luck would have it, the international borders opened up in time for Chat's brother and partner (who live in Canada) to be there! Tasmania even had the mask mandate lifted just as their ceremony started. It was such a special intimate wedding. So stoked to be a part of this one.
Venue - MONA (Museum of Old and New Art)
Celebrant - Kathleen the Celebrant
Hair - Rebel @ Heart
Makeup - Makeup by Yaz
Flowers - Lottie Phillips
Catering - MONA
Cake - MONA
Dress - Gather and Stich
Suit - Van Heusen
5 tips for getting married in Tasmania
4 minute read
Hey there! I'm Ed, an intimate wedding and elopement photographer based in Hobart, Tasmania.
After shooting weddings full-time for 4 years, I've become familiar with a few pain points that couples deal with or don't really think about when getting married in Tassie.
Here's 5 tips that immediately come to mind.
1) Have a wet weather plan
"Please don't say the r-word!"
No one really wants to talk about rain, but let's be honest, Tasmania is known for it's wild, unpredictable weather. It is rare in such a naturally beautiful state that people actually want to get married indoors and although sometimes the weather gods show up and give you a dry and warm day, this isn't always the case; so make sure you have a plan B!
The best advice I can give here is to choose a location or venue with an under cover ceremony option (big enough to host all your guests)! If your dream wedding venue doesn't have a covered option, invest in a marquee! As well as the venue shelter, don't forget to bring some nice umbrellas for yourself and your wedding party if you have one and are still planning on getting some outside photos. (Rain photos can be freaking awesome!).
A few nice brollies in the boot won't hurt anyone and will save you a lot of stress if you need them. Some dry towels also couldn't hurt!
If you plan to stay bone dry on your wedding day, It is always a good idea to have an under cover location in mind for your couple session and wedding party session (if you have one). The hotel or air bnb you are staying at on your wedding night might be perfect for this - think soft moody window light and some privacy if you want your session to be a bit hot and steamy.
2) Consider a late afternoon ceremony in summer!
Sunset can be as late as 9pm in Tassie in summer. This is because we are so far away from the equator. We have really long days in summer and really short days in winter.
Plan your wedding accordingly! In Queensland you might get away with a 2pm ceremony in the middle of summer, but in Tasmania the sun is right above your head at this time and sets at around 9pm in January. You will get harsh unflattering shadows on your face and you might not love this in your photos!
# For your own wedding, jump on google and search "Sunset time [ location ] [ date ] " consider your timeline and when you are getting photos.
3) Embrace the wild!
We are so lucky to have such a wild, diverse place right at our fingertips, with harsh rugged landscape, beautiful rolling green hills, snow capped mountains and beautiful white beaches. Decide to embrace whatever Tassie has for you. Whether it rains, hails, snows or is scorching hot, or windy as hell, embrace it, take a deep breath and be present with your lover and choose to enjoy yourself and the cards you are dealt on your special day!
Saying that, it is also so important to be prepared. I'm pretty sure it's actually a myth that Tasmania has no ozone layer, but anyone who has lived on the mainland will tell you that the sun seems like it burns you way quicker down here. I don't know the science behind it, but Make sure you wear sunscreen and drink lots of water too 😉.
4) View your wedding/elopement location one year before.
Do this not just to get some insight on the weather, but to see what flowers are in bloom and what colour the leaves are. A big part of getting hitched in Tassie is the beautiful untouched wilderness which includes our stunning flowers and rich foilage. This might not be important to some, but if you're getting married at a lavender farm, you probably want that lavender to be in full bloom and not just dull dead-looking sticks (late December/early January in Tassie if you were wondering 😉). Same goes for a vineyard, grape vines lose their leaves! If you were planning a vineyard wedding because you wanted some epic photos amongst the beautiful vines, it's probably worth checking. Most vineyards also put nets on their vines at certain times of the years, so make sure you check 👀.
5) Keep Tassie wild!!
Let's do our part to keep tassie wild and beautiful so we can always enjoy it how it is!
Here's a few tips to keep your wedding/elopement eco friendly -
Consider eco-confetti if you want it - dried native flowers are best!.
Avoid baloons! Especially if helium baloons are released, they're a threat to wildlife.
Bring your rubbish and bring your food. It can be harmful to native animals.
Find a venue/location with natural decor. This is not hard in Tassie with so many beautiful venues and landscapes to elope infront of/amongst.
If you are getting married somewhere rural consider organising local accomodation for guests or camping. Tasmania is known as the roadkill state of Australia. We have the highest animal deaths on road per capita, so make sure you do your part in bringing that number down. Avoid driving tassie roads at night, especially in rural/bush areas.
Leave a comment below if you found any of these useful, if you have any questions or any more tips!
I'd love to hear from you!
Hand crafted fine art wedding albums
I've changed album suppliers!🎉
A few months ago I decided to move away from my overseas album supplier. This was not only because I would prefer to support a local Aussie business, but because the turn around time was pretty crazy sometimes (especially during the pandemic). They also didn't provide the customisation my couples deserve and for me that's so important. For me Atkins pro lab in South Australia was a no brainer. I've been printing and framing with them for years and their quality is next level.
Cover colour and textile
I have so many different textiles and colours to choose from. Leather, vegan leather, rustic vegan leather, linen & velvet to name a few and almost any colour you could imagine. What is your favourite colour? What's a colour in your wedding palette? Let's try and match it!
Custom laser debossing
When I say custom, I mean custom. Send me a picture of your handwriting, choose one of my designs or send me a design and I'll mock up a template. If you can think of it, we can zap it onto the front of your album!
Placeholding ribon
This isn't your typical placeholding ribon. Our placeholding ribbons are hand dyed silk, dyed with natural vegetable dyes. They are hand torn and come in 12 different colours to add the ultimate luxury to your album. These are currently not available for elopement albums.
Designed in collaboration with you
Choose your favourite photos in your online gallery and I'll carefully curate them in your album. I'll then send through a proof and ask for your feedback so I can make the final touches and make sure your album is exactly what you want.
Then you will have your album in your hot little hands in just a few weeks!
Matte fine art paper
Matte fine art paper uses a dye based ink that penetrates into the beautiful matte surface. Talk about moody, this paper is brilliant for overcast wedding days or if you just love flat blacks as much as I do! This paper glows and will make your photos absolutely pop.
Here’s the process
Wanna see them?
I have a few sample albums you can have a flick through anytime or if you are far away, let's jump on a zoom and I'll show ya! I also have an album price guide which has PDF download links for cover designs and cover textiles.
Robyn & Tom's Wedding
My day began in Tom’s ute where we drove around Robyn’s family farm looking for some cows to get some photos with. A bit of paddock bashing to start the day. Why not!?
Here we had a fun couple session amongst the cows and in the big open paddocks. It was the perfect overcast day for early afternoon portraits!
Sparks flew as the love birds got in front of the camera, absolutely in their element surrounded by a herd of cows and around the incredible green pastures.
After knocking out all their portraits and then family photos, all there was to do with the rest of their day was to enjoy themselves and get hitched!
It was then off to Curringa Farm where Tom & Robyn tied the knot framed by Hamilton’s rolling hills and Curringa farm’s beautiful little lake.
A night spent eating delicious food, listening to hilarious and heartwarming speeches from family and friends and being serenated by the talented Jess and Sean from Oberon Lane.
Scroll to see a tonne of cows and one the most beautiful farm weddings I’ve been a part of.
Pre-wedding - Styx River Farm
Ceremony/Reception - Curringa Farm @curringafarm
Hair & Make up - Talia Quirk Artistry @taliaquirkartistry
Celebrant - Zana Forster
Music - Oberon Lane @oberonlane
Catering - Will Chapman Catering
Ken's Proposal
Very stoked to be a part of this one.
It all started with a weekend trip away to Tassie (as all the best adventures do). Early on in the year I received an email from Ken telling me his huge plan to propose to Anna, the girl of his dreams. For the next two months we both crossed our fingers and toes that the Victorian/Tassie border would stay open so that these two could have the best date of their lives. Still pinching myself that it happened (and I'm sure they are too).
After a wine tasting at Clover Hill Wines in Lebrina, Ken surprised Anna with a helicopter flight to a secret location. I was moonlighting as the new social media manager for Unique Charters which helped me get by relatively unnoticed. The chopper flew us over to the east coast to St Helens, where Tas 4x4 tours transported us to a beautiful bush picnic at Bay of Fires overlooking the white sands and lichen-covered rocks of the east coast. Tassie chef Thomas Dicker prepared them a spread of fresh crayfish, seafood and local veg, salad and bread. An absolute beast of a grazing platter. This is where Ken got down on one knee and Anna responded with a big fat yes and about 20 minutes of histerical crying. Another one ticked off my bucket list for sure.
Hannah & Josh's Wedding
Hannah and Josh held a little ceremony at Bothwell's beautiful Ratho farm late last year. Their undeniable chemistry gave me goosebumps all day. I had so much fun with them and their fam and friends as we explored the property and gave some love to all the 4 legged residents.
Makeup - Talia Quirk Artistry - @taliaquirkartistry
Hair - Genre Hair - @genre.hair
Ceremony & Reception - Ratho Farm - @rathofarm
Suits - Rodd and Gunn - @tailoredroddandgunn
Dress - Madi Lane Bridal - @madilanebridal
2020
I want to make a special mention to 2020. Even though for the most it was pretty chaotic, there were so many special moments I loved being there for. I'm so proud of the couples that managed to get hitched and that stuck by me and trusted me with their photos. Here's to a lot less covid and a lot more love this year!
