Matt
Weddings are simply one of my favourite things to photograph. It’s a moment in time to capture the story of an historical family event in images. The wedding day is so full of emotions that make for images that touch the heart. My name is Matt Leamy, I’ve been in the imaging industry for 15 years.
Event photography capturing runners, cyclists and swimmers is such a great way to train the photographic eye to be in the moment and hone the instinct to see the image before it happens.
Commercial photography is a discipline that demands the photographer understand the clients vision and to be creative in bringing it to life. Creativity and technical perfection are the goals.
Portraiture is all about working with people to show them at their best, the photographer needs to be able to connect with people and work with them in a relaxed way at the same time as guiding them through the process.
I’ve also worked in video production including a three year contract for a government department. All of those people skills came to the fore in that role. Memorable moments I have from that time were coaching overly shy, reluctant and slightly awkward people to present to camera. And making them look good.
Pet portraiture is one of my skills. With animals patience and understanding are the key characteristics to success.
Photographing weddings has always been an occasional part of my photography work mix. And now, weddings are a primary focus. This diverse range of work in photography and videography has prepared me well for the demanding, multi skilled work of a wedding photographer.
Jo
For more than two decades I’ve been immersed in the photography industry. My passion for imagery was already ignited when I was at school. From there I went to work for Pro-labs in Tauranga. It was an amazing place to develop skills in image processing, photographic printing and managing high end projects.
Exploring new opportunities and the need to expand my skills led me to Europe. Working in a Professional photo Lab in Scotland fed that need and at the time I worked on honing my photography skills. The call of the camera was strong and I transitioned to freelance photography specialising in weddings and family portraits, often working with babies and children. The opportunity opened up for me to work on cruise ships where I became a photo manager for some years. That experience was hugely valuable. Working in a high pressure environment gave me the experience to take my work to a new level. The range of work was amazing, we got involved in photographing families, weddings, events, tours, studio work, landscape and street photography.
Back home in New Zealand, I was ready to expand my skill base. Graphic Design was the perfect training to combine design and photography to enrich my image creating.
For me photography is about the moment, the look, the feeling conveyed by a glance. Understanding the client’s vision directing the photo shoot to realise that vision is the ultimate goal. One of my strengths is the ability to focus on the personality of my subject and translate that to an image that can be treasured forever.
Matt & Jo
Working together in Tauranga’s camera shop, fuelled by coffee (probably too much…) and engaging in photography discussions. At some point it became obvious that we could pool our expertise and direct the passion to pursue what we truly enjoy.
Seize the moment...
We understand the effort, dedication and emotion involved in organising a wedding. This is a big deal for you and your families. Capturing the story in images is super important. We get that and see it as both a responsibility and a privilege. Responsibility, because it has to be right; there is only one chance to capture the shot. Privilege because creating those pictorial stories is a joy for our client and by extension, to ourselves.
Our approach to photography focuses on capturing moments, expressions and emotions. We prioritise natural shots, we will do some posed shots with you but it’ll be in a relaxed easy manner.
The two photographer advantage. It may seem contradictory, but a team of two allows us to stay more in the background when getting the shots. We know our partner has the angle covered so we don’t need to move around as much as a single photographer does. We can be in two places at once. It gives us the confidence that the story we’ve captured is more complete. For some particular images we work together. Having a photographer as your assistant means both know just what is needed for any particular shot. Subtleties like this make a difference in lifting the quality of the result.
