Frequently asked questions

Eighteen months to two years for a summer Saturday at the well-known venues, and your guests need that lead time too for flights and accommodation. Autumn and winter are considerably shorter. Book the venue and the accommodation block in the same week — Queenstown fills, and a guest who cannot find a bed does not come.

As soon as you have your date and venue. Photographers book out further ahead than almost any other supplier, and popular Saturdays between November and March go 12 to 18 months out.

Three to six months is relaxed and gets you first pick of dates. Six to eight weeks is plenty for most elopements. Two to three weeks is doable if your date is flexible — the legal side only needs three working days, and there is no seating plan or catering headcount to build. Summer and public holidays go first, so ask early for those.

Most couples book 6–18 months ahead. Peak season (December–March) Saturdays go first — if your date is set, get in touch early.

Absolutely — we always start with a relaxed chat over coffee or a video call, so you can make sure we are the right fit before anything is signed.

Once we have talked and you have chosen your package, a deposit and a signed contract secure your date. Every couple is a bit different, so if you have a special request or something you are unsure about, just ask.

The deposit is what holds your date, and we confirm the exact amount with your quote — it depends on what you book. Ask us and we will walk you through it.

The deposit. Until it is paid we cannot hold the date, and we will always tell you if someone else enquires about it while you are deciding.

Talk to us as early as you can. Where our calendar allows we move your booking and everything paid to the new date — we would much rather move with you than lose you.

Your date (or shortlist), venue or region, roughly how many guests, and whether you are after photo, film or both. Planning cultural or multi-day events? List them — it helps us quote the whole celebration properly first time.

We personally read and reply to every enquiry — you will hear back from us, not an autoresponder. If your date is free we will send current pricing and full galleries from weddings like yours, and set up a call if you want to talk it through.

Ask anyway. Popular dates book out early, but calendars move — and for intimate weddings and elopements we can often make short notice work.

As soon as your dates firm up, especially for summer and for Queenstown. That said, elopements are the one thing we can sometimes turn around at short notice — if your trip is close, ask anyway.

A deposit locks in your date, with the balance due before the wedding — and we offer payment plans if that suits you better, same total in smaller steps. Your quote is the price; there are no hidden extras added later. Ask us and we will walk you through how it works for your day.

Quoted with your package before you book, never added afterwards. For anywhere outside Auckland we build in arriving the day before as standard — that is not an extra, it is how we scout your ceremony site in real light.

The helicopter is billed by the operator rather than by us, and it depends on the aircraft, the number of seats and how many landings you want. Our side is the photography and film. Tell us your date and roughly what you have in mind and we will send our pricing and point you at the operators we fly with so you can compare.

See Services & Pricing for a starting point, then tell us your date — we will quote the full day including travel. A deposit holds the date and the balance is due a month before.

The guest list. Every other saving is small by comparison. Cost your must-invite list at your venue’s per-head rate before you invite anyone, then hold the line.

The licence fee is $158, paid to Births, Deaths and Marriages, and you can apply online from New Zealand or from overseas. Allow at least three working days before the ceremony. Once issued it is valid for three months. There is no citizenship or residency requirement — visitors can marry here. We are photographers rather than celebrants, so your celebrant will walk you through the form itself.

It is photography-led rather than all-inclusive, so it is priced by hours and whether you want film as well — see Services & Pricing. The Castaways packages below are the fixed all-inclusive option.

Wedding photography and film with us starts at NZ$3,450 including GST, and every package is built around your day — coverage, a second photographer and film all change the picture. Multi-day celebrations, elopements and destination weddings each have their own starting points. Ask us and we will send the full pricing guide for your kind of day.

Yes. Weddings are expensive, so we can split your total package into three payments to make it manageable. Get in touch and we will work out a schedule that suits you.

Before your wedding day. Your booking sets the dates out clearly, and we will always talk them through with you before anything is due.

Yes — we offer payment plans. Tell us what suits you and we will set one up around your day: same total, smaller steps.

No. Your quote covers everything agreed before the day — coverage, deliverables and any travel — so there is nothing to settle afterwards. Extra prints or albums ordered later are the only optional additions.

Simply: your package plus travel quoted upfront for your location. One number, no surprise line items after the wedding.

It depends on hours, locations and whether you want film as well — see Services & Pricing for a starting point and tell us your dates. A deposit holds the date and the balance is due a month before.

Yes — it’s one of our specialties. We regularly photograph Indian, Chinese, Filipino and fusion weddings, including multi-day celebrations, and we know which key moments matter in each ceremony.

Almost every couple says this. From the moment we meet I get to know you both, so the shoot feels more like a hangout with a friend than a formal session. On the day I give you easy prompts and direction — you never have to work out how to pose or where to look. We laugh, we goof around, and the natural moments come out of that. You will be fine.

Your day is about your story, so I start in the planning: I help you build the running order and make you a guide for the day. I genuinely like being sent photos of the dress, the shoes, the invitations — those details are what make it yours. On the day I am watching for real emotion and the slightly mad moments, and I use light carefully to make images you will still love in thirty years.

The city is the best rain venue in Auckland. Wet streets, umbrellas and neon make portraits most couples could never get on a fine day — and there is always cover close by.

Yes — short intimate bookings are some of our favourite work: the ceremony, portraits around the city, done. If you are planning something small, see our elopement coverage too.

Please ask us for them. Night portraits in the city lights are a signature of ours — give us twenty minutes after dinner and you will get frames nobody else at your wedding could take.

Auckland is home and most of our weddings are here — the city, the west coast, Waiheke, the North Shore, Clevedon and Franklin. We also travel: the Waikato and Hobbiton regularly, and Queenstown and Wanaka through the season. If your venue is somewhere we have not been, we will say so and tell you how we would prepare for it.

Yes. Haldi, mehndi, sangeet, ceremony and reception across three to four days is a format we shoot regularly, and it is planned as one continuous story rather than separate bookings. Tell us the customs that matter most to your families and we will build the coverage around them.

Yes — ask. Highlight reels and portfolio edits are the best of a day by definition, and they are not how you judge whether someone can cover a full one. We will show you a complete gallery and a full ceremony film from a wedding similar to yours. Start with the portfolio and films, then tell us what you want to see more of.

The highlight film is contracted at twelve weeks and usually lands around six, delivered on its own so it reaches you while the trip is still fresh. Documentary edits of the full ceremony and reception follow on a longer clock — see packages.

Proof galleries within two business days, retouched selects within the week. If someone starts Monday and needs a headshot Friday, say so — rush delivery is usually possible.

No. The same-day edit is cut from a selection of the footage and does not change the schedule for your main film or your photo gallery.

Weeks after your digital gallery. Developing and scanning happens at an outside lab on their timeline, not ours. We will give you a realistic window when you book.

A same-night selection for socials if you ask for it, and the full gallery on a date we agree before the event. You will never chase us for your own photos.

You’ll get sneak peeks within 48 hours, and your full gallery delivered through a beautiful online gallery your family can access too.

Every deliverable has a date in your contract, and we work to an internal target well ahead of it. A sneak peek of 20–40 edited images is contracted at two weeks and usually reaches you within three days. Your full gallery is contracted at eight weeks; our internal target is four. The highlight film is contracted at twelve weeks; our target is six, and it is delivered on its own rather than bundled with the longer edits. The documentary ceremony and reception films run on a longer clock than the highlight: we target twelve weeks, and through a busy season they can take up to six months. One thing worth knowing before you decide — book them with your wedding, not after it. Added afterwards they are treated as a new order and join the queue from the order date, so the wait is measured from when you ask, not from your wedding day. The gap between target and contract is deliberate — it absorbs the editor round-trip and peak season, so the date you are given is one we can hold.

A sneak peek within days of each event, and if you book a same-day edit, a film from day one can screen at day two’s reception. Full galleries and films follow on the timeline we agree before the wedding.

A sneak peek of 20–40 edited images lands within a few days of the wedding — usually three. Your full gallery is contracted at eight weeks and normally arrives around four. The highlight film is contracted at twelve weeks and normally lands around six, delivered on its own so it reaches you while the day is still fresh. If you have booked the documentary edits — the full ceremony and the reception — they run on a longer clock: we target twelve weeks, and through a busy season they can take up to six months. Book those with your wedding rather than after it. Added later they are treated as a new order, and the clock starts from the order date, not your wedding day. We would rather quote you the outside date and beat it than quote the best case and miss it.

No. There has to be footage to cut. If you have only booked photography and you want this, we would need to add video coverage to your day first — ask and we will price both together.

No, and it cannot. The edit is locked before your reception happens. Speeches, first dance and dancing all land in your full wedding film instead.

Tell us early. Some venues hire one in, some DJs carry one, and in a few rooms it genuinely will not work. We would rather tell you that months out than on the night.

Tell us what you have in mind and we will find something licensed that carries the same feeling. Everything we deliver is cleared, so nothing gets muted when you post it.

No. Film is an add-on, always. Nobody should be covering an entire wedding on film alone, and any photographer offering to is taking a risk with your day that we are not willing to take with ours.

Roughly two to three minutes per cartridge, depending on the frame rate we shoot at. Most couples take two or three. It is short by design — that is what makes it feel like a memory rather than a video.

The film itself is silent. We either score it with licensed music, or hand it to you raw and silent, which some couples prefer. Your wedding film is where the real audio lives.

You still have your complete digital gallery, because film never replaces it. If a roll is lost at the lab we tell you immediately and refund that portion of the add-on.

Yes. Black-and-white film is a genuinely different look from a digital image converted afterwards, and it is worth a roll if you like it.

Within limits. We plan film for the parts of the day with light in them and let the digital cameras carry the night. Pushing film into a dark reception rarely gives you something you will want to keep.

Yes. We’re one of the few Auckland studios offering photo, video, photobooth and livestream together — one contract, one consistent style, no vendor juggling.

Yes — photo, video, PhotoBooth & 360 Glam Booth and livestream all come from one team. Many couples bundle them for one consistent style and a single contract.

It is the easiest decision you will make. One team means one timeline, no duplicated direction, and photographers and filmmakers who already know how to share the same moment instead of blocking each other’s shot — and combined packages cost less than booking two studios.

Highlight films run 3–6 minutes. Full ceremony and speeches coverage is delivered separately and in full, and a longer feature film is available for couples who want the whole story rather than the edit.

With discreet microphones, not the camera’s built-in audio — so your film sounds like the room felt, not like an echo from the back row.

Constantly — Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Middle Eastern and fusion celebrations, across one day or a whole week of events.

Of course. Many of our films are delivered privately and never published — that is entirely your call, and it never affects the film you receive.

Both, and we would rather do both. A single team that has planned the day together does not get in its own way — no two crews negotiating the same aisle, one timeline, one set of decisions about where to stand during the vows. You can book photography on its own or film on its own, but the day runs most smoothly when it is one team.

You get a written licence, included in the fee, covering every one of your own channels with no expiry — website, socials, internal comms, email, press. Paid advertising, out-of-home and packaging are quoted separately, so you only pay for reach you actually use. We keep copyright, as photographers do, and we will never sell your images to anyone else.

Yes — and for hospitality we prefer it. Real customers and real service beat staged emptiness. We work quietly and stay out of the way.

Yes. Everything is delivered in horizontal and vertical crops, and video comes with 9:16 cut-downs for Reels and TikTok as standard.

Most businesses refresh seasonally or when something changes — new menu, new fit-out, new team. Top-up half-days at the same grade keep the library consistent.

We send a one-page guide with the run sheet — plain colours, no fine stripes, whatever feels like them on a good day. A second outfit is welcome for individual sessions.

Usually, yes. Send us a sample and we will match the background, crop and tone so new hires do not look bolted on.

That is most people, and it is the part we are best at. Fifteen unhurried minutes with actual direction beats two rushed minutes against a wall every time.

You get a written licence, included in the fee, covering all of your own channels with no expiry — website, LinkedIn and socials, internal directories, proposals, press. Paid advertising, out-of-home and packaging are quoted separately. We keep copyright, as photographers do, and we never sell your team’s headshots to anyone else.

Nothing you need to do — the licence covers the images, not the individual, so archived material stays compliant. When new people join, we shoot them in the same setup and lighting so the wall stays consistent.

Yes — skin, stray hairs, glasses glare — kept natural. You still look like you on a good day, not a rendering.

Extremely well. We cut the first day and play it at the next event. It is the single best use of this service.

It is designed as an add-on to a photo or video package, because the value comes from the whole team working as one. If you want to talk about a standalone booking, ask — we will tell you honestly whether it makes sense for your day.

No, and that is the main reason to book it with us rather than separately. An outside creator has to negotiate for position with a photographer they have never met. Ours is part of the same crew, working to the same plan.

Largely, yes — deliberately. Phone footage is what the platforms are built for and what an audience expects to see. It is not a compromise; it is the correct tool for this particular job.

We can, if you want that. Some couples love it, some would rather nothing goes out until they have seen it. Either is fine — we agree it beforehand.

Everything we deliver uses licensed audio, so your posts do not get muted or pulled down. If you want a specific track, tell us and we will tell you honestly whether it will survive the platform.

Yes. They live on this website and cost nothing. They exist because a couple who plans well gets better photographs, which makes our job easier too.

They are built and tested against real weddings before release rather than shipped to a deadline. Join the list on any product above and you will be told the moment one is ready, with early pricing.

The Lightroom profiles are built on Sony and Canon raw files but work on any raw file — expect to nudge exposure and white balance for your own camera, as with any preset.

Yes. One-on-one mentoring, in-person workshops and online sessions are all available now — see Mentoring & Workshops.

Yes — send the sponsor list and we build it into the shot list: signage, activations and the grip-and-grins each sponsor expects to receive.

Yes, all in-house — photo and 360 booths and livestream for hybrid events, run by the same team on the same booking.

A reliable internet connection or good mobile coverage. We check this with your venue before the day — and tell you honestly if a location can’t support a stable stream.

Yes. It runs on a private link shared only with the people you choose. It is your wedding, not public broadcasting.

Yes — we regularly stream ceremonies from Indian, Chinese, Filipino and Middle Eastern weddings so family abroad can join every event.

Just power and a corner of floor space — we confirm the details directly with your venue so you don’t have to relay measurements. We set up before guests arrive and pack down quietly.

Yes — the booth comes hosted. An attendant keeps it running, keeps the props tidy and gets the shy guests in front of the camera.

Yes — the classic PhotoBooth prints on the spot, so guests walk away with a photo in hand, plus GIFs and digital copies to their phones. The 360 booth shares slow-motion videos the same way.

Yes. Guests get their own on the night, and you receive the full booth gallery after the wedding — it is the funniest album of the whole set.

The booths are add-ons to our wedding and event coverage — they are best value paired with a package. Running an event without us shooting it? Ask and we will see what is possible for your date.

Travel is quoted with your package rather than added afterwards, and we tell you the figure before you book. We fly down the day before as standard — that is not an upsell, it is the only way to scout your ceremony site in the light it will actually have.

There is no bad answer, only trade-offs. December to February gives you the longest days and the latest golden hour, and it is also the busiest and priciest. March to April is our own favourite: autumn colour through Arrowtown and Gibbston, stable weather, thinner crowds. Winter is dramatic and genuinely cheaper, with snow on the Remarkables and a real chance of it on the road. September to November is unpredictable in both directions.

Yes, and it is the best of both. The usual shape is a full day with your guests, then a separate session — helicopter, jetboat or just a drive to a ridge — either the morning after or on a spare day in the trip. Nobody is standing around waiting, and you get the frames without cutting an hour out of your reception. Our elopement page covers how those sessions run.

Yes. Wanaka is an hour over the Crown Range and a different feel — quieter, more open, and the lake carries the frame without needing a mountain behind it. If you are choosing between the two, tell us your guest count and how much driving your family will tolerate, and we will give you an honest opinion.

Both, with one team. Down here that matters more than it does in Auckland: two separate crews meeting for the first time on a windy ridge with a forty-minute weather window is how you lose shots. One team, one plan. See wedding films for what the edits look like.

We shoot it, and then we watch for the window. Queenstown weather moves — a squall at 3pm often means clear light at 6. What we will not do is let the day sit still waiting for perfect conditions. The plan we build with you has a wet-weather version and a fast-response version, and you will know both before the morning.

No — we are an Auckland team who travels south through the season, and we would rather say that plainly than imply we live there. What you get is a team that arrives early, knows the roads and the light, and shoots the rest of the country too. What you do not get is someone who can pop out to your venue on a Tuesday. If that matters to you, hire local, and we will say so.

Yes. Most of our destination work is within New Zealand, but we travel further when couples ask. Tell us the country and the date and we will come back with an honest cost, not a placeholder.

Yes. We run multi-camera livestreams with live switching and proper audio, a private link, unlimited viewers, and a downloadable HD copy within 48 hours.

If guests flew in, the weekend. Welcome drinks and the morning after are where people are relaxed, and a destination film that only covers the ceremony misses what made the trip worth taking. We will tell you where the extra coverage genuinely pays and where it does not.

Yes, and for destination weddings it matters more than anywhere else. One team, one plan, one set of decisions when the weather gives you a narrow window.

Honestly, more than it is for a big wedding. At a 120-guest reception there are dozens of cameras and everyone remembers it differently. At an elopement there is you, your celebrant and us — and if we are not recording, the vows exist only in your memory of them. That is the argument, and it is the one couples tell us afterwards they wish they had heard sooner.

Yes, and for an elopement we would encourage it. One team means one plan, one set of decisions about where to stand during the vows, and two people rather than four crowding a moment meant for two.

Both, delivered separately. The highlight film is what you will share; the full ceremony edit is what you will keep. They are different things and we do not make you choose.

We mic the two of you and the celebrant on separate recorders, with wind protection, every time. Wind is the number one killer of elopement audio and it is entirely solvable if someone plans for it.

Yes — Queenstown, Wanaka, Waiheke, the Waikato, Wellington and further. Travel is quoted with the package rather than added afterwards.

Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement. You apply for a marriage licence online — from home or once you land — the fee is $158, you need to allow at least three working days before the ceremony, and the licence is valid for three months. Your celebrant will walk you through the form.

The pilot makes that call on the morning, and in the mountains it happens. We always build a ground-level plan for the same day — a lake, a valley, a vineyard — so the wedding still goes ahead. Ask your operator directly what their policy is on deposits and rescheduling; it varies.

Autumn is the all-round favourite — gold everywhere, settled light, fewer people. Winter gives you snow on the tops and the most dramatic heli landings but very short days. Summer has the longest light and the busiest tracks. Spring brings lupins and the least predictable weather.

Yes, and it is the frame couples print biggest. It takes about an hour after dark and needs three things: a clear sky, little or no moon, and the Milky Way core being up — roughly February to October. We check all three against your date and tell you honestly whether to plan for it or treat it as a bonus.

Only if you want to. Some of the best spots are a short walk from a car park, some are a serious climb, and some you land on. Tell us your fitness and what you are willing to do in the shoes you are wearing, and we will match the location to it honestly rather than talking you into something.

A couple of hours is enough for a ceremony and portraits. Most South Island elopements run longer because the day naturally spreads across two locations and golden hour. We price by what the day actually needs rather than a fixed minimum.

Two, legally, and they must be present. Remember they also need a seat in the helicopter if you are flying. If it is just the two of you we can help arrange them.

Some conservation land and some council sites require a permit for a ceremony or for commercial photography. We will tell you which of your shortlisted spots need one and roughly what is involved, so it is sorted before the day rather than argued about on it.

Yes — a full day, ceremony through to the banquet and dancing inside the Green Dragon Inn. The gallery and film on this page are from that wedding. We are not learning the set on your day.

No. Travel to Matamata is built into your quote as one number, so there is nothing to settle afterwards.

We keep shooting. Some of the strongest frames from the wedding on this page are under an umbrella with the hills wet behind — and the Green Dragon interiors are made for a grey day. We will always have a plan that does not depend on sunshine.

Together, on a planning call. Hobbiton runs to its own schedule and the good portrait spots are a walk apart, so we map where you need to be and when before the day, then keep it moving so you are not spending your reception on a hillside.

Yes, right through. The lantern-lit banquet is the part couples rewatch most, and we shoot it and film it to the end rather than packing up after the speeches.

Yes, and we do it often. We build the timeline with you on a call, work around your arrival date and time zone, and can recommend celebrants, florists and stylists who already know the set. The Hobbiton team handle their side superbly, so between us you can arrive in a country you have never visited and still have the day run properly.

Yes — our livestream broadcasts the ceremony on a private link, which matters more here than almost anywhere, because most of your guest list is usually on the other side of the world.

Not at a private venue you have hired. Council parks and beaches and Department of Conservation land sometimes require one. We check before the day rather than on it.

Yes. We keep a working list of the Auckland suppliers we actually stand beside on wedding days — celebrants, hair and makeup, florists, bridal couture, menswear, styling and hire. See vendors and venues we love, or tell us your date and we will make the introductions.

Because almost everyone who loves you will not be there. Photographs show them what it looked like; only a film lets them hear the vows. We record the full ceremony unedited as well as cutting a short highlight film, and it is the same team on the same day, so nobody is stepping into anyone else’s frame.

As much as the day needs, which is the whole point. The ceremony itself is about twenty minutes. After that there are usually one to two hours of portraits with nobody waiting on you, and we plan around the light rather than a run sheet. Moving to a second location for portraits is normal.

Anything from a picnic on the sand to dinner at a restaurant, and quite often takeaway burgers or fish and chips still in the dress — which photographs better than it sounds. Many couples also throw a proper party for everyone months later and arrive already married. We can cover as much or as little of that as you want.

Not at all. Castaways is the one place where we arrange the entire day for you — celebrant, witnesses, hair and makeup, styling and the picnic. Everywhere else around Auckland we come as your photographers and you bring your own celebrant. Both work; they are just priced differently.

West-coast black-sand beaches like Muriwai, Bethells and Piha; the city and the Auckland registry office; Waiheke and the gulf islands; regional parks such as Shakespear and Tawharanui; or somewhere that already means something to you — a backyard, a boat, a family farm. Some council sites need a permit and we will tell you which ones.

An elopement is designed for the two of you, and it works beautifully that way — but a small handful of people is fine. Tell us the number when you enquire and we will price it properly rather than surprising you later.

Yes. Both are included. Nobody has to fly in, and you do not have to ask a stranger on the beach. You still need to apply for your marriage licence yourselves — that part is between you and the registry.

Everything has an indoor version. The ceremony and the picnic can both be set up inside by the fire, with ocean views, and the call is made on the day. On this coast that is not a fallback, it is part of the plan.

Castaways has accommodation and a restaurant on site, so most couples do. It is an hour from the city and you will not want to drive back. Book that directly with the resort and tell us, so we can time the sunset shoot properly.

Same coast, same black sand, different feel. Karioitahi is further south on the Āwhitu Peninsula, and the cliffs are higher and emptier. You will not be sharing your ceremony with a car park full of surfers.

Yes — the link works on phones, tablets, laptops and TVs. If your grandparents can open a message, they can watch your wedding.

We coordinate with your heli operator and celebrant, plan the shot list before takeoff, and shoot efficiently on the landing — mountain windows are short. Ask us and we will walk you through how couples usually structure the day.

Yes — many of our couples fly in to marry here. We help with location suggestions, timelines built around NZ light and seasons, and vendor recommendations from years of local weddings.

Yes — wedding films travel with us, and a livestream lets family watch a remote ceremony live, wherever they are.

All over Auckland — Muriwai, Bethells, Waiheke, the city and the registry office — and we travel regularly to Queenstown and Wanaka for mountain, lake and helicopter elopements. If you are driving the country and want somewhere in between, ask; we would rather meet you where the trip takes you.

Yes, and it is the same team on the same day rather than two suppliers meeting for the first time at your ceremony. A short film matters more at an elopement than almost anywhere else, because the people who could not be there will watch it.

We keep shooting. Some of the best elopement photographs we have taken were in rain on a black-sand beach. For heli days the pilot makes the call on the morning, and we build a ground-level alternative into the plan so the day still happens.

Often, and gladly. Two people and a celebrant on a west coast beach is a real wedding and photographs like one. Our Auckland elopement guide covers the options, and there is a South Island version if you want mountains.

All of them, and it is planned as one continuous story rather than separate bookings. Haldi, mehndi, sangeet, ceremony and reception across three to four days is the format we shoot most often.

Yes, in full, with the priest miked properly. You get that alongside the highlight film. The full ceremony is the file the older generation asks for, and it is not something we make you buy separately.

We film these regularly and know the shape of a Hindu, Sikh and Tamil ceremony. What we do not do is assume every family runs it the same way — so we ask you beforehand which moments matter most to your families, and build the coverage around those.

For a baraat, a sangeet with performances, or any ceremony where two things happen at once, more than one. We will tell you honestly what your specific days need rather than upselling a crew you do not.

Yes, and across multi-day weddings it matters more than usual. One team that has planned all four days together does not get in its own way, and you brief one group of people instead of two.

We check the rules with your venue before the day — camera positions, shoes, heights, whether drone or additional lighting is allowed. Being asked to move mid-ceremony is avoidable, and avoiding it is our job not yours.

Yes, and we would encourage it. The pre-wedding events are where the families are most themselves, and they are usually the photographs people go back to. Our fullest coverage runs across three to four days; smaller options cover the main day plus one pre-wedding event.

It depends on the day. A haldi usually needs one photographer and one videographer. The ceremony gets two photographers and two videographers, because a baraat arrival and a mandap are happening in two different places at once. The reception adds an on-site editor if you want a same-day edit.

Yes — we have photographed Hindu, Tamil, Palki, Gujarati, Punjabi, Sikh, Indo-Fijian, South Indian and Islamic weddings. We still ask. Every family runs it slightly differently, and we would rather go through it with your priest beforehand than guess in the moment.

An editor works on site through the day and cuts a short film that plays on screen at the reception, before the night ends. You do not need one — but it is the single biggest reaction of the whole night, and it is the only time everyone will watch the film together in one room. We bring the projector if the venue does not have one.

Yes. Multi-camera with live switching and proper audio, a private link or YouTube URL, unlimited viewers, and a downloadable HD copy within 48 hours. Most couples run it for the ceremony; some add the reception speeches.

Yes. We photograph the ceremony discreetly, dress appropriately, and confirm with your imam or officiant beforehand where we can stand and what can be photographed. Respect comes first, and the photographs are better for it.

Yes — as their own event with full coverage, or as part of a multi-day package with the wedding. Tell us your event list and we will price the whole celebration together.

That is the part we love. We plan the entrance with your zaffe group or DJ in advance, and we film the dabke from inside the room, not from a tripod at the back. High energy is not a problem — it is the point.

Yes. Whether that means a female photographer for the women’s side, no-photo zones, or portraits that stay private to your family, tell us what your celebration needs and we will plan the coverage around it.

Yes — our livestream broadcasts the ceremony or reception in full HD for family in Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, the Gulf or anywhere else.

Yes — we grew up with them. We know when each sponsor pair steps forward, where to stand for the veil placement, and that the cord photo needs both of you and the ninang’s hands in the same frame. Nothing needs to be explained to us on the day.

Yes. We build a sponsor and family photo list with you before the wedding and run it briskly after the ceremony — a forty-person entourage photographed properly in twenty minutes, not an hour, so you get back to your guests.

Yes. We photograph full nuptial masses regularly, work quietly around the priest, and confirm any church photography rules beforehand so there are no surprises at the altar.

Yes — our livestream broadcasts the ceremony or reception in full HD. For most Filipino weddings we cover, family in the Philippines is watching — titas included.

All of it — the pinning, the dancing, the games and the emcee’s chaos. It is usually the most rewatched part of the film.

Yes — paternal side first, eldest first, both sets of parents, grandparents, then aunts, uncles and married elders. We confirm your family’s exact order at the planning call, because every family runs it slightly differently and yours is the version that matters.

Yes. Chinese weddings often split across the day and sometimes across venues. We plan the coverage as one story with a break in the middle, not two separate bookings.

We build them into the timeline — white gown, qun kwa or qipao, evening dress — so every outfit gets its portraits without stealing time from your guests.

Yes, and we pace it with the MC so the toasting round is covered table by table without dinner going cold. It is one of the most requested albums of the night.

We have photographed Pacific and Māori weddings in Auckland for years, and we still ask every time — because no two families do it the same way. Before your day we go through your order of events together so we know what is happening, when, and where we should and should not be standing.

Yes. We regularly shoot 10–12 hour days and multi-day celebrations, and we build packages around the real timeline rather than squeezing your day into a standard one.

Comfortably. For weddings over roughly 200 guests we bring a second shooter as standard, so the ceremony and the reception hall are both covered properly and the group portraits do not eat your evening.

Yes — we offer wedding livestreaming from the same team, with multi-camera coverage and clear audio on a private link. It is one of the most common add-ons for Pacific families.

We do — film, PhotoBooth and 360 Glam Booth all come from one team, one contract and one consistent style.

All of them. Mehndi, Haldi, Sangeet, wedding day and reception — whether that is two events or seven across a week. Multi-day pricing is built for exactly this, and it costs less than booking each day separately.

We have photographed Hindu, Sikh, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, South Indian, Indo-Fijian and Muslim weddings, and plenty of fusions of two families’ traditions. If your family does something we have not seen, tell us at the planning call — we would rather ask twice than miss it once.

Yes. We cover head, remove shoes, and speak with the granthi or pandit beforehand about where we can stand during the ceremony. Respect first, photographs second — and both turn out better for it.

With a second photographer and, on film bookings, a second videographer — one team on you, one on your families and guests. Nobody important gets missed because everybody important is assigned to someone.

The two hours before sunset. Sunrise is just as good and far less crowded. Overcast and foggy days work beautifully too. The one time to avoid if you can is the middle of a clear day, when overhead sun puts shadows under your eyes.

Two to three hours including travel between locations. Editing takes three to four weeks.

Two or three outfits gives you range: one dressed-up or traditional look and one date-night look. Neutral earthy colours photograph best. Avoid big patterns, logos and bright saturated colours, and wear shoes you can walk in.

No. The first ten minutes feel strange for almost everyone, and then people forget the camera is there. You get direction the whole way through, so you are never left wondering what to do with your hands.

Yes. Plenty of dogs have come along. Bring someone who can hold the lead when we need both your hands free.

It is the ideal time for your wedding trial, because you get to see it photographed rather than just in a mirror. Unless you wear a full face every day, less is more.

Work backwards from sunset rather than forwards from getting ready. A ceremony finishing two to three hours before sunset leaves room for family photos, drinks and portraits without rushing. Auckland sunset moves from about 5:15pm in June to past 8pm in January, so the right ceremony time depends entirely on your month.

Allow 20 to 30 minutes for family groupings, 45 minutes to an hour for the two of you if the venue has variety on site, and a separate 20 minutes near sunset. If the best backdrops are off site, add the return drive twice.

A full planner is not in most budgets, but a day-of coordinator often is and is usually money well spent. Without one, the job of chasing suppliers on the day falls to a family member or to you.

Ask every venue where exactly the ceremony happens in rain and how late you can decide. Some Auckland venues have a genuinely good indoor option and some do not. Rain also photographs beautifully, so it is not the disaster it feels like.

The Town Hall staircase, the Viaduct at blue hour, hidden laneways, waterfront reflections and quiet corners we have scouted over years of city weddings — including the ones that need no permit drama — usually all within minutes of your venue, planned around your ceremony time and the light.

It started with my love for superheroes and my passion for photography. Whenever I travelled I’d snap photos and share them under the hashtag #supergiboadventure to show off whatever superhero-related thing I’d found. Over time I realised SuperGibo wasn’t just a fun hashtag — it captured my personality and my style.

So why not make it the business too? I hesitated at first, wondering whether people would take me seriously with a name like SuperGibo. But the more confident I got in capturing fun, genuine moments for people, the more I knew it was the right call.

SuperGibo Photography isn’t your average photo service. It’s about an experience that ties in my love for adventure — I want couples to feel like they’re living in a superhero movie when they work with me.

Yes. I photographed weddings alongside a full-time job from 2015, and in 2024 I left that job to do this properly. Weddings are the whole thing now — which means your day gets my full attention, not what’s left of a working week.

I was born in the Philippines and came over in 2012. I knew almost as soon as I landed that I’d love it — the place, and more than that the people. These days I’m a Kiwi-noy: half New Zealander, half Filipino. It’s a pretty good deal.

I bought a camera in 2014 to photograph the places I was travelling to. Landscapes first — chasing sunsets and stars — then street photography, then church events, family gatherings and portraits of my friends. Then some of those friends asked me to photograph their wedding. That was it. I’d found the thing.

Coffee, non-negotiable. Basketball. Anything with height — climbing, cliff jumping, bungee, skydiving, roller coasters. Hiking, which I used to hate and now love, mostly because of who I go with. Singing, badly. Marvel films. Ginger beer and L&P.

One fast zoom and a second body, in that order. Not a third lens. The gear that makes a visible difference to a client is the gear that keeps working when something fails and lets you shoot in a dark room without a flash in someone’s face.

No. An f/2.8 zoom and a cheap fast prime will shoot a wedding that nobody can tell apart in a gallery. The f/2 buys comfort in bad light and one less lens change — those are real, but they are conveniences, not the thing clients are paying for.

That is most of what my mentoring sessions end up being about — usually the conclusion is that you need less than you think. Details are on the mentoring page.