E+M- Fremantle wedding on Film and Digital

I have been photographing film at weddings in Perth and worldwide for about 5 years now and every time that email with the film scans hits my inbox I still get butterflies!

If you have wanted to try photography using film here’s a few little tips:

1- Start on an automatic film camera.

My favourite 35 mm camera is the Manolta Mac-tele. This camera is a beast, I recently dropped mine at a wedding and completely smashed it (it was such a sad moment) but the camera still works, incredible! If you have been shooting film for a while and your up for more or a challenge then the Pentax k-1000 is my favourite manual camera. They have inbuilt light metres inside so you wont need to carry around a light metre as long as it is working.

2- Don’t worry about buying expensive film.

When shooting 35mm film I usually shoot on Kodak portra 400 or Fuji 400h (which is now discontinued so I won’t be for long) but I have recently found that Kodak Ultra max is just as beautiful and is half the price. You can get this from Big W so you wont need to worry about getting slogged with massive shipping costs.

3- Send your film to the right lab!

The lab who scans your images makes 1000% of the difference to the look of the images. I love PhotoVision in the US but in Australia a few favourite’s are Lazarus lab or Atkins pro lab.

4- Think about your image before you take it. Composition, lighting and the subject.

Whether you’re using an iPhone, camera or film camera you can take a really great image if you consider these three things. Film works best with lots of light or if its dark you’ll need a flash. Take your time, sometimes counting down before taking the image can help with less eyes closed as every image costs money.

For Marco and Emmelie’s wedding at their home in Fremantle, Perth I photographed using 120mm film, 35mm film and digital. Every wedding I photograph I use both film and digital to capture the day. I use 120mm film because its professional grade and is high quality but I shoot 35mm for filler shots or for every day photos of my little one at home as its cheaper, you get more photos from the roll and you can use an auto film camera so you can take photos without thinking too hard.

Em and Marco’s day was so perfect, here’s Ems sweet words after receiving her full gallery- “Hi lovely Amelia, Wow wow wow, thank you so much for your beautiful photos. We have just shared them with our families and we are all absolutely in awe! You captured the day and the happiness so perfectly! So special to have the filmies too, thank you. We have been recommending you to friends - so glad we chose you.”

M+O | Swan valley Summer wedding

Michael and Olivia were married on a perfect sunny summer afternoon in the Perth Swan Valley, their wedding day was perfectly stress free and full of fun, after being apart of 100+ weddings, I feel like I have witnessed it all. Let me be honest in telling: my clients are amazing. They are the best of the best, I feel fortunate to know these people. In working with the best, I need to be the best. So how do you do that? Well, it’s all about guiding my couples through the complicated/stressful/crazy process of planning the biggest, most important day of your life. No biggie, right? Wrong.

So, let’s talk through four tips to help create a stress free wedding day?

1.) BE STRATEGIC WITH YOUR SCHEDULE:

Your ceremony time will direct how the day will lead. If it’s easy, great, you can do your photos in between that and cocktail hour, if you’re ceremony flows into your cocktails, well, you should probably consider a first look. Work with your photographer, find out how long they need for certain things, schedule in travel time, and add a little cushion!

2.) COMMUNICATE YOUR SCHEDULE CLEARLY:

Need your grandma to the church early? Want your wedding party to hang around after the ceremony? Need your college buddies ready for a shot during cocktail hour? Tell them! Make sure you communicate the schedule clearly and that everyone who needs it has it. Be an over-communicator, it will seriously pay off!

3.) MAKE SURE THERE’S TIME TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR RECEPTION DETAILS:

I urge my couples to do first looks for multiple reasons. First, it gives you the chance to soak it in, embrace, and experience the emotions without hundreds of pairs of eyes on you. It also gives me the chance to sneak into your reception during cocktail hour and photograph all of the hard work you’ve done!

4.) TAKE MOMENTS TO JUST BE PRESENT:

I know, everyone says it! The day flys by, so intentionally stop and, take a moment, hold each others hands and remember the moment. Wedding days are amazing and so much fun but they are here and gone in the blink of an eye.

It’s important to set yourself up for success and to ease any stress ahead of time!

Wedding Dress Legends Bridal

Make-up Artist Ella Cromey Makeup Artistry

Hair Stylist Angie Taylor

Florist Sweet Floral Perth

Venue: Mulberry Estate, Swan Valley Perth

Jeweler Vera Wang

Signage: Sadie from Ky and Co Creations 

Meet Everlee

It was such a pleasure to photograph this sweet newborn baby girl at just a week old. Everlee came two weeks early without a glitch. Kirsty shared “Motherhood so far is truely wonderful. You cannot prepare yourself for the amount of love you feel for this beautiful little human that you somehow grew in your belly and birthed into the world. You are now responsible for another life, and somehow you already couldn’t imagine life without them in it.”

Wedding Planning- 5 tips to a less stressful planning experience

Lets be honest! Planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful things you take on. As a wedding photographer and former bride I see it first hand. Really, planning your wedding is like jumping head first into the planning world and your supposed to know how to plan what should be the happiest day of your life. I know that before I got married id never chosen a menu or designed an invitation!

Getting married is one of the happiest day of your life, your finally married to the love of your life, your worlds are joined and all your favourite friends and family and there to celebrate so I want to give you a few tips on how to make this day a little less stressful!

perth-swan-valley-wedding.jpg

1. Remember you are planning a marriage not a wedding. After the big day you actually become a wife, getting a fresh perspective is one of the fastest ways to check yourself before you wreck yourself. This is the best way to remember that although this will be the best day, there are also thousands of days after this one that you will spend together.

2. Prioritise your budget. Let me tell you a little secret, wedding’s are not cheap. Its important that you decide early- what vendors are the most important to you and prioritise investing into those early on. For us we knew photography was number one but wedding favours were not. We splurged on our photographer and made our favours ourselves.

3. Showcase YOU! Team up a couple and decide what you want your day to look like and then let your closest family and friends know how they can help you make this happen. This is your day, not your mums! Its so easy to get caught up people pleasing but if you do you will always lose. Of course we want our family and friends to have a wonderful day and also your first day as a married couple, your chance to showcase what you love, what makes you unique and to have one heck of a party!

4. Take time out for you! Self care is not overrated. Sometimes we need to switch off from the planning and just enjoy being engaged. Be present, go for a picnic, beach date or coffee with your betrothed and just enjoy your time together without thinking about the planning.

5. Choose vendors you trust! This is a big one- choose people you know and trust. Have your friends used these vendors and was their experience a positive one? On my wedding day I didnt want my friends to have to do too much, so I hired one of my Perth industry favourites The Cake & I, Jo set up my afternoon tea and cake for all my guests and I was fully confident she would make it look beautiful and I wouldn’t have too think about it!

Wedding planning can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be! Take time to enjoy this wonderful season of your life while you plan the start of your married life together. Make the planning process fun, keep it light hearted, remember things won’t always go to plan but it will still be wonderful. When it gets too stressful, take a step back. I sincerely hope you plan a marriage more beautiful than your wedding day. Happy planning

Download the free wedding checklist here

D+D | Maternity beach photography

Danielle shared “I’ve enjoyed carrying this sweet boy for the past nine months and will miss feeling him this close to me, but we are so ready to meet our little man. So, for now I will enjoy every little kick and move as we count down the days before his arrival as that can be any day now! I am in love with our maternity photos! Thank you @portraits.with.amelia for capturing this special time in our lives. These are photos we’ll cherish forever”