A little bit about me and why I am a photographer

Hey, so I've been meaning to write this blog post for the longest time. I really want to share a bit about who I am and what things are important to me when I'm documenting people's precious wedding days. And a bit about why I'm a Nelson wedding photographer.

So here we are, I'm Lula. I've lived in Tasman for a year now, my little family (well, 4 kiddos!) moved down from Taupo. I've been a Nelson/Tasman photographer ever since. I've photographing weddings all around the country, from Waiheke to Mahia to Martinborough to Christchurch. I've been a photographer for many years now, after beginning my learning journey on film in high school. I actually fibbed about my age to get into a night school darkroom course when I was 13, what a rebel.

I reckon it's really important to look at why we do things, and my why is hugely important to me. Photography is, to me, documenting people in a moment of time. Taking a photograph is basically saying, "I love you and I want to keep this moment forever, so I'm taking a photo." And with weddings, I figure my couple is outsourcing this to me, and it's a privilege I take really seriously. My mum passed away 14 years ago, and she was very photophobic. Very few photos exist of her, and those that do are incredibly precious. This right here is my why; there will come a day when all that is left of me is a selection of photographs, and that is the same for everyone.

Here is one amazing photo of my mum and I that a friend passed on to me a couple of years ago from my wedding, how amazing is that?! Such an incredible gift.

I'm alllll about documenting wedding days as they unfold. I kind of float around while you are getting ready, just doing my thing. I really like catching the relationships between people, that's definitely a huge part of my vibe. I think it's because that's one of the aspects I see as the most important at a wedding - the people, how they interact with each other and how they show their love.

I'm also a complete sucker for the parents of my couples, I always come away from weddings so chuffed I've met these awesome people. They've just always been awesome. It's one of my favourite bits!

I'm amazing at flitting around the outside of a situation, which is part of what makes me a great photographer and makes me a great companion on a wedding day. Meet me one on one though, not at a wedding and I'm awkward - but hey, that makes me totally get all you couples who are about to tell me how awkward you are with photos. I'm so awkward I met with a couple once and hugged them and my ear suctioned on to the groom's cheek... They still hired me and we had a ball and I didn't stick any more ears on anyone!

I have a million more things to share, like why I shoot in black and white, how much I love tangible products and what things I include in my wedding packages, some of the awesome Nelson wedding venues and Nelson wedding vendors we have, and how I actually live on sugarfree V in glass bottles and eat music to get through the wedding season. So that's the crash course on Lula for you!