My love affair with light and capturing images started in New Zealand one Christmas day when I was 12 years old. After opening my presents I walked down to Stanmore Bay beach for a swim and found an old Olympus film camera sitting in the sand. That's how it started.
Fast forward through the years, I studied photography in Auckland, lived in Tokyo where I became obsessed with polaroid, then London where I shot my first wedding (not as scary as I had imagined). After many U.K weddings I shot my first destination wedding in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. As a lover of travel I was hooked. I went straight back to London and did everything I could to book more destination weddings. More followed throughout Italy, France, Corsica, Iceland, Cyprus, Japan, New York, N.Z & Rarotonga.
I've been lucky, but I never take any job for granted. I always feel gratitude and privileged to be chosen to photograph a couples wedding. It doesn't matter to me if it's in some amazing venue or country, or in someone's back yard. Two of my favourite Australian weddings have been DIY backyard weddings. It's the people and the couples energy that make a great wedding, not the location or venue. I just slink around and soak it all up while capturing the beautiful moments as they unfold. It's a lot of fun.
I'm now based on the stunning Gold Coast with my wife Nicola and my little dancer Alaya. I'd love to get out and shoot more weddings around Australia but I'm also content with all the incredible couples and locations the G.C, Brisbane and Northern NSW has to offer.
Pleased to meet you, I'm HAYDEN
MY PHILOSOPHY
Here’s where you can delve further into your favourite things outside of wedding photography – everyone might be able to be a photographer, but there’s little quirks that make you unique – chat about that.
Maybe you can talk about your favourite hobbies, food, art or leisure activities. What you do to wind down when you’re not shooting – pets, your family, your hometown.
You can also use this opportunity to rehash your love for travelling – a great way for you to subtly remind them that you’re open to shooting destination weddings.
Remember to wrap up this section by tying it back into wedding photography. For example, “That’s a little sneak peek into my life and a few of my favourite things. No matter who and where we are, we’re all souls wandering this beautiful earth, with a different story to share. No tale is one and the same. And that’s why I LOVE documenting love stories (and hopefully yours too!)”
Disney Movies still Make me Cry (a one-liner, fun quirk that makes you, you)
MY FAV THINGS
WHAT INSPIRES ME
Here’s where you can go on a deeper dive into what started your photography journey and why you love it so much – talk about your motivations and purpose, why every shoot is a new experience.
You can also write about your overall style and personality, what makes you different from all the other photographers they’ve researched. Don’t be shy!
Talk about how your photos will help them relive the day for years and generations to come.
“Every wedding, every shoot, I see the world through a whole new lens. Your story will be different from the last, and this ignites my passion all over again.”
BEHIND THE LENS
Uncover your overall approach to the day and an overview of your process. Help them picture what it’s like to have you there on the day and why what you do is so important. Mention how you’ll help them ensure the day flows smoothly, because you’ve had loads of experience at other weddings.
For example, talk about how you’ll arrive at first light to capture the mother-of-the-bride and the bridal squad helping the bride get ready. Or the groomsmen sneaking a few drinks to calm their nerves.
Chat about how you’ll turn up after one too many coffees, buzzing with energy to capture one of the most important, memorable days in their lives, and that you won’t miss a moment.
Write about documenting the getting ready prep through to ceremony, reception and afterparty (if relevant). How you’ll be there in the centre of it all or as a wallflower behind the scenes, photographing moments and details that they might’ve missed (e.g. Aunty Doris getting drunk on the d-floor). Whether you stick to purely candid shots or will pose them for styled shots.
Rain, hail or shine, I won’t miss a beat
MY PHILOSOPHY - Always be kind to yourself and others. Never compare yourself to others. If you can think it, there's a very good chance you can create it. Always be open to the idea that this could all just be a grand delusion. Direct experience is the best kind of truth.
MY FAV THINGS - My girls, friends and family, the ocean, creating art/objects with concrete, walking around asian cities between midnight-5am,the Plastikman album 'Consumed', wandering around supermarkets in different countries, coffee and exploring temples.
WHAT INSPIRES ME - Light & silence, Japanese & Scandi design, nature, cities, minimalism, wabi-sabi, peoples stories, films, brutalist architecture, Tokyo, concrete.
WHO - Tadao Ando, Helmut Lang, Jean Luc Godard, Richie Hawtin, Warhol, Dylan, W.S Burroughs, Yohji Yamamoto, Anselm Kiefer, Yayoi Kusama, Rei Kawakubo, Ann Demeulemeester, Bowie & Anish Kapoor.
BEHIND THE LENS - a camera is a tool that captures light. It's good, but the magic is in the energy between the subject and photographer. I believe the camera captures the energy occurring within, and emanating from,the photographer & subject. The resulting image is a visual representation of the dance of light.
Thank you
"My husband and I are so happy with our wedding photos. Hayden was a pleasure to work with. We had so much fun getting adventurous and had lots of laughs. He made us both so comfortable. A huge recommendation from us! "
- Josh & Bridgette
Place a review from a client here about how amazing you are to work with and how stunning you photos are! Remember to keep it short.
NICK & JEREMY
Place a review from a client here about how amazing you are to work with and how stunning you photos are! Remember to keep it short.
ASHLEY & GEORGE
Place a review from a client here about how amazing you are to work with and how stunning you photos are! Remember to keep it short.
HARRY & LAUREN
Don't be surprised if I ask you to jump a fence, climb up rocks or balance on an old tree trunk to make sure we get a great shot.
I once convinced a bride in Iceland to be carried into an old abandoned fish oil tank. White dress, black gooey tank..Brave girl! - True story. The image is in the slideshow below.
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