I had an absolute blast shooting Claire and Aaron’s Mt Compass engagement shoot! I mean take a look at all that golden light that was filtering in through the stunning Australian bushland!
Claire and Aaron are lucky enough to have a friend who owns a farm in Mt Compass – just south of Adelaide that features stunning rolling hills, ponds, rugged bush and some incredible trees. They even made it easy on me and decided to head out for their engagement shoot during golden hour which really made things pretty darn awsome! Turned out to be a stunning shoot!
We began at the top of a hill, which had some huge, gnarly gum trees which we stood under for a few shots to warm up, then walked down the other side to find a stunning little pond enveloped with lush gum trees. There was no wind so the water was still and made for some lovely reflections.
We then head back up the hill and made use of the dying light of the sun filtering in throguh the foliage – which was really beatiful! The hill also overlooked the lovely folling hills that make up the majority of Onkaparinga.
To finish up I broke up one of my last smoke bombs to create a little bit of atmosphere with the sun light filtering in through the smoke.
I had a blast! Looking forward to Claire and Aaron’s wedding at Serafino’s Winery early January now! 😀
Standing together in the sunlight
Couples standing under a gum tree
Standing together under a gum tree
Sun shining through gum tree
Walking down the grassy hill together
Reflections in the pond
Admiring the scenery together
Outstanding in their field
Walking together across the field
Sun shining through a tree above
Couples shot through the leaves
Holding one another in the leaves
Engagement photoshoot
Engagement shoot Mt Compass
Couple near dead tree
Lifting her up silhouette
In amongst the trees with smoke
Smoke backdrop for couple
Couple shoot with smoke
Passionate kiss on engagement shoot
Thanks so much Claire and Aaron for having me shoot your Mt COmpass Engagement shoot! Was amazing!
Molly and Ian had booked me for their South Terrace Engagement shoot a while back, but were thwarted by bad weather for a couple of weeks before we finally met up. The day we did meet up wasn’t really much better, with the temperature on the chilly side, and the heavens continually threatening to open up on us. That being the case however, Molly and Ian’s demeanor was fun and bubbly all throughout their shoot which made it a whole lot of fun!
After meeting in front of Himeji Gardens where we spent around 30 minutes taking photos within the gardens, we head over to Veal gardens just up the road where we walked a lap of the area.
Here’s a small preview of some of their photos taken on the day, and I’m looking forward to their wedding even more now at the St Francis Winery next September!
It wasn’t the nicest day to go out and do a photo shoot out and about high in the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, but I’m so glad Olivia and Dimitiri were keen to head out anyway as the colours you can get here are just incredible! Also the rising mist from early in the morning just made the feeling of their engagement photos that much more surreal!
Olivia and Dimitri were umming and ering over where to go for their photoshoot, thinking maybe a beach, or the Belair National Park but in the end were very keen on heading to the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, mainly due to it was where Dimitri had originally proposed.
As this engagement shoot was happening only a few weeks after when they were supposed to be married, I thought this was quite appropriate! Olivia and Dimitri had had to postpone their wedding due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Once a location was chosen, I really wanted to make use of the lovely light either in the late afternoon for the golden hour, or early morning.
We ended up getting up early on the freezing morning for the gates to open at 8:30 as the COVID-19 restrictions had just been lifted and we expected the Botanic Gardens to be packed with people trying to get out and about a bit! The early start, coupled with the drizzly weather meant we had the whole Gardens to ourselves.
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Engagement Shoot
We began our photoshoot walk at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens lower carpark, nearby the dam wall. Our first reaction when arriving was that we were super lucky to still have some colours in the autumn leaves that made these botanic gardens so magical! I was kind of hoping to get a bit of fog into their photos, but it was fast rising.
We quickly hopped up the nearby hill to make use of some trees that were losing their leaves, then head down to the water’s edge as I wanted to use my favourite tree in all of the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, but unfortunately it had already lost all it’s leaves 🙁
Cuddles by the water
Walking together in the Autumn colours
Walking along the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens dam
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Autumn colours
Close up of engagement ring
Laughing through the red leaves
Holding one another at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
Olivia and Dimitri certainly made it easy as their carefree attitude was present all throughout the photoshoot and they had plenty of smiles on their faces!
We then head across the dam, which I feel is always an awesome shot to get, making the couple feel as though they are out in the middle of nowhere on ther path way. It’s a very tricky shot to get though as usually the dam walkway is always full of dozens of other people walking across!
Walking along the Mt Lofty Botanic Dam
Couple on the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Dam
The big draw of the Botanic Gardens are the wonderfully vivid autumnal colours you can get at this time of year, and thankfully we were able to capture some before they all fell from the trees. The colours, coupled with the misty morning really made for some wonderful scenes!
I had a blast taking photos with Olivia and Dimitri during this weather, but it’s so rare to get a couple to get up this early and head out in bad weather like this! 🙂
Just have a ook at the types of unique scenes you can get in weather like this! from fog, to muted autumnal colours!@ It’s a great time to take photos! Just not so great if you want to stay snug and warm :/
Couple under the yellow leaves
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Bridge
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens in winter
Couple under the orange trees
Laughing and playing
Hugs under the yellow leaves
Walking together with the mist
Hugs under the maple leaves
Looking at the camera under the maple leaves
Looking at a flower
I’d like to thank Olivia’s sister in law Thalia whose engagement shoot had been given to them by her mother for giving Olivia and Dimitri their engagement shoot! It’s always nice to know that people appreciate their photos so much they have their family and friends also have their photos taken with me! 🙂
Costa contacted me via my Facebook page looking to have an engagement shoot done at short notice as both himself and his fiancee will be in town at the same time. Luckily I had a day free as I actually had two weddings on the same weekend that Costa wanted to have their shoot done, but luckily they were on the Friday and Saturday, so I had the Sunday free 🙂 I asked him what time of shots he’d prefer and he suggested something industrial. Really only one place to go in Adelaide for a shoot like that, Crozier Street in Port Adelaide! It’s a super popular spot for taking photos, to the point that on Saturdays you’d often find yourself queueing up behind several other weddings just to shoot there 🙂 We started the shoot at the Grange jetty nearby though for a bit of variety in the photos.
Avery and Matt had me shoot some pre-wedding shots in and around the Adelaide CBD with the distinct aim of incorporating as many Adelaide landmarks as possible. Being from Taiwan and with Matt continually travelling due to his work, they were keen on having photos from around Adelaide they could show off to friends and family overseas. At the time of publishing this preview, Avery and Matt should already have been married at the Adelaide Registry office last Thursday, so I’m thinking congratulations are in order! 🙂
It’s a bit of a tradition in Asian countries, not just Taiwan, to have their wedding photos done on a day other than the actual wedding day – thereby allowing more time on the actual day for celebrations. I feel this tradition is most obvious in Hawaii where on any given day there will be dozens of bridal couples along the beach of Waikiki along with crews of photographers and fleets of drones taking photos.
Adelaide CBD Engagement Shoot
Our day started quite early to try and avoid shoppers taking advantage of the new year’s stocktake sales around the Mall’s Balls with the aim of then using the top floor of Adelaide Arcade, then heading towards the Torrens. However the Adelaide arcade was not yet open so after taking some shots at the Mall’s Balls we headed over to North Terrace and Adelaide University before visiting the Torrens footbridge. We finished off the session by wandering over to the Elder Park Rotunda and Government House before heading back to Adelaide Arcade.
Bonython Hall
In the walkways of Adelaide University
Door way of Adelaide University
Couple at Mall’s Balls Adelaide
Walking around Adelaide University
Smiling
On the steps of Government House
In the walkways of Adelaide University
Couple at Mall’s Balls Adelaide
Under a tree on North Terrace
Behind the Adelaide Museum
in the old Police Barracks
Bonython Hall
Under a weeping willow
Out the front of Adelaide Museum
On the steps of Government House
In the walkways of Adelaide University
Lensflare kiss
Adelaide Arcade
Reflection in the Mall’s Balls
Couple at Mall’s Balls Adelaide
Adelaide CBD Engagement shoot
Under a tree on North Terrace
In the walkways of Adelaide University
Smiling
Out the front of Adelaide Museum
Being silly with photobooth props
I feel as though we managed to cover all that is Adelaide on our little tour of the Adelaide CBD, covering all of the major landmarks in around 2 hours. I wish Avery and Matt all the best in their globe trotting adventures and of course in married life! 🙂
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