Is it wrong to tell you that taking photos isn't actually what gets me out of bed in the morning? What I love most about being a Hawke’s Bay photographer (and why I will still have my camera in one hand and a walking stick in the other) is that I get to be part of the moments that matter most to people. As a wedding, family portrait and commercial photographer, I get to contribute something small but important to the people I connect with. Plus, what I do is SO. MUCH. FUN.

As part of my commitment to creating memories that will be family treasures for generations, I focus on creating candid connections between people and emotional images to remind you how it felt to get married, become a parent, and be part of a family. How do I do this? Well, mostly just by making you laugh, making you feel like what we’re doing is the most fun you’ve ever had with your clothes on and just by being chilled out in my approach to working with you.

I honour the future as well as the present by editing and shooting in a classic, timeless style without filters. Every image is a unique artwork in my editing process, and I believe the colours of nature and your own palette should inform my editing rather than relying on quick presets based on today’s trends.


Eva-bradley-hawkes-bay-photographer

ThE BACKSTORY…

What matters most to me is living a purposeful life. I want to look back when I'm 80 and feel like I made a difference, even a small one. It's why I love being a parent, and it's also why I feel so incredibly grateful to be a wedding, family portrait and commercial photographer here where I grew up in Hawke’s Bay. I've been doing it for 18 years now after ditching a seemingly glam life as a TV reporter for One News. Telling stories and working with people was always something I loved to do, but I soon realised I needed to be behind the camera rather than in front to do it.

Now, after shooting about 700 weddings in Hawke's Bay and across New Zealand, I still get excited every time I pack my camera bag. Even though the event or venue is quite often the same, the people at the centre of it and the stories that have brought them together never are. Watching their joy and being responsible for documenting it makes me happy, and it's a buzz that continues as photography and my skill and approach to it evolves over the years.

Sometimes I think I need more in my life than my job and my family, but mostly I just feel super grateful that what I call ‘work’ is also my passion and if I ever had spare time (!!!), photography and editing is what I’d choose to do with it. If you’d like to see my most recent work, check out some blogs here on my site, or follow me on Instagram. If you’d rather learn more about my sausage dog, Pablo, you can follow his instagram instead (yup, I’m one of those sad individuals who has an instagram account for their dog. Apologies).