Margaret River Wedding Photographer

I’m John, a professional Margaret River wedding photographer with two decades of experience photographing weddings in Margaret River and across the South West. I love wedding photography in Margaret River, I get to work with amazing brides and grooms and photograph at the best wedding venues in the South West.

Best Wedding Venues in the South West of Western Australia.

I’ve experienced the incredible wedding venues that the South West has to offer, creating a portfolio featuring weddings and elopements at a range of unique locations across the Margaret River region. Photographing everything from luxury weddings at a picturesque winery to an intimate elopement at Boranup Forest, and naturally everything in between. 

Why I love being a wedding photographer in Margaret River.

The amazing venues that Margaret River offers to suit your wedding plans.

All of the hidden treasures, secret spots and world class wineries, pristine beaches that Margaret River is known and admired for. There is something for every bride and groom planning their special wedding day in this beautiful area called Margaret River - from traditional and religious ceremonies, to large luxury weddings at a winery or beachside venue - right through to intimate elopements, or a backyard wedding. 

Credaro Wines Weddings in the heart of Margaret River wine region.

Looking for a truly five star location with a Tuscan Style Cellar door and terrace overlooking the picturesque Wildwood valley for your photographs? Get married at Credaro Wines, in the heart of the Margaret River wine region, located conveniently just ten minutes south of Dunsborough town centre. Steve & Emily’s beautiful wedding at Credaro Wines. 

Stylish weddings at Black Brewing Co

Weddings at Black Brewing Co are the most stylish, offering amazing culinary creations, carefully crafted beers and beautiful wines made from their vineyards.  A combination of traditional stonework and contemporary architectural style offers couples an amazing variety to their wedding photographs. See a real Black Brewing Co Wedding Jedd & Kelsie.

Check out my Margaret River wedding portfolio.

You might like to go straight to my wedding portfolio, it features lot's of pictures created during my Margaret River photography commissions.

Looking for a Margaret River wedding photographer?

Check my availability and receive my wedding photography prices and packages

Timeless Margaret River wedding photography

I’ve been a professional wedding photographer, Margaret River and Australia since 2000, photographing hundreds of weddings and portrait commissions across Margaret River, the South West, Western Australia and internationally each year since. My natural wedding photography style has developed into a distinct combination of documentary and natural wedding photography. 

How I create natural wedding photographs

Unlike many wedding photographers, I will not ask you to pose, jump or act in front of the camera. My primary aim is for you to be nice and relaxed whilst enjoying your wedding day, leaving me to create timeless and genuine images for you. 

Unobtrusive approach to wedding photography.

My entire style centres around being unobtrusive, from the small cameras that I use, lenses to blend into the background, all of my photography is captured in an exceptionally discreet manner. I consistently apply this approach as a wedding photographer, it allows me to photograph natural moments without getting sprung, by doing my work quietly and without fuss. 

Find out about my style - What is documentary wedding photography

My Margaret River wedding photography is shot using mainly available light, I will try every possible technique before using flash for instance. As a photographer, this allows me to record a genuine representation of the atmosphere at your wedding. It also gives my reportage wedding photography style a clear, defined and consistent look.  

I would confidently say that a big part of my wedding photography style doesn’t centre around cameras or lenses at all. I have been passionate about the documentary photography movement for over twenty years, since I studied for a photography degree at university in England.

How my experience of photographing hundreds of weddings in Margaret River will benefit you.

The body language that a wedding photographer uses is an important skill, how I move discreetly, blending in within your guests will determine the quality of the natural wedding moments I am able to photograph for you. Years of experience photographing hundreds of wedding in Margaret River and further afield, means that I am adept at acting and looking just like a wedding guest.

Mostly I am ignored by wedding guests which suits me perfectly to capture natural photographs at your wedding. The last thing you want is for your photographer to be the one catching everyones attention.

Why people skills are essential to photograph weddings.

I have refined this simplistic approach over years of working as a wedding photographer. My people skills give my photographs a personal and intimate feel. My photography will remind you of the mood and what it was actually like to be present at your wedding. Hundreds of honest and genuine moments captured without being posed and forced into smiles. A timeless classic style that will stand the test of time, incredibly valuable memories compiled into your unique wedding story, for you to look back on and enjoy in years to come. 

Recent Margaret River weddings on the blog

Interested in me being your Margaret River wedding photographer?

Planning a wedding in Margaret River.

You can find many of the best, luxury wedding venues in Margaret River, the South West does have the advantage of being home to numerous resort style wedding venues that offer chalets or cottages on their property. This makes you and your guests wedding experience easier as your accommodation is situated within easy walking distance, safer by eliminating driving and if you want to carry on the party back at your chalet you can. 

Eight Willows Retreat weddings in Margaret River.

Those looking for two fantastic examples of this style of venue in the Margaret River region I would recommend Eight Willows Retreat, get married surrounded by forest in their outdoor bush chapel and enjoy your wedding night in a contemporary reception space overlooking a beautiful tree lined lake. 

Pullman Resort Bunker Bay Weddings

Pullman Resort Bunker Bay is a luxury resort style wedding experience situated on the pristine shores of Bunker Bay Beach. A short drive to some of the Margaret River regions best wedding photography locations like Sugar Loaf, Shelley Cove, Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay and Canal Rocks. 

Budget wedding venues in the South West.

Celebrating your love doesn’t have to come at a high cost though, there are some fantastic options situated in the hear of the South West for you to host your wedding day. Weddings at Ramada Resort in Dunsborough for example offers you a beach side resort close to Busselton with a Bayview ball room and a terrace with magnificent ocean views over Geographe Bay. The crisp white sand and sunsets will give you amazing beach wedding photography in Margaret River. 

The very best luxury wedding venues in Margaret River

The beauty of planning a wedding in the Margaret River region is that there is an abundance of wedding venues to suit everything from quirky to luxury.

Wills Domain Wedding

One venue that always leaves my jaw on the floor when I visit it is Wills Domain, stunning panoramic valley views, rolling hills as far as the eye can see, it’s got to be a wedding photographers dream to shoot here. The award winning wines and a first class culinary experience means this is a must see wedding venue in Margaret River in my opinion. 

Look through some of the best, most extravagant, luxurious and downright quirky Margaret River wedding venues I’ve had the pleasure of photographing at in the picture galleries below. If you’d like to enquire into me being your Margaret River wedding photographer, simply get in touch to discuss pricing and availability.

LINK Look through more Margaret River wedding photos at venues across the South West.

Margaret River Documentary Wedding Photographer

A documentary wedding photographer is commonly referred to as “wedding photojournalist” or “reportage wedding photographer” however essentially, they all refer to the same thing - an unobtrusive observational approach to photographing a wedding. My “hands off” photo style allows you to enjoy what will surely be one of the most important days in your entire life. Choosing the right wedding photographer is an exceptionally important task, to make your life harder, there are hundreds of them in Margaret River and the South West. 

Not all professional wedding photographers are practised in being discreet during weddings.

A documentary wedding photographer must be discreet and unobtrusive to create candid wedding photographs that are of authentic moments.

With this in mind, it’s incredibly important to do your research, my blog is crammed full of useful articles, Margaret River wedding stories and customer reviews, so please be sure to utilise it…

How I can photograph your wedding story

I love how weddings are like a short story, they all have loosely similar theme but with unique locations, energy, characters, personalities and emotions. Having photographed literally hundreds of weddings in Margaret River I have experienced many variations of weddings, so much so that I have developed the ability to anticipate moments at weddings before they happen. I have added layer upon layer of understanding when a potential genuine moment may happen, by gambling that it will eventuate I am often rewarded with photographs that are unique, spontaneous and valuable. When you put photographs like this together they become a powerful visual story.

“My passion for photographing a natural moment and my discreet unobtrusive manner, enables me to capture the essence of a wedding without posing. Rather than mimicking style fads that rapidly date and diminish the photograph, I value timeless, elegant and authentic documentary wedding photography. Giving you your wedding story to enjoy confidently with future generations.”

Natural approach to Margaret River weddings

My documentary approach to my Margaret River wedding photography, captures authentic moments naturally occurring throughout a wedding. I want my photographs to convey subject and scene honestly. 

Five star review from recent wedding photographed in Dunsborough

Fiona Hansen

Local Guide · 193 reviews · 436 photos

4 months ago

❤️ An amazing photographer. 📸

We had such an awesome experience hiring John for our wedding. He is easy to work with, puts everyone at ease immediately and takes incredible photos. He has an especially magical touch for capturing the candid, sweet and funny moments in between. 

Also an amazing turn around time. It felt like moments from walking down the isle we were exploring our digital images. He’s just that good! 😉

Thank you John for making our memories extra sweet. You rock & we appreciate you   

Natural wedding photos that show emotion.

Weddings really lend themselves to my particularly natural style of wedding photography - from striking black and white images of the beautiful Margaret River landscapes to natural images capturing the fun and joy at your wedding. I love to make incredibly engaging pictures when working as a Margaret River wedding photographer.

Storytelling wedding photography.

The core principal of documentary wedding photography is to tell a story with photos. Choosing this style, your wedding photographer will not interrupt or pose you during your Margaret River wedding. Instead their passion lies in genuine moments and authentic exchanges of emotion. Typically at a wedding this would be love, joy and happiness. Whether you are planning a small intimate backyard wedding in Margaret River, a midweek elopement or a Luxury wedding at one of the South Wests finest venues, your day will have emotion and a story worth telling with quality honest photography. 

Looking specifically for a Margaret River wedding photographer? 

Check availability and receive wedding photography prices and packages

What is a Margaret River Reportage Wedding Photographer.  

Reportage wedding photography is simply another way to describe natural or documentary wedding photography. It’s a phrase you will find researching Margaret River weddings. Very simply this photographic approach to weddings doesn’t involve dictating or posing. 

“Reportage is a genre of photography that uses observational pictures to tell a story. A discreet and natural style that I use to create a genuine and timeless memory of your wedding day that you will have to re live and enjoy for many years to come”.

Reportage wedding photography is when you photograph spontaneous moments.

Reportage wedding photographers look for natural emotions and the spontaneity of the wedding day to depict the true essence of a wedding; the characters, vibe, moments and all of the beautiful little details. See some natural wedding work in my portfolio.

I always feel like it’s a privilege to be entrusted by so many brides and grooms to capture their wedding story. Before every wedding I am literally pumped to photograph every little moment that will happen for them. Some they would have seen and been apart of, others will be like a surprise to them as they will not get to experience everything at their wedding. Unique personal collections of memories that I know will become valued family heirlooms in years to come.  This style of photography happens to serve weddings very well. 

Reportage wedding photographers are experts that work in a niche style.

Reportage wedding photography prioritises a different set of skills to what a “wedding photographer” applies to achieve their objectives. High quality reportage photography cannot be patched into a traditional wedding photographers approach. You will end up with a diluted version of both disciplines. Each approach has merit, skill and value. 

Intuitive timing is an essential reportage skill.

High quality reportage wedding photography values skills like perfect timing, intuitive placement and an awareness of a variety of emotions. This personalised style is relevant solely to you and the objective of this style of work is to take the bride and groom back to a particular moment with clarity and to immerse in the memory and feeling of the day.  

Again, a reportage photographer requires a different set of people skills to achieve memorable natural photographs. Rather than extracting wedding photographs from a memorised shot list that you see in wedding magazines. The reportage photographer uses people skills to blend in to the group by building a rapport, trust and confidence. This allows the photographer to be accepted to go about photographing people that would normally be camera shy and awkward in front of the camera. Once this is achieved the photographer will deliver powerful memories you will love and your experience has been completely enjoyable and natural. 

A camera and lens are a tool, like a chef in a kitchen they use a multitude of tools to create whatever their imagination dictates. A reportage photographer has a different approach to a wedding photographer.

How I started out as a wedding photographer in Perth.

I first started photographing weddings for a wedding studio in Perth. They marketed themselves as natural reportage style photographers but ironically they were the complete opposite. Their photographers had a photo shot list to full fill throughout each stage of the wedding day.

The problem was to be able to full fill this epic list I had no time for the beautiful natural moments in between.

I soon realised that wedding photography like this was about selling more pages in an album and making more money which I didn’t like.

Setting up my own wedding studio with my one unique style.

I left that studio and set up on my own and a made decision to photograph intimate and honest photographs. Reportage wedding photography is simply about photographing hundreds of natural moments that combine to help you to remember and cherish your wedding day. The authentic, creative nature behind this style means that your wedding photographs will be unique to you, they will not look similar or familiar wedding photos. Your reportage wedding photographs will be timeless, they will also connect you to the people you love and an amazing day you all shared together.

Photographers become better at natural wedding photography with experience.

Experienced natural-style wedding photographers will hardly be noticed throughout your wedding day but they would have operated in the hub of the action. Your photographer should have zero effect on the atmosphere or flow of your wedding day. Being discreet, blending in as a guest, doing everything possible not to obstruct your guests views to important moments are essential skills a natural wedding photographer has.

Why organisation and planning improves your wedding photos.

Organisation and pre planning is integral to the successful outcome of reportage wedding photography. For example a list of directed or formal photos is compiled prior to your wedding, so no important photos are ever missed. A discussion is had about the times allocated to these photographs and when they will take place. which allows me to create your wedding timeline. This enables you to fully relax on your wedding day and enjoy being in the moment without any concerns at all about when I need to take a photo. I will simply appear and direct you when required. The rest of the time you can have fun and enjoy the company of your friends and family.

Get in touch if you’d like to discuss me being your Margaret River wedding photographer in more detail.