PHOTOGRAPHER | Brooke McBurnie Takes Photos

Brooke McBurnie is passionate about photography and feels privileged to capture intimate wedding moments. Her instinctive style allows her to notice and capture authentic moments as they unfold. She shoots both film and digital, and believes there is a balance between encouraging connection without interrupting intimate moments. Based on the Mornington Peninsula, Brooke McBurnie travels to capture love stories.

What would you like couples to know about you? 

I really love making photos. Like, a lot. I know I am very lucky to be invited into a wedding day and create a gallery around it - I will never take this for granted. Getting a look into an incredibly personal day is so surreal and so inspiring. I try to treat every wedding as it’s own - of course I have experience and advice but ultimately, your day shouldn’t be like the rest of them! I want to learn about what matters to you, so it can matter to me.

Where are you based? 

I am Mornington Peninsula based! The Peninsula has been my home base for a long time - but this doesn’t stop me from photographing you and your love anywhere you’ll have me.

Do you travel for weddings? 

Absolutely. Being able to pair my love for exploring new places and capturing people in love via travelling for wedding days, is truly a dream come true. It feels very intimate to be able to explore places that have so much personal history in it for my couples. To be invited into these familiar/unfamiliar places under such beautiful circumstances is something that I will always be grateful for.

How would you describe your style? 

I’d like to believe the way I shoot is instinctive - looking for moments my eyes would have anyway. I believe in details being a part of the whole story. Looking for little moments and documenting the ephemeral. I wouldn’t say my style is documentary or candid but just noticing.

What is your most memorable career moment? 

This is a tough one. I have weddings that will always bring me back but every couple that comes to me with complete artistic trust feels like a career highlight. When a couple allows me to document a day filled with so much heart, so much love and so many intentional details - how could I not feel as though this is a highlight of my career. Every. Time.

What inspires you? 

Truly, it’s love. Plutonic, romantic and everything in between. I believe love fuels a lot. The photos I’ve taken over the years within my personal life have almost always been fueled by love – I chose to photograph that moment / that friend / those flowers / that sunrise because of the context, the belonging, the shared experience. Bringing that into a wedding day is very important to me - this day wouldn’t be happening without love - between the couple, between their best friends, even down to the flowers or food they love.

How would you describe your working style? 

A mix between taking a step back and a step in. If something beautiful and natural is happening I will not interfere, I’m not interested in fabricating moments. At the same time, it’s my job to have you look back at your wedding day and see yourself as you were - beautiful and happy! If there is a pose or prompt I can give you (particularly if we’re taking portraits) that eases you or feels natural, I'll suggest it. I believe there is a balance between encouraging connection without interrupting intimate moments that are already being had.

Do you shoot digitally, on film or both? 

Both! I learnt to shoot on an op-shopped film SLR as a teen and have never put down film. Film, to me, is not a fad or trend - it is deeply intentional in the craft and work flow. On a wedding day I look suspiciously close to a pack mule with the amount of cameras I have on me - but each serves a purpose. Much of what I shoot is film - 35mm + 120 - but I cannot deny the benefits of a digital photo. The delicate mix of film and digital is something I make work within a wedding day - each moment calls for a different medium + I get to play with that!

Where would you love to travel to for work? 

Anywhere and everywhere! I love travelling + seeing new places so anywhere you’ll have me - I’ll be there. I’d love to photograph valleys of flowers in New Zealand or Icelandic. I’d love to photograph love on the cliffs of Ireland or Scotland. Anywhere beautiful that love blooms is where I’d like to be.

Who is your dream client? 

My dream client trusts the art and trusts themselves and their vision. My dream client makes the day around and about them. I deeply believe a wedding day should be soaked in intimacy and intimate, intentional choices - not just doing what ‘should’ be done. I want to photograph things you have thought about, things you hold dear, I want to photograph things that actually mean something to you. These things make photos better. My dream client creates a day about their love and the celebration of it - whatever that means to them.

Brooke McBurnie Takes Photos

Website: brookemcburnietakesphotos.com

Instagram: @brookemcburnietakesphotos