Woman in navy polka dot dress lounging casually in bright office space.
Meet the Photographer

Kia ora. I'm Sinéad.

I grew up in Wales, drawing, making and daydreaming. When I was nine I was selected to appear on a television show to meet and make art with my favourite illustrator at the time, Shirley Hughes. I wanted to be an illustrator and storyteller when I grew up.


I've been telling stories with photographs for 20 years now. I love noticing unexpectedly beautiful things and seeing humour in the details.


I live in Dunedin, New Zealand where I am renovating a house with my partner. We have four teenagers, one dog and two cats.

All photographs of me by Isabella Harrex

My Approach

Some of my work is directed

Stunning sunset silhouettes over a lake with trees framing the golden sky.

I might tweak a situation so that your portrait mirrors how you want to be seen. Or I’ll encourage you to interact and gently guide you during a wedding portrait shoot.


I’ll also help plan your business shoot and then finely tune each shot so it’s exactly how you want it.

Dark interior architectural shot showing dramatic shadows and lighting patterns.

...but most of it isn't


And that’s the work that informs everything I do.


Twenty years of shooting weddings, births, my own children, grief, joy, hope, friendship, families, heartbreak, love and death across the world have given me a sixth sense for how to tell a story with my camera.


We are all different but there is a pattern to how humans behave.

 

On a photoshoot, if the light streams through the window in a certain way I am beyond excited.

 

Everyone has a story.

A wedding dress fitting session in a dimly lit room with dramatic window lighting.

Every photograph is a recipe that demands the right lens and aperture, and the right place to be. There is light, shade, the space before and behind, the people who are about to do something and the rectangular frame of the sensor.


If I can match everything up the way I see it in my mind - with the sunlight catching just so, and everyone looking just how I thought they would, I get such a thrill – a proper internal, life affirming boost - I sometimes consider not ditching photography for a lucrative career after all.

Sunlit forest scene with tall evergreen trees and camping equipment.
People gathered on wooden deck surrounded by forest in black and white.
People enjoying a sunny day at a beach with gentle waves lapping the shore.
Children picking fresh vegetables from a garden with climbing plants and trellises.
Vibrant double rainbow arches across a moody sky over rolling green hills.
Dramatic black and white photo series of a swimmer moving through dark ocean waters at sunset.
Silhouettes of people gathered around a dimly lit table with a red light glowing in the darkness.
A sequence of diving action shots showing a person performing a backflip into dark rippling water at dusk.
A black and white panoramic photo showing a group of people and horses in a rural outdoor setting.

Get in touch to find out more

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