Tauranga Wedding Photographer


Hi I’m Rochelle – Tauranga Wedding and Family Photographer
A storyteller documenting love and connection

You’re my kind of people if you love;
Authentic moments Candid and natural imagery Lift your face to feel the rain

Let’s go on an adventure!

Tauranga Wedding Photographer Rochelle Withell

A little about me

I share my life with my amazing husband, two great kids, and a crazy cat called Sushi. We all live by the beach in Papamoa and are quite happy to sacrifice tiles for the sand between our toes, which is another way to say we live in a pretty old beach house and wouldn’t have it any other way. We love to travel; we play a lot in and on top of water and love exploring New Zealand’s cycle trails. Every opportunity we can, we go camping and go off the grid (okay, admittedly, I climb a hill to answer emails 😉

I’ve had a camera in my hand since my teenage years, and my first photography job was adventure photography in Queenstown (yes it was as great as it sounds). This is where I met my best friend/husband and after lots of travel and adventures we’ve ended up back where I grew up, in the beautiful Bay of Plenty.

I kind of fell into taking photos of people in love. I’ve been shooting weddings for (gulp) a while now (over 15 years), and I still pinch myself I get to hang out with so many awesome couples documenting their love and connection. I can honestly say sharing in couples’ most important day of their lives is an honour, a privilege, and dang it, a hang of a lot of fun! Your engagement and wedding photos will be some of the most important photos of your entire life. I want to describe your relationship through images with a combination of love, happiness, and artistic flair. So let’s chat and make some magic together!

If you are still reading this (you’re doing your homework which is great) … have a read below as to how I like to approach my work and take a look at the FAQ tab: https://www.pureimages.co.nz/about/faqs/

I’m an accredited NZIPP photographer: nzipp.org.nz/about NZIPP is New Zealand’s only qualifying body for professional photographers in New Zealand. I received my Masters with them in 2019. Now and again I submit some images and it’s been pretty exciting to have received numerous awards.
What makes my world spin though is capturing meaningful heartfelt moments and natural connections with my clients.

My Approach to Wedding and Family Photography

I photograph with honest documentation and creativity. I listen. I love hearing my client’s stories. Knowing what’s important to you is key. I love capturing joy as it unfolds … keeping it natural and keeping it real. I’m proud to say every image on this website has been captured of real people; real wedding couples on their important days.  There are no ‘staged’ photo shoots. If you’ve had a wander through my website, you will probably see I LOVE beautiful light and authentic moments. My approach to Wedding Photography and Family Photography is to have you at ease so we can create some natural art together, keeping in mind some of the loveliest of images are often where I’m working discreetly, leaving you in your own company. We do need some direction on the day, and it can all be done without fuss and a lot of interference. When it comes to location photography, we’ll make it easy, somewhere with beautiful light and gorgeous scenery, and we’ll make sure that it clicks with who you both are. I get the biggest kick hearing my clients adore their photos and how much fun we all had.

“We don’t love being in front of a camera”? – I got you.

I like to hear this, as it means you’re quite normal. I also love hearing that you don’t want to feel posed, as I explain in my FAQs.

If you look through my Google reviews, you can hear straight up from my clients they felt they could be themselves and all the while we were laughing together and creating naturally fun and beautiful memories.

So take a good look around, and if you click (again, sorry for the pun) with my work, feel free to get in touch through email or connect through the Contact form (or feel free to make a good old-fashioned phone call to tell me about your day).

If you wish to hear of other’s experiences working with me do feel free to jump on to my google reviews.