Married Beneath the Stars
Every image captured in a single frame under real New Zealand skies. No compositing. No overlays. Just you and the Milky Way.
Sony Alpha Awards Finalist · 13+ Years · 100% In-Camera
Exclusive · In-Camera · Queenstown New Zealand
Wedding Photography
Under the Milky Way
New Zealand sits beneath some of the darkest, most luminous skies on earth. When the conditions align, we take couples out under the Southern Hemisphere’s star field and photograph them against the Milky Way in its full, unretouched glory.
This is not compositing. The stars you see in our images are real. Shot with professional Sony and Nikon full-frame cameras purpose-built for low-light photography, every frame is a single long exposure with you standing beneath an actual sky full of stars.
Our starry night add-on is consistently the most requested option across our elopement and pre-wedding packages. Sessions run from approximately 9pm, timed precisely around the moon calendar and long-range weather forecasts.
Available across Queenstown, Lake Tekapo, and curated South Island dark-sky locations. Sony Alpha Awards finalist.
Queenstown · Lakeside Milky Way Session
Planning Your Shoot
Three Conditions
Must Align
Moon Phase
A bright moon floods the sky with enough light to wash out the Milky Way entirely. We plan exclusively around New Moon and Crescent Moon windows, or shoot before moonrise or after moonset on brighter nights.
Check Queenstown moon calendarClear Skies
Cloud cover makes night photography impossible. We track long-range forecasts from 72 hours out and offer to shift the session by a day or two when your schedule allows.
Dark Sky Location
Urban glow silences the stars. We work across multiple South Island dark-sky sites, from the hills above Queenstown to the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve at Lake Tekapo (IDA Gold-rated), chosen based on your dates and conditions.
Understanding the Sky
Planning Around the
Phases of the Moon
The lunar cycle governs every night shoot we plan.
New Moon and Crescent phases yield the richest, darkest skies.
Lunar Planning
The moon is the single most important variable in astrophotography
Even a half-illuminated moon produces enough ambient light to reduce the Milky Way to near-invisibility. We work exclusively within the darkest windows of each lunar cycle, coordinating your shoot weeks in advance.
Where your date falls outside the ideal window, we discuss options: shifting the session by a night, timing around moonrise or moonset, or noting that a daytime session may better suit your dates.
Perfect. Maximum darkness, full Milky Way visibility, deepest star field.
Excellent. Moon sets early, leaves a full dark-sky window from mid-evening.
Workable only before moonrise or after moonset. Timing must be precise.
Not suitable for astrophotography. Landscape and portrait sessions only.
Our Method
All done in-camera.
No compositing, ever.
Most “astrophotography” you see online is a composite: a sky from one night layered over a couple from another. We do not work this way. Every image we produce is a single, unmanipulated in-camera exposure.
We use professional Sony and Nikon full-frame mirrorless cameras paired with ultra-wide prime lenses to record both you and the stars in a single balanced frame.
- Single long-exposure frame: couple and sky together
- Professional Sony and Nikon full-frame mirrorless cameras
- Long exposures balanced for both subject and sky
- No star overlays. No sky replacement. No compositing
- Locations scouted for Milky Way arc and horizon clearance
Behind the lens · Lake Tekapo Milky Way session
Portfolio
Under the Southern Stars
Questions Answered
Everything you
need to know
Night photography involves more variables than a daytime shoot. These are the questions we hear most often from couples considering astrophotography for their Queenstown elopement or wedding.
Full FAQ page-
Every image is a real, single in-camera capture. The couple and the stars are recorded simultaneously in one long exposure. No star overlays, no sky replacement, no compositing of any kind.
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The Milky Way core is visible in New Zealand from approximately March through October, peaking May through September. The most important factor is moon phase: you need a new moon or crescent moon for dark enough skies. We advise on upcoming moon windows once we know your travel dates.
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Yes. The astrophotography add-on is priced at NZ$1,200 and is available exclusively as an add-on to any Wedding Photography or Elopement Package. It is not available as a standalone booking. We plan the session to run from approximately 9pm after your ceremony, timed around the moon calendar. We advise on upcoming moon windows once we know your dates.
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Yes. While Queenstown has some light pollution, many of our strongest images have been captured within 20–40 minutes of town. For the best sky clarity we recommend Lake Tekapo within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve (IDA Gold-rated). We select the site based on your dates, conditions, and the direction the Milky Way core will be tracking on the night of your shoot.
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Weather is the main variable we cannot control. We monitor forecasts from 72 hours out and will contact you if conditions look poor. Where your schedule allows, we will offer to shift the session by a night or two to find a clearer window. If neither option works, we discuss alternatives including a rescheduled shoot at a future date.
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We shoot on professional Sony and Nikon full-frame mirrorless cameras paired with ultra-wide prime lenses. Every image is a single in-camera exposure, both the couple and the stars captured simultaneously in one frame, with no compositing of any kind.
Start Planning
Your Night Under the Stars
We have been photographing couples beneath New Zealand’s night skies since 2012. Every shoot is planned around the moon, the weather, and the landscape. Tell us your dates and we will find the right window.