I specialise in intimate, connected and authentic photography. I am trained in coaching and facilitating to be able to simple be a fly on the wall, or take charge and direct, and to know when to use both techniques. I believe in honesty, openness and authenticity and treat my clients like old friends, not another job.
I live on 40acres of wilderness and I spend everyday in nature in one form of another. I grew up on the land and love to be amongst it. Bon fires, forests, beaches, fields, farms, barns, delicious food, laughs, deep philosophical conversation, music, love, magic and hugs. Mountain tops, private villas or the family farm, I shoot in places that both inspire myself and my clients. Inspired by our connection to the natural world, I always bring these elements into my work.
Photography is too often about capturing the surface and superficial layer. For me it is going deeper, peering into the soul, the unseen, and the connectedness we all feel. This is intentional photography and the core of what makes my work unlike anyone else.
My work takes me all over the world, working with a wide range of clients from Universal Music to Fortune 500 CEO’s, health and wellbeing companies to my local farms and cafes and everyone in between. I only shoot a limited number of 25 weddings or Unions Of Love per year, to allow time to focus on other projects I contribute to.
Due to other professional commitments and ongoing projects, I limit myself to 10 weddings a year and book out every year. I’m not really a “wedding photographer”, I shoot magical conscious unions of love. Pricing starts at $10k.
I have photographed a diverse range of portrait work from famous musicians such as Ben Howard, Xavier Rudd and Ben Harper to brands, businesses and editorial shoots for magazines, books and publications. Also years of shooting boudoir and intimate portraits. I specialise in professional portraits, musicians, artists and boudoir portraits. I shoot portraits entirely on film. Pricing starts at $2500 for a portrait session.
Whether it is a handmade linen album, or fine art printing, everything I offer is of the highest standard in eco materials, craftsmanship and made with love. Only non-animal based materials are sourced and every effort is made to be as environmentally conscious and local as possible.
"James created exactly the vibe we were after for our rustic wedding with natural, relaxed photos in a stunning handcrafted album. James was friendly and a pleasure to deal with from the first meeting and all the way through our wedding day."
"Holy Shit Dude, they're amazing. I knew I'd chosen the right guy for the job but you've honestly blown me away!"
"The day was absolutely magic! It was such a grounding experience working with James, and brought Campbell and I even closer together. We felt so blessed to stand in amongst our 'circle of love' and be surrounded by people who mean so much in our lives. That's what a wedding really should be about - love!"
"I seriously want to do it all over again. It was truly amazing and you're are definitely part of the reason why. Just wanted to say thank you again!"
"Working with James made us both feel extremely relaxed, on what was quite an emotional day.
We were thrilled with the final prints. They are breathtaking."
"James made the day so effortless and we didn't even know he was there sometimes, we love our photos and they were just what we were after nice and natural."
"Oh my gosh. I am taken aback. These are awesome - thank you SO much for getting them to us!"
"The photos are amazing thank you so much! You really made us feel so comfortable and easy to trust you. We are incredibly happy with them!
"James is incredible at what he does! His ability to create comfort and transmit the energy of what will best serve his subject is so beautiful! I loved working with James, he made me feel amazing and i had a powerful experience of embracing my body as it is."
"To have your photos taken on an emotional level brings so much more to the camera, my true intentions are radiant in these photos. Needless to say, I absolutely love these photos! You captured something beyond my expectations. You brought to life a trait that had long been forgotten, in such a sexy liberating way. It was a pleasure working with you!"
"I've retyped this first sentence about 17 times, and nothing comes CLOSE to expressing the elation and sheer giddiness I feel over these photos! I am so blown away; never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I could look like that, and I am so proud to have been photographed by someone so talented. Thank you, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!"
"Well...all i can say is wow! I look like ME, the real me! Its all beautiful... every single photo is stunning in its own way. I got goosebumps and just looking at them I can remember what I was feeling at the time. You are just such an amazing artist. Thank you."
"Thanks so much!"
"We cannot thank you enough for capturing these moments for us that will last a lifetime! You’re amazing at what you do and we are so lucky to have had you at our wedding!"
"James is an exceptional artist and human being. He is, and will always be, my favourite person to work with for any photo work. From my wedding to boudoir shoot, to professional musician shots he is skilled, respectful and is committed to representing his clients in the most pure and honest way.”
"I am freaking out over these photos! AMAZING! You nailed it. You definitely captured the overall feeling and style of our big day."
"The pictures are so nice!!!!!!!!!!! We love them! Definitely will recommend you to all of my friends."
"I want to send a heartfelt thank you for the beautiful wedding pictures! They capture each part of the wedding so perfectly; the ones from the ceremony are so light and ethereal looking, the ones up on the roof are so unique. You are a very talented photographer and we feel very fortunate to have been able to work with you.“
"These photos are amazing and even better than we could of imagined!! They take my breath away and fill me with joy reminiscing about the day! I am a little speechless at the moment, and don’t know how to truly thank you."
"Thank you for the link the photos are amazing. You are so talented and just the best!"
"THANK YOU so so much for our photos - we absolutely love them! We are really really stoked!"
"James was fantastic, he was so passionate and really worked with us to ensure he took the type of photo's we were looking for. He was so easy to get along with and made us feel comfortable from the out set. He was there from start to finish and took some amazing photo's which we will treasure for many years to come.”
"Thanks again for being a part of our big day - we had so much fun and it was great to have you be a part of it all."
"Thank so much for everything, we are lucky you were able to make it for our wedding. The pics are timeless as we knew they would be, that beautiful day will stay close to our hearts as we had hoped."
"Working with James on our special day was perfect, just as I knew it would be from the moment I chose him to be our photographer. he works natural magic in every one of his shots and he lets the day happen around him, not for him and this creates character & emotion that is real, not posed. we were so incredibly in love with our photos from the first time we saw them online, to the beautiful album we have on the coffee table to keep forever. Thanks James!"
"I adore the pictures!! Once again, you're the best."
"We both think you got such amazing shots and have been excited to share them with our friends and family. They too have had loved viewing them. Our favourite was us walking in the grass into the sun and seeing the beautiful colours and sunlight. AMAZING!!!"
"Thank-you James, It was amazing to have you involved in our day. You managed to capture so many special moments, we were so pleased with our wedding shots, our album told such a beautiful story, we will cherish it for the rest of our lives.”
"It was an absolute privilege to be shot by this maestro - my photos are stunning, and have a unique magical quality. His genuine passion and commitment to his clients shines through and unlike most geniuses, he's a joy to work with too!! I can't recommend James Looker enough.”
"James has the most incredible way of putting you at ease before you're being photographed. I felt beautiful and relaxed during our session together and the images speak to his talent. I now have the most incredible photos of myself that are sexy and natural- I never felt like I was posing or anything was contrived. I would recommend his sessions to any woman who wants to feel incredible and have the true essence of her femininity captured on film.”
"I just want to say thank you for all your hard work and for making this an incredible experience. Booking my boudoir photo session was definitely one of the highlights of my summer. I really appreciate your aesthetic, professionalism and for helping me to achieve photos that I not only love but am also proud of!"
"The space he gave me to simply be myself during the boudoir photography session, was treasure enough. His images feed back to me a visual affirmation in my ongoing discovery of beauty. Thank you James for your humbleness, your deep appreciation of the female form, your professionalism and sensitivity during our photoshoot and your obvious care for humanity."
"James shot our wedding and the results were truly unreal, he clearly captured how amazing the day was."
"We wanted to thank you so much for sharing our day with us - both Rohit and I loved how you took a moment with us each in the morning to get some space about the day and it allowed us to truly enjoy each moment during the day”
"We are so happy that we had you to capture it all for us that day. You really did do a stellar job, not just with your pictures, but the way you handled both of us and made us feel so comfortable to be photographed. You were an essential part of the day, It was a lot of fun, the pictures turned out great, the album is excellent, and we are a very happy couple!"
"Just wanted to say hi and thanks for photographing our wedding. You were so great to work with on the day, kept us so relaxed and comfortable."
"James' photography speaks for itself, his artwork is so incredible it is breathtaking. But what the photos cannot tell you is how comfortable James makes you feel. He is authentic and genuine, a true talent who we loved having with us on our special day."
"James is an amazing photographer! He was really easy and fun to work with. He captured all of our moments from start to finish and the pictures turned out amazing! Very professional, I highly recommend using his services!”
"We LOVE the pictures. Thankyou!"
"They are beautiful!
Thanks again, we are so pleased with how everything turned out."
I’m in Hobart, recently moving there 12 months ago to 40 acres, just outside of Hobart.
I frequently shoot all over Canada, USA, and Australia, and spend a lot of time in Melbourne and the Surf Coast of Victoria where I grew up.
From July > Sep, I reside in a summer cabin on the Sunshine Coast of BC Canada, photographing, biking, hiking, climbing and paddling my way through old rain forests and mountains.
The purest love of photography for me comes from shooting film. Some clients still highly value the magic of having some of their images photographed on film and others don’t care as much. Therefore it is an optional extra at simply $250 per hour for wedding and Portrait, and quoted per commercial job. Please make a note when enquiring about a booking request.
There are so many great photographers in Tasmania and around the world. I believe that 50% of what I do is coaching and guiding my clients through a stress-free day, being someone that you both connect to, i’m like the silent energetic coach on your day. Most of my clients say the same thing, it’s having me in your space and guiding you that makes me so different to most photographers. The other 50% of what I do is capture magic without the fluff and posed rubbish. 🙂
Often, yes. I’m always open to discussing a value exchange that works for both of us. I have exchanged a range of things from electrical work to timeshare holidays, business coaching and tradie services. I’m building a mountain side retreat near Hobart, so open to discussions.
I’ve kept my timelines simple and quick, and will happily prioritise with food-based bribes:
Commercial & Portraits – 1-2 weeks
Boudoir – 3-4 weeks
Wedding – 4 weeks
Please note film shoots require an additional 2 weeks, and I can do 48 rush jobs if required.
For sure.
I’m definitely big on making a plan, and love to make sure things are organised prior to the day. Prior to the day I help you with allocating photography timing to cover the most important parts of the day. There are options for things like a “first look”, “unplugged wedding”, and possibly shooting the some of couple photos before the ceremony so there is no break and allows for you to hang out with guests afterwards.
Usually most people haven’t ever planned a wedding, so I’m happy to help where I can, my Unions Of Love PDF will cover this when it’s finished!
I’m always happy to go a little overtime if I get fed something delicious.
Absolutely.
I offer fine-art prints and handmade albums, all of which are Australian-made and manufactured to the highest standards. They are not cheap nasty albums and prints, but timeless and guaranteed to last. Please see pricing pdf for more info.