After more than 1,500 weddings, very little surprises the team at Willidea Studio. The Brisbane-based photography and videography studio has been shooting weddings across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba since 2011, with a stated specialty in the moments that can't be staged: candid and documentary-style photography, captured on multiple cameras from various angles so nothing is missed. The style the studio describes as its own — fresh, atmospheric, aesthetic — leans on keeping photographs as natural as possible.
An awards cabinet with stamps from four continents' judges
The studio's work has been recognised by international competitions including the ASIAWPA Competition, the Proify Annual International Photography Awards, the WPPI Awards and the WPE International Photographers Awards — a run its awards page itemises from WPPI Silver Awards in 2016 and 2017 through to eight WPE Excellence Awards in 2019 and three more in 2020, and which the studio tallies at over 20 international photo awards. The team holds certified memberships of WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International), Fearless Photographers and Proify, and says its entries are judged on creativity, technique, composition and — most importantly — emotion.
Photo and video, one team
Willidea's pitch is the combined crew: photographers and videographers who work together so couples get both stills and film without wrangling two vendors.
The published photography packages start at $1,650 for six hours' coverage with a professional photographer, 400-plus high-resolution photos and 40-plus retouched images, while the most popular package runs $2,100 for eight to ten hours and 500-plus photos. Booking both photography and videography earns a 10 per cent discount on each, off-peak weddings (Sunday to Thursday) attract discounts of 8 to 15 per cent, and the studio recommends booking three to 12 months ahead. Beyond weddings there's portrait and newborn photography, print products the studio says are made in Australia, and a wedding venues guide drawn from years of shooting across south-east Queensland.
What couples say
The testimonials published on the studio's own pages come back to the same names — Will, who reads as the principal, with Simon and Brian alongside. "They were so professional and thorough, and his prices were quite a lot less than other photographers I looked at," wrote one couple, Lisa and Greg. Another, Zakk and Lauren, put it more bluntly: "To most photographers, your wedding is 'just another job' … but we experienced the exact opposite with Willidea."
The studio also trades on everything the years since 2011 have taught it: it offers couples help building the day's schedule so the photography plan actually survives contact with a running sheet. The full portfolio — the studio's homepage points to 100-plus wedding highlight photos — is in the photo gallery, and enquiries go through the contact page.