Meet Kassandra

Hey, I'm Kassandra, most people call me Kass or Kaz. I'm a wedding and boudoir photographer based in Reefton, on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, though I spend a lot of time on the road for weddings, elopements, and Rewild Portrait Experiences right across the island.

I moved here from Southern California back in 2012, and the South Island has felt like home ever since. Before photography became my full-time work, I spent years as a massage therapist, a trauma-informed coach, a yoga and breathwork teacher, and a freediving and scuba instructor. I've put over 400 hours into trauma-informed training, and that background shapes almost everything about how I work behind the camera, whether it's a wedding day, your creative brand / business or a boudoir session.

Photography became the place where all of that came together. I found my purpose holding space for women and couples during intimate portrait sessions that go deeper than a typical photoshoot. Boudoir and fine art portrait photography, done well, gives people room to be vulnerable while still feeling completely safe, and to show up exactly as they are.

A lot of what I do comes back to a few questions I keep returning to: how do we move through our lives using our senses, not just our heads? Where do emotions and memories actually live in the body? And how do we let go of stories we've carried for years that no longer serve us?

You might wonder what any of that has to do with photography. But having your photo taken is a vulnerable thing for most of us, tangled up with insecurity, self-doubt, and the pressure to look a certain way. I try to flip that on its head, to help you feel at home in front of the camera and give you room to just be yourself. It's a chance to be seen, to have your story told, whether that's through a wedding day, a family session, your passion project or a boudoir shoot.

What I create isn't just photographs. It's art, built around story, emotion, and the small specific details that make your life yours, the music you love, the place that feels like home, the way you laugh when you're not trying to. I want the images to hold more than how you looked that day. I want them to hold how it felt.

My name, Kassandra, carries a bit of Greek mythology in it too. The story goes she was cursed with the ability to see the future, but no one would ever believe her. I like to think of it as a gentle reminder to stand by your truth, even when others doubt you.

When I'm not photographing weddings or running Rewild Portrait sessions, you'll usually find me leading Rewild Women's Retreats as founder and CEO of The Rewild Legacy Charitable Trust, a not-for-profit helping women build confidence, resilience, and connection through creative and outdoor experiences here in New Zealand. It's some of the work I'm proudest of. I'm also Creative Director for Te Aka Treehouse, a rainforest retreat on the Coast. If you want a glimpse of the retreats, you can find us on Facebook or Instagram.

Outside of all that, my passions include archery, getting out into the backcountry with my scruffy pups and equally scruffy Dutchman, and generally finding the magic in ordinary days. I think the best moments happen when we slow down enough to actually notice them.

These are the moments worth documenting: the real chapters of our lives. To me, that's what makes this work feel meaningful. We're creating something together, not just taking a photo.

Whatever brought you here, there's probably a way we can work together. I shoot weddings and elopements across the South Island, run Rewild Portrait Experiences and family sessions, and create branded content and imagery for tourism and business clients who want their visuals to feel as considered as everything else they do. I've also started helping a few of those same clients with their social media presence and website content, since I've picked up a thing or two about what actually works there along the way.

If something in this resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you.