Samantha Scown Photography

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Samantha Scown Photography

Samantha Scown | Kaiwhakaahua, Māori Visual Storyteller

Photographer
Pū rākau | Whakaahua | Kaupapa

Based in Mataatua 📍
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19/11/2025

There’s always time to dilly dally if you make time to dilly dally 🤷🏽‍♀️

04/10/2025

He nui te aroha!

Another throwback to an extended whānau session from last raumati with one of my ataahua besties and her whānau - and yes, when I say extended whānau, it means fur babies too ❤️

29/09/2025

I really do love a bit of love. 🥹
Last Christmas, I had the privilege of capturing updated whakaahua whānau for this ataahua couple and their wider whānau.

One of the things that moves me in this mahi is witnessing parents, babies, and their babies’ babies choosing to gather and document themselves in this moment, just as they are. And within that, honouring the aroha that made it all possible.

These are my favourite stories to tell: the loud love and pride of whānau, but also the quiet, in-between moments during transitions, where hands brush, eyes linger, and the spark that began it all still burns softly beneath it all.

With raumati on its way these are the stories I prioritise, and I’ll be opening bookings for extended whānau sessions over summer.

If you’d like to capture your aroha, quiet or loud, within the beautiful chaos of life, I’d love to hear from you.

24/09/2025

A little highlight reel from a posing practice session with my sissy gal 💃🏾

Even after years in this craft, I know how important it is to make space for both: paid sessions and practice.

Client work fuels my business, but practice keeps me grounded in the artistry that allows me to exist in this mahi in the first place. And it is in that balance that the true value of what I offer lives.

Some days in practice, nothing seems to click. My exposure is off, my direction feels clumsy, and I am overthinking everything. But when I pause, reset, and look back with kinder eyes, I start to notice the small wins quietly stacking up.

Those little wins remind me growth is never linear, but it is always happening.

And it is in those years of learning, the countless hours of practice, the courage to keep showing up even when it feels awkward, and the devotion to finding myself as an artist that the real value of my photography exists.

Big love to my sister, forever the best dial-up model a girl could ask for 🫶

04/09/2025

You know those friends who believe in your dreams before you even fully believe them yourself?

That’s who my mate here is for me, ko Tionee Paul tēnei.

This session was born over kaitahi and kōrero, like so many good things are. And in those years of kōrero leading up to this moment, we shared our wawata with one another. Visions for ourselves, our whakapapa, our connection to te taiao.

Over time we made a deal: when I had the kaha to step into my mahi, she would step into hers too. And this is what it looks like to honour that promise.

The pūrākau behind sessions like these are not mine to share, but what I can say is this... images often show what words cannot, because they reveal the ways our wawata already live within us.

That's what makes me love my mahi here. Every person I photograph becomes part of a larger story, each of them a thread that carries vision and courage. And even if they do not know one another, their stories are held together through these threads.

Mihi aroha to my beautiful mate for being one of the many who ignite that passion and remind me why I do what I do. ❤

11/08/2025

Throw back to this gorgeeee session with this stunnin' whānau!
It's the 🌈 glow 🌈 for me.

Ready to capture your own magic?
I'm taking bookings for solo portraits, couples sessions and intimate whānau sessions of up to 3 people.

Visit my website to book www.samanthascownphotography.co.nz/contact

09/08/2025

Reminiscing on this lil solo date I took myself on over summer ☀

Armed with a disposable camera and my fave tātahi here in Mataatua, I spent the morning wandering Ōtarawairere capturing whatever caught my eye… textures, light, quiet little details 📸

One of my favourite parts was the "not knowing"... the mystery of having to wait until the films were developed to see what I’d actually captured.

It made me think about how rare that is these days. I can get so caught up in checking, reviewing, and trying to perfect everything on the spot. But there’s something so freeing about letting go of the outcome and simply trusting the moment.

Keen to know, do you ever take yourself on lil dates like this? What’s your favourite way to spend solo time around here?

Let’s build a little bank of ideas for anyone who needs inspiration 🫶

// 💦 Te Wairere - 📍Ōtarawairere

06/08/2025

Wanna know the real reason I take better photos now?

I stopped trying to learn in busy rooms and started learning alone.

Turns out, I learn best when I’m wandering aimlessly. No noise, no one watching. Just me and the plants, figuring stuff out slow.

Most of what I know about photographing whānau in beautiful, honest ways, didn’t come from courses or shooting back-to-back whānau sessions; it came from just being out in te taiao, noticing all the small things.

No pressure. No performing. Just looking, for the sake of it.

That kind of noticing even led me to unearth another lil passion of mine (which I’ll share soon 👀).

But yeah, that’s the sauce. Disconnect to reconnect.
Coz if you can’t see it, you can’t shoot it.

02/08/2025

First look at the snaps taken with vivid.ly creative

Still so in love with this session!! 🫶🫶🫶

Address

Whakatane
3120

Website

http://www.samanthascownphotography.co.nz/

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