𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖋'𝖘 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖘 ✨

i'm at an age of being old enough to have experienced star shots as a kid! i went to the Star Shots studio at Plaza Bonita Mall and the other studio (can't remember the name) in National City near Seafood City (Filipino food mart). it's wild to have first hand memories of these iconic photos that had my generation in a chokehold. this past weekend my partner and I celebrated my birthday in Queenstown, NZ. during meals and downtime, we played "We're Not Really Strangers." one of the questions that came up was something like: 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸? if we're assuming "would they believe i'd be a DJ, and do photography" then yes. young stef would want to know why we haven't built more autonomy around our passions and center our career around them. but they'd also understand why we felt pressured to make money out of uni and not have to move back home. young stef wanted to be a film director (we've done that), roller coaster designer, cartoonist, and a therapist (we're hoping we actually get here). what young stef wouldn't believe is moving overseas for work. that's really uncommon in our family / community, even though that's what our parents did. and they would be proud of being a pioneer in their family. stef, you have 𝘈𝘓𝘞𝘈𝘠𝘚 been more than enough. you never should have needed convincing. we'll always be proud of us despite anyone else ✨

@splendid.nz is having a photo competition and i thought i'd throw this in the gauntlet for a #stefstarshots #splendidselfie ✨ s/o @shush.nz @elle.dunne for helping me achieve the quintessential star shot vision. a great selfie takes a village, right?

i had the honour of capturing my friend, Mal, for their maternity shoot earlier this year ✨ i'm looking forward to meeting the new pēpi when they arrive 🫶🏽 ••• #stefstarshots #starshots #glamourshots #studioportrait #nzphotographer

GONG CI FA CAI 🐴🧧 come by buttercat's flash day today for some cute lunar new year theme tattoos and photo prints from the star shots photobooth ✨

Get snapped by @stefstarshots at our LUNAR NEW YEAR FLASH DAY 🫰 King of cute retro portraits, they’ll have their photo booth set up at the studio on the day, ready to take pics of you and your fresh flash tatts. You can even get a cute li’l print out to take home with you right then and there. How good. 📸 SUNDAY FEB 22ND, see you there bbs. x

time is a thief 😭 my nephews have already grown so much (stefano colored his hair) since i took this starshots shoot last october. i miss you and the fam every day @diana_j 🫶🏽. thank you for being one of my most constant supporters and dearest friend ✨. ••• i took this at diana's home in san diego, and she helped me hack together a makeshift setup for this backdrop. in hindsight, i wish i got more starshots with friends and fam while i was back home. ••• #stefstarshots #starshots #glamourshots #portraitphotography #familyportraits

Me and fine sh¡t @stefstarshots thank you so much for the trade <3

When Goob and Medea came in for their star shots session, they gleamed with excitement over their photoshoot together and came with such great ideas, outfits, and poses! Their enthusiasm during the overall experience came through in the final renders and the photos slayyyyyyyy ✨ Goob and Medea were too good at this shoot and a time was well had. thank you for the amazing session and the nails trade 💅🏽 ••• these nostalgic superimposed images are a crack up! i love making them. if you're keen for a star shots shoot and also want these overlays, lmk upon booking! ••• #stefstarshots #glamourshots #starshots #studioportraits

would you believe this isn't my first queer couple cowboy themed photoshoot? i love it! keep em coming ✨ thank you, kahurangi and bea for being absolute legends in the photo studio. i thoroughly enjoyed capturing your love for each other and had such a fun, playful time. ••• PSA: i'm already not very active on ig, and this year i'm resolving to get off meta apps (will still keep this account). star shots are very well still running and things are happening! i'm aiming to kick off a website where clients can still find me and get in touch. for now i'll keep the posting to an evergreen approach. thank you for your support for this little brain child of mine ✨

i had my first market experience at @sector22_ 's Plaza 3.0 and it was great time! if you hadn't noticed, i don't post heaps on ig. i have a bit of a back log of photoshoots not yet posted too 😅. however, i learned that i love sharing and talking about my portrait work and now photobooth in person ✨ i'll be at @chemofinds christmas market this weekend. come say hi and get some photobooth prints! there's a bunch of amazing vendors as well if you need to do some holiday shopping and are keen to support local. looking forward to seeing you! come thru: saturday 20 december meow nui 11am-3pm

kia ora e te whānau! come thru Sector's Plaza 3.0 [creative market] and get some star shots photobooth pics! prints and digi avail plus some stickers too. i'll be here along with some other dope artists from 10am - 3pm. then the balcony session pops off at 5pm! see u soon ✨

yee my new business cards came in! this is my nod to OG star shots picture trading (back in the day 👵🏽) when we handed them out at school and wrote notes to each other on the back. designing this really took me back! i channeled bb stef's handwriting and i even mimicked the back of photo paper. the photo is of my first EVER star shots shoot. if young stef could see me now they'd lose their shit that i've kept up this nostalgic tradition and think i'm cool heheh. come grab one or some this saturday at @sector22_ 's creative market! i'll be equipped with a photobooth featuring one of my classic backdrops. i'll have some stickers for sale as well. if you have yet to get the star shots experience, this will be a cute intro ✨ see you this weekend!