About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Tess — an Adelaide-based photographer and multi-disciplinary designer.

My background spans interior architecture, design, and visual effects. After years in those spaces, I shifted toward building my own work through Say Less Studio, a strategic branding and digital studio focused on motion-led design and custom web experiences.

Photography and film have always been an integral part of that process, from there, Second Light Photography was born — a space where personal and commercial work sit side by side, capturing people, places, and whatever naturally unfolds.

In an industry which often tries to push you towards a niche, I tend to push the other way. I'm drawn to the contrast between story-led, personal, intimate work on one side, and commercial, structured, outcome-driven work on the other, constantly fascinated by the point of intersection.

That carries through into how I work on set, a strong focus on composition, light, and detail, extending to a meticulous approach to post-production and curation.

For personal sessions, I'm usually watching for the small stuff, the in-between moments, the slightly imperfect ones. It's often those moments that mean the most when you're looking back through your album. For brand work, I'm always thinking beyond the image and how it lives across websites, campaigns, and content over time.

No matter the project, my approach stays the same: keep it natural, relaxed, and thoughtfully executed.