Jo Frances

Jo founded the studio in 2003 and has loved nurturing it into the well-known success that it is today. Jo is married to a lovely man called Richard and has two delicious daughters Izzy (6) and Tessie (4).

Jo shoots in both the Wellington and the Auckland studios. Jo’s life has been full of children (she is one of eight children herself) and she has honed the art of convincing littlies to cooperate! Jo chooses to photograph families because, as a parent, she understands how life-changing it is to bring a child into the world and just how fast they grow. She says “it is not possible to hold all the tiny details of our children in our memories so it is a lovely experience to see the delight in peoples eyes when we show them their images, to know that I have been able to give them a little memory of their family, captured forever.”

Jo Smith

Jo moved to New Zealand with her young family in 2003 from the UK. She has over 12 years of experience in Advertising, Design and Photography with some major international brands in the UK and in New Zealand.

As General Manager of Jo Frances Photography Auckland, coordinating the day-to-day operations, Jo feels lucky to be in a position where she truly loves what she does. Jo says ‘ My gorgeous 2 boys, Campbell (9) and Benjamin (6) are older now so I totally relish the chance to cuddle the newborns and get silly with the toddlers. The joy from a child is infectious and it is an honor to be able to capture the family essence in great portraits.’

Jo is fully trained in the JFP style of portraiture and is available for all your portrait needs.

Kelly Todd

Kelly is from the UK and works in our Wellington Studio. She grew-up in a photography studio with a photographer Dad and knew from a young age that this was the career for her.

After completing her BA honours in photography at Blackpool and the Fylde (yup this is the real name of her school) she worked as a photographer in Manchester for four years.  Seeking a change she escaped the cold of Manchester with her partner Simon for the chilly winds of Wellington.  Luckily for us she loves it here!

Kelly runs the Wellington Studio and will often be the person you speak too when you call us.  She is fully trained in the JFP style of portriature and is available for all forms of portrait bookings.

Kelly says “my favourite part of the job is being able to follow through on the whole process – from meeting our fabulous clients, taking great images of them and being able to present them the final product”

Tessa Russell

Tessa works primarily in our Wellington Studio but does spend some time in our Auckland studio too.
She is our only born and bred Wellingtonian!  Tessa studied at Mel Phillips School of Photography in Kapiti and then promptly took off on her O.E.

While in the UK Tessa ran the retouching department of a major make-over photography studio. She is responsible for the bulk of the retouching performed in our studio – let her know if you want “a la natural,” “Hollywood” or somewhere in between for your finished works!

Tessa comes from a close-knit whanau and the pull of them brought her home. Great staff are hard to find so we snatched her up straight-away!  Tessa is a real natural with children and has a great capacity for making them feel relaxed and safe around her. She is fully trained in the JFP style of portraiture and is available for all your portrait needs.