I’m often asked about my photography style. It’s not an easy question to answer because I am always evolving as an artist. My approach is rooted in photojournalism, capturing and documenting the day as it unfolds but I am wildly inspired by the editorial look too. Art, travel, old films, personal family photos, fashion, and culture, are all pieces that inform my photographic style.

Below I’ve posted some of my recent favorites that showcase a wedding day as a whole that I feel curate a beautiful narrative for any wedding. There are so many facets to a wedding day that it’s nearly impossible for me to nail down a single approach. I love fleeting moments, unexpected happenings, the way hair and dresses are blowing in the wind, the energy from laughter, the timelessness of a burning candle, the power of stoic tears and the joy of dancing the night away. All of these things bring a wedding to life. Although I love these occurrences, they are nothing without people. I know my style is based around the human spirit. People are what make images great, not things. As much as I love style and fashion those items by themselves, mean nothing without the people that wear them. In other words – I’m less about the dress hanging and more about the person wearing it.

To define my style I look at my past, I grew up around great music, my parents would host small gatherings at home and couples would be well-dressed cocktails in hand and great records would play. My mother is an artist, now focused on an interior design she trained my eye to see what to look for in any given space. I also spent lots of time looking through old family photos, and studying classic films, in retrospect I now see that all of these pieces inform my photographic style. As for weddings, I was part of the “styled shoot” era. This was brought on by blogs and magazines about a decade ago. Creatives would style a shoot to get published so that potential couples could find them. Editors in-turn created photographers that had an editorial eye that was intensely focused on details and design — less about people and emotions. To be published you had to shoot lots of attractive features so editors could inspire their readers and pin lots of content to Pinterest. I too played that game in my early years to be well known, but in my heart, it was always about people, not things.

In fact, for many years I was frustrated with wedding platforms and blogs because the work accepted wasn’t about people it was about design. This demand created what you see today, lots of photographers that show details over emotions. They do it because of editors, but as much as editors love showing exciting design content, it left many photographers wondering what is important. Most of the couples I speak with are drawn to moments, unexpected, intimate portraits of loved ones or sweeping landscapes of the newlyweds enjoying the sunset, rarely a detail.

Although details and design are a vital aspect to the wedding day that should be photographed it does not define my style as a wedding photographer, you do. Your story, love, and family are all the pieces that inform my work. I enjoy chatting on calls learning more and figuring out what’s most important to you. Once I find out what is most important, I work backward from there. You may be envisioning thoughtfully designed celebrations that celebrate your love and loved ones in a way that expresses your joy for all who attend. You may what great portraits of your guests taken throughout the day. Or you may be a designer who whats me to capture your designs within your wedding. Whatever it may be you are what I am inspired by! You and your fiance are the cornerstones to what I find most intriguing in photography. If you’d like to talk more about your wedding I’d love to, be well!