What is your style?

I’m a documentary storyteller – showing happy and natural images of the two of you, fun and comfortable images with your wedding party and family, joyful candid images, and timeless documentation of day, all with an eye towards bringing the environment (be it a moody warehouse, a snowy prairie, or cabin in the woods) into the images. I’m also know for my “camp counselor” voice – making family formal portraits happen quickly and beautifully.

I’m probably best known for my work in dark spaces, as well as for my portraits with lighting. I often use a compositional technique called “flash composite” in which I layer multiple images together for a  dramatic group image.

When should we book a photographer?

You’ve read all the way to this part of my page, so photography is clearly important to you! Booking your photographer is something you’ll want to do as soon as you have your wedding date confirmed. Most out-of-towners book within a few days of getting in touch – I have a simple online system for booking, or we can set up a time to meet in person or via skype.

To hold your date, you’ll need to finish a contract (online) and return the deposit (typically $1000). The balance is due on or before the day of the wedding. If you are ready to book, just get in touch so I can send you the paperwork.

Should we do an engagement session?

Look, you may not have many professional photos taken of yourself. That makes engagement sessions are totally a fun time to get used to being in front of the camera, getting to know each other, and make use of locations or weather that would be difficult on your wedding day.

That said, you totally might not want or need engagement photos, and that is cool, too. Either way, the photos I take on your wedding day will be a singular amazing experience and I’ll make sure you look comfortable and at your best.

Engagement photos are about all the other days you spend together.

Our location is really dark/bright/windy/wet – can you shoot it?

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: One of the most important parts of wedding photography is having a lot of tools available no matter how the day unfolds. Some of those tools are managing people, anticipating moments, and general good cheer. Some tools are tangible (like lighting, and lenses, and composition techniques). Sometimes I have to dig deep into my bag of tools and sometimes I don’t, but I’m ready with ideas no matter if your wedding is on a yacht, in a cave, or in a snowstorm.

Do we have to feed you?

Well, I do have to eat at some point, so for full day weddings I do require a meal. Some choose to seat me with the guests (and I am a lot of fun with old college friends and rowdy coworkers) and some opt for a vendor meal. When possible, I prefer to eat with guests so that I have easy access to toasts, laughter, and general dinner-time antics. Plus, then I usually get a dinner roll, my favorite food. (I do love to talk about food – I’m a frequent contributor to  the heavytable.com, and photographer for several food books).

How many photos will we get?

You are doing a lot of planning to get the vibe of your wedding just right, and that is what I want to capture – the feeling of being there, the emotions, the laughter. I also take photos of the pretty details, but mostly of the people you’ve invited to share with you. The number of wedding images can vary depending all those things, but typically a full wedding is over 450 final images.

How do I know how many hours I’ll need?

The hilarious thing about planning your wedding is that it is totally unique to you and your people and your vision, so you probably won’t totally know the number of hours until you get closer to finalizing all that stuff. I will totally work with you to hone your timeline and make sure that the events and people you want captured are on target. Typically, weddings benefit from around 7-9 hours of coverage.

Do you use a shot list?

The majority of what I do is to document the day that you plan and capture the story of your wedding day and the people there. That said, I take immense effort at each wedding I photograph to make sure that the family groupings are beautiful, happy, and efficient. It’s kind of a big deal to get married, so let yourself feel it. Taking family photos should be a PART of your wedding, so enjoy being with the people that mean so much to you, and let your me worry about getting you all into place. I come from a big family and I know that family photos require a plan, so I’ll send you some info about putting together a list, and some ideas for navigating family.