Fortunately, Grace and Thomas’ engagement session from LAST SEPTEMBER has aged well. They are super sweet together and I look forward to their wedding this summer. Here are a few of my faves!

Virtually all churches impose some restrictions and that’s cool. I’m never gonna be up in your face on the altar with a wide angle while you’re reciting your vows. I don’t want to be seen during your wedding ceremony and I want to do anything and everything I can to ensure that the focus stays on you! So in many instances, I’ll be able to do my job well without ever bumping up against a church’s rules (most of which are usually pretty common sense respect and decorum; both for the religious traditions as well as the bride and groom, the officiant and guests.)

There are some churches however, in which photography is practically disallowed – I’ve shot where I was instructed to stay at the back, and only within the very back, of the church. Since I, and I suspect virtually all wedding photographers, don’t own or carry something like the 400mm f/2.8G around, it’s difficult to capture much of anything in an intimate or personal way. I’ve also worked weddings where I was told to remain in the same seat throughout the entire mass. Ugh!

As to the question of whether or not Jesus likes good wedding photography, I’ll defer to you or your spiritual leaders to decide. Again, most churches are pretty cool with photographers who are, in turn, respectful of the ceremony and those in attendance. A minority may impose rules that are difficult or impossible for a photographer to work within. If intimate ceremonial photography is important to you (as it is to me), then it’s best to ask about this up front and be aware of any limitations that may be placed.

Or how about Faith and Dave and their wedding back in … ohhh, September? Faith was kind enough to write a review of my photography on Google, in which she said that I “was like an old friend we haven’t seen for a few years.” That just warms my heart! Not only because that is the kind of relationship I sincerely work to create with each and every one of my clients … but because I felt the same way about them! It is truly a special privilege to work with such fun and genuine people and their wedding reflected these traits of themselves and their love for each other, their family and friends.

I hope the pictures do it justice.

Congratulations again to you both and a lifetime of love and happiness!

Had enough? I didn’t think so. Choose from these and hundreds more!

In the case of weddings and engagements, my goal is to come back with images that really reflect the love shared by two people who have found their partner in life. Unless we model for a living, it’s difficult for most of us to “be our best selves” in front of a camera. I say “our best selves” because, after all, these shoots are about capturing the best of our love. Dinner together after a long day at work may be one of countless moments in which a lifelong love is defined, but it’s usually not an interesting setting for a picture.

Which brings us to Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio one cold, overcast morning in October. The first image below, to the right, is precisely one that I felt like I was chasing. It reflects something very special about their relationship. And I’m happy for their happiness.

The rest, I really like too.

I can’t wait for your wedding – see y’all soon!

When holding a camera in my hands (and often when not), I spend unhealthy amounts of time obsessing about the light, whether working with the available light or supplying my own. But every once in awhile, nature just hands it to you in perfect form. No assembly required. Just click and enjoy.

Congratulations on your engagement and I can’t wait for your wedding, which will be here before you know it! See you soon!

Thank you, Rachel and Tommy, for allowing me to share in your big day! A lifetime of love and happiness to you both!

Thank you also to Dina of Scarlet City Events for doing an amazing job of coordinating the day!

Check out their full galleries!

Soooo … a little bit of back story on this one. They planned a really, really awesome first dance and surprised virtually everyone of their friends and family with it. They came out to a Colbie Callait song and then went into Footloose.

Even better, if that were possible. Abbey surprised EVERYONE with a song for Steve – her rendition of Heaven is a Place on Earth. I tried, but the pictures truly do not do these moments justice!

Thanks so much for sharing your wedding day with me! A lifetime of love and happiness to you both!!

And a big thanks to the uber talented and all-round awesome person, Shannon Sano for second shooting with me!

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Laurence was talking about making money (a primary goal of any business) and how there are so many ways to make money that cost little to nothing; goodwill being chief amongst them. And he’s exactly right. It astounds me the money that business will regularly throw at catchy advertising, focus groups, or redesigning a logo; and yet, the experience these endeavors seek to create is derailed when a prospective client walks into the store and is treated with rude indifference by an employee. It’s ruined when business talks “premium” products or provides a guarantee that they then refuse to stand behind. Worthwhile as all of those “marketing” endeavors may be, they are nothing next to the power of sincere, personal service. The golden rule, really – treating others as you would like to be treated yourself.

It seems like we encounter examples of business that can’t, or won’t, put that simple concept into practice. Just last week: my family and I have long been a fan of Toyota, owing to their overall quality. Yet oddly, the handle to the rear hatch of our Sequoia has broken off not once, but twice now. A local Toyota dealership charged us $480 (!) to replace the handle the first time, and nearly two years later, it broke again. Would they warrant their work, we wanted to know, since it seems unreasonable that the door handle would break once, let alone twice, in the span of two years? I wonder how many tens of thousands that dealership spends on advertising; I’ll drive several hours to avoid spending a single dime there, ever again. (footnote: the dealership finally agreed to discount, by 75%, the repair cost … which was the exact same quote I had received from Aarrow Radiator, in Hilliard. I cannot recommend Aarrow enough for any of your car repair needs.)

And what about wedding photography? I regularly meet photographers who seem to go out of their way to alienate the people they gush all over themselves about “serving” on their website. My friend was married in Dayton last year and she enlisted one of the more prominent, higher cost photographers in town. While her pictures were very good – not perfect, but definitely just about everything they were hoping for – in the months following, the photographers were total jerks to her and her husband. They took weeks to return routine phone calls or emails with answers to basic questions. They did a half ass job with their (expensive) album. Will she ever refer these photographers to her newly engaged friends, despite that their actual photography was arguably upper echelon? Not a chance; in fact, she left them reviews detailing both the sour side of her experiences as well as the positive.

I take great pains to be exactly the kind of photographer I would like to work with; reliable, prompt, stress-free and in tune with you and your vision for your photography. But whether or not you work with me, I encourage you to spend time checking out the person or people you do choose to work with. Photography – and especially wedding photography – is much more than the photographs themselves. Life is truly too short to stress over a-holes.

A sudden monsoon unexpectedly relocated their ceremony from the deck into the Bryn du Mansion Fieldhouse … which might’ve been just as well since it was about a 1,000 degrees outside. Here are a few favorites, starting with their beautiful first look

I had never seen this before but LOVED the idea! They wrote letters to each other to read on their fifth anniversary and locked them into this box, along with a bottle of wine!

Thanks so much for sharing in your wedding day, Karlyn and Brian! A lifetime of love and happiness to you both!

Check out hundreds more!