I became a wedding photographer because of my grilled cheese loving, historical movie buff, ever determined and inspiring father. A genealogist, he studied our family history and traced it all the way back to the 1200s in Switzerland. Pretty incredible, right? Documentation was a major part of piecing together who we were and where we came from, and any photographic evidence my father came across was like finding a rare and remarkable gem. I always felt that the photos that recorded our history told our families’ stories with much more depth than any written documentation could. It was the photography that I found the most interesting of all of my father’s research. From expressions on faces to clothing choices, it was fascinating for me to see who these people were and what life was like for them. Everyone had a story.
Because photographs were so scarce in our family, my dad learned how to use a camera and strived to capture every moment he could as my younger sister and I grew up before his eyes. He documented EVERYTHING my sister and I did. From the holidays where our mother dressed us up in unfortunate matching outfits reminiscent of The Shining twins, to our ballet dance recitals and school graduations, my father was unrecognizable without his trusted black film camera in front of his face. He wanted to ensure that he was documenting these amazing milestone memories and regrettable dress choices for not only himself and our family to look back on and laugh (or cry), but for future generations that might wonder, just as he had once, who we were and what we were like. Between his family history research and his photographs of our family, he was adamant about leaving his legacy making sure that no one would ever be forgotten.
That black film camera my father owned was just as captivating to me as the personalities revealed in his old photographs. Perhaps that gadget he used to cover his face was even more fascinating because that very expensive and technical piece of equipment was something he never let me touch, as much as I pleaded. One day he ultimately gave in, and I excitedly chased our family cat around the house, camera in hand, with the goal of capturing her adorable self in my first ever real photograph. Finally! With one click of the shutter I was hooked. Unfortunately I had trapped our cat with my dad’s camera in a dark corner with no light, and when the film came back from the lab my much anticipated photographic print was 100% black… no discernible cat in the frame whatsoever. Thankfully for you, my dear clients, my skills have improved a great deal since then! But that was the beginning of my obsession with photography. I started learning about old school film photography, tried out different camera formats, and even built from scratch my very own pinhole camera modeled after a swanky rock band drum set (John Bonham’s, of course). I developed both black and white and color images in the darkroom, and in college I began learning about digital photography as well. That lead to photography jobs in professional color correction and retouching, and I began dabbling in commercial, product, sports, and fashion photography. Portraiture was always my favorite, though, as it allowed me to be my most creative, interact with people, and tap into their distinct personalities.
It wasn’t until after getting my BA in Photography and Animation at the University of Maryland that I began working with wedding photographers in the Washington, DC area, and it was around that time when my friends started to get engaged and asked me to capture this ever important wedding event that they had been awaiting for years. I’m so glad they asked, and I’m so glad that I took a chance and ventured down this path, because wedding photography is what I was born to do! I am beyond thrilled to tell your unique love story by capturing fresh, authentic, and sophisticated imagery that celebrates your heritage and honors your legacy. Yours is a story filled with those extra-special moments that should be cherished beyond your lifetime. It’s a story that encompasses not just the day of your wedding, but celebrates what came before and what is yet to come. And it’s all a colorful and exciting adventure… for you and for me. This is such an amazing time in your lives, and I want you to have a fantastic experience from start to finish and images that last forever. I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful clients, and I am excited and honored to tell your stories! So as you invest your time in planning your wedding day, I ask you to consider, “How do you want to be remembered?”
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