+ WHAT IS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLE?
We call our approach to wedding photography, empathetic photojournalism. It’s moment-driven, real, and focussed on documenting what truly happened, when it happened, where it happened, and who it happened with. It’s also filled with the beautiful and awkward oddities that give context to a story worth telling. We honor the people in front of us, give them the space to be who they are, and take photographs that feel alive. We seek the true and the good, notice the nuances of connection and relationship, and appreciate the emotional complexity of what it means to be human.
+ WHY DO YOUR PHOTOS LOOK DIFFERENT?
This is a question we get a lot from potential couples who can feel a difference while looking at our photos but can’t quite figure out a reason why. People are unique and everything about a wedding is a one of a kind experience. If you are looking at website after website and all the photographs start to look similar with the same “look/aesthetic/style/brand”, this usually means the photographer uses a heavy handed, controlling approach in making them look that way, usually for the sake of their portfolio’s consistency. We, however, take the opposite approach, with an underlying goal to be a transparent part of your wedding day. When you look back at your wedding photos in 5-10-20-40 years, you shouldn’t see any of our fingerprints, just a reflection of you, your love, and those that gathered with you to celebrate that day.
On a technical note, our photographs look different because we photograph differently. The wedding industry has decided and promoted the idea that “pretty” photographs must have a sharp subject against a blurry background. Stop for a minute. Look up from your screen and take a look around your surroundings and the people that might happen to be near you. We’ll wait. Ok, hello again. When you looked around, what did you see? Did you see a 2 dimensional world with what you were looking at surrounded by blurry nothing-ness? No, right!? If these images we create are an anchor to enhance your own memories, then they need to feel like real life. Therefore, we intentionally shoot with lenses that see the world similarly to how your eyes see it so that it feels like you are actually there, experiencing it yourself. We are constantly looking for layers that add to the complexity of an image and give it depth. While there can be a time and place for these “pretty” photographs, we believe a wedding day deserves more than exclusively those kinds of images.
+ WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED?
We currently reside in Bend, Oregon, a charming outdoor adventure focussed town in Central Oregon. We were born, and spent the majority of our lives, in Southern California. In 2012, we abandoned the hustle and bustle in search of a slower, more intentional pace of life. This search first brought us to a cabin in the woods in a small California mountain town (Idyllwild) for two years. We then spent two years in Nashville, TN, followed by five years in Kansas City, MO. While we love all the places we’ve lived over the years, we finally found our home and perfect fit here in Bend, Oregon.
+ DO YOU TRAVEL?
Yes, always! More often than not, our wedding pre-game involves packing up and hopping on an airplane. No matter the location, we are honored to be there with you and your people. Whether it's in a ballroom in a major city, or the backyard of the house you grew up in, or on exotic tropical island, your wedding location was chosen for a specific reason and we understand the importance place has in telling a story. We have photographed weddings all over the United States and internationally in Mexico, Canada, Italy, Costa Rica, the Domiican Republic, Australia, the UK, Anguilla, France, the Bahamas, and more. We are experienced travelers and take the responsibility of traveling for work seriously. We handle booking all of our own travel arrangements and accommodations and will always arrive in the city of your wedding at a minimum of 24 hours before your wedding. We’d be happy to provide a custom travel quote for your wedding, so please contact us for more information.
+ HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PHOTOGRAPHING WEDDINGS?
We’ve been photographing weddings for 20 years and documented over 500 weddings all over the globe. This means two things: 1) we know what we’re doing and 2) we still LOVE it. Wedding photography is our full-time, life long career and we treat it with the weight and care that it deserves.
+ ARE YOU INSURED?
Absolutely. We can provide a Certificate of Insurance if you or your venue requests one.
+ WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE? DO YOU BRING BACK-UP GEAR?
We photograph all weddings using professional Fuji digital cameras and a wide variety of lenses. Since there are two of us at every event, we have full sets of gear for each of us, as well as back up equipment if something should go awry.
+ HOW DO WE RECEIVE OUR IMAGES?
We use a custom, private online system that will be home to all of your images in a beautiful, easy to use gallery. Friends and family you invite will be able to view the images, download images to share, and purchase prints and other products we offer. You as the client will be able to do all of those things, plus receive special permissions to download the full collection of high resolution images for your own personal use and archive.
+ HOW MANY IMAGES WILL WE RECEIVE?
Every wedding is different, and because of that, our coverage can vary. Generally speaking, our average is usually approximately 100 per hour of shooting time.
+ HOW LONG UNTIL WE SEE THE PHOTOS?
Our standard delivery time is 8-12 weeks. Each and every image we deliver is individually edited by us here in house. We take great care in delivering the highest quality image we can, and that process unfortunately cannot be rushed.
+ DO WE GET THE RIGHTS TO THE PICTURES?
Yes. While we maintain the copyright to the images as the “creator”, the high resolution images files you receive include a rights release so that you may use them in any way you’d like (prints, sharing online, etc) for personal use.
+ DO YOU OFFER ALBUMS?
We do! We whole-heartedly believe in the value of tangible prints and the legacy an album represents. With how many images live solely on phones, wedding photographs deserve to stand apart and exist somewhere other than the cloud or a screen. All of our archival, handmade albums are available through the online proofing gallery you will receive. If you would like to see a sample of an album, please let us know and we’d be happy to share one with you.
+ WILL YOU PHOTOGRAPH MY LGBTQ+ WEDDING?
Of course! We believe in love. We believe in you, your love, and your unique expression of that love and we’d be honored to be invited to witness it.
+ WILL YOU PHOTOGRAPH MY CELTIC / HINDU / CATHOLIC / BUDDHIST / MULTICULTURAL / CHRISTIAN / NON-RELIGIOUS / MUSLIM / LDS / JEWISH / COURTHOUSE WEDDING?
Absolutely! We will be honored to document your wedding, regardless of what faith you practice or what cultural traditions you want to include. We have photographed over 500 weddings and have been lucky enough to witness the weddings of all of these and more. We respect your faith and will treat your sacred places of worship with reverence. If you choose to have a legal ceremony only, we will treat that with just as much dignity as a religious one. Just as no two humans joining to one another are the same, no two weddings are the same. We would love to chat with you about how your wedding will be a unique reflection of your individual beliefs and practices.
+ HOW DO WE BOOK YOU?
First, connect with us! We’ll send over our current wedding rates and any applicable travel costs. If it looks like we’re a good fit for your budget, we’d love to set up a FaceTime/Skype/phone or in person consultation with you to get to know you and find out more about your wedding. If you decide you’d like to book us, we will send you a contract for each of you to sign. A deposit of 1/3 the total contract amount is required to secure the date and the remaining 2/3 of the contract is due 30 days prior to the wedding.
+ WHAT TYPE OF OF PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT?
We accept check or bank transfer via Zelle.
+ DO YOU TAKE POSED FAMILY PHOTOS ON A WEDDING DAY?
Yes. We firmly believe in historically documenting your family on the wedding day and taking photographs that honor the people that helped raise and form you. We will work together to make a list that makes sense for your unique family situations and will be sure to allocate enough time to photograph them. On the wedding day, we work efficiently to make this as painless and streamlined as possible for everyone involved so you all can get back to celebrating as quickly as possible.
+ DO YOU ALWAYS SHOOT TOGETHER?
Yes. In our opinion, a two photographer team is hugely beneficial for you.
