My Style.
With a photojournalistic approach, I document the candid emotions and fleeting moments that make your wedding unique. My style is unobtrusive, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the joy of the day, knowing that I’m there to capture every significant detail. You may not remember seeing me amidst the laughter and love, but when you look back at your images, you'll find the essence of your celebration beautifully preserved.
Highlights
I’m based in Utah and the greater west and in Yelapa, Mexico. I split my time between the two because one has mountains and the desert and the other has rivers and the ocean -and really, who can make that choice?
I have over 15 years of experience photographing weddings.
I’ve been married for 23 years and have one little girl and two small dogs that sometimes wear sweaters.
I went to art school, twice. This makes me legit -at least to some people.
I will likely cry at your wedding –not ugly crying though, I promise.
I like people with authenticity. I like people who have quirks and people who can’t tell a joke with a straight face. These are my kind of people.
I’m originally from Minnesota. Enough said.
I’m not above telling you a dad joke in order to make you laugh, anything to save you from your awkward smile-for-the-camera-face.
My story
I photographed my first wedding in Minneapolis in 1997. At that time I was a college student managing a campus darkroom. I shot that first wedding on film -it was a long time ago. Digital photography had just come on to the scene, but it all sounded just a little too futuristic.
When I had completed a technical degree in Analog Photography, I packed my car and headed west to master the life of a surf bum in southern California.
Fast forward to 2004 and I’m married and living in the mountains of Utah just beyond Park City and working as an injury massage therapist. I spent as much time as humanly possible wondering the globe with my husband- mostly to destinations good for flying paragliders.
By this point I've come around to the idea that digital is also legitimate photography, and I even own a digital camera of my own by this point. I went back to school and got my BFA in Digital Imaging and Fine Arts Photography. I photographed my travels, the culture around me and a lot of landscapes from the sky. I started publishing in magazines and slowly made the decision to give up my practice as a therapist and make my living as a full time photographer.
Now days, I split my time between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Yelapa, Mexico. I’ve been happily married for 23 years, and our family consists of three humans and two dogs. As a full-time wedding, portrait, and editorial photographer, I still travel as often as I can, always with a camera in hand. I strive to create images that tell stories about life.
If you feel comfortable with me after reading this, let’s connect. I’d love to hear about your plans and see if we can work together. Drop me a line.
My approach to photography is quite relaxed and a bit intuitive. Keeping with that method, each wedding that I photograph is tailored to fit the personality of the couple to be wedded. If you have ideas for options that I’ve left out, just ask- and most likely you shall receive.
I sincerely feel that your wedding day should always be about You and Your Greatest Love, then your closest friends and your wonderful family.
That being said, every wedding will look different and no matter how meticulous the planning, your day will unfold in its own unique way. And it will be perfect and beautiful and everything that makes your heart happy, I promise this you.
It’s my job to capture your day, package it up and deliver it to you so that you can relive it for all your years to come. Simultaneously keeping a calm presence and appearing at your side every time you need me and to the shadows when you don’t.
Most importantly I’m tasked with using my magic to read your mind, seeing the future and otherwise wielding my wizardry skills, (aka intuition years of experience and foresight) to perfectly capture your day.
Why should I hire you?
If you’ve read this far there must be something about me that you like. Let’s meet in person and see if there’s a spark- remember, as your photographer I’ll be around you for the entire day of your wedding- so really, we should hope for some sort of chemistry.
I’ll never do a dog and pony show to win you over. What you see is pretty much what you get. (May vary before of after coffee)
After years of working with wedding couples I know 100% that we- you and I -must have some sort or connection, whether that be an easiness or actual jive, we need to have mutual trust and respect for one another so that your wedding day is the only thing in focus on the day of. If my portfolio or social media feed is impressive to you then that’s a huge bonus, but if we don’t connect it’ll be a disaster. You’re thinking ‘Whoa?! she said that?’ Yes, yes I did say that. There are a million and a half wedding photographers on this earth so there’s bound to be at least one that fits as the PB to your J or Cream to your Coffee… Hendricks to your tonic. You get what I’m saying.
Will you help me to look my best in front of the camera?
I promise. I will always guide you to look your best. I’ve done a Ton of of extra curricular work to hone the skill of posing, and once, a long -long time ago attempted to become a print model and I failed fantastically because I was terribly awkward in front of the camera. That being said, I’m very sympathetic to the uneasiness of being the subject of a photograph.
What can I expect on the day of the wedding?
I’ll arrive and begin work as you and your wedding party are getting beautified (or handsomfied)
I work to blend in, to find calm and otherwise make you and your guests feel comfortable. My goal is to be incognito. It's my superpower. I may ask you to step near a perfectly lighted window once or twice, but for the most part I’ll be photographing incognito- looking for candid and meaningful interactions between you and your loved ones. If I have a second photographer one of us will spend time with your partner to be. If I’m working solo, I’ll pop in and out of both preparation areas, I’ll gather rings, flower and dress to photograph the details of your beauty.
Your Ceremony
During the ceremony I'll stay on the outskirts of the scene documenting everyone from you and your love to the tears and laughter of your guests. For times where three is a crowd- like during your exchange of vows, I employ a long lens- meaning that I can zoom in from afar, so when you look at the images you'd think that I was standing there next to you, wiping your tears with a hanky, but in reality I was out of the scene photographing from the edge.
Your Portraits
Usually directly after your ceremony I whisk you away and capture the images that show the two of you looking at each other in awe- the look that says "Holy smokes! We're for real!" Or maybe your look says "I really need a drink". Either way, I take you away from your guests to somewhere beautiful and private and capture that after- emotion glow of your ceremony. It only takes about 15 minutes. Your guests are usually enjoying cocktails at this time, and often times they don't even notice that you’re gone.
Family and Group Portraits
Hopefully you have a bossy sister in law, because I'll need her to help gather your subjects. No, in all seriousness, you'll provide me with a list of groups that you would like portraits of. If there's someone there that knows everyones name it's always helpful to me while I gather people for portraits.
The Rest of the Celebration
The rest of the day is easy. You eat, drink, love and be merry while I photograph the emotion and beauty of the celebration as it unfolds. The toasts, the hugs, the laughter.. the dances with your Father or Mother and your new Lifelong Companion. This is where I use my intuition and experience as a wedding photographer to catch all of the unfolding moments. I have yet to see two weddings that look alike and I'm very familiar with what love, emotion and happiness look like. And really, aren't those the main ingredients of what make a wedding celebration special? At the end of the evening, when the chicken dancing has been done and the champaign has been enjoyed- specifically at the point that people are too entranced in celebration to have their picture taken, I'll finally put my camera down and pack up and disappear into the night.
We’re the perfect fit! How do I book?
Great! I require a 50 percent retainer and a singed contract. That insures that I’m yours for the day from beginning to end. Done!
Can we meet before hand?
I prefer to meet in person before your wedding date if possible, if t's not an option to meet in person then maybe we can have a face time date. I accept a limited amount of weddings a year (I never book more than two a month) and it’s important to me that we jive- not the literal dance, but that we have some aspect of a pleasant spark, as we’ll be together for the entire day… and you know, It’ll be one of the most important days of your life.
What is included in my wedding day package?
A full day of coverage and your engagement session. An online gallery and a file of meticulously edited images ready for print, print release included. There is an option to print directly from the gallery and have them delivered to your doorstep- or the door of your guests. A second photographer is always an option, as are albums and other pretties- I specify more on that below.
How many images can I expect?
Anywhere from 600 and beyond for your wedding day- usually around 1300 images. Engagement sessions yield from 100 to 150 images, again- all edited and print ready.
How long until I get my images?
4 weeks is stated in my contract, however, I always try to deliver before then.
Color or Black and white?
I edit a variety of both. It just depends on what the particular image is best suited for. Most of the time the daylight images of the day are in color with a deliberate few in black and white, while the dancing, strobes and candle light images are usually captured as black and white. If you have a preference we can talk further.
What about Copy Rights? Will I own them?
People often get 'Copy Rights' and 'Printing Rights' confused.
What you want are the printing rights- which are 100 percent yours. Your images are yours to print and frame, post, make an album with and share on social media for forever and ever and ever. What you cannot do is sell them or publish them to a magazine, otherwise profiting off of my talent. This is because I, the photographer and artist, am the person who would love the fame and great fortunes that accompany selling your wedding portrait to Vogue.
Will I see every image?
No. That would be a huge disappointment to you. Pictures of my feet, the back of a strangers heads, blurry.. hmm, something or another.
Seriously though, I sort through each and every image from your wedding day, dismissing the ones that I seen as 'unsuccessful'- i.e. blurry, poorly exposed, one of 20 that are of the same subject but I just wasn't sure that I 'got it'. And of course, those that don't do you justice vanity wise- i.e., eyes closed, double chin, exposed stuff that shouldn't be exposed.
Is a Second Photographer a necessary expense?
Well now, this one is tricky. I often photograph weddings solo- and if I might be so bold as to say, I do a great job at capturing the day and every bit of love that it brought with it. That being said, when I do work with a second photographer, I'm always brought to misty eyes or out loud laughter by many of their images. This is because they are photographing from a perspective that I do not see, because I can only be in one place at a time. (I am magic, but not that magical) My second photographer is catching the little things like your grandfather lifting his hanky to his eye and the look on your best friend face when they see you pause at the top of the isle. Long story short, another photographer will capture even more beauty and love than I can when working solo. But it is Definitely not a necessity.
How much do you require upfront?
I require 50% at the time of booking. My reasoning for this requirement is so I have a strong incentive to hold your wedding day for you- as I schedule a limited number of wedding a month and my schedule fills fast. But I do understand wedding finance and If that's not possible, we can negotiate what that percentage should be at the time of booking, and know that as a former bride myself- I am super versatile and open minded when it comes to this subject.
Will you take a list of shots or do you improvise your poses or both?
I'm versatile here too. If you have specific images as examples that you're in love with and want to use as guidance then absolutely! My normal habit is to use starting poses and move on from there. I try and hope to keep you (the couple) natural and authentic. This is important to me because your wedding day should be remembered as authentic and 100% yours as it unfolds.