Philosophy

The best moments in life are never scripted. These slices of life are largely what make life worth living. 

The job of a photojournalist is to anticipate and capture these unscripted, storytelling moments in a visually interesting way.

This is where I come in.

My goal is to put my 21 years of experience as a photojournalist to work for you. The result should be a collection of images totally unique to your personality and sense of style. 

It's something that only documentary-style photography can do, and photographers who have spent their entire careers shooting this way tend to do it best. Many studio-trained or fine art photographers claim to be able to shoot in the photojournalistic style, but few have actual experience as a working photojournalist.

I was a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times, photo editor for the Napa Valley Register, intern for the Reno Gazette-Journal and Peninsula Clarion in Kenai, Alaska. I've also worked as a freelancer for Reuters, Newsweek, The New York Times, Dateline NBC, E! True Hollywood Stories and many others. I have covered everything from presidents , to professional sports, to soup kitchens. I have also shot more than 300  documentary-style weddings in the past decade. That means I have managed to glean a pretty good chunk of photographic knowledge in that time, and have a pretty good idea what is going to happen at a wedding before it happens. It also means I have the skill set to handle pretty much any photographic situation thrown at me.

Because my pictures are honest and unscripted, I’ll never tell you to smile if you don’t feel like smiling or look pensive if you don’t feel pensive. I let things happen naturally, which tends to make my subjects feel and look comfortable and natural in front of the camera. 

As a photojournalist, I am used to photographing people who are not professional models, and are not used to being in front of the camera—many of which despise being photographed at all. Part of my training is to set those subjects at ease and begin to blend into the background.

My unobtrusive, un-obnoxious documentary shooting style allows you to enjoy this huge celebration you have planned without being ordered around, or being forced to suffer through marathon portrait sessions in the summer heat or winter cold. One of the top horror stories I hear about bad wedding photographers is they want to control the day and order you and your guests around. That's not me!

The only thing I require of you is that you have a great time and be yourself. I am going to document it.

I get asked a lot if I still do portraits and the answer is yes. It just isn't the focus of the entire day. I let my clients decide how much time they would like to dedicate to portraits. These are YOUR wedding pictures—not mine. I am here to make sure you are happy, so I will do pretty much whatever you want me to do.

I want to help make your day as seamless and stress-free as possible. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Remember, out of all the purchases you make for your wedding, the photography is what will make the memories of that day last more than anything. I take that responsibility seriously, and hope to have the honor of being your photographer.