Do you photograph all your weddings by yourself?

The simple answer is yes! When I first started out, I second shot for many photographers in the Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Maryland, and DC area. I thought that I needed a second shooter as well, but instead I found that directing another photographer took away from my ability to capture a whole story from start to finish, that I rarely used their images if I did have a second shooter, and that they were often in the background of important photos. Often their flashes going off would impact my own photos at key moments during the ceremony and reception. My training as a photojournalist has given me the skills to capture each wedding story quickly and with skill.

For my particular business model, I am able to create stronger relationships with my couples and capture their most precious moments in better detail and efficiency when photographing solo, just as I have trained to do as a photojournalist. It also makes the wedding day more about the couple and less of a big production. I am an intimate wedding photographer and my couples appreciate that they get to enjoy their day without a large crew following them like paparazzi.

For destination weddings or weddings that include much larger receptions and travel or drone photography, I do bring in assistant or my husband Matthew who is a drone photographer and also assists me with lighting at some receptions.

But will you miss getting ready moments if you shoot weddings solo?

The groomsmen get ready in about ten minutes. They don't require hours of hair and makeup or help getting into their suits like a bride and bridesmaids do. I have always been able to capture both bridal parties getting ready without any problem. Most couples get ready in the same hotel so I can slip easily between rooms. Sometimes I cannot make it to both getting ready locations if they are a great distance apart, but I get all the groom's portraits at the ceremony or reception venue. We discuss the timing of your day to ensure that everyone is photographed.

What about other angles and candid moments?

I get those too. I trained to tell the entire story of an event including your wedding. I keep my eyes out for wonderful candid moments as well as perfectly posed editorial style images. Throughout the ceremony I place myself in various places to capture your wedding at numerous angles. During the ceremony I also carry two cameras with me; one with a wide angle lens and one with a close up or zoom lens so that I can alternate between distances and angles within milliseconds, never having to pause to switch out a lens or a memory card.

Can you tell us more about your style?

I am proud of my history with photojournalism and I am still a photojournalist today, focusing on wedding documentation. I consider myself a wedding photojournalist (or a "positive photojournalist" as I like to say!) and my style is almost completely candid as a result. I capture your day as it unfolds.

I will not be interrupting your guests or stopping your bridal party as they walk down the aisle to make them cheese for a photo. I do take posed family and bridal party portraits as well as couples portraits, but for the majority of the day most photos will be candid and in the moment. This is the trademark style of Live Lovely Photography. I always tell new clients that if you prefer mostly posed pictures instead of natural moments, then we may not be the best fit. I do not take portraits of each guest or table photos during the reception, but I do get group photos when asked and if I see a group together I will ask them for a photo. Please take a look at my previous work for examples of what you may expect at your own wedding.

How many photos will we get with our wedding collection?

This is completely dependent on the size and duration of your wedding. For an average wedding, I give my clients around 800 photographs. Sometimes I find those numbers now creeping into the 1,000-2,000 range if the wedding day and reception is much longer. I take approximately 4,000-5,000 photos at each wedding and narrow out all the photos where people are blinking, awkwardly posed, or the lighting is bad. I then select the top images to give you the best of your day.

What is your editing policy?

What you see is what you get! As a photojournalist, it goes against my nature to heavily edit any photograph. My ultimate goal is to capture your images correctly as they are unfolding instead of "fixing" them up later. That being said, all of your photos will be edited for quality before you receive them. I do not give my client their unedited photographs. That means that I will color correct your images and fix the exposure where needed. I also use my own custom color and black and white presets to make your photos look their best.

I do not Photoshop my couples as I believe each person is beautiful just the way they are. With proper lighting and posing, there is very little reason why I would ever Photoshop someone. For all printed images and albums I will do heavier edits to remove any blemishes, bruises, distracting elements in backgrounds, and fix clothing mistakes. I do not edit my clients to change the way they naturally look so you can feel assured that your photos are genuine. I know how bad it feels to have a photographer edit away parts of you and I would never do that to my clients. As your photographer I will do my best to make sure you look your very best.