Letters

Thank you Josh!!
The slideshow pictures are amazing! I've been sitting here with a huge smile on my face watching it. You did such a great job capturing our happiness that day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! There's something so romantic about the black and white photos - I'm very happy you took those as well. I can't thank you enough, you are certainly part of our whole happy experience and memory of that day.
Rebecka and Mike

Josh,
I can’t thank you enough for everything you have done for our wedding. You went WAY above and beyond any expectations we had! All of the pictures you have taken were so beautiful + thoughtful and we are so excited to print them out and display them, I will call you in about 5 years when we’re ready for baby pictures!!!
Thank you,
Lauren & Jake

Josh- Thank you so much for doing such a wonderful job at our wedding. Everyone enjoyed you and your fun loving personality. We viewed the slideshow online… WOW. We love it! All of our friends and family are dying to have prints made. Thank you, again. You are an amazing photographer.
Love- Ryan and Michelle

Josh,
You did an amazing job and we couldn't be happier with how our pictures turned out. I'm so glad that we got to know you, and hope to work with you again soon. I will definitely refer you to as many people as I can!
Thanks again,
Chrissy & Charlie

Dear Josh,

First of all, thank you so so SO much for the amazing photos of our wedding day. They are absolutely perfect. You are incredibly talented and it was fun to watch you in action. In fact, many of our guests commented after the wedding that we had "the coolest photographer ever." Thanks!
Laura & Daniel

Dear Josh,
I know I've said this a million times, but thanks so much for everything. Not only did you capture our wedding beautifully, but you also helped us in creating a beautiful setting. We appreciate all your help and think you're totally AWESOME!!! Thanks for being you!
Chris & Gritchelle

Josh-
Thanks for everything! We are so thankful for you!
Love Love Love-

The Greenes

Hi Josh!
I just wanted to let you know that we LOVE our pictures in the sideshow you posted. They are all so beautiful and really capture the memories of the day. We loved working with you--you were a joy to have around for all the fun and festivities. You are such a talented and gifted artist. We along with our friends, family, and even my florist who have seen the pictures have only the highest praise for your work--thank you so much!
Blessings,
Sarah (and Jeff)

Dear Josh,
Thank you for sharing your gifting with us. May the Lord continue to use you to capture both wonder and beauty.
Fondly,
Mike & Katie Voight

Josh,
You are amazing!!! Thank you for capturing the best of our special day.
Xoxo,
Veronica & Enrique

Josh,
Thank you for making our wedding memories so beautiful! The photos you took are amazing and we're so grateful for you.
Love,
Sarah and German

Dear future Brides and Grooms,

Here’s the short version: Josh is amazing. Hire him.

The long version: We searched high and low for our wedding photographer. After viewing 80 billion portfolios on photographer websites, one gets rather bored with wedding pictures. But Josh’s photos stood out – they’re crisp, bright, and always interesting. His portrait shots never seem stiff (and that’s because he has no problem taking those bride/groom photos while you’re moving and he’s jogging backward on uneven ground), and his candids tell a story by capturing the most wonderful expressions on peoples’ faces. He really understands light too – one of the litmus tests we used when searching for a photographer was to look at whether their night shots looked natural and non-blurry. Well, Josh managed to get a clear photo of us out on our pitch-black deck after our wedding, after he was off the clock and sharing a drink with us and our late-partying guests. At the opposite extreme, our ceremony took place under blazing sun with erratic shade from nearby trees. While every single guest photo (and some of our guests are pretty good amateur photographers) was overexposed, Josh’s came out beautifully. And you can see TONS of great examples of his work on his website, where he’s posted entire weddings. Beware of photographers who only show you their fifty best pictures.

So, Josh has skillz. That doesn’t matter if your photographer is a jerk. Because, after all, your photog is going to be with you in your dressing room on your wedding day, and that could be awkward if they’re creepy. Not a problem with Josh – he’ll be non-intrusive on your wedding day, he’s super nice, and he really makes a genuine effort to get to know you. I’d be surprised if there’s any couple he’s photographed that he didn’t end up friends with. He got wind of the fact that I love board games, so we took a game to a local café and used that as a jumping off point for our 3 hour (!) long engagement shoot. So you really get an individualized experience with Josh. He’s also young, motivated, enthusiastic, and clearly loves his work. Which is a requirement when you’re individually editing 1100 photos from a wedding, or you’d presumably go crazy. That’s right, we got a whopping 1100 pictures on disc, with full rights. Discs, I should say, because Josh helpfully provided several copies, each individually packaged with Martha Stewart-wrapping prowess, so we could disperse them to our parents. And they arrived in a timely manner – none of this 4-6 months stuff you get from some photographers.

Josh is worth every penny we paid him. More, actually. He’s really reasonably priced for his level of talent. We definitely interviewed less expensive photographers, but their work just didn’t match up. Josh was also great with being flexible and accommodating our budget with ala carte pricing. After seeing his gorgeous work on previous wedding albums and salivating over the clean, modern look of them, we even ordered an album for ourselves, despite being cheapskates. Best. Decision. Ever. I just received the finished product, and we’re talking heirloom material here.
Right, so in conclusion: Josh is amazing. Hire him.

-Allison and Andrew de los Reyes

QQQ

If you shoot film, do you usually shoot in both color and black and white? If you'll do both, what percentage of each do you recommend?

How many hours of coverage do we get? What is the charge for overtime?

Will you be my actual photographer, or will it be one of your associates?

Do you have backup photographers who will shoot the wedding if you're sick?

Will there be a second shooter or any assistants? Is there an additional fee for each (if applicable)?

Why do you like to photograph weddings?

Love is beautiful. This question helps you to gauge who your photographer is as a person and artist. Take stock of the person's passion and energy. Does he/she seem enthusiastic or kind of flat? People who love what they do have a tendency to be very good at what they do and working with them is always more enjoyable and fun.

Also, knowing a little about what makes the person tick is a good way to feel out what kind of a personality "fit" you may share with the photographer. After all, you will be spending an entire day with your photographer, so do what you can to be sure the person you pick will be genuinely excited to be there and pleasant throughout that day.

What do you and your assistants wear to weddings?

What style(s) do you specialize in?

How do you coordinate with my videographer? How do you envision working together?

How many weddings do you do a weekend?

Have you ever shot at my venue(s) before?

There is a good chance that I have shot at your venue or somewhere similar. I am really inspired by new places and can always accommodate a site visit or arriving early to do a walk through day of. The light changes all the time and even the same venue will photograph differently depending on the season. With that in mind, I'm always looking for the most flattering light for the portraits and I

Will you follow a shot list? Or do you prefer to have free reign to capture the festivities how you see fit?

Why you want to know: Most photographers will welcome a (short) shot list to make sure you get the specific pics you want. But don't overwhelm them with hundreds of requests -- if you hire a good pro, you're hiring them for their eye as well as their experience creating amazing albums. Let them do their job!

What type of paper will you use for the prints and album?

What are the restrictions for sharing photos online or for publication? Do you own the copyright to the photos?

Do you bring your own lighting?

What will you wear?

How would you describe your working style?

How would you describe your photography style?

How far in advance do I need to book with you?

If my wedding site is out of your area, do you charge a travel fee and what does that cover?

How do I book you and reserve my date?

Do you have photos of entire weddings that I can see?

Do you post the proofs online, or will I receive negatives?

Yes, the Proofs will all be posted online to my Proofing Site, Once available, guests will be able to order prints or download full image files if they'd rather not buy anything. My goal if for the photos to be as accessible as possible.

How many pictures will you take?

What do you charge for overtime?

Congratulations! Thank you for taking the time to view my wedding photography. I feel honored and blessed to be doing something that I LOVE for work. Your wedding should be full of family, friends, and fun. Lots of fun. So should your photos. I want to create fine art images that are bright, and full of life. I aim to capture everything from the intimate moments down to the smallest detail on your wedding day. I shoot with an editorial style and a critical eye for detail.

I primarily shoot on medium format film because it has a look that I love. It's organic and analog.

My work has been featured in Brides California, Once Wed, Style Me Pretty, Geraldine Magazine, The Knot, Brides.com, Ruffled, Snippet and Ink, Green Wedding Shoes, and more. I've been lucky to photograph beautiful weddings locally all over the San Francisco bay area, Napa, Santa Barbara and throughout California, as well as some places a little further from home, like France, London, Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, and Nevada. I'd love to be a part of your wedding!