Chris has had a great love for art since he was a young boy. At age of 15, he earned his first second-hand camera from his father. Since then, he was always “the photographer” among his friends and family. He finally turned this passion into his profession in 2007. Wedding is one of the events Chris loves to shoot. He believes it is one of the most beautiful and joyful event in life, and he understands how every moment, from engagement to the end of the wedding day, means to the couples and their families. Through his artistic eyes and un-obstructive approach, Chris documents these precious moments into elegant, story-telling photographic images that the couples can cherish. Chris is a destination wedding photographer based in San Francisco, California. [San Francisco Wedding Photographer]

I am a Southern California storytelling photographer, so my number one goal is to capture your wedding day authentically. For me, it is all about genuine imagery that reflects the emotions and connections. I’ve always been one to document, but my love of photography really blossomed with the birth of our first child. I inherited my first DSLR camera, which I enjoyed, but it wasn’t until a friend taught me how to use the manual mode that I realized pointing and shooting play a very small role in creating a compelling image. So my quest began: to make images — creatively and expertly — that move the viewer emotionally. Soon after, I had more life-changing moments to document: our 2nd daughter’s cleft palate surgery and bringing our son home from the hospital for the first time. But I have realized what I enjoy most is capturing the little things: how she cocks her head when she pushes her palms into the play dough, or how he clambers up onto a bike that is way too big for him. For me, the joy of capturing a moment beautifully and memorably is the most exciting part of photography. My style is photojournalistic for a reason—I believe the images you will cherish over the years are not the posed ones but the genuine, honest ones. Documenting weddings gives me the opportunity to capture the unscripted moments that make life beautiful. [Los Angeles Wedding Photographer]

I found my way into being a photojournalist in the Navy, but I never had any interest in photography. Everything changed for me when a tearful mom unfolded an old newspaper and said she wanted to get a better copy. The reason for the request? Her 10-year-old son had recently passed away after a long battle with leukemia and the image on the front page of the paper was him, bald from rounds of chemo, with a bird on his head and smile that would melt your heart. That was the last picture taken of him smiling … looking carefree like any other young boy. They wanted the new copy to frame and place in his little brother’s bedroom so he’d always remember his big brother being happy and smiling down on him. What changed my life from this experience was that was my image. An image from my very first newspaper assignment. I remember taking it and felt the whole assignment was taking away from my dream of being a DJ. Two things passed through my mind when this happened: I found my life’s calling The power of photography and that tangible element is real and is meaningful. It’s the visual documentation that provides proof we were here. We experience life, love, receive love, accomplish great feats, endure, and are a part of history within our family and communities. After that experience, I immersed myself in photojournalism. I studied, job shadowed, worked my butt off telling the stories of people who I was lucky enough to get an inside look of their lives. I’ve focused the photojournalism experience from all the assignments I’ve covered into telling stories of the people who won’t have their images highlighted inside a newspaper or magazine. This is why I do what I do. It’s also why my home has images hanging from every wall to highlight who my daughters were growing up, and who they are now. I want to always remember the 20th anniversary trip with my wife, and see myself and my girls acting goofy together. These moments are fleeting and the memories quickly fade without the images to remind us. Through portraits and weddings, I’ve devoted a big part of my life to telling stories with my images. And I take that responsibility very seriously. Because I want you to have that tangible element that will tell your story to your children, and grandchildren, and their children. I want a family member to walk down a hallway decades from now and point to a picture and ask about that moment captured in time. [Coeur d'Alene Wedding Photographer]

Born and raised in Texas but addicted to travel and shooting small-ish, untraditional weddings all over. Husband. Father. Coffee snob. And I dig all things Seinfield related. I started working as a freelance photographer in 2002 for 2 local news papers and 1 local magazine in my hometown. That time working for those publications helped me learn how to watch and wait for moments to unfold. I approach each wedding as its own unique and original event. No preconceived plans. No cookie-cutter ideas for your wedding day. Just honest moments being photographed undisturbed. My 3 children give me lots of practice photographing life as it unfolds before me in unpredictable fashion. I believe it is in those moments that true beauty is found. That's why I don't believe that I need to try and control your wedding day, but rather let the day unfold without interruption. It's the honest moments you are going to reflect on with true emotion, not the staged and posed. Be real, because life is too short not to be. [Dallas-Fort Worth Wedding Photographer]

I should have been practicing penmanship (it really is the worst) but I could not keep my hands off my step father's photography books. I learned what panning was, what particular filters did- I found it all fascinating. Later on, I had a few friends that dabbled in photography and showed me the darkroom- what magic! Finally, on a whim, I took Photo 101 in college. That was my first love! I've documented over 400 weddings, and am positive that the found moment is more valuable to the heart than any staged. I cannot tell you what fulfillment it brings me, personally, to offer these documents to my clients. When everything works together- the moment, the lighting, the emotion- I keep that in my pocket for a rainy day. Portraits have a lean toward that as well, with a push toward the bonds between people. By working to get clients to interact, the images made reflect the connection between individuals as well as the self. “My goal is for fun moments between the people I am photographing, with little camera awareness apparent. Posed work is great, but finding the real smiles, getting a belly laugh- I want my clients to have images that capture that!” Her background in traditional photography, studio lighting, and English literature blend well to help tell the stories between families and friends and the love of a lifetime. [Raleigh Wedding Photographer]

I graduated from the University of Houston with my Master’s Degree in Accountancy and started a career as an auditor in 2015. Only a few months after I started, I felt out of place. Photography has always been my passion growing up. When I was little, I would borrow a camera phone from one of my cousins and start taking photos of things around me. In my senior year of high school when one of my good friends got this very awesome Sony camera phone (it was not a smartphone yet), she would let me use it an document our memories of senior years, per my request of course :). I used the paychecks from my very first part-time job to buy myself a DSLR and start taking photos for friends and family. So yes, it would be so much fun and exciting to start a photography business. While people spend 4 years of college trying to learn to do a job, I spent my 4 years to learn how to do a different job, not photography. I started doing wedding photography and fell in love. I fell in love with the exciting and upbeat environment of a wedding, I fell in love with the emotions that a bride goes through on her wedding date, I fell in love with how the guests dance the night away and how the wedding cakes taste just so indulging, and I fell in love with being the one to document all of that. So that was how Half A Rice Studios was born. [Houston Wedding Photographer]