First things first...
Hi! My name is Noah and I married the most beautiful woman in the whole world. Her name is Mallorie. I call her mal. Or sometimes mally. We've been married since March of 2017 and I love her so much. We currently live in Arlington, TX. We've been together since middle school (ask us about the full story, it is WILD) and have been photographing/filming since 2013. We're rarely in front of the camera, but here are a few pictures of us together.
Here we are on a frozen lake in Estes Park, CO. We snowshoed up this mountain and saw minimal yellow snow.
From our honeymoon in Portland, OR. We rented a Mercedes* for the day and drove down the west coast, from Astoria to Short Sands Beach.
*not indicative of our lifestyle
We celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary by turning our phones off and staying at home. We don't get much time like this, so instead of going on a trip, we had our very own staycation.
Why I Love What I Do
I love telling stories.
My favorite stories involve people.
I love creating wedding photos and films because a wedding is one of the few moments in life where joy and happiness are so tangibly present in not only the bride and groom, but the entire group of people they are surrounded by: family, friends and other loved ones. Love is the most powerful emotion and primary motivation for the majority of human actions. To see two become one and proclaim that this life is better when we aren't focused on ourselves is a beautiful manifestation of the power of love.
And I believe that this is ultimately a display of what Jesus Christ, the Son of God has done for us as his people, his church, his children. He has pledged his commitment to meet us where we are, enrapture us with his unconditional and unfailing love, and declare that we are His and He is ours. Just as the bride will take the name of her bridegroom, so too have we taken on the identity of our Savior, Jesus who has given us salvation, by God's grace and through faith in the sufficiency of His sacrifice, and the hope of eternal life spent knowing Him. Although marriage will only ever be a dim reflection of this wonderful reality, it is our most vivid earthly picture of what this will one day be like. Jesus will come back to be eternally united with his Bride.
Marriage is a metaphor. An abstraction visually manifested in the lives of millions of something greater than we can fathom. And it's told in a million different ways because each person's story is different. It is a wonderful thing to walk through one of the happiest days of someone's life and be a part of helping them remember the joy and memories made on that day.
What You Can Expect From Me
It is my goal to never add more stress to your plate. Trust me, I fight for this.
I do that by notifying you ahead of time on what you can expect from me on the wedding day. I'm going to list those things here, but rest assured, we'll chat on the phone or over FaceTime before your wedding day to talk details if you choose me as your photographer/filmmaker.
I try to be as fun and laid back as possible. There's no reason for me to take my job more seriously than I must. Some people can get intense when things go off schedule or not as expected. That's not me. I promise not to melt down when things get a little bit crazy (which from my experience happens to everybody).
I'm out of the way unless I absolutely can't help it. I'm going to capture your wedding and all the special moments to the best of my abilities and, no, I'm not scared to do what it takes to get the shot, but that rarely ever means being intrusive or distracting.
I want to be friends with you both by the end of the day! We're going to have fun together. We'll be spending all day together, so might as well, right? I love getting to know you guys as a couple as the day goes on.
I'll let you know if I need anything specific from you before the wedding day. Big fan of this one. I'll tell you if I need a few minutes here with you or a few minutes there and talk through big parts of the day so we're both on the same page.
I want to accommodate your requests. Most of the time I can make these happen, but I won't know what they are if you don't tell me! Don't be scared to ask for a certain shot/pose, or clip of a specific part of your ceremony. And I promise to let you know if what you ask for is possible or not. :)
Editing
Let's talk about this for a minute.
Every picture or film you get from me has been edited. The pictures or films you received did not look like that coming straight out of the camera. Editing is important; it's what sets photographers/cinematographers apart for the most part! Editing is also why you receive only a certain amount of pictures or certain amount of minutes of film. But you can rest assured that the pictures and clips you get in the final product are the best of the best and every single one has been meticulously pored over individually. So, go ahead: reach out if you like what you see :)
All that to say, it's an important part of the process. I also take it very seriously. Because of this, I don't offer RAW photos of weddings I shoot. You wouldn't ask for a book with only one chapter written, right?