“I had a specific vision for our group photos; Gone are the days of generic lined up prom-esque compositions, I want the frame filled with drama and depth (Think Kardashian 2010 Christmas photo or literally any Vanity Fair portrait). Give me an off-centered candid with a paparazzi flash or a dimly lit portrait, not some obligatory stale smile trash that Grandma will surely post on Facebook with the caption “they grow up so fast!” In short: I wanted my wedding photos to look like art - And I told Angelina as much during our first video call.
The first thing I noticed about Angelina was her attitude; In sheer contrast to my default deadpan manner, she is a personified cup of coffee in a smilie face mug. She is one of the most positive people I’ve interacted with and acted as one of our biggest cheerleaders leading up to (and during) our wedding.
Our engagement shoot was at a local bar where my wife & I had our first date. Angelina listened to my vision and executed a flawless “yes, and…” series of compositions. The turnaround time for preview photos was impressive and satisfied my chronic inability to be patient. We were delighted to receive a gif of our secret handshake.
Angelina showed up to both our venue walkthrough and ceremony rehearsal. I appreciated how she treated us like her top priority. By the end of our last zoom call, I felt confident that we were all on the same page with how we wanted our wedding album to look.
Angelina dressed appropriately for our wedding dress code, blending in with our guests. She was a welcome presence during our getting ready time. I appreciated how she got extra photos of me and my grandma (who was our flower girl) as requested. She brought a second photographer to cover the ceremony from multiple angles. The additional photographer also covered our cocktail hour while we snuck away for some dramatic sunset shots. There was a point during group photos that I pouted and said something like “I’m tired of this, I wanna do something else,” so she offered a break and ensured we had a fresh cocktail in-hand.
I wish she would have suggested I stop winking at the camera as much. What I thought was a sultry flirty expression, actually looked more like a stroke consequence and ruined a couple of otherwise gorgeous shots. I can’t blame Angelina for the way my face looked, but a discreet heads-up that excessive winking made me look more like an attention-hungry improv actor than a blushing bride would have been appreciated.
She offered a couple different payment methods including online and paper check. Her contract was straightforward and professionally written. The only challenge was choosing which photos to print; Narrowing down all of our favorites to just three or four was a welcome dilemma. I got my Kardashian Christmas photo, Vanity Fair portraits, and so much more. Moving forward, we intend on having Angelina photograph all of our portraits and milestones. Overall 5 stars, I cannot recommend her enough.”
