It’s always so fun to reflect at the end of each year and start to collect all of our favorite photos of 2014 to update our portfolio with. We got to photograph 120 weddings, 108 engagements, and 80 families! It was such an incredible privilege to get to know all of our couples and families. We get to be a part of the coolest stories and the most significant moments in people’s lives, and that honor is definitely not wasted on us. As artists, we have been given the opportunity to not only tell your stories, but to get to create photos that represent our vision and passion as well. As a staff, we took over 425,000 photos in 2014 and we could easily share every one and talk about why they impacted us as photographers…but we thought you would get bored after about image 4,752 so we decided to each pick our top ten. You have no idea how hard this was and how much heart break we suffered not getting to include hundreds. But here they are, our favorite 70 images of 2014! We hope you love them as much as we loved creating them!
McCory James
“I think photographs serve two purposes, to document a moment and capture a memory or to illicit a response from the viewer that wasn’t present at the time. Whether it is joy, concern, sadness or just a sense of wonder, I hope that you feel an emotion when you view each of my selections from this past year.”
Ryan Erickson
“I find myself beaming with excitement seeing that my love for photography, travel, and genuine relationships are coming together. Last year was a whirlwind of adventure.
As I reflect over last year and the tens of thousands of shutters released, I found myself drawn to images that exemplified my ever curious eye for the perfectly candid expression. I’ve also seen myself push the technical realm of a being wedding photographer in a way that allows me to truly walk into any environment and be able to create a dynamic and telling photo.
I remember the taste of salt in the air and the warm Florida waves bubbling around my bare feet as I photographed Tiffany and Justin on the beaches of Ft. Lauderdale. Just a few weeks prior, I was with them as they rode their tandem bicycle past the beautiful Union Station. Yes, they did multiple engagement sessions! They proved to me that my craft allows people to truly remember the exciting time in their lives as they commit to each other as well as honor the past of what made them who they are today.
I was reminded how important it is to embrace the unexpected when I was photographing Lauren and her bridesmaids. Who would have thought that as I was arranging the ladies for a quick formal in the Santa Fe art district that a neon wearing, longboard riding boy would whiz by? A younger version of myself would have been distracted by this and would have hesitated to release the shutter.
Speaking of the unexpected, you’re probably wondering about the couple holding hands with the skeleton, right? Well, their reception venue just so happened to have that boney fellow in the back. When I asked them if they were okay with switching to a more macabre and amusing theme for one photo at the end of the night, I was giddy with excitement when they said yes.
These ten selected images all have the ability to bring me back to the slice in time where I was charged with the task of grasping moments for my couples to hold for a lifetime. It was painful to narrow down to just these 10 photos among the countless others and am excited to continue adding to these favorites as I continue my adventure!”
Katie Jones
“I always find it so hard to pick my top ten favorite photos from a year. There is so much emotion and so many memories that go into a photo that it is hard to determine which is best. I don’t feel like I always pick the most technically perfect or visually striking, but instead I like photos that give me a feeling. Photos that take me back to the moment when two people fell in love or when a brother and sister forget that they are siblings and just laugh together. I love the moment right before a father gives his daughter away and the subsequent look he gives her as she walks down the aisle. I love photos that exhibit what love is made of; strong, soft, silly, exuberant, lovely and raw love.”
Jo Ramsey
“I get really excited about being able to find a unique perspective or framing of a moment that might otherwise be quite normal. I love it when my clients see a photo and are so surprised that I was able to get something cool out of a typical hotel room or from a wall on the side of a public restroom. Can you guess which one of my photos was taken there? Hope not! Haha.
When picking my favorite ten from this year, part of my criteria was if I would be stoked to see myself in the photo and have it up on my wall. My couples in these photos are so much cooler than me, so I am glad that it is them in it ; ) I know how picky I am about photos that I am in and so I try to apply that same filter when selecting my favorites. Picking only ten was actually a physically painful chore for me. I had the most awesome clients this year and could easily struggle to narrow it down to top 100! Anyway, I did it somehow, and these are the ten I came up with!”
Stephanie Whitehill
“There are so many emotions in photos! I am drawn to the romance in the little moments. The bride that glows when she puts on her wedding dress, the crying groom as she walks down the aisle, the whisper in the ear that brings out the smile you never knew could shine so bright. I am so drawn the dreaminess of how love makes people feel and want to exhibit that in my photos. It is so lovely to see how love opens people up and brings out the best and most beautiful versions of themselves.”
Allie Gravel
“I selected my favorite images from the past year based on moments I felt best represented why it is so important to have a second photographer at your wedding day. (As most of my selections were from second shooting). The photos I felt fit for favorites are ones I think are special, candid and unposed. I love knowing that I am part of someone’s favorite day and that I have a part in making it great. I’m doing something that matters, you know? I get to capture really important memories for people, that’s so important.”
Ali Miller
“I’m always drawn to images that have a strong sense of emotion. Whether it be the elation a bride experiences with her bridesmaids before she sees her groom, the anticipation of a father before the church doors finally open and he walks daughter down the aisle, or a very patient dog holding his parents wedding rings on his nose; they all tell a beautiful and unique story. Those groomsmen pretending to be bridesmaids makes me laugh every time! I won’t lie though, I am a sucker for a great close-up portrait shot, so of course I had to choose a couple of those as well.”