Meet Armando — the one who actually shows up
“Armando is an absolutely amazing photographer which we already knew after our engagement photo shoot that was included in our wedding photo package. However, once we received our wedding photos, we were absolutely blown away! Not only did he take absolutely breathtaking portraits and capture big moments throughout the day, but he caught a lot of sweet little moments of our guests.”
— AshleyPhotographed under AJ Photography
It started with wild horses.
Landscapes and wild horses out in the Nevada desert — that's what I was photographing before any of this. Weddings weren't the plan. A friend pulled me in to help shoot video at his own wedding, and I stayed: learning light, learning what actually matters to a couple on the day, learning how to make people forget there's a camera in the room at all.
That last part is most of the job. Most of the couples I work with are quiet, and would rather not be the center of attention for eight hours. I understand that. You will not be directed at.
What keeps me here is that no two of these are the same. Same venue, same month, same hour of the afternoon, and the light does something different — so the day lays out differently, and what's worth photographing shifts with it. I've shot the same room twice in one summer and come away with two days that look nothing alike.
That's the part I like. Not running a formula, but working out what this particular day, in this light, with these people, actually looks like.
What you get with me that you won't get everywhere
One person, photo and film, the whole day. Most wedding photographers don't shoot video. The ones who offer it hire a second company — two crews, two timelines, and two vendors competing for the same spot during your vows. I shoot both, and I'm always one of the two people on site. You will never be handed to an associate you met that morning.
35mm film, unedited. Film has always been the fun part for me. What comes back from the scanner is what I hand you — no editing, no correcting, nothing pushed around afterward. The light in the frame is the light that was in the room, and the warmth is simply there. With digital I can shoot twenty frames in a few seconds. With film everything slows down, and you only get the one.
A sneak peek within 24 hours. Your full gallery in two to three weeks. Four to eight weeks is normal around here. I'd rather you have them while everyone still wants to see them.
I know these venues before you book them. Where the light lands at Edgewood in September. Which Truckee ceremony sites go dark early. That Winters Creek faces east, so the sun sets behind the building. That means less of your day spent waiting on me to work something out.
And the things that just make the day easier: family formals in twenty minutes from a list we build in advance, a photography timeline sent to your planner, every price published so there's nothing to unlock, and an honest answer when you're buying more coverage than you need.
Off the clock
I used to ballroom dance competitively, and professionally for a while. It's turned out to be the most useful thing I've ever done for this job — I know what a first dance looks like before it starts, and I know how to get someone standing comfortably without making them feel handled.
The rest of the time I'm outdoors, usually somewhere in a national park.
Mexican mocha, and it has to have cayenne in it. Music from the eighties or older, almost exclusively.
“I am SPEECHLESS by Armando and his second shooter Eli! The work they did brought us to tears and the impact they had on our day will not be forgotten. His work is the exact vision I had.”
— RachelIf that sounds right, tell me your date.
I book 30 weddings a year so every couple gets the same attention. Send me your date and I'll tell you honestly whether I'm free — and whether I'm the right fit.