Full stop that’s my honest opinion (THAT’S JUST MY OPINION audio here lol)
Do I love photographing beautiful things, of course I do. But I really find art in the emotions of humans. No matter that range of emotion, I am drawn to it. You can’t just plan something pretty and then force yourself to be something you’re not in that scene.
You’re not an actor
This isn’t a rom com
This is your life, and your commitment to another human being.
My approach with clients is always human first, corporate language can kiss my ass
I really cringe with any sort of corpoate language. I’m not a corporate girlie. I am a professional, AND I am also just a human girl who still treats email as this magical thing (like when we first snuck onto AOL chatrooms that kind of wonder).
Yes I use way too many exclamation points, and sometimes draw out a vowel for extra punch… but that’s me. I want you to feel as though you can hear my voice every time I send you a text or an email.
Directing you should feel human, because I’m capturing you doing a very human thing, falling in love
Posing can feel awkward for a lot of people even still in this 2026+ era of content creation. Everyone is always on a camera but yet we still sometimes don’t know how to portray what we actually are feeling.
That’s why I just talk with you constantly. I want to get inside your thought process, I want to hear how you talk to each other, how you hold hands, which side you’re always standing on with your partner(s).
When I direct you it’s coming from that curious side of my brain that strives to create a gallery of images that truly feel like your normal everyday interactions just captured with an artistic eye.
So you don’t pose me at all?
OH no, that’s not what I mean.
I will still pose you in moments when we are trying to create something… but I’m always watching for those human slips. The way you put your spin on something without even realizing you’re doing it moments. That’s the in-between magic you can’t teach.
For example.. Maybe I put you somewhere because I know the photograph is going to look incredible, but then your partner says something ridiculous and you immediately make that one face you always make at them.
THAT.
That’s what I’m watching for.
Noticing them is a muscle I’ve spent years growing.
We want our elopement to be really pretty and a really amazing experience, how do you give us both?
YESSSS. OKAY.
I don’t think beautiful photographs and having an actual experience are competing goals.
Let’s choose somewhere that makes your jaw drop.
Let’s think about the light.
Wear the outfit that makes you feel hot. (Call me hot not pretty…. just me? okay anyway moving on)
Bring incredible flowers.
Set a beautiful table.
Let’s absolutely make some art together.
But then I want you to be human inside of it.
If the wind messes up your hair, we’ll deal with it.
If you ugly cry during your vows, please ugly cry.
If you’re standing somewhere incredible and all you want to do is stare at the sky like a little kid for ten minutes, I’m not going to interrupt you because we have to get to the next photo.
The pretty stuff gives us a beautiful place to start.
You two being yourselves inside of it is what gives me something worth photographing.
That’s the balance I’m always looking for.
Always.
What I actually want your elopement photos to feel like
I don’t need every photograph to be technically perfect and perfectly posed and Pinterest-ready.
I want some of them to be gorgeous.
I want some to be weird.
Some quiet.
Some hilarious.
Some where you’re tiny little humans standing somewhere enormous.
And some where nothing particularly impressive is happening except the way you’re looking at each other.
Because eventually this isn’t going to be your elopement anymore.
It’s going to be something that happened ten years ago.
Twenty.
Forty.
And when you look at these photographs, I don’t only want you thinking:
“Damn, we looked good.”
I want there to be photographs where you immediately remember:
Oh my god. That’s us.
That’s what I’m after.
Okay hit me up if you want to work together, I hope you enjoyed this little ramble of mine! I’m a Seattle, Washington elopement photographer that craves the Olympic Peninsula area (and even Mt Baker to the North Cascades please). I’d love to be on your vendor team so I have my full Washington elopement information over here for you.
Follow me on instagram @ jamietobinphoto // documentary elopement photography // Washington Elopement photographer
