cAPTURING LOVE & JOY - TOGETHER

Hi again, I'm Rachel - and my amazing husband Mark is my incredible 2nd shooter!

I've been passionate about photography since I was 12, in 1995, when I started shooting on film cameras, after falling in love with my grandparents' photo albums that lines the shelves. I loved taking on the role of capturing the family shenanigans and printing out the photos to create my own albums.

After studying digital photography at CSU San Marcos under inspiring army-photojournalist-turned-wedding-photographer Nancy DiBenedetto, I started my own wedding & session photography business in 2014, focusing on capturing real, but beautiful, moments.

I finally took my business full-time in 2017, leaving my day job as a life skills instructor for adults with special needs. It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to those clients, but, photography had so long been my ultimate passion - and for 3 years, I had been teaching my clients to follow their dreams - so now it was my turn! Since then, I've shot over 200 weddings and hundreds of sessions, and to say that I absolutely love what I do is a total understatement!

Fast-forward to 2020: I was a widow when I met Mark Reynolds, the drummer at Pollock Pines Community Church. At the time, we were both joining the worship team, and the first day we saw each other, it was before practice, and he and the guitarist were riffing on Radiohead's "Creep. I started belting it from the pews right along with them, and he secretly thought to himself, "Who is that girl?"

The pandemic stopped us from seeing each other then, but when we finally started dating in April 2021, were completely inseparable. Even with his own day job in inside electrical sales, Mark immediately joined me on engagement sessions and weddings on weekends, just to be with me and help me with my equipment. And, soon - since, lo and behold, he's also incredible with a camera - he started shooting right alongside me! Mark became my official 2nd shooter in May 2021 - and, um, we also eloped that month. (When you know, you know - you know?)

1 year and 48 weddings together later, in May 2022, Mark suggested that we begin offering both photo & video. I loved the idea!!! I had worked as a videography assistant for Fleeting Moments Cinema a few times myself, and I had wanted to begin to offer video as well so I could more fully tell the stories of each couple's amazing wedding day. So, with Mark's help, by 2024, we've been able to provide both photo & video at over 50 weddings now!

Overall, we just love being a fellow married couple capturing moments of love & joy for couples and their families on their wedding day. I also love capturing photography sessions with engaged couples and their families as they grow after the wedding day (as one client said, being their "photographer for life")! After experiencing the ups and downs of life ourselves, Mark and I are both just especially passionate about capturing those real, loving, joyful & beautiful moments that we know our clients will want to cherish forever. (On a personal note, one of our four children passed away in an auto accident in May 2024 - and from there, it has only become even more important for us to capture those incredibly special, fleeting moments for our clients and their families!)

Ultimately, if you like our work, and you think you might like to have us capture your wedding day and/or your family afterwards - we'd love to connect with you and possibly have the opportunity to preserve those special moments for you and your loved ones!

So warmly,

Rachel Reynolds