Hey, I’m James!

I’m a San Luis Obispo wedding and elopement photographer creating nostalgic, cinematic photos for couples who care about connection, feeling, and the beautifully imperfect magic of real life.

I’m all about the simple joys in life—great people, good vibes, and making art out of memories. You know, the good stuff. ❤︎

Connection is everything to me. I love finding that shared spark with people, and I feel incredibly lucky to photograph so many wonderful humans during life’s biggest milestones—especially on their wedding day. I’m a total sap for love, and it’s a true joy showing up for couples during their love story’s main event.

I create wedding photos that feel both vintage and modern, with notes of posh and a whole lot of soul. Think dreamy portals into your most cherished memories from the day, wrapped in a nostalgic, cinematic aesthetic that’s giving A24.

I’m proud to have photographed 200+ weddings over the past decade, and have seen my work published in The New York Times, Rock & Roll Bride and more.

Fun fact: I’m also a lifelong musician and occasionally moonlight as a DJ! When I’m not behind a camera or computer, you can usually find me chasing sunshine through spontaneous road trips, hikes, beach days, music festivals and raves—aka heaven on earth—or anything else that gets me out of my creative cave. I’m also high-key obsessed with all things cute, cozy, and wholesome and am a huuuge animal lover. :)

Photography found me during a tough chapter. Growing up with a silly neurospicy mind already made weird waves in my early life, but an unexpected medical journey with ulcerative colitis in my 20s suddenly sidelined me from college and 9-5. I turned to landscape photography as a way to cope with chronic illness, and getting outside to capture the world through different lenses helped me keep perspective, find gratitude, and remember the bigger picture during some of my darkest moments.

This newfound passion and creative spark lit up a bold new life path. With encouragement from my friends and several years of mentorship in wedding & portrait photography from a local industry leader, Blake Andrews of SLOtography, I slowly built a career doing what I love most. I also serve as the other half of the photography team at SLOtography to this day!

While I’m primarily a wedding and elopement photographer based in San Luis Obispo, California, I also photograph portraits, families, events, real estate, and more. And I'm always down to travel!

As a queer person, I understand how disorienting it can feel to search for welcoming wedding vendors who aren’t just performing inclusivity—or, in the worst cases, to face discrimination while planning one of the most meaningful days of your life.

It breaks my heart that 2SLGBTQIA+ couples still experience discrimination when speaking with potential wedding vendors. When I heard stories like this, I became an LGBTQ+ Inclusive Certified Vendor through EquallyWed to continue educating myself on inclusive, gender-neutral wedding language and better ways to support all couples. I have also been featured on Dancing with Her and other queer wedding vendor directories.

My intention is to create a safe, affirming photography experience for couples and clients of all identities, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. I know that kind of care requires ongoing listening, learning, and accountability, so I do my best to lead with empathy, welcome feedback, and show up with presence, humility, and love.

If you'd like to learn more about me and my story, you can check out my interview with BoldJourney here.

Thanks for considering me as your photographer, whatever the occasion.

I'd be honored to capture the moments that matter most to you. ♥︎