Leo is amazing. Hands down. I really can't imagine a better wedding photography experience. Even…read morethough I thought I had high standards, Leo exceeded them in every possible way.
My husband and I got married on a pretty tight budget, and at first we weren't sure we wanted to splurge on hiring a photographer. I'm an art historian, and I've spent countless hours studying photography from an aesthetic viewpoint. When I started looking at the websites of relatively low-cost photographers, I felt like I kept running into tired, boring pictures that I was pretty sure any one of our friends could take with a cheap digital camera. It just seemed pointless to me to spend money for bad or even mediocre photographs. Then I came across Leo's photos, and I was floored.
At the time, Leo had only shot one or two weddings, but even those were amazing. He captured candid moments perfectly, catching fleeting emotions as they passed over someone's face, or a perfect turn on the dance floor. The photographs were of impeccable quality, crisp and clear, with vivid and rich color. But more than the aesthetic factor, it was the way Leo captured the people that excited us... I felt like I wanted to meet every last person in them. Leo had a way of showing them at their most human, looking beautiful and interesting. Not your standard wedding photography at all, and so much better
So we met with Leo, and he showed us some in additional photographs from those weddings. It turns out that the ones that didn't make it on to the website were *just as good* as the ones that did. We looked at several hundred shots and almost every one of them was breathtaking. We were sold.
Everything went smoothly from there. Leo includes an engagement session in the price, and he was flexible about scheduling and enthusiastic to try out lots of different ideas, including driving two hours away to a winery at no extra charge. I think he even bought the sangrias for us! He provided us a print from our engagement session with a large mat for us to use as a wedding guestbook for free.
On the day of the wedding, Leo was super. One awesome thing about his wedding package is that it's not based on hours, or number of photos. He stays as long as the festivities last. He showed up early and started taking photographs right away. He scouted out nearby locations for formal photographs. He was professional and unobtrusive while still bringing his great personality, fun sense of humor and willingness to try out things to the table.
And the photos... damn, I don't even have the words for them. They're phenomenal. Absolutely gorgeous. He caught so many intriguing, beautiful, funny, irreverent, genuine moments. He took photographs from angles that I'm not sure how he managed. And the expressions he caught on people's faces are some of the best I've ever seen. They capture us and our friends and family so exquisitely. It's really better than I thought photography could be.
Leo's been one of the easiest and best parts of the whole wedding planning process. I can be a picky person, and I was iffy about the whole photography deal at the beginning, but I've been converted. I can't think of a single criticism, and I am so happy I'll have these photographs to treasure for the rest of my life. I'd recommend him to anyone.
