By Helena Tavares Kennedy | Photos by A.E. Landes

Based in Springfield, Virginia, A.E. Landes Photography helps brides and grooms use their photographs and images to tell a story about their wedding day and their personalities. Using a creative approach combined with a photojournalism approach, A.E. Landes’s owner and photographer Abram Eric Landes ensures that clients have a fun experience with the photographs.

Landes is passionate about photography and said “Let me be honest: I love to take photographs of people. And more specifically, I love to take photographs of people having a great time and doing what they love! I consider myself lucky to have an opportunity every weekend to photograph a special occasion between two people.”

Landes doesn’t just love taking photos of people, but is also experienced and acknowledged as a true professional, having taken wedding photos for almost ten years. While he fell in love with photography at the age of 12, he continued to earn his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Pennsylvania State University with a focus on Visual Arts and Printmaking. Landes also won a first place award from the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) and is a member of the Professional Photographers of America.

“I knew Matt and Roxanne’s cake smash photo was strong contender in the WPJA Contest, as it had all the right parts of a successful image: camera framing that included the wedding cake and surprised guests, frozen action complete with falling bits of cake, a story that portrayed action and playfulness, and of course, being in the right spot at the right time helped me out as well,” said Landes. “I think they almost tripped and fell on top of me when they finally gave up trying to get each other, as that would have made for another shocking photo. The WPJA values spontaneity and out-of-the-box wedding photography without much intervention from the photographer, and I am always trying to go after those concepts when photographing weddings.”

His style leans towards a creative photojournalistic approach with finished images in realistic vivid colors or black and white contrasts. “This means that I’m there only to observe and document how a wedding actually happens – maybe from candid photographs of those tears of joy and emotions, kids outside playing in sunshine and windy gusts, and working receptions with unexpected guests showing up with musical instruments,” said Landes. “This allows the couple to party with their guests, enjoy the food, and really get into the emotions of the ceremony and each other.” He usually uses digital photography for weddings so he can edit the photos if needed and turn them around quickly for the happy couple.

If you are wondering if he will photograph your wedding at your location, he covers quite an extensive area and serves the greather Washington, D.C. Metro, Maryland and Virginia area. As for venues, Landes said, “There are so many scenic and unique opportunities in this area, including Capitol Hill, the vineyards of Northern Virginia, and the waterside towns in Maryland – just to name a few.”

What makes Landes unique is his pride in serving couples regardless of their religion, race or sexual orientation. Landes said “If you don’t see anyone on my site with your specific background and style, you may be the lucky first!” He also offers a 10% military discount to active, reserve and retired servicemen and women for their photography contract.

Landes encourages a face to face meeting first to ensure a good fit since you’ll be spending a lot of time together at the wedding and so you can customize what you want for your wedding, talk about budget and packages, look at their portfolio and more.

Learn more about A.E. Landes Photography at aelandesphotography.com.

Helena Tavares Kennedy is a freelance writer and communications consultant .