Hello. I’m Rod and I work with my wife of 21 years capturing those fleeting once-in-a-lifetime moments that happen all day long in a wedding day. We’ve been doing this since 2006. Our work has taken us photographing celebrations from California to the Caribbean Islands and many points in between.

I do commercial photography as well, but no other assignments immerse me so emotionally as wedding photography. Love, lives and families join as one in a dynamic day. Each wedding is so unique, making every event exciting and heartfelt in its own way. It’s truly amazing to get a front row seat to watch it all unfold. Tara and I are blessed with a young daughter. I’ve witnessed and documented fathers seeing their daughters for the first time in her wedding dress or the bride-father dance hundreds of times. My own heart melts each and every time. It never gets old.

I have been into photography since childhood. But I made my first career serving our country as an Infantryman in the US Army. I spent 22 years in the service, led warriors in battle and rose to the top enlisted ranks. One does not rise to the top ranks unless they have mastered problem-solving and people skills. I am a people-person and accustomed to working in stressful, chaotic environments. I feel right at home photographing weddings!

My partner in life and business, Tara, manages the business and is the first person you meet. I can’t think of a person who hasn’t spent a few minutes with Tara and not loved every minute with her. Former valedictorian and honors graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, she has managed Red Shutter Studio as well as our design and commercial photography company, Newport653. Tara has managed accounts of multi-million dollar companies for 26 years. In the wedding process, she coordinates all the photo shoots leading up to the big day and manages your shot list so every must-have photo with family and loved ones are taken. In addition to all those valuable skills, Tara is Second Camera on wedding day, producing beautiful images.

Our method through the wedding day is a mix of candids as well as posed and lit photos using a variety of lighting equipment. We deliver both lit and natural light photos so you can choose what you like the best. We’ve been at this for many years so we help guide you throughout the day in everything photography-related and even tips on how to make your day go a bit smoother if needed. We move through your family and wedding party group shots quickly and efficiently. We love for you to enjoy your own cocktail hour because we finished up fast.

The creative use of lighting can make some very dramatic photographs. I’ll wait until the sky is just right and set up an array of lighting gear to light our couple to create what I call the Hero Shot. The sky might be ablaze in a stunning sunset or even in the rain…or maybe you have a beautiful cityscape. Creative use of lighting results in an impressive image. The Hero Shot takes a bit of planning and time, but these images must be made timeless. I’d be happy that your grandchildren looked at the image years later and are impressed.

Client Interaction
We are constantly told that we are very personable, fun and pleasant to work with. Many of our clients have become lifelong friends long after the vows are exchanged. We have been blessed with 17 years of fantastic couples and their families, and there just isn’t anyone we don’t get along with. Our couples tend to feel comfortable with us. I think this is important as few other vendors work closer with the couple all day than their photographers. We have been invited to sit at the head table at a reception. I have been invited to share cocktails with the family and Tara has been pulled onto the dance floor on more than a few occasions. Believe me, we try and stay as unobtrusive and professional as possible, but it happens. At the end of the night, it is almost painful to send our couples off in their get-away car. But this is the relationships we form with our couples. And it’s what keeps us coming back every year. We love our people and love what we do.

Take a moment and cruise over to our "Raves" page or Wedding Wire or Visit us on The Knot to see the nice things our clients said about us!