READING TIME: 4 min 42 sec
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/01/2024
UPDATED: 10/03/2024
Anna and Mateo are not just another photography team; they are artists who live and breathe their craft. Based on the East Coast, their journey together started when Anna, an aspiring photographer, discovered her love for capturing moments while traveling through Europe and Central America. "I grew up in Colorado and started my business at age 19 in the West," Anna says, recalling her early days. But her career took an unexpected turn when she moved to the East Coast to attend Johns Hopkins for nursing school.
"I was supposed to transition careers," Anna admits with a smile, "but I ended up falling even more in love with photography and digging deeper into my business!" The passion was too strong to ignore, and what started as a side gig blossomed into a full-time career. When Mateo joined the business in 2014 as a videographer, their collaboration turned into something even more special. Together, they’ve now celebrated over 300 weddings across the world.
Their combined energy creates a dynamic approach to wedding photography, one that prioritizes both the beauty of the day and the connection they build with their clients. However, Anna will tell you her favorite role by far is being a mother to her two young daughters. “The opportunity to raise them has informed so much of my photography style and desire to capture moments and relationships in a meaningful and nearly tangible manner. I am so grateful for this career!” she shares.
Anna’s background in watercolor painting gives her photography a unique depth. "I try to look at the world through rose-colored glasses," she says with a twinkle in her eye. "I aim for my photography to echo this-- a celebration of the small moments and beautiful details as well as the big, momentous occasions."
She continues, "We strive to create a collection of photographs that feel almost dream-like in nature-- steeped in emotion and life but still refined and timeless in nature." This perspective comes through vividly in their portfolio, where they balance the spontaneous, emotional moments of a wedding with the sophisticated composition of fine art photography. Their images have a delicate blend of authenticity and elegance that feels almost tangible.
When it comes to equipment, Anna and Mateo choose their tools thoughtfully. "We photograph and film weddings using primarily Nikon mirrorless cameras, as well as various drones and film cameras," Anna explains. The drones give them the ability to capture sweeping landscape shots and dynamic angles that would be impossible otherwise.
Post-processing is another area where they shine, carefully balancing the different mediums they work with. "Because I shoot both analog film and digital photography, the overall goal is to create a cohesive and robust gallery that makes you FEEL-- that tells the story of the couple and their day in a manner that makes the energy and moments feel palpable," Anna explains. "We strive to create timeless work, so our post-processing consists of editing the digitals in a film emulation style and fine-tuning the edits so that the focus is on the intended subjects."
For Anna and Mateo, one of the most rewarding aspects of their job is forming genuine connections with their clients. "For me, it's really all about the people and the art. I love connecting with my clients to be able to understand their relationship and to understand them. I love being able to nurture our connection so that they're able to be themselves and feel comfortable on their wedding day," Anna says warmly. "This elevates their images and allows for more genuine moments and interactions to be captured. I also love the opportunity to create-- to flex my creative muscles and push myself artistically."
This connection doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time and effort. "I absolutely love taking a collaborative approach when working with clients, planners, and vendor teams. The more that I understand a couple's style, vision for the day, relationships, and personality, the more I am able to fill the role in a specific way," Anna emphasizes. "Developing this understanding and sense of trust takes an extra effort, but I have found that it's always worth it." When that trust is established, Anna believes that "magic happens."
Every wedding is different, and Anna and Mateo believe that each couple deserves a tailored experience. "We create custom offerings for all clients," Anna explains. "While we do have some "standards" in our packages, we recognize that every client's needs and desires are different and want to honor this as we collaborate to create their dream wedding day."
One example of this personalized service is their willingness to cover entire wedding weekends. "A typical wedding generally runs about 10 hours," says Mateo, "but we're doing more weekender type events with additional coverage time for the rehearsal dinner/welcome party and/or a farewell event." This comprehensive approach allows them to document the full story of a wedding, not just the ceremony and reception.
As much as Anna and Mateo love local weddings, their passion for travel fuels their excitement for destination weddings. "We have been fortunate enough to travel extensively over the years for work and have photographed on nearly every continent!" Anna shares. "So much of our inspiration comes from the distinct energy of a location and how the cultural elements are reflected in a wedding day."
From the elegance of European weddings to the vibrant energy of Central and South American celebrations, Anna and Mateo draw inspiration from the locations they visit. "We can't ever get enough of European weddings!" Anna admits. "Portugal and Colombia are currently on our bucket list, and we're so excited to see more weddings happening in Mateo's native country, Peru!"
Anna and Mateo's approach is one of quality over quantity. "We personally typically limit our wedding count to 12-15 per year," Mateo explains. "We aim to provide a really immersive experience for our clients and want to have the creative energy to show up 100% for each event." This limit allows them to pour their energy into each wedding, ensuring that no detail goes unnoticed.
However, they’ve also built an incredible collective team under the Anna & Mateo brand. "We do also have an incredible Anna & Mateo collective team that takes on an additional number of weddings per year under our brand," Anna says.
Anna offers some practical advice for couples preparing for their wedding photo shoot: "Photograph yourself in your attire from multiple angles," she says. "Make sure that you like the way you're presenting yourself, communicate your concerns/insecurities with your photographer, and try to relax and remember the end goal!"
Her best tip? Focus on celebrating the day with your favorite person. "If you feel very nervous, it can be helpful to start off the day/shoot with an interactive activity to ease into things (i.e. engagement session picnic, etc.)," she assures.
