Working as a photojournalist at some of the most prominent news organizations in the country, I came to this area in 1992 when I joined The Baltimore Sun as a photo editor. I left that job in the summer of 2000 because I wanted to return to shooting pictures full-time. There is really no type of photographic situation that I haven’t encountered or made myself prepared for, and I pride myself on upholding the highest technical and ethical standards in every instance.

Much of what I do these days is a mix of editorial work for newspapers and magazines, and corporate photography. But in the past few years I’ve been attracted to weddings and have found they are delightful affairs to attend and photograph. There are lots of interesting and genuine emotions, from the tension and jitters before the ceremony to the laughter and joy of the union itself, and even the sadness of going through such a life-changing transition. These poignant and important moments in life are why weddings have truly become a delight for me to chronicle. After all, documenting the most important moments in people’s lives is the reason I became a photojournalist in the first place. Frankly, I have a blast doing this work.

My approach to a wedding is simple: cover the action from my perspective and training as a documentary photojournalist. I move about unobtrusively and let events unfold before me with as little influence or intervention as possible. You won’t see me telling folks to look this way and smile — usually I have to tell them NOT to. While I am happy to do some family and group portraits, I believe that the instances where there are genuine interactions and emotions will mean more in the long run than those times when folks are standing stiffly in a posed setting. Hence, I try to keep those formal groupings to a minimum so that the wedding party and guests can spend more time enjoying the day.

Perhaps my wedding photos only reach a few dozen family members instead of half a million readers, but to those people, the pictures are very important. I’d much rather have that sort of impact than make more pictures of yet another press conference or protest march. After all, weddings rank way up there on the list of life’s momentous events. Plus, no one points guns at me while I’m covering weddings. At least, not yet.