I’M ERIKA
The Person Behind The Lens
YOUR CAT LOVING, SIMPSONS QUOTING
DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
I’ve owned this business for 12 years, photographed weddings all over the province and proudly call myself a Durham wedding photographer.
It’s been 12 years that I’ve been at this and I’m at the point in my career where I can say ‘Been there, done that, freaking crushed it!’ and this is the experience, knowledge and enthusiasm I bring to your wedding.
My job is to use the skills I have not only as a photographer, but as a person, to connect with you and your partner and turn your feelings for each other into a beautiful love story of photos.
I absolutely adore working with people who think they’re “awkward” in front of the camera; those are always the couples who are the most fun and have amazing stories to tell! Sure the camera is fancy and the lenses are too, but the real skill comes in getting people to open up, show some vulnerability and put their personalities on display. This is our jam! (Can I say that or am I too old? I never know anymore…)
My goal by the end of every session is to have you think that I’m not really a photographer, I’m just a few friend with a nice camera who you got to hang out with. This is the secret to how we approach our craft.
WHY I LOVE BEING A DURHAM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
I live at the very border between Durham and Toronto and it’s the land of limbo and the geotags on Instagram don’t seem to know if it’s Durham or Toronto either so if I have to pick, I’d say I’m a Durham wedding photographer who spends my time split 50/50 between Durham and Toronto!
Being a Durham wedding photographer means that I’m in an exceptionally lucky position – literally! I think being on the East side of Toronto has one of the best places to be as a wedding photographer because there is an immense amount of beauty hiding out over here! My service areas include all Toronto weddings as well as Prince Edward County and beyond. I’ve been fortunate enough to get to see so much of beautiful Southern Ontario without having to stray too far from my own backyard. (If I wouldn’t go blind from eye-rolling so hard, this is where some folks would write #blessed, but imma pass on that one because I’m getting older and saltier by the day.)
GET TO KNOW MY WORK
A portfolio gallery is only a small fraction of our work. Here’s what else we want to show you…
Remember that portfolios and things that are shared on social media are the top 1% of someone’s work and not always representative of what a full wedding may look like. It’s great to love the 1% but you need to love the other 99% too.
We have full galleries of weddings to share with all inquiring parties and we also want you to look through some of our favourite blog posts so you can learn more about how we tell our stories!
Featured Posts
See more of Erika’s work
We are versatile photographers; able to capture weddings and engagements in a variety of locations with a variety of couples. But don’t take our word for it, check it out yourself!
FAQ
Location +
Travel
Questions
Do you shoot weddings outside of Durham Region?
Yes – I do all the time! I consider myself a Durham wedding photographer simply because of where I live but I service Toronto, Prince Edward County, Oakville and beyond!
I have a car and I’m always willing to travel, especially when it comes to finding new adventures and meeting new people.
Do you charge travel fees and how much are they?
We have no travel fees for full day weddings that are within a 60km radius of our location and most elopements and micro weddings require no travel either.
In even travel fees are required its $0.60/km beyond the 60km radius of our location. If you’re far enough away and overnight accommodations may be required, but let’s chat more about that!
General Questions
Can you help us find a photo location?
I absolutely can! Whether you’re having your wedding in Durham region, Toronto or beyond – I’m always happy to scout and assist with an array of location options, both indoor and outdoor. At this point in my career, I know the city like the back of my hand and I’m happy to share those resources with my couples.
How much time do we need for photos?
That depends – what’s most important to you? I’m a firm believer in making sure that your wedding day reflects your priorities and we’ll work together from the moment you book to help you acheive that. I’ve captured couples portraits in as little as 10 minutes (Hello -20 degrees!) or we can spend an hour exploring – it’s all about what’s important to you. We’ll work on that together.
Why should we work with you when there are other people cheaper?
Everyone cares about money – it’s human nature. We all want the best “deal” we can find but it’s important to remember that PRICE is what you pay, but VALUE is what you get.
We work very hard to keep our prices competitive, we know everyone works very hard for their dollar, but we also know that our price comes with a lot of value and if you see that too, we’re a great fit for each other!
Do you include a second shooter? Why or why not?
I don’t include a second shooter by default, but you can add one if you think it would be beneficial for your priorities. I have a few reasons why I don’t include second shooters but the long and short of it is that 90-955 of the weddings we shoot don’t require one and a good photographer can absolutely get all the special moments on their own. There’s a reason why experience matters!
KIND WORDS
“It was like hanging our with a new friend who happened to have a nice camera.”
This must be the best surprise ever! Thank you so much – we are slowly going through the pictures but….holy crap! They are gorgeous and I’m in tears. You are phenomenal! I’m sure our paths will cross again – I’ll make sure of it. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
– Aamna & Ozan
CHOOSING A TORONTO WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER:
We are a team of passionate, experienced, and exceptionally dedicated Toronto wedding photographers that somewhat go against the grain of what the “traditional” wedding industry is about.
We believe it’s not just about the details but it’s about the people. You, your spouse as well as your friends and family deserves to be captured in a beautiful and authentic way without forcing you into certain poses or asking you to repeat moments.
Here’s some things to consider when looking to hire a wedding photographer:
• HOW MANY WEDDINGS HAVE THEY SHOT SOLO?
• CAN THEY SHOOT IN A VARIETY OF VENUES?
• DO ALL THEIR “AUTHENTIC” MOMENTS ACTUALLY LOOK THE SAME?
• DO YOU FEEL YOU SHARE SIMILAR VALUES WITH THEM AS AN INDIVIDUAL?
• IS IT ABOUT THE PEOPLE OR JUST AN EPIC BACKGROUND?
• ARE THEY WILLING TO SHOW YOU MULTIPLE FULL GALLERIES?
DO YOU HAVE SPECIFC QUESTIONS? REACH OUT TO US!
4 GREAT REASONS TO HIRE US
01. 650+ shoots worth of experience
As a wedding photographer you have ONE chance to get it right; there’s no re-doing things. They say practice makes perfect, right? With over 650 weddings, engagements and elopements under our belts, we have never been caught off-guard and can always produce beautiful images in any situation.
02. Truly unique style
We started in 2008 – long before you could purchase presets to give your images certain looks. The unique colour palette we use to edit our images is truly one-of-a-kind. It was developed by us long before buying presets was a thing. The vibrant and rich colour of our images is unique to us only!
03. We love “awkward” couples
Most folks who inquire tell us that they’re “awkward” in front of a camera and those are our favourite people! Our job is to work with our couples to built rapport and give them natural prompts to their personalities shine through any ‘awkwardness’ that might be there. All our ‘awkward’ clients have ROCKED their sessions and loved their images.
04. Behind-the-scenes safety
One of the worst nightmares a couple can experience is receiving the dreaded “We lost your images” email. Remember when we talked about experience earlier? Part of that includes a workflow that has multiple redundant steps put in place to ensure your images are safe: we even make copies of your images WHILE we’re taking them on the wedding day! We had one chance to get it right: and we do!
Every step of the way Erika has been supportive, excited and professional. She’s been an absolute joy to work with before, on and after the wedding day. She made our day so special and we love our images.
Henry + Chris
We started working with Erika over 6 years ago when we first hired her for our engagement and wedding photos. Since then she’s photographed maternity, newborn and family photos on so many occasions. Our home is filled with images of our family thanks to Erika – we love her!
Ashley + Rob
Erika was there for us during our intimate wedding, our destination celebration and for maternity, newborn and family photos the following year. She’s creative and enthusiastic but also incredibly well organized. We were able to rely on her not only for beautiful images but truly as an expert at her craft.
Lynn + Kevin
How much does it cost to hire you?
Pricing information
We proudly display all our pricing online but we also want you to know that even if you think your budget doesn’t quite work, we may be able to customize something for you!
GET IN TOUCH
Toronto Wedding Photographer team servicing Durham Region, Cambridge + KW and all of Southern Ontario.