A few years into shooting, I went to my stepsister Melissa's wedding. The day itself was incredible, the kind of energy where everyone is fully present, and you can just feel it. Then the photographer left early, barely gave any direction, and when the photos came back, they missed everything. Watching Melissa's reaction to those images changed something in me. Someone had been trusted with one of the most important days of her life and simply did not show up for it.

That moment gave me direction. I knew what I wanted to do with photography, and I knew exactly how I wanted to do it differently.

I've been photographing weddings across Northern California for years now, and I specialize in candid, story-first coverage, real moments over posed ones. What actually matters to me when I show up to a wedding is your experience. Not just getting the shots done, but making sure you are actually present for your own day, that you are having fun, and that when you look back at these photos years from now, they put you right back in that moment. The way it felt, the way your partner looked at you, all of it. That is what I am here to preserve.

It started with a hernia surgery in Ontario. I was nervous before going in, so I grabbed my mom's point-and-shoot and spent the morning walking around the grounds outside the clinic just to have something to do. At the time, I thought I was pretty good. Looking back, yikes. But I kept going, and something about that morning stuck with me.

Growing up, I was obsessed with movies. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, the Disney classics that my family watched together constantly. Going to the cinema was our thing, and honestly it still is. When we get together, that is what we do. What I did not realize back then was that those films were shaping how I see the world. The composition, the light, the way a single frame can carry the emotion of an entire scene. That cinematic way of seeing is something I bring into every session I shoot. I save references from films and shows I love and use them to think about how I can tell a couple's story, not just document it.

MEET Dan