wedding photography for people who are not mainstream
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
I'm pretty cool as far as nerds go.
MEET CARRIE
MY DOGS »
The 5 Most Important Things You Need to Know About Having Me as Your Photographer:
1. I believe we shouldn’t have to put ‘LGBTQ+’ or ‘same-sex’ in front of the word ‘wedding’ to find equality online. The world is full of amazing people getting married and I want to celebrate all types of diversity.
2. I’m an advocate for people who look at the wedding industry and don’t feel like they can see themselves in it. Wedding media has a tendency to only show people of one skin color, one body type or one sexual orientation. I hope people who don’t feel represented in media or like their voices are heard can find a safe space and home working with me during this exciting new part of their lives.
3. I love working with people who are not apologetic about their bodies. All body types are cele-brated here and I don’t believe anyone’s body is an inconvenience or takes up too much space. You may not always feel confident in your own skin, but everyone deserves epic wedding photos.
4. My favorite clients to photograph are people who can laugh together. I don’t like the feel of manufactured wedding photography poses and stay far away from Pinterest-type poses. I want to take photographs of you living it up, laughing together, being silly and feeling like yourself. You can expect to avoid stiff awkward poses when working with me.
5. If you have a themed wedding with costumes involved, I am totally wearing one too.
more about me »
for photographers »
my philosophy »
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
"I LOVE looking back on our wedding pictures! Carrie was able to capture such real and intimate moments, which is the reason we chose her! Carrie is friendly and fun and we appreciate her photography style."
caitlyn
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
I believe everyone should be able to authentically express themselves on their wedding day (and every other day too).
this is why i do it
I once threw an amazing wedding at Denver's PRIDE parade that was one of the best things I've been involved in. This is the story of that wedding and more about why I shoot weddings, so I hope you watch to get a better feel for what's most important to me.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
“Carrie is pretty much amazeballs! And that’s not generally a word I use."
erin
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
“Carrie was the utmost perfect fit! I continue to follow her on social media and have seen more stunning pictures from all different types, sizes and styles of weddings, and they all share a common feature: evidence of a truly talented artist!"
martha
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Let's make this thing awesome.
the details
more info »
I photograph weddings in Denver, Grand Junction, all over Colorado and anywhere rad people take me.
When you book me to photograph your wedding, you're paying for so much more than someone with a working brain, who happens to have a nice camera, to come to your wedding and document. I do have great cameras and gear that aid me in getting awesome shots, but my experienced wedding photographer brain is what does most of the work.
I'm there to help direct the day to get the most flattering shots possible in the best light, help you through all the wedding and timeline planning to ensure you get to enjoy your day and not just feel like you're going from one photo opportunity to the next, and to process your photos so you have a beautiful cohesive collection of memories from your wedding day. I'll help you avoid those stiff awkward poses and create an atmosphere that lends itself to those photojournalistic candids you love. Ultimately you're paying for 10 years of experience photographing weddings and my super badass wedding photographer loving skillset.
faqs »
fav vendors »
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
prints + digitals »
Here are more things to click on:
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
"I told Carrie before our wedding that my husband and I are both the least photogenic people ever. We can’t “real” smile for the camera to save our lives. She said it wouldn’t be a problem, and while I was skeptical at the time, she was right. She captured all of the real smiles and all of the real tears on our wedding day and it was perfect. We will treasure these photos for the rest of our lives. Even the more posed-for photos that we took later look completely natural and relaxed.
We had a non-traditional wedding at our small house with less than 10 people in attendance. I was nervous because our house is a real fixer upper, but Carrie managed to only capture the good parts. She treated photographing our little teeny, non-traditional wedding with the same seriousness as if we were a huge wedding with a thousand guests. I can’t recommend Carrie Swails highly enough to capture the beauty and joy and the REALNESS of your special day."
Jean
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Normal mode
you are in
ON A SCALE OF 1-10, WITH 10 BEING "ABSOLUTELY," HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER?
send it »
harry potter mode
you are in
send it »
Dear Carrie,
I'm sending you this owl to inquire with you to be our wedding photographer on ________________________________ at _____________________________________________________. You seem like a Keeper to me, but since muggles can't send owls to the wizarding world, it would be best if you used _________________________________________or _______________________ to contact me instead. On a scale of 1-10, 10 meaning I'm deadly Sirius about booking you, I love you and your photography a/an __________. I love _____________________________________ so much, I can't bite my parseltongue when talking about it. I know granger things have happened, but I have to tell you about _____________________________________________________. I would have Neville thought that's all I had to tell you, but I may add more on below.
Thanks, __________________________________________________, ___________________________________________________
P.S. Sirius Black is literally my homedog. I hope there's nothing Ron with that.
EPILOGUE:
you are in
send it »
Dear Carrie,
Your photography is precious to me, so I'd like to inquire with you to be our photographer on _________________________________ at ________________________________________. Mail can't simply be delivered in Middle-Earth so I'd be Galadriel if you contacted me at ______________________________________ or ____________________________ instead. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the equivalent of how precious the ring is to Gollum, I love you and your photography a/an __________. I don't mean to be Orcward, but I'm a total nerd about ___________________________________________________. I also thought Shire-ly you should know about ______________________________________________________________. I think that's about it Mordor-less, but I may add on more information below. Thanks!
_______________________________________________ of the ______________________________________________________
PS: I bumped into a wizard the other day and said, "Saruman, I didn't see you there!"
EXTENDED EDITION:
LOTR MODE
Choose a form below, but choose wisely:
