Tom Ellis Photography — Local services in Seattle

I cannot say enough fantastic things about Tom! Quality of service--Our photos were beautiful and Tom had great ideas about different photo shots and his editing with different colors/b&w made for some gorgeous photos. My biggest problem now is how to pick out which pictures I want to enlarge! Far too many to choose from! Responsiveness--I live in D.C., actually, although the wedding was just south of Tacoma. Therefore, planning took place on the east coast which was stressful as it was. Tom was great with e-mail and responded in a very timely manner. Had the photos edited just a week after the wedding and up on the internet to see while we were on the honeymoon Professionalism--Dressed up nicely for the wedding, made everyone feel comfortable while tirelessly telling us the same instructions that we didn't follow...I kept forgetting to put my flowers forward for the pictures, heh Value for cost--What I love about Tom is that he has his prices ON his website so that you know what you're in for (very rare in photographers that I looked for in the Seattle-Tacoma area) and mentioned his flexibility...I feel that his 20+ years experience really showed on the day of the wedding and directed us so well during the process. There was actually a funeral going on right before my wedding and my mom started freaking out about the photos but he just directed us for outdoor pictures that turned out so beautiful that I would choose those over the church pictures (that we did get at the last minute) any day anyway Flexibility--Already mentioned some stuff, but he is definitely willing to work with you. My husband is British and so we went through US immigration to secure a fiance visa which meant that we didn't know when he would get it (ended up taking 8 months). We let Tom know that even though we booked a date with him, we'd have to push it forward if my husband didn't get the visa in time. Tom was totally okay with it, as long as it wasn't on a date that was already booked. This was so awesome of him because not knowing when we would get the visa was super stressful! Photos from family and friends are great, but does not compare to having them done professionally. In any case--your family and friends will be wanting to share this day with you! Not worry about getting all the best pictures or forgetting certain aspects. also--book early! We did a year in advance and he says sometimes he does 18 months in advance. Eep!! Best of luck and congrats on...

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with Tom for both our engagement pictures and our wedding and I can say without a doubt we were so lucky to have found him and gotten the chance to work with him! The pictures he caught are some of our favorite to date and we have many of them proudly displayed around our home.

One of the great things about Tom is that he works with you as a couple – taking your suggestions or ideas you might have found from pictures you have seen – to get some really stunning shots, or if you have a particular word or feel you are going for you can share it and he has enough skills built up over his many years of shooting to pull out different tricks to help achieve what you want from your pictures. His style is realistic and in-the-moment, very much a journalistic style, but he can also do soft and loving, which is a wonderful range to have and captures some truly magical moments when you combine the two. He also can photoshop dragons into your pictures and who doesn’t want that?! :D

His willingness to collaborate and work together, as well as how he explains the process of getting a shot (i.e. how lighting works, background, posing, etc. to achieve what we are after), is really what made us more comfortable; he has years of experience, which gives you confidence in his ability, but he also has a humility and easy going feel that puts you at ease and lets you know that you are in good hands. He also worked with us to create a custom budget within our price range and we never felt like we were being given lesser service because we weren’t paying top dollar.

Personally, the thing I most appreciated is that I was able to share some of my concerns on my appearance during our engagement shoot and he helped coach me through how to hold myself so I could make sure I would be comfortable and happy with the pictures, which I certainly am! He was also very kind when I had reached my limit during posed shots during our pre-wedding pictures and he changed things up to help get me back into the swing of enjoying things once again.

Tom is honest and straight forth, which is something we greatly admire in a person, and he is really just a fun guy to have around. His is the sort of presence you want on your wedding day; someone who is calm and in control while also being very competent at what they do and able to capture the real and beautiful moments...

From the first phone call to receiving our beautiful wedding album, and everything in between, my husband and I couldn’t have been happier working with Tom! He was so easy to work with from the engagement session to the day of the wedding. We had purchased his Collection Four package because our wedding fell on NYE, so I wanted to have him for hair/makeup and through midnight. It was worth every penny. One thing that struck me while working with Tom is how much I felt like I was working with a friend of the family instead of a complete stranger. His photography is beautiful and he is very particular about the shots, as well as making sure YOU are happy with the shots. There were many times where he came up to us after a shot to show the picture to us on his camera. For our engagement session he made sure to take many different photos at our two different locations, and his direction (since we weren’t sure how to pose a lot of the time) was great and not overbearing. Leading up to the rehearsal dinner and wedding he was great at communicating and giving any advice when needed. At our rehearsal dinner we were in a pretty small restaurant (seated about 30) and Tom was great about getting around everyone in a way that seemed like he wasn’t really there and was about to capture that special evening for us. Throughout the entire wedding day Tom was AMAZING! He honestly acted as another day-of coordinator in my mind – he took pictures that day from 8:30am to 1am! He was very great about rolling with our LONG timeline and working with our actual day-of coordinator for the event (Lake Union Café), as well as our DJ who MC’d, to make sure everything was going smoothly and that we were happy with everything that was happening. He was great about getting photos that he knew would be important to us and on the list, as well as corralling us for certain photo ops which I am now so thankful for! Tom was just such an integral part of this whole process for us from our engagement pictures right up until the last moments of our wedding (honestly I kind of felt like I was losing a limb when he left!), and we couldn't have been happier with the beautiful moments he captured for us, and his advice and assistance throughout the wonderful whirlwind of a journey it was to plan and put...