February 26, 2017

Meet Sheri Angeles of Swanky Fine Art Weddings in Pasadena

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheri Angeles.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story?
I have been shooting professionally since I was 16 years old, and I am 29 years old today. I have always loved photography since I could hold something in my hand. I would always get a new camera every year for my birthday and it started when I was 2 and 3 years old with plastic toy cameras. My grandma was the photographer of the family, and she was the one who really began teaching me my craft. By the time I turned 16, I began photographing seniors in high school, and from there my photography took off, where a few short years later in 2007 I photographed my first wedding.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey as a wedding photographer has been amazing, yes, of course, I wish I could speed up time and accomplish all that I want to right in the moment, but what fun would that be? It is crazy to think back when I first started shooting weddings and what I would dream to have one day for my business, for example having a team shoot my weddings for me, travel the world doing what I love, bring on a personal assistant etc. and it is amazing to see my dreams for business unfold right before my eyes. Don’t get me wrong there has been plenty of times I have compared myself daily to other photographers in the industry who have been doing this less time than me who are accomplishing big things that I wish for myself one day, however with God’s grace I have come to remind myself that all of our journeys are different from other people. We each have our own story that we are writing and just because x, y, and z have what I want right now, does not mean my time won’t come and I have come to be ok with that. We are all made different and unique in God’s eyes and there is no one else on this earth who can do what I do the way I do it and that goes for everyone.

Please tell us about Swanky Fine Art Weddings.
I am the owner/head photographer of Swanky Fine Art Weddings and my company specializes in high end, documentary weddings that tell our clients story, we are all about having our clients relive their day and the emotions that they felt. If you ask my clients they will tell you that 99% of the time they book me for documentary/photojournalistic vibe, they love that they can look at my photos and feel what is going on in that photo without actually being there. Being able to document the emotions in the way that my clients tell me that I do, you don’t find that in every wedding photographer.

There are quite a few things that I am beyond proud of in my business and one being that I have an amazing team of associates who work for me all over the country. I am beyond blessed to have an amazing team shooting for me who either have been trained by me or have been shooting a while and have a very similar eye to me. I am very picky about who I allow shooting for me because I want my clients who book Swanky, to receive the same quality of photos as if I showed up and shot their wedding myself. My associate program has gone over extremely well and this is great for those couples who are looking to stick to a strict budget but would still love amazing images to remember their day by.

I think one of the best things that have happened to me in my business, is that this past year I became a published author and wrote my book for engaged couples called: Capturing Defining Moments, The Importance of Great Wedding Photography (www.capturingdefiningmoments.com). It talks all about the importance of investing into a photographer that you love, so you are left with amazing photographs to remember your day by. I have many stories in my book from happy couples who have invested and dreadful stories from devastated couples who WISH they did, many tips on how to find the right photographer for you, and the list goes on!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Oh my how can I choose just one, this is always so hard for me to answer because I have plenty that come to mind. However, one that sticks out above the rest in this moment would be every Christmas my grandparents would plan a two-day adventure with all of the grandchildren. My grandparents had this van so all 8 of us would all pile in the back of their van and we would be gone ALL DAY for two days straight. We were off on an adventure, some years we would have overnight hotel stays, we would go to all of these amazing places and my grandpa would record on his video camera every single moment and when it came time for our family Christmas we would all pop down in front of the tv with the rest of the clan and watch the fun we had. These moments are life long memories that I know all of us grandchildren hold very dear to our hearts.

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