April 24, 2017

Meet Michael & Marni Farmer of Michael Farmer Photography and So Smitten Special Events

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael & Marni Farmer.

In 2007, Michael was in a near-fatal motorcycle crash on the 605. It was a wake-up call to quit his meaningless sales job and to start his own business, Michael Farmer Photography. He had always loved photography, starting when he was a young child, and capturing people’s portraits. He had worked for other photography companies here and there, but this was his time to make a change and do what he loved. With Marni’s support, the two founded the company that same year.

The two focused their marketing efforts on the wedding industry, and began to build their wedding repertoire and clientele. In addition to photography, they began to offer videography services and photo booth rentals.

In 2012, they were voted Best of Weddings on TheKnot.com (the wedding industry’s leading resource and marketplace, which has inspired over 25 million couples planning their wedding). They began to receive the award year after year, and were inducted into the Best of Weddings Hall of Fame in 2016.

Their wedding photos have been published on theknot.com, BuzzFeed Weddings, and gayweddings.com; on the wedding blogs Offbeat Bride, Carats & Cake, Something Turquoise, Borrowed & Blue, Equal & Forever, My Big Fat Indian Wedding, Outre Bride, Rustic Wedding Chic, and For Real; and in Bridal Guide and Gay Weddings and Marriage magazines. Bridal Guide featured one of their photos as one of the top 50 wedding photos for 2015, and they won Two Bright Lights’ Editor’s Choice Award for 2016 and 2017.

Michael and Marni have photographed numerous celebrity events and conventions. Most notably they have worked with KISS, Rob Zombie, Dave Mustaine of Megadeath, Crosby & Nash, Mary Murphy from “So You Think You Can Dance,” and Governor Jerry Brown. They have also worked as the on-set photographers for “Ludo Bites America” on the Sundance Channel, the backstage photographers for Dave Ramsey, video production for Dollar Shave Club, video production of ballet superstar Misty Copeland teaching a master class, the videographers for the California State University system. Their photos have been published in Esquire Magazine, American Theatre Magazine, Riviera Magazine, Performances Magazine, Haute Living Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, BLUECANVAS Magazine, and BroadwayWorld.com, among others. They work with a number of notable dance studios, including Joffrey Ballet West Los Angeles, San Pedro Ballet School, San Pedro City Ballet, Innovations Dance Studio, and Momentum Dance Center. The Michael Farmer Photography photo booth has been featured at events with Yelp.com, OC Weekly, Hurley, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, NCIS, and Jillian’s at Universal City Walk.

In 2010, Marni expanded their wedding service offerings by founding So Smitten Special Events, a full-service wedding and event planning company. Along with her team of wedding coordinators and assistants, Marni offers full and partial event coordination, design services, creative direction, consulting, and more. So Smitten was voted Best of Weddings on The Knot for 2016 and 2017. Her weddings have been published in Off Beat Bride, Outre Bride, and Rustic Wedding Chic.

In 2016, Michael and Marni founded Studio M by Michael Farmer Photography. Studio M is a photography studio for established wedding, event, and portrait photographers. These photographers are trained and cultivated so that their photo styles blend seamlessly together with the Michael Farmer Photography aesthetic.

They have plans to open a brick and mortar studio and client meeting space in the near future.

Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest obstacle was believing in ourselves and quitting our steady jobs to own our own businesses. There is inherently a big risk in doing that, and we were definitely financially struggling in the beginning. But with a lot of hard work building our clientele and reputation, we’ve been able to make it in the industry and run two thriving businesses. If you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. Success will come naturally.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Combined, we are a company that specializes in photography, videography, and event planning services for weddings and special events. Most of our business is focused on weddings. We are proud of the relationships that we build with our clients during this exciting and special time in their lives. Many clients become good friends, and we follow them throughout their life milestones, taking photos of pregnancies, babies, birthdays, and more.

Sure, we are known for our top-notch work and professionalism, but we feel what really sets us apart is our determination to make our clients comfortable and happy. We want to create a stress-free environment for them to experience the happiest day of their lives. Our goal is to make the process fun and memorable. It is a party, after all!

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Southern California provides a wealth of business opportunities for the wedding industry. It is the second largest wedding market in the country. With its large population, and it also being seen as a destination, we are never lacking demand in this industry in Southern California. If you’re going to start something, start it here.

We live in the Lakewood/Long Beach area, which is even more ideal for working in the wedding industry. This means we are centrally located, and can easily travel to events from Orange Country to Los Angeles, and beyond.

Sometimes we imagine moving out of the area, but the lure of the abundance of opportunities always draws us back to So Cal.

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