Elopement in Rockville MD
A short & sweet elopement in Rockville Maryland
When a Marine Corps friend of mine reached out to me about his elopement I was so excited for him! He told me he was only expecting needing coverage for a small courthouse ceremony but that he wanted photos of the day to remember. The courthouse was a small and intimate affair, and I don’t believe they planned it, but the outfits matched the courthouse interior wonderfully. I was able to convince him that they should also do a short and sweet photo session outside the courthouse right after, before they move on to the honeymoon! He agreed and I am so happy he took me up on the offer because the photos outside were some of my favorite!
If you are looking for a photographer for your own wedding or elopement, I can help!
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If you are looking for a photographer for your own wedding or elopement, I can help! Simply reach out to me through my contact page!
Five questions you didn’t think to ask your photographer (But really should)
Five important questions to ask your photographer before you event or wedding and how I answer those questions!
The groom, his mother, and sister watch the bride and her father walk down the aisle.
Okay, you have a wedding or big corporate event, or need to get a portrait taken and are ready to book and you begin to google search for “photographers near me” or you are searching hashtags on instagram but there are just so many options and its hard to separate the truly professional from the simply talented. That professionalism is important when you are dealing with a one time event and need everything to go right!
Now I come from a big family - a really big family, so when anyone of my couple dozen cousins come asking about wedding photography I kindly tell them I would rather be a guest than working on their big day! BUT I will then give them this same advice when they begin their search for a photographer. So I hope this will help you feel empowered and confident when choosing your next photographer - even if thats not me!
What is your backup strategy?
This question is all about their reliability. A good photographer will tell you how they regularly network with a handful of photographers in the area in case they are sick or have to miss the day, etc. A professional will also tell you how they manage the digital files and what they do incase of a hardware failure. There should be at least one duplicate of everything at all times, from the moment they click the shutter to when they send you the images.
My Answer:
Both of my cameras have two memory cards, the second mirrors the first. When I get home, one card goes in a safe box on my desk where it will not be touched until the photos have been processed and backed up again, the other is the one I use to download to my hard-drive where the images will be processed. Once the photos are edited I upload them to your gallery, and backup to my external hard drive. At no point in time are there less than two instances of your photographs. I also have duplicates of all my flashes, lenses, batteries, and memory cards.
I have yet to miss a wedding or a photo date but in the unlikely occasion that I am sick or injured, there are 3 photographers in the local area I trust and will vouch for their talent. I have been working with them very closely for the last 5 years and know their style and workflow is similar to my own! If they all happen to be busy, I also network with a photographer group here in Baltimore and can reach out to them if necessary.
2. When can we expect to see the photos and how are they delivered?
Okay so this is probably the question everyone is eager to ask, but the “how” in this question carries a lot of weight! No one wants to wait six months for their photos (nor should they) anyone who is giving that sort of timeline is likely over booking themselves. As for the how, there are many different answers that could be given here. A mailed thumb-drive or CD is a less popular option now, most photographers likely have an online gallery where you can download or share. As long as they are giving specific answers here that you are comfortable with, you should be good!
My Answer:
Final images are delivered 4-8 weeks after your wedding date. You will receive an email with a link to an online password protected gallery where you can download the high res .jpg files and share them with friends and family! You or your family can also purchase prints of your favorite images if you so choose right from the gallery. The gallery will be available for 3 months, so be sure to download and backup. Once you have the photos downloaded, I recommend taking the same approach and always having two copies saved independently of each other.
3. What is your approach to posed vs candid?
You are really asking about a photographers demeanor when photographing. Some may be a fly on the wall, others may be more like a director. You should be comfortable with their level of interaction, but a good photographer will be adaptable to the situation!
My Answer:
For a majority of the day, I am sort of a fly on the wall. My goal is to document the day honestly because I believe with the amount of love and time you have invested into the event, it should not be overshadowed by any filter or interpretation on my end. That being said, I am not afraid to give guidance/advice to help your vision, its your event, not mine. When it comes to group photos and the classic posed shot, I am not afraid to project my voice and tell your Aunt Krissy to get in line! I have directed military generals, congressmen, and college students so when it comes to your family, I have no worries we can get them to stand still for 1/200th of a second.
4. Who owns the copyright and what are the restrictions on printing and sharing?
Copyright law can always feel daunting, and is often misunderstood, but this is something that will be written out in the contract so its a good idea to understand how they go about this. No photographer is going to give you the copyright to the image (unless you pay them a LOT of money) but thats okay! Because you don’t need the copyright to make prints or share the photos. There should be a written acceptable use policy the photographer grants you! Just make sure you understand and are comfortable with their answer, there can be room to negotiate here if necessary.
My Answer:
As the photographer, the copyright is automatically mine. The exact verbage which is embedded into all the photos, gives the client “a limited non-exclusive, non-transferrable, perpetual personal use license.”
Yes, thats a lot of scary sounded legal words but this means that you, and only you, are allowed to do whatever you want with the photos, as long as it does not involve making money off the photo. You can download them and share them online or with friends and family. You can make prints and display, even if its not through my print store and you can do this forever. If your vendors would like to use my photos, they will need to contact me directly for that permission. Now if your mom decides to get t shirts printed of your face thats fine (at least from a copyright perspective - though you may want to have a chat with her), as long as she doesn’t start selling them I am cool with it!
5. What is included in your pricing and are there any extra costs?
Budget Transparency is big! Especially if, like me, you decide to do like four major life milestones all within a year. I graduated college, found a job, bought a house, and got married all in the summer of 2019, lets just say the budget was tight for a minute. A good photographer will be up front and transparent about their prices.
My Answer:
Wedding rates: You can find my wedding packages at https://mikeguinto.com/couples. This will include shooting and editing time. Hourly rates are $350/hour
Travel: I do not charge for the editing time. If I am traveling more than an hour, I will add a $50 for every extra half an hour of travel beyond that for time/gas/mileage/parking. I do not charge extra for my return trip.
If the travel includes airfaire or extended travel, I can send you an estimate breaking down all the expenses.
Corporate rates: because event photography is so varied, I will send a project proposal/invoice catered to your organizations needs before any contracts are signed!
Print products: Any prints you wish to purchase are not calculated into the wedding packages, though the packages include a 15% discount off your first print order!
I hope this is a helpful guide to get you started finding your photographer! Remember that the best photographers are transparent, prepared, and aligned with your vision! Now that you are armed with the right questions to ask, lets talk about your event and see if we click! (pun intended)
Professional Portrait Sessions in your own home or office
Professional portrait session at home or office. How I bring the photo studio to you. Creating a comfortable setting where you are at your most confident helps you get the best headshot session possible! If you are looking to hire a photographer for your portrait, I can help you!
Achieving professional studio portraits is possible anywhere—even in your own office or home. In August, I brought the studio to employees at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, delivering high-quality, polished headshots in the place they are most comfortable and confident!
Using portable lighting, backdrops, and professional equipment, I create a comfortable setting that highlights your individual personality and professionalism. Whether for corporate branding, internal communications, or personal use, bringing the studio to you allows you to be the most comfortable and confident!
Below are some of the results! Within two hours it is possible to walk in and set up a studio, take multiple portraits, and breakdown, leaving the room just as it was.
After the photos are edited you will receive a link to an online gallery where you can download and share your favorites or even purchase prints.
Portrait taken in Studio set up inside conference room seen on the right.
Setting up lights and backdrop in a conference room.
For professional portrait sessions, I try to give you as much variety in as short a time period as possible so that you can have the most choice and the most bang for your buck! That means, studio and environmental portraits, tailored to the vibe that is most you! Its possible to get a lot of variety in a short 20 minute session just by walking around for different backdrops. We can make a simple hallway or your backyard look great in your portrait! (Even if you’re like me and have let your yard overgrow a little too much this year.)
Portrait taken in office building hallway
Portrait taken at clients home with mobile studio setup.
Portrait taken in office conference room.
Documenting NASA's OSAM-1 spacecraft Integration and testing phase
A selection of photos from the OSAM-1 mission during integration and testing phase.
I take a lot of photos every day. Most of them are technical imagery used for engineering design and testing. Those photos you will never see, either due to the fact that you would not find them interesting or because they are considered controlled unclassified information (CUI). However my day job puts me in the room with very interesting people and very interesting activities. I try to photograph these things to as time allows and sometimes, these photos get approved for public release. The following photographs were all taken throughout the integration and testing phase of the On-Orbit Servicing Assembly and Manufacturing 1 Mission (OSAM-1). They have all been reviewed and approved for public release. These are not all the photos I have taken, and its not all the photos I have released. What you are scrolling through are some of my favorite photographs I have taken throughout my time with OSAM-1. Through these images you can watch the hardware be built up from a couple of circuit boards to a fully assembled spacecraft only a year of testing away from launch. Within these photos you will see the build process, but also the moments in between work when people are simply people, I like those moments especially.
OSAM-1 was a spacecraft that was designed to autonomously rendezvous with, capture, and refuel satellites that were never built to be refueled or repaired. The project was defunded by NASA due to budget constraints, a lot of the people in these photos lost their jobs because of this. The people in these photos are some of the most qualified and capable in their fields and yet, their stories are becoming more and more common each year. We never got to see our hard work launch, despite some people having been with the project for 10 years. The mission had gone through multiple changes in scope and the final year of the project was spent under the threat of cancellation. Despite this, the OSAM-1 team beat out all the odds, completing milestone after milestone to assemble the spacecraft. It broke our hearts when the order was finalized, knowing that despite those long days, and an attention to detail that can be found only at NASA, this mission was being put on the shelf.
These photos, and millions of dollars worth of hardware that are now sitting bagged up in a cleanroom are all thats left of the project until someone decides its worth picking up. personally, I thought this project was so sci-fi and cool and unique.
Ghost tours Annapolis
Some lingering thoughts and breakdown on a photo I took in Annapolis while overhearing a “ghost-tour” of the area.
The sunset was stumbling right down main street at just enough of an angle to create some interesting shadows. The harbor area of Annapolis always screams wealth and privilege to me. Yachts anchored in the harbor calmly bouncing along the waves while people playing music and chatting with friends or family. Pedestrians shop or eat out at some of the fancy restaurants. The Naval Officer Cadets can be spotted here and there in their dress whites, like sharply dressed spirits. You can hear cars rolling over cobblestone streets, like vibrations accented with a satisfying clink of brick on brick. I always feel a sense of not belonging when I walk the streets. This feeling persists despite having plenty of friendly conversations with people who stop and ask questions about my 4×5 field view camera. I am happy to chat with them, they usually want to ask about the camera because they themselves use to be a photographer. Street photographers mostly try to be ghosts, unseen by the people they photograph. Street photography with a large format camera is an act of being both very visible and completely invisible. Most people don’t notice, or chose not to see me. They walk by afraid they will end up in my frame or they have no idea what I am doing. They stare as they walk by, averting their gaze when I make eye contact. I am like a ghost, invisible, to all but those who choose to see me. Photographers are the only ones it seems, who notice the ghost standing on the corner with a victorian era camera. Or at least the only ones who would be willing to approach them. Maybe next time I really try and sell the bit, dressed in full 1870’s fashion.
If you do look closely, really take in the scenes of Annapolis, you see the beauty and wealth but you also begin to notice some things that don’t quite fit the aesthetic. The paint chipping on a parked car, stickers covering a light pole, a spray painted trashcan or a walking “Ghost tour” led by a teenager tiredly explaining the history of the buildings and their deceased inhabitants. Those on the tour look towards the old windows in hopes of seeing a ghost staring back, but they aren’t really looking, if they were, they would notice the ghost with the camera, listening to the tired teenager as he fiddles with his frame.
That begs the question then, in the photo above, the man in the street, what does he see? what is he looking at that made him stop in the middle of Francis St. Does he see a ghost in a window? Maybe he is trying to take a photo on his phone? I like the thought that maybe he sees the light splashing against the side of the buildings and the top of the Maryland Statehouse. Another photographer would notice that - that I could relate to. Maybe he just had an epiphany, or maybe he is simply lost.
When I took this photo, I remember the guy in the white shirt who almost spoiled the frame, I remember the paint chips on the car and the way the flag was shaped by the wind. I remember the trashcan and the smoke-shop sign, the way the tree branches were splintering across the white building like a shattered pane of glass. The way the streets were shaped like a funnel, channeling the light down towards the harbor. I remember that all these details are part of why I clicked the shutter, but I don’t remember seeing that man standing in the middle of the street.
Photosynthesis
Despite knowing all this, I still lay in bed at night, staring into a small screen shining bright light into my face like a plant trying to photosynthesize the last rays of sunlight in the evening.
Sometime last year, I took a look at my media habits. I was glued to a number of news podcasts, I was scrolling instagram, and getting angry at the world. It was the cause of unnecessary stress in my life, not the sort of stress that gives you a heart attack and sends you to the hospital, it was the sort of stress that effects you slightly over long periods of time. It was the sort of stress that bubbles beneath the surface like a dormant volcano. This experience is not unique nor novel. It is a side effect of an addiction, one designed by social media platforms like Meta and google who incentivizes its content creators to hook your attention, so they can sell ad space in between scrolls. This addiction is engineered by these companies similarly to how the tobacco company engineered cigarettes to be addictive, choosing profit despite knowing the health and safety effects on its users. Despite knowing all this, I still lay in bed at night, staring into a small screen shining bright light into my face like a plant trying to photosynthesize the last rays of sunlight in the evening.
Unlike the sun, this light does not provide the nutrients necessary for life. You cannot survive off this light alone. Looking at this photo, through your own computer or phone, you are receiving about 1/1000th of what comes from natural daylight. This photo shows a plant being lit only by the light of a cellphone, light that is fed to me based off an algorithm which has decided that I want to see this video of someone reporting on the Trump Tariff Fiasco. Much like the light of this phone, the quality of this news source is most likely garbage. Most of the content on youtube is. Its the light emitting equivolent a cigarrette. It provides an immediate chemical reaction in your brain, for a short term good feeling that ends just as quickly as it arrives, making you crave the next one and the next.
So what would happen if we kept this plant here, in the dark, feeding only on the light of a cellphone? I may continue to return to this image. However I will not be returning to Instagram. The platform simply does not provide anything positive for me. If anything it's constantly stealing my time and focus. So if you want to keep seeing more of my work, you're in the right place. This blog will be my archive, for better or worse.
New project
Excited to share some of my first photographs in support of the Roman Space Telescope
It is a little bittersweet, but I have recently changed projects. OSAM-1 was discontinued by NASA and I am incredibly disappointed that NASA didn't see it through, budget cuts are to blame unfortunately, despite it being so near completion. A lot of people put their heart, soul, sweat, and tears into it. I will post sometime with a lot of the “in process” behind the scene photos during the integration and testing phase of OSAM-1.
But for now, I am excited to share about a new-to-me project I have begun supporting. My first set of photos have been approved for public release. So without further ado, here is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope! (RST)
You can learn more about the project here. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Contamination Control team performs a routine inspection of the Spacecraft Integrated Payload Assembly (SCIPA) at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md., Mar 13, 2025.
Fall 2024 - Color film photos
The following are some of the 35mm and 120 format color film I shot this fall and into winter. All shot on Kodak Gold 200. The 120 film was pushed 1 stop
