About this vendor
With a photographic career spanning over 12 years, Phil at 1LPhoto has worn many hats, but "wedding photographer" is his favorite. Settled just north of Washington, DC, Phil serves the DMV area but travels nationwide for photoshoots.
He doesn't remember the first time he picked up a camera, but he swears he has never put it down. "It's not work until you'd rather be somewhere else," a mentor once said, and there's certainly no place better than anywhere with a camera in hand.
Phil is a photojournalist at heart and is always chasing the good light. Photography is his passion, his calling in life, and he is truly thankful to be able to make a living from something he loves so dearly.
The common theme throughout his photography is that he is never satisfied with his first look and is always looking at a frame and deciding how to make it better.
Professionally, he's a people person who believes each photograph is a conversation between the subject and the audience. Couples have a story to tell, and it's a photographer's job to make that story as vivid, emotional, and energetic as possible.
Phil describes photography as a quest to capture the extraordinary within the ordinary.
Details
Business Attributes
- Black-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo Shoot Types
- Boudoir
- Bridal Portraits
- Day After Session
- Engagement
- Trash The Dress
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Online Proofing
- Photo
- Printed Enlargements
- Same-Day Edits
- Second Shooter Available
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Documentary
- Lifestyle
- Modern
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
Awards and Affiliations
2022 'Best of Weddings'
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Reviews
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5
out of 5.011 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 7
Phil was absolutely phenomenal! He did both our engagement session and our wedding, and both sessions turned out fantastic. He’s super cool, easy to work with, and does great work!...
We really enjoyed having him for our wedding!
What a fantastic photographer! Phil is amazing! From climbing down to the edge of a creek in the rain to sending 30 incredible sneak peek photos only 24 hours after the wedding, he...
worked so hard for us. We are very, very happy that we used him for our wedding!
When capturing our wedding, Phil did everything we could hope for, and then some. He was great to work with throughout the whole process and brought a relaxed and assuring energy t...
hat helped everyone feel at ease and take the best photos possible. We had some unexpected rain that forced us to improvise a new indoors location for our wedding party photos but between pre-planning and good improvisation skills, Phil seamlessly navigated the situation and the two of us were never worried.
We chose Phil mainly because his portfolio didn’t just feature the posed wedding photos, but also demonstrated a ton of dancing and other shots that we felt captured the energy and emotions of the day perfectly, and he absolutely delivered on that. Phil had a super quick turnaround in sending us a huge album of preview shots less than 24 hours after finishing shooting our event, and so many of those photos perfectly captured a moment that we loved from the wedding night - especially the reception speeches and the dance floor! Overall hiring Phil ticked all the boxes for us and it would be hard for us to imagine a better wedding photographer to capture what we wanted. If you are looking for a photographer, look no further and hire Phil! You will not regret it.
While all of my vendors were amazing, I don't think that I could have honestly gotten through my wedding day without Phil. From the very beginning he was extremely transparent with...
his pricing (felt like I had to go through hoops for other vendors) which made us most comfortable to hire him. He has a very fresh take on photography (follow his instagram-you WON'T regret it) which made me feel like I could trust him to really get some awesome shots and I didn't have to worry as much about "looking good".
When the wedding day finally arrived, I (the bride) was of course running way behind. He found creative ways to use lost time on my end well without feeling rushed. He was patient and rolled with the punches. We managed to get a lot of cool shots in by him that were not over the top but naturally us as a couple. He even had a plethora of tips that I would not have even thought of if he didn't mention it. In everything that he did, he did extremely well at communicating what needed to happen in each shot and I really felt like a bride when he did. He also listened well to get my "good side" (I have a large birthmark on one eye so he always shot me on my right side). Could not have asked anything better.
Less than 24 hrs after the event he gave us a preview of a couple of shots he did and I was BLOWN AWAY. He captured everything in a unique but classic way. I can already tell you right now that he is my go-to guy if I ever need photography done.
Thank you, Phil, for making our wedding day a true success with your professionalism, candor and talent!
Phil provided excellent services for our wedding reception. He was knowledgeable and he was great at providing direction to everyone in the bridal party. Even some of my friends an...
d family commented how professional, and knowledgeable he was about getting the perfect shots. I would totally recommend his services he will make your day special.
We absolutely love Phil! He’s the best photographer, hands down! He is extremely skilled at capturing candid shots, grabbing the best lighting, and very creative in giving you phot...
os that don’t look like everyone else’s wedding. We had some really unique and romantic photos! He also works quickly. We gave 1 hour for photos after the ceremony but we were done in 30 minutes! I never felt rushed by him and he knew how to bring out the best in us. We highly recommend him for any events you’d like captured!
Could not have been happier with our wedding photos. Highly recommend!!!
Hiring Phil as our wedding photographer was one of our best choices for our wedding day! He captured so many details and moments that we missed until we saw the photos! He has a ge...
ntle touch with everyone, brides and children alike. You never feel like you’re being handled, but guided. He was amazing at keeping our schedule on track and still delivering with every photo! Not to mention we had our finished edited pictures in just over a week! Phil is hard working, knowledgeable, and most importantly kind and fun! He helped made our wedding day go smoothly! Thanks Phil!!
Phil is incredibly talented and made our day go so smoothly! Phil managed our large bridal party so easily and had the perfect balance of giving directions and being kind. His dire...
ctions, ideas, efficiency, and kindness were so helpful and appreciated throughout the entire day. He paid attention to details (ex, one piece of flying hair, lipstick on teeth, my dress’s train) he held my bouquet several times to help me while I adjusted my hair, veil, or shawl. Phil mapped out the timing of our day to make sure we got all the shots we wanted and was super efficient. He asked us many times if there were other shots we were imagining and he made them happen! Phil got us a preview of photos the day after our wedding and the whole album shortly after that! Our bridal party continually complimented him as well with how he managed everything and made each of us so comfortable! Please go with Phil (1LPhoto) for your wedding or other photography needs!!!
Phil (1LPhoto) is an amazing photographer! He is professional, thorough, and helps makes your special day run smoothly. He got so many beautiful shots - it felt like he was everyw...
here. He communicated with us along the way and was a great partner throughout the planning process and especially day of. So many guests and family members raved about how impressed they were with him. We highly recommend Phil (1LPhoto)!
Phil was absolutely a dream to work with on our wedding day. Not only were the pictures wonderful on the back end, but the experience was just perfect. He was very professional and...
efficient without pressuring us in any way. Our day was completely stress free! Also, when my grandmother died 3 days after our wedding, I was able to call Phil from my honeymoon and he expedited a handful of pictures from our day without question.
Contact
DC, Maryland, Virginia, Nationwide.
1LPhoto's photos