Expressions Photo & Design

My fiance and I had the pleasure of meeting Aaron this past fall for our engagement photo session. The session went extremely well! We appreciated how Aaron started off the session with explaining what he hoped we would get out of the session and took the time to find out what our expectations were. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better photographer to take our pictures. I came to the session not knowing what to expect and quit nervous, since this was the first time I would be kissing my fiance in front of a complete stranger taking pictures of us. However, Aaron quickly set us at ease with his professionalism and knowledge of photography. One thing I noticed right away was how much Aaron cares about his work. He consistently made sure he was getting great shots and that made us feel assured we would end up with beautiful pictures in the end. I definitely was not disappointed when we got our final images back. They were AMAZING! I was so impressed with how well they turned out and we had tons to choose from. I know there are multiple reviews on here talking badly of Aaron, but my fiance and I can both agree that what Aaron did for us was quality work. If you want a photographer who will take the time to really listen to what you want and work hard to make sure that happens, then pick Aaron.

This is the second company this owner has launched that has used stolen images (including mine) from other photographers to deceive brides to give him money. Here's the full write up of the most recent copyright infringement: http://stopstealingphotos.com/expressions-photo-design-aka-expressions-aaron-des-moins-iowa/ He also apparently no-showed two couples' weddings as well: http://www.kcci.com/article/newlyweds-say-photographer-scammed-them-on-their-wedding-day/8677634

DO NOT HIRE THIS SO-CALLED PHOTOGRAPHER!! He is a scammer. He was called out again, and has been doing this for years. His sites are down now, part of his hiding. But he had hundreds of photos that were stolen from other photographers oh his site, plagairized all the text on his website from other photographers, AND all of the fake 5 star reviews on HERE were also ripped off another photographer's review page on their website. Most times, he'll just take the money and run..cancel on you or just plain not show up! SCAMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone, STAY AWAY FROM THIS PHOTOGRAPHER! just to let you know this guy has ripped off multiple couples and takes their money and doesn't pay it back. You can read some of the reviews below and his extremely RUDE response. He even calls a couple IGNORANT. Here is the news article all about it! http://www.kcci.com/article/newlyweds-say-photographer-scammed-them-on-their-wedding-day/8677634 Believe me, you all can find way better photographer. Also it seems that he was accused of stealing photos for his website that he didn't even take. Please look elsewhere when finding a photographer!

I am so happy with the work Aaron did for our big day! From moving to Iowa and only know my fiancé I didn't know who to hire and I'm so happy I picked him. The price was right and he went above and beyond. My husband and I are recommending him all over social media. If you want proper photos of your big day he is the only one to go with!!

When my husband and I were prioritizing our "Wedding Must Haves" A great photographer was at the very top of our list. We wanted nothing but the best for our wedding day because we knew that you couldn't put a price on one of the most important days of our lives. We found the best of the best when we decided to work with Expressions Photo and Design. From the first day we met with Aaron the owner to talk about budget, wedding details, etc to the viewing session after our wedding, Aaron was fantastic. He is enthusiastic and so caring. He listened to our wants, desires, and visions and was so accommodating in the planning process and when he shot our wedding. In all of the craziness of planning a wedding for us, Aaron made his part very easy and exciting! Our photos are amazing and they will truly be cherished for the rest of our lives. If you are looking for a photographer to go above and beyond for you doing your wedding journey, I would highly recommend Expressions Photo and Design. You won't be disappointed.

"We used expressions photo and design for our july 3rd wedding in iowa city and he did an incredible job. He is very professional and accommodating. You can tell he is absolutely in love with what he does and he really takes the time to get to know you and your tastes to provide exactly what you're looking for. I couldn't have imagined our wedding photos turning out any better. They are amazing; aaron is very talented! It was a pleasure to work with aaron and i would definitely recommend aaron to anyone looking for a top notch photographer!" Stephanie and Troy

“Aaron the owner of Expressions Photo and Design was an unbelievable photographer. From the moment we met for our gorgeous engagement shoot he made us feel relaxed and natural, it was like walking along the beach with a friend. He was very clear in all his correspondence before the wedding and arrived early on the day and was really careful about giving us all space without missing any important moments. My mother in law was worried about us being taken away for a long time during our private shoot, but Aaron subtly grabbed us at different times throughout the day and no one noticed we were gone & we had the benefit of having lovely couple photographs in different light as it changed. There is so many great ones and many have been shared a huge amount on Facebook! Such gorgeous light and energy. Thank you Aaron! We will treasure the photos for ever!

Aaron of Expressions photo and design proved multiple times while working with us how astounding not only his amazing gift in photography is, but his desire to quickly build rapport, flexibility in meeting our individual needs, guidance and support in our wedding as a whole, and simply his passion for photography. When looking for a photographer to capture our wedding day, we were looking for someone who focused on our needs and was not bound by time, distance, number of shots, etc. We wanted someone who could capture not just pictures, but a “story;” A story of family, a story of a couple moving on to their next journey of life. Aaron and his team did this and more. He captured “our story” through both photography and videography with professionalism, creativity, fun, and laughter. With his number one goal to capture “our story” our photos and wedding video will be cherished for generations to come. In addition, he had the brilliant idea of not only capturing our wedding, but doing a post-wedding shoot. Without question, he made travel plans to come out to meet us, again, proving to us that Expressions Photo and Design is not just about “photography” but about creating memories. He told “our story” and the results through the photography and the videography were absolutely astonishing. My husband and I highly recommend Expressions Photo and Design for any of your needs. We cannot thank Aaron enough for capturing such an amazing part of our lives. Samantha and Jake

We loved working with Aaron. It is one of the best decisions that we made in planning our wedding. The photos of our wedding beat our expectations, which were set very high after seeing the awesome work in Aaron's portfolio. His work really captured the fun had by everyone at our events, as well as the uniqueness of everyones personalities. Beyond that, Aaron and his crew were an absolute JOY to work with from the very start. They were, friendly, helpful, professional, punctual, and fun every step of the way. Thank you Expressions Photo and Design for being awesome and capturing such fabulous and artistic images of the best day of our lives! Sabrina and David

Aaron of Expressions Photo and Design is a true gem and we feel so blessed to have had him photograph our April 25th wedding! Not only is he incredibly talented, professional, committed and passionate about his work, he is also a truly wonderful person and a joy to work with. It was the middle of the week and I had just arrived at the car dealership to get an oil change. I got online and continued browsing wedding photography websites expressionsphotoanddesign.com (as all you brides know, the work never stops once you start smile emoticon I had looked at dozens of websites and even received referrals for wedding photographers, but I still didn't feel settled. When I came upon Aaron’s website I immediately felt something different. I decided to give him a call and he picked up the phone immediately (I came to know quickly that he is quite responsive and an excellent communicator). I told him I had seen his website and was interested in setting up a time to meet. He asked me what I was doing and offered to meet right away. "I can come pick you up and you can use the time to meet with me at my office instead of sitting at the dealership to wait for your car." he said. Aaron was so gentle and respectful that I had no hesitation. Within 15 minutes he showed up at the car dealership to pick me up and drive me over to his office! We clicked immediately and I knew I wanted to work with him right away. My initial feeling was affirmed once I saw more of his extraordinary work at his office. It took us a while to settle on our wedding date but once we finally did, the details fell into place quickly and easily (despite the fact that he was already booked for the year in January!). We had time between our ceremony and reception to do some portraits and they also turned out amazing! His energy and enthusiasm are incredible and he made the process so relaxing and fun, even for my husband who does not like to be photographed. We laughed, cried, ate and danced non-stop at our reception and Aaron got it all! Because of Aaron I am able to literally re-live the magic of our wedding and even see things I missed from being in the flurry of the day. I don't know how he manages to be in so many different places to catch everyone and everything but he really does it--and you will hardly even know he's there! Many photographers can capture moments but Aaron captures the feeling of each moment, and that is a gift. Thank you Aaron for your enthusiasm, generosity, support and for illuminating the beauty of our very special day! We are forever grateful to you and your extraordinary talent.

Aaron and Josh are not only the best photographers that I have ever encountered, they are two seriously incredible people. The first time we met with them, we hung out for hours... and ever since then, every time we get together, we have a wonderful time. Aaron and Josh shotour engagement photos (which were amazing), and then our wedding in March 2016. I was blown away by the details, the emotions, the feelings and the stories the photos told. These two are incredible. If you are looking for photographers to capture the REAL moments, the best ones... you found them! Expressions Photo and Design are incredible at what they do, and are so much fun to be around!!

Choosing Expressions Photo and Design for our wedding was the best choice we could have made! In fact it was the only vendor who did exactly what they were paid to do: take beautiful pictures of our special day! Our wedding was a wedding of vendor mishaps: wrong color flowers ordered by the florist (which we did not find out about until the Friday before the wedding – after three design consultations), rental companies renting us faulty equipment and ruining the reception etc. Expressions Photo and Design saved the day and did not miss a beat- or a shot- amidst all the chaos. Not only were we impressed with the accommodating and enthusiastic nature of Aaron, but the caring attitude of the company as well. It was evident that both photographer’s really cared about us as people; they cared about taking pictures of our special moments that we would love. In a market full of fancy equipment, overly- edited images and enormous price tags we wanted genuine images (of people we could recognize as ourselves ha) that were shot with skill, creativity and passion. We would recommend Expressions Photo and Design to any bride and groom looking for a great experience.

We met Aaron at the Bridal Forum in January . Being engaged and planning my own wedding I paid close attention to photography. Right away I was able to notice Aaron's professionalism, talent and attention to detail. While looking for photographers for my wedding that took place on 6/26/2016 I kept referencing the work I have seen of other photographers to the work Aaron did and there was no comparison. I knew I wanted Aaron to capture our special day. From the first encounter about our wedding day to the very last moment of our wedding day Aaron has been friendly, very approachable, honest, patient and nothing but accommodating. We had some difficulty with scheduling our engagement shoot due to my schedule and weather but Aaron didn't disappoint again. He was understanding and accommodating. During the engagement shoot I was once again reassured that I made the right choice. The photographs were available very fast and they are breath taking. There were many things to worry about for the day of the wedding but photography wasn't one of them. Aaron was there, punctual and ready to capture our special day. He made sure he captured all the special moments and I felt very comfortable speaking to him as if I had known him for a very long time. I could keep writing all the wonderful things about Aaron's work but his photographs speak for themselves. My husband and I are so thrilled we chose Aaron as our photographer. We love our photos and so does everyone else who has seen them. I have extraordinary photographs that reflect my extraordinary day forever and that is all thanks to his talent and his magic touch with photography. We can't thank him enough.

After a long search for our wedding photographer we have found Aaron who shot our wedding September 2015 at The Barnes Place in Adel Iowa. Firstly, Aaron was so friendly and accommodating to any request and time frame we picked. We planned our wedding from out of state, which was quite challenging (especially since we were so busy traveling and working). Aaron made it so easy for us to though! 1. He was prompt with email and call responses. 2. He listened and understood our wishes and respected our time. 3. Gave us lots of tips prior taking the pictures (have clean nails, etc smile emoticon 4.) Made us so comfortable while taking photos and was fast (so we didn't have to stand for family pictures for hours at one spot). 5.) He did a research about the event venue and had knowledge of the area (which made it easier to capture the desired effects). 6. We have received all of our photos within a few weeks after our wedding. We selected Aaron based on 1.) his artistic photos we reviewed on his website and on 2.) compatible prices. Aaron is a true professional with passion and a deep knowledge of photography. He was literally "invisible" while taking our photos during the ceremony and reception ... almost as if he wasn't there, but he was in fact EVERYWHERE! He captured so many precious moments and yet was not even seen. In short, Aaron is a very gifted photographer with an amazing eye for detail and moments. All of our wedding photos are absolutely beautiful and the colors so vibrant - they look amazing in frames and albums! Truly a high end magazine style. We highly recommend Aaron to anyone seeking a professional and friendly photographer for any event! We will definitely use his services again!

COOLEST AND EASIEST TO WORK WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS, EVER! What initially drew me to Expressions photo and design was the timeless look they had. We wanted to look back at our photos years from now and feel confident they’d have a classic look about them. From our first consultation, we knew we had picked the perfect team to capture our big day. They truly cared about getting to know us individually and as a couple to make us comfortable and as a result, the photos tell the story of who we are together. They knew all of the important shots to take without us having to go through a list with them. I absolutely love going through my photos (and do on an almost weekly basis) because Aaron of Expressions so perfectly documented our day from start to finish and we get to live the best day of our loves over and over. We are so extremely elated with the results and try to sing their praises to everyone we can. I am telling you, you are not going to find a more professional, fair, fun team to work with. My husband and I can be awkward around the camera, but they made it feel very natural and laid back, and the photos reflect it. I cannot even picture what my day would have turned out without them working the wedding! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU EXPRESSIONS PHOTO AND DESIGN!

Aaron did our Wedding in October and was wonderful to work with. We had a short engagement and had trouble finding a photographer. Some that we contacted before we found him would not even return our calls. Aaron always got back to us right away with any questions we had. The day of the Wedding he was very flexible and made everybody comfortable during pictures. Very happy that we found him and had him as our photographer!

We selected Expressions Photo & Design to be a part of our wedding based on a referral from a few friends. Aaron & his crew did a fantastic job helping everything move along on our wedding day all while doing his best to get a lot of great photos. We had one of the hottest days of the year, but Aaron & his crew were not about to let the weather stop them from getting some awesome shots. They were even willing to do a ton of risky rock climbing all to get the right angle just for us. We would highly recommend using Expressions for your event, the down-to-earth crew won't disappoint! We cannot wait to see all the photos when he is finished!

I was very happy with how the picture turned out. Aaron is fantastic at what he does. I was also very happy at how the engagement session went. He was great at making it fun and was great at getting to know my fiancé and I. I am very excited about having him at the wedding and I can't wait to see what he will do for those pictures.

Expressions Photo & Design is hands down the best photography business!! Aaron and his crew were great to us and even managed to get amazing pictures of our very active 3 year old! They were patient and I didn't feel rushed at all! I told them what pictures I wanted done and they made it happen!! Aaron also has a great sense of humor which helped me with my wedding jitters. We also got lots of compliments on the DJ. He played everything we wanted him to play and he was so kind to us! Our pictures were returned to us in a timely manner and were perfect quality. Aaron and his crew captured our whole special day and didn't miss a beat! I highly recommend them, because they are the best!!

My fiancé and I hired Aaron because we were so impressed with his portfolio, his professionalism and his easygoing demeanor. We finished shooting our engagement photos yesterday, and he was very professional. He listened to our ideas and incorporated them with his own. We're so excited to get our engagement photos next month - and we couldn't ask for a better photographer!

We signed a contract with Aaron a year and a half before our wedding. He cancelled our engagement session multiple times only hours before and then after finally taking them when we received them and NONE of them were edited whatsoever! He then took us out for another shoot and still NONE were edited. At this point we didn't have a choice though. We called a few photographers and they were all booked for our wedding day. Shortly after our engagement session (at this time we had only given our deposit) Aaron asked for full payment. We had the money at the time so we gave it to him, he was paid in FULL well before out wedding. Then two weeks out from our wedding he asked us to meet at his home to set up a timeline etc. for the wedding, was super unprofessional, also half way through the meeting he said he had someone else waiting upstairs and we would need to talk another time. At this meeting he told us we were getting a "new" photographer and that he had "double" booked our wedding. What great news two weeks out right? Also any time I asked about our photobooth he said I needed to contact him and he had nothing to do with it, although we book it through him. At that time we were so fed up with him we were actually thankful for a new photographer. He set us up with Tiffany Layne who was so much more professional and responsive from day one. She was truly a blessing and we are so thankful to have had her. Also turning back to the fact we paid him in full he has to date NOT paid her. I have since learned this is something Aaron does all the time. He books, takes your money and then pawns you off and stresses you out before your big day. He has had partners leave him etc. because he doesn't pay people, respond etc. He still owes us prints and a canvas do you think we will ever see them? NO! Advice to all brides, you want a smooth ride and beautiful photos, pay a little more and go somewhere else!

We signed a contract with Aaron to photo our wedding. We paid a $250 deposit, and later scheduled engagement photos included in the package we purchased. He canceled the Morning of engagement pictures on 2 separate occasions. The contract states that the Full remaining balance was due 14 business days before the wedding, Sept 17th. Aaron decided to text us to meet and required us to pay the remaining balance of $1645 on August 8th, well before it was due. A check was given and plans were made for HIM to be in Panora, IA at 10:30 am on Sept 17th. He then called on September 1st and said he had a conflict and couldn't shoot our wedding. At this time we asked for our money back, and were told we would only be refunded $1395. I asked for a full refund and was denied. Friday Sept 2nd he then told us our refund was in the mail, However, today Sept 8th we still don't have the refund. He now says he turned it over to accounting, which he doesn't have, we met in his house both times. He is now saying that he never said he mailed it even though we have text message documentation. He also refused to give us his Accounting Dept. contact information so we could call to see the status of our money. A police report has been filed, and he refuses to contact officers back. Our wedding is in 9 days and this company has $1895 of our money and he will not refund it. Now we are 8 days out, with no photographer, and no money to pay for one even if we could find one. Talk about ruining a persons big day, this guy is a joke.

To start out, I am usually not one to complain at all, but our experience with Aaron was ridiculous. We had a engagement session with Aaron for 2 hours. It ended up taking only 45 minutes, maybe less. The photo quality was alright, but nothing impressive. My sister with her good camera could have taken just as good of pictures. Then trying to plan for the wedding, he acted like he didn't have much time for us, and we had to meet him at his house, which was an hour drive for us. During the meeting he gave us the time he was going to be there, and he told me to schedule my hair and make up so that he would arrive approximately in the middle of my make up to take some pictures of that process. He ended up coming almost an hour and a half late. My hair and make up were both long over with, so the only pictures I got of that was what my mom took. Also, in the initial meeting, he didn't really want our input on what pictures we wanted taken for the wedding. He had all these ideas, but never really asked us for our input. Then on the wedding day, he completely changed his tone. He kept asking us what we wanted next, but since it was just hours before the acutal wedding, I wasn't able to think on my feet that fast. I should not have had to think about that on the wedding day. This is why we had the meeting before the wedding. On the wedding day, he was an hour and a half late like I mentioned earlier. We then had to rush through the pictures before the wedding, so that we would have some time to relax and get out of the sanctuary before guests arrived. I wanted a whole family picture and we had everyone there and ready, but he didn't make it a priority at all. He quickly told everyone to stand up front in one long line and he snapped one picture. That was it. ONE picture. My aunt had her eyes shut. It was sloppy and unprofessional. The rest of the pictures weren't great either. Also, Aaron told us he would have the pictures back to us in 4-6 weeks, but instead it took 10 weeks to just get the pictures to us. They weren't even edited! It looked like all he had done was download the pictures from his camera to his computer and then upload them to this file sending sight. That took him 10 weeks. We got prints with our package. This was another headache. Instead of us just being able to send him the number of the picture, we had to buy a flash drive and load them on to that in labeled folders and send them to him through the mail. Several weeks later we hadn't even heard if he received our flash drive, so we asked him what was going on. He made up some excuses (using some of the same excuses he had stated was the reason he had taken so long to send us the proofs), but finally ordered our prints, which he does through SnapFish. We finally got our prints almost 6 months after the wedding. These prints were poor quality. My skin was orange in one of them. Prior to him placing the order we had discusses the lack of editing done on the photos. He stated due to the venue and weather, this was just how it was going to be. There were exit signs in photos, very dark photos, and they were even off center. I had my sister, with no photography experience, edit the the photos on her iPad. If she was able to remove exit signs, brighten photos, and enhance the pictures, I don't understand why a professional was unable to do more. Very disappointed with them. Overall, we had a very poor experience with Aaron. I would look for another photographer.

Aaron and his assistant, Stacy, did a fantastic job! They helped a hectic and busy day run smoothly from the start all through the day. They're extremely personable, organized, professional and do an amazing job. I couldn't have asked for a better photographer!

The photographer was less than impressive. Although a few shots were amazing for the most part little editing was done, photos were not centered, and could have been better quality. The DJ arrived in gym shorts and screamed over loud rap music for the majority of the night. The song list requested prior to the wedding was not followed. A few photos were posted to Facebook after the wedding but waiting for all of the prints took weeks over the promised 6 week turn around time. Not to mention having the excuses about the delays. The final prints I received were from Snapfish and were not edited, even though I requested it. The lack of skill, professionalism, and quality of the final product are not worth the $1800 we paid.

Aaron and his team were great to work with. Absolutely loved his meticulousness and that he wanted everything to be perfect. Aaron did a great job helping calm the worried guests while we tried to figure out if we were going to get rained out or not and then last minute hurriedly piecing the event together inside in the middle of our reception area. All in all it was an experience we will never forget, and Aaron and his team helped make it so we were practically stress free for our big day! Thank you guys!

For package we got the celebrity package I am so happy we went with it, well worth it if you add up all individuals it actually isn't bad at all and my matron of honor made me realize it and so happy she did because absolutely love our decision going with A and K photography!! LOVE how Aaron posted 15 pictures on Facebook and spent Extra time o. Our engagement session can't wait to see rest of our pictures and for Dustin and I's wedding day super excited!!! :)

A and K Photography provided us this a DJ, photo booth, and they had two photographers on hand all day. The pictures came out a beautiful color and light. I don't know how he did so well. It was very hot that day and everyone was complaining of sweating. You'd never know by how great the photos came out. Great price great service.

Aaron was very personable and had great ideas. He was willing to do just about any idea that we had, as long as we had time to get it done. Very reasonably priced!