Joe Appel Photography

We cannot praise Joe Appel highly enough! Not only was he so easy-going and patient with us (our clueless questions, our indecision) but he was very willing to share his wisdom (about timelines, types of pictures, the attitude regarding wedding photography, etc). My sweetheart and I and Joe were on the same page about the importance of capturing moments that are not posed--that are authentic, and occasionally silly, and heartfelt. On the day of the wedding, Joe was somehow simultaneously incredibly present and helpful while also being perpetually in the background--he got pictures I had never even thought of! Everyone enjoyed interacting with him, and he put us all at ease, including those who really hate having their picture taken. When Joe sent us the preliminary slideshow of pictures, I watched it every day at my desk at work. And when he sent us the full gallery, I was beyond delighted--I could relive the whole day looking through his careful work. Thank you, Joe, for your generosity and expertise. We are eternally grateful!

Joe is an artist and true master of his skill. If you are considering hiring him, stop considering and just do it. Hiring Joe for my wedding was one of the best decisions I made. He has a background in photo journalism, and it shows in his work. He captured so many honest and candid moments, and didn't just have the posed shots. He also uses light in an amazing way. Overall, I am so pleased with the outcome of my photos and I would hire Joe again if I had the opportunity.

Photographs were really important to us and we were so pleased that we chose Joe Appel. From the first time we met with him, we knew he would be great to work with; we felt relaxed and confident every time we spoke with him. He truly cares about the couples he works with for weddings. We are incredibly happy with how our photographs turned out - he captured beautiful portraits and fun poses, but the highlight were the storytelling moments from throughout the day. Our family and friends continue to comment on how beautifully our photos turned out! Joe was also just great at making our bridal party feel comfortable and natural with a full day of photos, and it really shows in everyone's natural smiles.

Joe was absolutely wonderful! He had no issues adapting to our slightly unconventional style wedding. The photos are amazing and captured everything wonderfully. I have had nothing but compliments on the photos as well. Joe understood the type of Pittsburgh wedding we were looking for.

Joe was absolutely fantastic. He is warm and friendly and makes you feel totally at ease. We got married in July at Armstrong Farms on a rare, perfect summer day just outside of Pittsburgh. Joe was on our shortlist, but we went with him because of his portfolio of beautiful outdoor shots and candid action shots. And he did not disappoint! My husbands hates taking photos and I knew I did not want to 1) take a bunch of really cheesy couple/bridal party photos and 2) did not want to miss out on my wedding day taking pictures! Joe was a perfect fit for us and captured some really lovely photos of the two of us. What I loved the most was that he really captured fantastic photos of the whole atmosphere of the wedding and lots of us and our guests just having fun - I really feel like I can relive the day through his pictures. Took just about 6 weeks to get the final edited photos back and Joe created a really great slideshow and sample album layout. We are VERY happy!

Joe was the best! Made us feel comfortable from our first conversation. His work speaks for itself. We were so lucky to be able to book him for our wedding! Not only is he a great photographer but he is also a fun guy! We would recommend him for any occasion. But be ware...if you have a photo booth he may sneak in some pics ;)

Joe photographed our wedding and everything from beginning to end was seamless. He was organized and quick to respond to e-mails during the planning process. He wasn't phased by the pouring down rain on our wedding day (which also put me at ease) and had a great plan to take photos outdoors in a covered area. He not only takes wonderful photographs, but he is fun to be around! We felt comfortable around him, which made our photos natural. We would highly recommend Joe!

I could not be more grateful for Joe and everything he did for us! He didn't just photograph our wedding, he told our story! He was prompt, had a great eye for angles, and provided breathtaking pictures of every aspect of our event! Seriously we can't stop looking at these photos!

Joe is a class act. He is extremely kind and easy to work with and was extremely flexible and willing to work around my crazy work schedule. We loved our engagement photo session with him and could not wait to work with him again at the wedding. Joe was always quick to respond to any email I sent him. The day of the wedding he was punctual, professional, and efficient. Because we had limited time in the church to take photos after the ceremony he helped orchestrate everyone so that we could get in and out and on with our day. While we have not yet seen our final wedding photos, I know they will be spectacular as all of his work is. He has an unbelievable ability to tell the story of the day in his photos. He really captures the way you felt on the day and that is the most important thing for me.

Joe and his team are just the kind of photographers you want to have at your wedding. They get all the shots you hoped for and some you didn't even know happened! He is such a calming guy, when my musicians played the wrong music for me to walk down the aisle to, he came over to me ( as I'm freaking out at my dad) and asked if I would like him to go and ask the organist to begin again. That is just one of the over and above things he did to help my day continue smoothly, and that is all on top of the fantastic photos!!

I wanted a photojournalistic photographer who could adapt to the low lighting at our reception site. I met Joe at a Bridal Show and really appreciated the variety of examples in his portfolio, I had a really good sense of his work from that. He responded to my follow up email very quickly and I appreciated the easy communication. His photographs are beautiful and he really took the time to use the landscape and architecture at our venue to his advantage. Joe's website is easy to navigate and his packages allowed us to pick an option that worked well for us! Thank you so much!

My husband and I met with a lot of different photographers before we found Joe. We are so pleased that we chose him to photograph our wedding. He was extremely professional, and documented our day beautifully! He is an extremely talented photographer, and also a very cool guy. In addition, the quality of his albums far surpass any others I've seen. I very very highly recommend!

The professionalism and expertise were top notch! I highly recommend this dynamic duo for any event!!!!

After seeing samples from Joe's portfolio my husband and I knew he was the best choice for our September wedding in Deep Creek, MD. Joe agreed to drive the 2 hours from Pittsburgh to Deep Creek with his assistant in tow and was, surprisingly, a little early even with the very limited directions we gave to him. When our Wedding Planner disappeared during the cake cutting and bouquet toss Joe stepped in and guided us on what we should be doing so that he could get the best shots. All of our friends and family loved him and even commented after the wedding that the only place they didn’t see Joe taking pictures was hanging from the top of the tent. My husband and I received a sample of the pictures only 1 week after the wedding and as a new Bride I was thrilled! All of the pictures were emailed to us within 2 weeks of the wedding which is extremely fast compared to many photographers. The pictures were absolutely beautiful and literally brought tears to my eyes. The best part of seeing the pictures was that they truly told the story of our Wedding from start to finish and really captured the beauty of the day and how much fun we had. In our opinion, out of all of the decisions we had to make for our wedding, Joe was the best decision we made!