About this vendor
Michelle is an Award-Winning (Best Of Weddings; The Knot and Couple's Choice Award; Wedding Wire) photographer based in Dallas, Texas. Her work has been featured on various blogs (The Kind Bride, The Green Wedding Guild), and is a regular contributor to The Kind Bride wedding blog.
Her passion is for capturing the beauty of every couple's unique love story and she believes the client experience is every bit as important as the images she captures. Michelle has a compassionate soul. Her love for people and her fun-loving approach help her couples feel at ease in every part of the wedding photography process. Michelle Loves Her Military Couples!
Michelle knows you will want a balance of more "traditional" photos (aka the family formals) versus the spontaneous moments where the magic happens. She wants all of her couples to feel confident that 5, 15, 50 years from now they will look back at their photos and say, "We are so, so happy."
Happy to talk with you about micro-weddings, elopements, and traditional weddings. I specialize in eco-ethical weddings! And I shoot with a film camera!
Packages include - engagement session, digital files, shooting assistant, and full print rights. 6-hour packages start at $2775. Travel and Analog Film charges may apply. Inquire for details!
Details
Business Attributes
- Veteran-owned Business
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo Shoot Types
- Bridal Portraits
- Day After Session
- Engagement
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Film Photography
- Photo
- Printed Enlargements
- Printed Proofs
- Same-Day Edits
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Classic
- Vintage
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- Wedding
Awards and Affiliations
2-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2019.2018.
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.
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.030 reviews
Michelle is the BEST! I had her as our photographer for engagement and wedding pictures. She is so talented. Anything under her Camera are absolutely gorgeous. Her style is so time...
less, elegant and romantic. She is not only just our photographer, she also help style us for pictures, help me pick out outfits. Help us pick wedding color themes. Our wedding turn out beautifully and she is one of my biggest help and supporter! We love her so much, our whole family and guests at the wedding has nothing but great compliments about her and her team. Michelle knows our love story and express out with her pictures. She is not only just our photographer she is a great friend of ours. We love her!
Michelle has been such a delight to work with. She cares about capturing the details and little moments, which is what we love so much about her. Before booking her, Michelle met w...
ith my fiancé and I to get to know us better and make sure she was capturing the essence of our relationship. She is always available to email, call, or text, and is very flexible and will listen to your requests. Her photos are absolutely amazing and have a timeless, airy feel to them. We have loved working with Michelle!
Michelle captured our wedding day perfectly! From start to finish, she was a pleasure to work with. We have hundreds of beautiful photos that we’ll cherish forever. She has a keen ...
eye for the details and capturing even the sweet moments that would’ve otherwise been overlooked. We also had our final gallery in hand in a matter of weeks! In addition, Michelle is one of the kindest vendors we worked with. She was always checking in on us to ensure her plans meshed with the bigger schedule, and made the entire process painless. She is the person to trust with your wedding day, or any other special occasion.
Michelle was great to work with! She always answered my questions in a timely manner and had some great suggestions to get the best shots. She also made sure that we got all the sh...
ots we wanted and sent us sneak peeks and updates on her progress editing the photos.
I booked Michelle for my December wedding in Washington DC and could not be happier with her service. She was absolutely amazing on the day of the wedding. She managed our group of...
guests who were not excited about taking pictures flawlessly and captured the day in a better way than I could have ever hoped for. Michelle is incredible and I would recommend her to anyone!
Michelle at Arising Light Photography is more than a photographer, she becomes an essential part of your family for your big day. As part of our package, we did an engagement mini-...
shoot with Michelle, which allowed us to try out some angles and my husband and I to get used to "posing" for the camera (we are total novices). We thought it couldn't get better than our engagement shots, but our wedding day photos are perfect. And here's the thing: it's not just about producing great shots that you'll treasure forever, it's about having a calm, positive presence on what can otherwise be a chaotic day. Our limo bus driver got stuck in traffic, we (of course) ended up behind on timing, and all of the usual things you just can't control in a DC wedding. Michelle was totally poised and supportive, and even stayed later to catch additional shots of the reception. Her personal touch goes above and beyond, and we can't wait to find a reason to use Arising Light again!
Michelle is a great wedding photographer! She was super flexible and was completely open and excited about our photo ideas. She was able to capture every single detail and little ...
moment of our big day. Michelle was super easy to work with and she delivered astonishing pictures that my wife and I will look at forever!
Thank you Michelle!
I'm so glad Michelle was available in September to photograph our wedding! She kept in close contact with me throughout my engagement, got to know my fiancé and I better, and knew ...
exactly what we wanted to capture on our special day. On the day of the wedding, she arrived on time with a second photographer. She was so friendly and definitely had an eye for detail. After the wedding, she sent us a sneak peek of a few raw photos while I waited for the final edits to be completed. This was especially useful to share with friends and family who were unable to attend the wedding. It was nice to be able to share photos with them in the moment rather than having to wait another month to share the photo album.
I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for an inexpensive photographer with military experience. I've already referred her to one of my bridesmaids who is now engaged and will be married next October. I am very pleased with Michelle's work and wish her the best of luck with future clients.
You can’t ask for a better photographer to document your wedding day! Michelle is not only super talented and produces fantastic photos, she is also an incredibly kind, fun, energe...
tic and positive person! She was our favorite vendor to work with and interact with. She was so extra patient with my family in the crowded bridal suite and during our posed photos. My husband and I really enjoyed our one on one session with Michelle after the ceremony as well. She scoped out the best spots for photos and the results were awesome!
Michelle was AMAZING!! She captured lots of candids during our ceremony and reception that truly captured the feel of our wedding! Adding a second photographer was a great option b...
ecause we were able to get good photos from different angles as well. I highly recommend!
Michelle is great, lovely, and a warm-spirit. I usually do not like having my pictures taken, and was a bit nervous during the beginning of the photo shoot, but Michelle was reall...
y reassuring and made the process totally comfortable for us. We went to different places around Old Town Alexandria, and the pictures came out great and more than I expected. Looking back at my wedding photos, it brings back all the feelings from that day, which is why I know Michelle captured such amazing memories.
Michelle was such a pleasure to work with! She prepares well in advance to get familiar with you, your wedding party and respective families so that she captures all the important ...
and special moments on your big day. Michelle was very attentive to my needs and she has a very calm and sweet demeanor that really helped my wedding-day butterflies. After the wedding, she delivered sneak peeks quickly and sent the final images shortly after. The photos her and her assistant took are absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to frame them! Thank you again Michelle! <3
I'm so glad I selected Arising Light to photograph my wedding. Michelle was superb. We connected a number of times prior to the wedding to talk things thru. She wanted to craft ...
my vision for the wedding pics, but also was able to make suggestions based on her tons of experience. It was a great relationship.
She was prompt for every meeting and for the wedding. It ended up raining cats n dogs, so she had planned for a number of options for us to take pics before we headed into the restaurant.
I've received many many compliments on my photos. She really captured the day! I'd recommend Michelle and Arising Light Photography 100%.
Michelle is an amazing photographer! She is very professional, flexible, and super sweet. She was so accommodating for my fiance and I. My fiance had to take off work for us to get...
our engagement photos taken and the day we schedule to take them it was so rainy and gloomy out. I was worried because I didn't want to cancel and my fiance have to ask off work again. Michelle came up with a quick solution and found the cutest historical hotel in downtown Alexandria and so we took our photos inside. They turned out so beautiful. I am really glad that we didn't have reschedule and she saw the glass half full! She also came with props and so many ideas for pictures. She had even went to the hotel the day before to scope out where she wanted us to take the photos! Michelle also when above and beyond by making a pinterest bored to give me some ideas before the shoot She really does amazing work and is so easy to work with. We can not wait for her to capture our wedding day. We are so blessed we found Michelle! So look no further for your photographer and choose Arising Light Photography!
Michelle was WONDERFUL to work with. She captured every moment that I wanted and even some I didn't know I wanted. She was flexible day of and cooperative with my crazy family. I c...
ould not have picked a better photographer to work with.
I loved working with Michelle. We had never met prior to the wedding day but we corresponded via email and a 90 minute phone call and she answered all my questions and was very acc...
ommodating to all of my requests - I had a lot because photography was the most important aspect of our wedding day to me. I had very high standards for our wedding photographer and she exceeded them. Michelle’s friendly personality, low-key style, and attention to detail were three things that I really appreciated about her. Additionally, my fiancé is in the Army reserves and she incorporated our American theme flawlessly in the pictures she took. I loved the sneak peek shots and can’t wait to see the rest!
me.
We found Michelle on The Knot and loved her photographs, and decided to use her for our engagement photos. As someone who was nervous about a photo shoot, Michelle was communicativ...
e and so encouraging as we chatted before the session. Then, within the first 5 minutes of meeting her on the day of our engagement session, we felt totally comfortable, like we had known her for years. She is so enthusiastic and is happy to give you pose ideas - she even taught us to dance for some poses! You can see and feel her passion through her photos. I never dreamt our engagement photos could come out so beautifully, and they did thanks to Michelle and her passion for capturing special moments. We can't wait to have her shoot our wedding next October and couldn't be happier to have her there!
Michelle took beautiful pictures. She made it fun and easy for all of us even at a stressful time. Michelle is very sweet and easy to work with making the photo session very natura...
l. We couldn’t have asked for a better and more caring photographer.
Michelle is amazing! She is incredibly responsive, easy to work with, and has a fast turnaround. She spent two weeks answering all my questions before we booked her. We got our eng...
agement pictures two days after she took them. And she made us feel so comfortable while taking pictures. I can not recommend her enough.
Michelle is amazing, her work is fantastic. Michelle goes above and beyond to make every experience perfect. I am would use her over and over again. Michelle is beyond wonderful...
, my images are just wonderful and I loved working with this artist.
We loved working with Michelle
IWe loved working with Michelle- she takes wonderful photos that you will cherish forever. She is also a great person to work with and puts all her energy into creating the perfect...
photos. I highly recommend using michelle for your photos!
Michelle is a wonderful photographer! She did our 1st anniversary pictures and was very professional, creative, kind, and easy going. She provided the pictures in a very timely man...
ner afterwards. Her work ethic is superior and I highly recommend her! Do yourself a huge favor and book her for your next photography session or event! You won't be disappointed.
Arising Light Photography is an amazingly, unique and creative Photography out there. The owner, Michelle, is very warm and personable. She is talented and wonderful to work wi...
th. I would definitely recommend her work and service.
I was blown away looking at the pictures Michelle had taken already, and felt confident with her ability to produce beautiful pictures. During our session, she went above and beyon...
d. She brought props, and had so many ideas for posing. In my opinion, its always better to have a photographer who comes with ideas, and I am always much more satisfied with shots the photographer had in mind rather than ones I thought I'd like. Overall, Michelle was very professional, clearly knew what she was doing, and created beautiful pictures of my husband and I. Looking forward to working with her in the future.
Michelle has an amazing eye for beautiful backgrounds and impeccable ability to capture the soul on film. Her editing adds just the right touch! No overdone and photoshopped images...
. Naturally beautiful work! I have gotten so many compliments on my photos. Thank you!
Michelle was absolutely wonderful to work with! She has a lot of great energy and made my fiance and I feel so comfortable! This was our first time at a photoshoot and Michelle was...
so easy to work with, she let us know exactly what to do (but was also open to new ideas!). She has lots of great ideas and our pictures came out beautiful!!
Michelle is fun, kind and so friendly that she will feel part of the family by the time she is done! She has an artistic ability to capture those special moments that you didn't ev...
en think about...beautiful photos!
Hiring Arising Light is a "must do" on every woman's list of self care and pampering. Thrilled to have Arising Light's magic touch behind a camera to photograph the moments that I ...
cherish. Michelle's grace filled, comfortable manner instantly sets you at ease and her suggestions help direct you as she captures memories in order to let you treasure and preserve them. I really enjoyed Michelle's use of natural light. She is a delight to work with and brings a lot of creative suggestions and ideas to the table in order to make photographic sessions smooth and delightful.
I can't thank Michelle enough, absolutely thrilled with the service that Arising Light provided. Michelle provided us with beautiful pictures that captured the essence of the weddi...
ng. Not only is she talented, but also highly professional. She is now my go to photographer, highly recommend!
Contact
Texas
Michelle Ray Photography