MSW Photos

nalities. As a photographer myself (currently getting my Master's in Journalism & Visual Storytelling), I was very picky about our wedding photographer. I picked Matt for two reasons. 1) His style is photojournalistic. He captures incredible authentic moments as they are. Yes, we have some great posed photos from Matt, but my favorites are by far the authentic moments -- like a shot that looks over the shoulder of the bride and father to capture the groom's face, or the happy tears of my sister (who is rarely that sentimental) at the ceremony. 2) Matt understood what we wanted in both our wedding photos and our day. My husband and I started our wedding day by rock climbing at the venue. So, Matt found a second photographer who is a climber to work with us and capture photos from the top of our climbing route. We also shot our "wedding party" photos with our friends on top of a rock cliff with Long's Peak in the background. Matt's photos are stunning and are ones we will cherish for long to come. We are so grateful that he was able to lend his incredible talent to give us photos to match the cherished lifelong memories.

nd took it all in stride. He brought experience and creativity with him for our lakeside ceremony that was followed by a hike in the pouring rain. His demeanor made it easy for us to be ourselves for the day. Most importantly, his photos are incredible. He has an eye for creative angles and shots, and he and his team truly brought out the best in the day. We just saw all of our photos via a "grand reveal," and we were so impressed with his work! It was such a treat to relive that day. He also had clearly put so much thought into how to lay out the best moments in an album for us. At first I was really bummed that we had to do a last minute photographer scramble, but now I can only think that it was fortuitous situation for us. I cannot wait to frame his photos and proudly display them in our home.

seen firsthand how a photographer’s personality can affect a wedding day. You’re spending all day with your photographer—find someone you enjoy having around. I met with one other (talented) photographer who was an immediate no-go once I chatted with him. I felt stressed about it—then I found Matt. Matt’s talent as a photographer is matched well with his kind personality. He’s friendly and funny and laid back. Throughout the wedding he was amazing about getting the pictures we wanted while giving us time to relax, too. He made us feel comfortable, too—a big feat since my husband and I are NOT comfortable on camera. I cannot recommend Matt enough. He’s just… the best.

s exactly the way we wanted. Our photos are very dynamic and reflect our wedding and all the details that made it our special day. His creative direction was spot on and helped us capture the best of us, our wedding party, our guests, and our venue. We highly recommend Matt for photos that go above and beyond your typical wedding photos.

ens fo your vision! If you aren’t in the Colorado area, he is very willing to travel- he came out to Illinois for our engagement photos and our wedding! I recommend MSW Photos to all my friends!!

g commented on what a good photographer he was, and that he LITERALLY did not stop taking photos. He captured every single moment that I was hoping he would, and more. He was a calming presence in times when it was needed. He gave us even more photos back than what we expected, and his edits to them were beautiful. He was definitely one of my favorite vendors I worked with, and all of our friends have said that when they get married they are going to use him as their photographer too. Thank you so much for your hard work and going above and beyond for my wedding. Hope to see you again!

graphy was the most important to me in terms of vendors and our investment (and I was trying to be picky!) I finally discovered MSW on the knot just a few months before our wedding, and was BLOWN AWAY by the documentary style portfolio and expert low light quality. I was extremely lucky to discover Matt so close to the day and be able to book his photography services. Photography is the ONLY investment you make on your wedding day people!!!! The only thing that you carry through your life after the most important beautiful blur of your wedding is complete. I am beyond thankful that we had Matt (and Seth) to make sure that our most precious moments were well documented for our most precious day. Extremely professional, thorough, courteous, and stealthily experienced. They were everywhere and made absolute art of our moments. I've only had the opportunity to see a few sneak peeks, but they are a definite reassurance that we couldn't have found better for our photography needs and experience. We are thrilled with the results, and thank the stars that we had the honor of MSW Photos capturing our wedding day!!!!

it was fuh-reezing (it was February), it was SO much fun, and he made us feel super comfortable. He was really good at directing us (which we were both concerned about, because neither of us knew what to do in front of the camera), and it was just a fun, awesome experience, and gave us 100% confidence in Matthew for our wedding. For our wedding itself, which was in July, Matthew once again completely knocked it out of the park. He was simultaneously everywhere AND not at all distracting. The photos he took really told the story of that day, which is exactly what I wanted. He never missed a beat, and captured some of the sweetest and funniest moments throughout the wedding and reception. He snuck my husband and I out around 9 pm for some night shots, which turned out really unique. I expected to REALLY like maybe 10 or 20 photos total, but I honestly LOVE like 50-100. We've had soooo many people tell us our photos belong in a magazine. He's awesome to work with, easy to communicate with, and I promise you won't be disappointed if you book him. DO IT!

nd original shots. He is quick to respond to e-mails and willing to be flexible with any last minute needs. We also decided to work with him and hire his Gif Booth, which was an absolute hit at the reception, and totally unique to us! Overall, I couldn't recommend Matthew Steed Wilson Photography more!

of talented photographers, but it was Matt's creativeness and attention to detail that set him apart. Seeing as neither of us had ever been professionally photographed, it was a little nerve-wracking for us prior to our engagement shoot. However, working with Matt was incredibly easy, our pictures turned out wonderfully, and having that prior experience with him made our wedding day a breeze. When we ironed out the wedding itinerary, Matt offered suggestions on where we might want more or less time to make sure we weren't rushed during our critical moments so we could focus on each other and our big day knowing that he had everything under control. Matt coordinated with all of our vendors to ensure that every moment would be captured beautifully. Our wedding day went off without a hitch (everyone kept telling us something would go wrong, but we still haven't identified a minor detail!) and we know that Matt was a huge part of making that possible. The absolute best story I can share about Matt and his team occurred after I thought all of our vendors had left. Once my wife and I felt that the evening had died down enough to where we didn't need to professionally capture anything special, I gladly thanked and tipped each member of our vendor teams and informed them that they were free to stay or leave at that point. My wife and I spent at least the next 30 to 45 minutes visiting with all of our guests around a bonfire before Matt and his team popped out of the darkness and pulled me aside. Matt explained that they had been walking around the venue property trying to find the perfect shot and that if we were up for it, they had come up with a pretty good idea. My wife and I were in shock that they were still there, but we immediately said to each other that this is exactly why we hired Matt. They end up leading us through the dark woods surrounding the property and then to the edge of a pond, which brilliantly reflected the big night sky above. Matt explained that they had already tried a few practice shots with his assistant standing in as us until they had the tripod positioned exactly right. Matt said we would need to stand perfectly still for around 30 seconds as they captured the image with an open shutter so that it would capture us, the incredible landscape, and starry night without losing any of the detail. We gladly stood for multiple takes and tried to imagine what the final product would look like. Needless to say, we were absolutely stunned when we finally saw the final product! It is without a doubt our signature wedding photo and we would have never known it was possible had Matt not gone above and beyond for us. Once the photos are ready, Matt provides you with a beautiful, user-friendly and password protected online gallery to access and share your photos. If you want, your guests can even download photos and have them printed themselves. Matt even includes a release form in the gallery so no one will have any issues getting them printed. Oh, and be sure to ask him how he protects your photos in transit! Once you hear his process, you'll never question whether he truly goes above and beyond to ensure that nothing could ever ruin your photos. Thanks for everything, Matt!

ng nature are what caused me to hire him. He has been incredible to work with throughout our planning process, and for both the engagement session and the wedding. Plus, his pricing is beyond reasonable. Now to the best part: HIS PHOTOS ARE INSANELY GOOD. I can't tell you how many people have actually told me, "I'm obsessed with your pictures!" Having Matt photograph our big day was the best decision we could have made.

d all occasions.

ix. I was impressed from the start with his work and fell even more in love with it​ when I saw our personal photos. I could not have asked for anyone better to capture this once in a lifetime event. He is professional while capturing the photos, he also makes you feel comfortable throughout the shooting. I cannot begin to count the amount of people that complimented us on the photos and wanted his information for their upcoming weddings. Thank you, Matthew Steed Wilson!!!!

respond. His response rate never slowed anytime within the time I booked him to even after my wedding day (I think the longest he took to respond to an email was 12 hours). Even though he is based in Washington (outside Peoria), he was able to meet us in Chicago so we could chat - from Day 1 he was accommodating. After brunch, It wasn't hard to make the call to hire him. He was professional, positive, and clearly knew how to match up to our off beat personality as a couple. I had no doubt that he could translate the feel of our wedding into photos. Matt as a Photographer: his portfolio speaks for itself, so I don't have much to elaborate on here. I will say that circumstances for our engagement shoot changed the day of and Matt was forced to shoot us in the basement of a bar with little to no natural lighting and he STILL killed it. All of them turned out amazing and I was so impressed. It was also snowy and mucky outside. Regardless of the scenario, Matt makes it work. This made me trust him 110% with my wedding day. This guy can clearly roll with the punches. Matt on the day of the wedding: Matt was the absolute best (are you seeing a pattern here?). Something I never considered till the day OF the wedding: Matt is confident, experienced, and a professional, which as a bride, translates to zero stress. I know there was not a moment missed. He even came up with some really great shots in the moment that turned out to be some of my very favorites from the entire day. In short, I cannot speak highly enough of Matthew Steed Wilson Photography. He was a perfect vendor from day 1. Zero problems, amazing photographs, and wonderful to work with all around.

will like this photographer.

atthew prices were comparable to most photographers I had reviewed, but his photos are worth so much more. My husband and I are not people who like to pose and standstill for very long, we wanted our photographer to capture the moments that we so quickly forgot about! From the first to the very last photo, I loved them all! Matthew thought of things I would never thought of. He truly saw what Nathan and I were about, what we loved, and he captured that. It's amazing how fast your wedding day goes, but knowing that Matthew and his team captured all those moments means so much to me. It’s funny how many people complemented the professionalism and the overall personality of Matthew and his team. Although they were there taking pictures you never felt overwhelmed or that you had to take a photo. I honestly could go on and on about Matthew and his team, but I think his work speaks for itself. AMAZING!!

to journalistic photos and he did just that. From the moment we met with Matt and saw the previous work he has done, we knew he was perfect for us. Matt was so easy to work with and always responded quickly to my questions throughout the whole planning process. If we had specific requests, he met them for us and went beyond to make us happy. And he did not let us down! He captured every emotion and event that happened during my big day and I will treasure these pictures for the rest of my life. The photos are so different than what other photographers are offering and we could not get enough praise about them from our family and friends. I would highly recommend Matt as your photographer and are so grateful for all of his hard work!

ictures with our wedding and engagement pictures. He is a great professional, and does an incredible job! He hired a full time photographer to act as the 2nd photographer at our wedding to get moments he missed as well as another assistant to help him with lighting (which helps a ton!). We loved the pictures he got to capture our day. He never got in our way or imposed during the wedding day, yet he somehow managed to capture all the important moments throughout the day. We were thrilled with the results and couldn't have asked for better! He makes it difficult to choose which pictures we wanted to get prints of because all of them were beautiful! His pricing is very reasonable when you look at all the expenses that go into a wedding too. We HIGHLY recommend Matt to anyone looking for a photographer!

we couldn't have been more pleased! We were both in love with the photos he took and loved his style!!!

so happy with all of our pictures, and a year later I still look through them regularly! One of the things my husband and I were most impressed with was Matt's generosity! He did an engagement shoot for us in my husband's home town for no extra charge! He provided us with all of the pictures for those via his website. Then for our wedding, he not only gave us online access to all of our pictures that we could download for free (none of that darned "stock photo" stuff across the pic), but he PRINTED off all 600 of our pictures and mailed them to us in a beautiful photo box that he fused one of our pictures onto! And then provided us with a professional-looking flash drive with our names that had all the pictures as well! THEN, get this! It turns out, he was leaving for vacation in Boulder, Colorado the same time we would be on our honeymoon in Estes Park, which was about 45 minutes away from him! He drove out early on our last morning there to take 3 hours of pictures of us for FREE!! (Well, in exchange for a meal at Taco Bell! haha). And then he provided us with those pictures. He went so above and beyond what we expected, especially when we only had a 3 month engagement! :) Needless to say, we were so happy to meet him and have him capture our big day!! Maybe we can convince him to take pics of our children some day :P