Shelly Pate Photography

I just got back our sneak peek photos from our wedding and I am again blown away by the quality of Shelly's photos. We have had so many compliments on the photos as well as our engagement photos, also done by Shelly. And I know we owe all of that to Shelly's creativity with lighting and angles. Shelly was wonderful to work with on our wedding day and she brought a calming presence to a lot of high energy moments. I am so grateful we met her and got to work with her. 15/10 would recommend!!

Shelly was the absolute best to work with! We are so happy we choose Shelly to be our wedding photographer. Our initial meeting with Shelly was so great and she really took the time to get to know us as a couple. We did our engagement photos with her about a year before our wedding and she made us feel so comfortable that we knew right away we made the best choice. Our engagement photos and wedding photos came out better than we could have hoped for. She really captured the vibe we were going for. She has an amazing eye and is able to effortlessly mix timeless shots and classic wedding portraits (that don't feel stuffy) while adding an edge. She brings such a beautiful level of artistry that you don't see in every wedding photographer. She was so helpful and responsive during our process, not to mention she's such a great person to be around and made me feel so great on my wedding day. Definitely go with Shelly!

We absolutely loved Shelly being part of our big day! She's extremely professional, patient and so kind. Everyone loved her and said how efficient she was at her job. I 100% recommend her! Our pictures came out so beautiful and personal, not like the very cookie cutter photos you see so often.

Shelly was an absolute godsend! She and her team were positive and easy to work with throughout the entire experience. Her photos turned out incredible. Shelly saved the day and was even able to photoshop a bridesmaid dress to the correct color (for a bridesmaid who mistakenly ordered the wrong color)! Can’t recommend her enough!

I cannot attempt to capture how amazing & talented Shelly is through a short review. She is truly a master of her craft and I'm thankful that we were able to experience her mastery on our wedding day. I felt very natural working with her. Even though my husband and I felt a bit uncomfortable being in front of the camera, Shelly made it a point to make us feel like naturals. She was able to capture a complete spectrum of images from candids, to raw moments, & formal poses. Her energy & creativity truly are unmatched and my wedding photographs are something I will cherish forever and I am eternally grateful for Shelly & her true professionalism.

Shelly was absolutely amazing. My now husband and I are SUPER camera shy and she made it so comfortable and natural for us. Shelly is masterful at photo editing and her photographs are just filled with this warm coloring. So happy we chose Shelly to be at our wedding, it wouldn't have been the same without her!

Shelly was an absolute dream to work with and I am so happy with our choice to have her as our wedding photographer. From our first session for our engagement photos, Shelly really put us both at ease in front of the camera and I normally hate taking photos. In terms of our wedding day, Shelly was imperative in helping us with our wedding timeline. She worked with both our planner and our videographer to ensure that all of our logistics worked out seamlessly on the day of the wedding. And as for the photos, they are absolutely gorgeous. We were also so incredibly grateful that she was able to get us our sneak peak gallery within the first two weeks after our wedding. I would definitely recommend Shelly to any couple!

My husband and I had a fantastic experience working with Shelly for our engagement photos and wedding. We cannot say enough great things about collaborating with her but since we're here ;): She is very communicative and responsive. She answered all of our questions thoughtfully and with care - everything from making family lists for the wedding to recommendations for shoes. She and Patrick were fun to be with during the big day and put both us and our bridal group at ease. We ADORE the photos we've recieved so far! Not only is her work stunning and bespoke, but she made the entire process stress free, engaging and FUN! (especially for two people who aren't used to having our photos taken) 11/10 must hire!! Thanks Shelly and Patrick!!

I could not recommend Shelly more highly. She was great with every single part of the process. She sent us this incredibly detailed document that answered all of my questions, which made me feel so reassured before the wedding and engagement shoot about the process and her professionalism. I told her about the vibe that I wanted--bright! colorful!--and she totally delivered, while also adding a sort of dreamy, nostalgic quality that I love. She also brings a very chill, comfortable vibe to shoots that really helps if you're nervous! Her husband was our second photographer and he is also delightful. Can't say enough good things.

Shelly was the best decision we made when it comes to our wedding. She exceeded all of our expectations. She was amazing to work with and is very professional and timely. She definitely goes above and beyond what you would expect for a photographer. She is so organized and gives you a guide with a bunch of advice that I would have never thought of that helped my wedding run so smoothly. She captured our big day perfectly. She is so incredible talented and it shows in her pictures. She knows exactly what angle to take and is a master with lighting. She made everyone feel so comfortable in front of the camera. She was also able to capture all the emotions of our big day perfectly. She shot our engagement photos as well, which turned out amazing. We received so many compliments on her photos. Her work really speaks for itself. Shelly was so much fun to work with and I am so glad I trusted her to capture my wedding day. We can’t recommend Shelly enough!

Shelly is truly the best and you can’t go wrong choosing to work with her! My husband and I had an intimate, self-officiated ceremony in the woods (Shelly and our dog were our only witnesses) followed by a family picnic, We knew we’d need a photographer that we could feel comfortable with in such a small group and Shelly was the perfect fit. From climbing on rocks in the creek and running through meadows, Shelly helped us relax and have a ton of fun during what we feared could be an awkward experience. She is flexible, easy going, and just a genuinely kind person. We were blown away when we received our sneak peeks - she truly captured our joy and went way beyond our expectations. Highly recommend her.

Shelly was an absolute dream to work with! My husband and I did our engagement and wedding photos with Shelly and I know for certain we made the perfect choice. Shelly is organized, super professional & knowledgeable about her craft, and easy to talk to. Her husband, Patrick, was the second photographer at our wedding and they are both warm, kind, fun, and amazing at what they do! The whole bridal party was raving about how wonderful they were. Shelly has a great talent for making people feel comfortable in front of the camera and had so many tricks and tips for getting amazing photos. We were so in love with our engagements pics and just got a sneak peek of our wedding photos and they are absolutely incredible. Her photos are so warm and dreamy, which is exactly the vibe I wanted. I'm so thankful we have these memories captured on camera by such a talented team. I can't imagine using anyone else for our wedding and hope to reach out to Shelly for any future photos.

Shelly was beyond amazing to work with. We fell in love with how natural and beautiful her photos were on her website and she did not disappoint. She made us feel so comfortable during our engagement shoot and wedding and was so easy and flexible to work with during the planning process. She even helped us plan a fake first look with my husband's old roommate which went seamlessly. Based on the sneak peak photos she did a perfect job capturing our wedding day and we cannot wait to see the rest of the photos!

Shelly Pate is more than a photographer, she is the partner in wedding crime you didn’t know you needed. We hired Shelly for our September 2021 wedding and she was such a wealth of knowledge on so many fronts. On the photography front, her photos do speak for themselves. Prior to interviewing her we already were sold because the examples of her work are beyond gorgeous. She has a way of taking effortless, glam, special yet simple, artistic yet timeless photos- its hard to explain her work but its amazing and she did deliver that and more for our wedding. Her portfolio of pictures alone made us want to work with her but the fact that she is not only talented but so extremely kind and down to earth made the decision that much more of a no-brainer for us. Shelly is SO organized and a true professional. She has so many years of experience and shares all the helpful tips and tricks she has learned over the years to make your life easier, almost like a wedding planner! On the day of the wedding she was punctual and best of all she guided and advised us on poses for the most beautiful wedding pictures. You may be someone who already knows what kind of poses you want to take but for my husband and I we were clueless and really appreciated all of Shellys guidance. She also is such a team player she worked amazingly with our videographer, you would have never known they were just meeting for the first time. She is so sweet and when you meet her you will immediately feel her passion for what she does. She has shot so many beautiful weddings and I know she has seen so many gorgeous things but when she is shooting your wedding she really brings the energy and sincerity to the day that your wedding is truly such a special day and she wants to capture all the beautiful moments for you to cherish for your lifetime. After working with Shelly there is no other photographer I would trust to capture your once in a lifetime moments.

Shelly was amazing to work with! She did both our engagement and wedding photos and they all look amazing and cohesive! We were a COVID wedding and Shelly was by far our most flexible and considerate vendor we worked with throughout all of our rescheduling. Could not recommend her more!

I knew from the moment I saw Shelly’s photos, that her style was exactly what I wanted, and she definitely delivered! I am in awe of our sneak peek pictures from our wedding day and I know the full gallery will not disappoint. Not only did she capture perfectly the feeling of the day but she was a delight and comfort to work with. Which was important to us, since we’re a little camera shy! So thankful we’ll always have these beautiful photos to relive the day again and again!

Shelly was the only other person in attendance for our self-officiated elopement in DC and it was truly perfect. We were nervous it might be a bit awkward just the three of us, but it wasn't *at all*. We felt so comfortable with Shelly immediately and had so much fun! She helped us structure the evening and ensured we took advantage of all the best possible photo opportunities. We could not be happier with how the photos turned out. The "sneak peek" we received a few days later included SO many photos, which allowed us to send announcements and share pictures with our families right away - an awesome and unexpected perk. Our full album was finished just a few weeks later. We can't recommend Shelly enough and are already trying to come up with reasons to hire her for more photos soon!!

Shelly and Patrick were so FUN to work with! My husband and I hired them for our engagement pictures and wedding pictures. We brought our dog to our engagement session and Shelly was so great with her, even brought her her favorite treats! As people that never had professional pictures done, she completely put us at ease and let us be ourselves while getting absolutely stunning pictures! For our wedding, they asked us a ton of questions leading up to it & caught everything that meant so much to us - down to the smallest details, ex: my husband's socks! Patrick went with the flow of my husband and his groomsmen - they can get wild and the pictures are so fun! They really captured the joy of our wedding day and we will forever cherish our pictures.

Shelly and Patrick were so wonderful to work with . What initially hooked me about Shelly were the photos on her website galleries/blog (so creative!) and then when we started working together she exceeded expectations - she was super sweet, communicative and provided support throughout our wedding journey...including our date change. On the wedding day itself she was great and the groomsmen loved having Patrick too. We love how the photos turned out and her creative shots!

We had an interfaith/cross-cultural wedding, and it was very important that we found someone who could capture the different aspects of our wedding. Shelly nailed it, and we cherish her photos more than we can express. She just has knack for capturing the authentic love of the couple before her - nothing forced or awkward - just all the good, goofy, and sweet moments. Shelly is a talent, and a pleasure to work with. And shout out to her assistant/husband/right hand man Patrick, who also does a fantastic job!

My husband and I used Shelly as our wedding photographer for a non-traditional elopement - we got married in our backyard without any guests. Shelly was AWESOME from the first time I contacted her to get pricing and was super flexible with creating a custom package that worked for our day. We ended up doing portraits at the arboretum before a private ceremony in our backyard - and all the pictures are AMAZING!!! We actually opted not to do an engagement shoot since our wedding was so low key, but we still felt super comfortable from the moment we started taking pics with Shelly. She had made time to meet up with us a few months before to get to know our vision, and was always available via email whenever I had a logistics questions (our plans for where we would elope changed a few times). We also had a call the week of the wedding to run through our final plans and timing of everything and knew we'd be in great hands the day of. We ended up with a ridiculous number of beautiful pictures. We are SO SO SO happy we used Shelly and would highly recommend her as an exceptional wedding photographer.

Shelly is every couple's dream photographer! I couldn't be happier with all of the photos we received. Shelly and her husband, Patrick, captured all the joy and delight we felt on our wedding day. Just as importantly, she is so easy to work with! She was responsive to all my questions, and made an extra trip out to our venue to scout picture locations. She made us feel so comfortable, in addition to making sure she got all of the shots she wanted. She even pulled out her camera after packing it up to get one last photo. I couldn't give Shelly a stronger recommendation!

Shelly did a boudoir session for me and completely blew me away! It has been quite a few years since being in front of a camera so naturally I was a little hesitant. From our first email to the day of the shoot Shelly was very professional and responsive. She made me feel super comfortable, was super patient with me, and gave clear directions on how to move around and pose resulting in some amazing shots!

Shelly was so so great to work with! Instead of doing an engagement photo session, we did a bridal photo session. I thought it might be awkward but Shelly made me feel extremely comfortable. She was flexible on the shoot location, and also had lots of great ideas. On our wedding day, Shelly was super responsive to our needs and knew exactly what shots to get based on our previous conversations. She and her husband were well prepared, professional, and fun to be around! We just received our photos this week, and I can't stop looking at them. She has a natural eye for composition. Our first look shots are my absolute favorite, I thinks he captured our relationship beautifully. I would definitely recommend Shelly!

Shelly was absolutely wonderful to work with! She made us so comfortable during our engagement shoot and on our wedding day, we really enjoyed getting to know her. Shelly was extremely responsive to all inquiries and was very helpful the day of. She got so many shots I wouldn’t have even expected, it was so exciting going through our photo gallery and seeing the final products. We are so pleased with our photos and think she did a phenomenal job capturing our day. I would not think twice about recommending her to anyone looking for a photographer, she’s awesome!!

Shelly was an absolute doll to work with for our wreath making workshop! You know you've got a pro when she can capture the amazing photos that she did and build a gorgeous wreath. We can't wait to work with her again!

Shelly was a joy to work with. We hired her based on the great photos on her website and in particular that she captured the joy and love very well and in a natural way. We were not disappointed. She was very easy to work with, guided us well, and most importantly, I LOVE the photos. Her pricing is very straightforward and reasonable and all the high res photos were easily available for download. Highly recommend.

Shelly is one of THE most amazing and talented photographers I've ever met. She made me and my fiance feel at ease and talked us through the whole shoot so we felt comfortable and were having FUN! She had such a way of capturing us so naturally and in our element. The photos came out so natural looking and didn't have that overly "posed" look to them that most engagement photos have. She really captured the essence of us as a couple. What I also love about Shelly's photography is her editing style. It is so gorgeous - some words I would use to describe it are warm, natural, earthy, boho, timeless. I cannot recommend her work enough. She is seriously a goddess with a camera. Thank you SO much Shelly, for giving us photos that we will cherish forever.

Look no further...Shelly and Patrick are not only exceptional photographers through their expertise and professionality, but they are incredible human beings. Other than your spouse, you spend the most time with your photographer on your wedding day- Shelly was so joyful, flexible, and made us feel so special on our day. Shelly went above and beyond throughout the whole process, we had a pre-wedding phone call where she literally took the ideas in my head made them into an organized event timeline and scouted my venue so that she could capture all that it had to offer. Shelly made the most of our time and was able to get the attention of our bridal party, families, and little ones so that we could spend the most time celebrating and not posing for photos. I am so excited by our sneak peek photos and can’t wait to see the rest. She has an absolute incredible eye and is so fun. There are a lot of great photographers out there, but truly feel that Shelly is the best.

Shelly was amazing! The photos were breathtaking and our entire gallery was sent to us within two weeks from our wedding day. She even went back after giving us our gallery and edited a photo that I wanted in color instead of black and white. Shelly [and her husband Patrick] was so easy to work with and made picture taking so comfortable! We would highly recommend her!

I had a fantastic engagement photo shoot with Shelly. She is an amazing photographer! I loved her work so much that I decided to also go with Shelly for my wedding photoshoot. I loved how my pictures came out and it was an incredibly affordable deal. Definitely don’t rely on your amateur photographer friends. Get a pro like Shelly! She knows exactly what she’s doing!

Love love love this girl. She has a gift and if you are lucky enough to have her share it with you, you will be forever grateful. She captures the raw moments, formal poses, and everything in between. We wanted a more natural, capture the moment kind of photographer and that is exactly what she did. She will be one of the most important aspects of your wedding. She brings a very calm, salt of the earth kind of vibe and I can't recommend her more. I will absolutely use again with pregnancy and children in the future.

Shelly was our photographer for our recent wedding in September. I can not express in words what a wonderful job she did with our photography! From the moment we first saw her photos online, we knew that she was the one! It was really great to get to know her prior to the wedding and she is beyond personable and showed genuine effort and interest in getting to know our personalities. I really think that made the difference in being able to capture who we are in her photography. Skip ahead to our wedding day and OH.MY.GOD. I am blown away by her talent. We were able to get previews just a couple of days after we got married and less than 2 weeks later, she was able to provide us a substantial amount of photos to enjoy while we were on our honeymoon! If you haven't checked out her Instagram and facebook pages for samples of her photography, please go now! She has incredible talent and I have never felt more beautiful than I have in her photos! She truly captured the wonderment of that day (including getting soaked in the rain with us!!!) and I couldn't have asked for more! THANK YOU SHELLY!

I was so happy with the dedication, skill and time that Shelly gave to our daughter's wedding in October 2016! She fulfilled all of our daughter and son-in-law's requests and much more. We had almost 240 guests, took many, many candid photos of the outdoor ceremony and large reception hoping to get memories of all those who attended!!! She will also take beautiful formal family and wedding party photos as well, whatever you request and what you feel time will allow so that you can enjoy and celebrate your special day just as much as your family and friends are!!! We highly recommend Shelly and her team to create beautiful, lasting memories for you of your special events!!! Do not hesitate to hire Shelly Pate Photography for your unforgettable, special events! We were so happy with our photos!!

Shelly is by far the best option in the DC area for a wedding photographer! She is so much fun to work with (along with her husband and second shooter, Patrick), and they were by far the vendors we had to worry about the least throughout the entire wedding planning process. They were so on-top of everything! Our engagement shoot was so much fun, even in the cold, and our pictures turned out STUNNING. On the wedding day, they were so much fun throughout the day/night, blended in with the guests, and took some amazing photos. I wouldn't work with anyone else. Guaranteed whenever any other future life events occur (kids, family reunions, etc.) Shelly will be the first person we call. Thanks so much for being the best!!!!!!