Vendor Spotlight: Allyson Wiley, Photographer

Allyson Whiley, Photographer
http://allysonwiley.com/

Every photographer has their beginnings; Allyson did her graduate work in commercial photography and worked with some fantastic Bay Area clients like George Lucas and Sunset Magazine. So, why weddings? I asked her. “The emotion,” she began, “When I started shooting weddings I was amazed by the creativity you could use to document the day. I'm drawn to human connection and I love showing that in my photographs.”

Another reason she enjoys shooting weddings is because every couple has a story. “By getting to know my clients beforehand and making them feel truly comfortable with the process, I can capture their unique relationship. Maybe they hate posed pictures, maybe they love traveling, food or sports: all of these can be captured. And you give them a great gift; a true representation of their relationship.”

Though weddings take up a majority of Allyson’s time, volunteer assignments are just as close to her heart. Each year she chooses an organization that needs visual representation. Her most memorable project was traveling to Zimbabwe and photographing children in orphanages, a feat that is almost impossible for even photojournalists. Her images were used in a presentation made to the UN to raise awareness for the AIDS pandemic: one of her biggest honors to date.

So what makes Allyson truly stand out in the Bay Area wedding vendor world? Besides from being the type of photographer she’d want to hire on her wedding day, Allyson feels she relates to her clients: she’s a young woman obsessed with fashion, wedding trends, and pop culture (reality tv!). And while she’s worked with many couples over the years, she never ceases to tire of hearing every little detail about her clients’ wedding. It’s really about the agenda for Allyson: capturing the emotion on film.