Have you gotten to know our vendor friends over at McKay Imaging yet? Robert and Elisabeth McKay, the husband and wife team behind the lens, always inspires us with their lovely wedding imagery and today, we’re getting to know this dynamic duo a little bit better. Keep reading below for a glimpse into the passion that has been driving this couple to creatively photograph weddings for over 22 years through a fun little Q&A. They also may be sharing what’s inside their camera bags!

From McKay Imaging…We are Robert McKay and Elisabeth Koch-McKay, a collaborative husband and wife photography team. Each and every day, we wake up together, drive to work together, and spend the rest of the day living out our dream, in McKay Imaging Photography Studio & Gallery; our home, away from home. Our work days together are full of exciting challenges and interesting people. We feel very, very lucky! Photography is more than just a job for us; in many ways, it defines who we are. As you look at our website, we hope that you enjoy viewing our work at least as much as we enjoyed creating it. You should find the site easy to use, informative and loaded with lots and lots of our very favorite images. Please, enjoy! Naturally, we hope that you like what you “see”. More than that, we hope that you can plainly “feel” how much photography means to us. It’s this connection that allow us to build the relationships that made these images possible.

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In 1-2 sentences, tell us a little about McKay Imaging.
We are a husband and wife team with a passion for photography! On your wedding day, we will use our many years of combined experience, our knowledge of weddings and our well tuned instincts to create consistently great wedding photos in a way that keeps our couples relaxed on this very exciting and eventful day…

How did you get started in wedding photography?
Liz & I were both fine art photographers when we shot our first wedding together. Our good friend was getting married and we thought it would be fun to bring our cameras. He only asked that we stay out of the way of his professional photographer (which we did) but when all was said and done, he made an album out of OUR photos, not his photographers. We loved working together on that day and have been loving it ever since!

How long have you been shooting weddings?
As of 2017, Liz & I have been taking pictures together for 22 years and have been married for more than 18 of them!

Are there any other photographers or professionals that inspire you?
We are inspired by photographers who are not only good at creating beautiful images but are great at capturing real moments in a beautiful way as well. For this ability, we take our hat off to shooters like Jeff Tisman.

Using three words, describe your wedding photography aesthetic:
Truthful, Timeless, Creative!

What’s in your camera bag?
Liz and I are both Nikon shooters. We each carry our own camera bag but between us, we are sporting 6 full frame cameras (2, D-800’s, 3, D-700’s and a D-3), a full array of fixed and zoom lenses (about 15 of ’em), about 4 pro flashes and ProFoto B2 lighting system as well as lots of batteries, lots of memory cards and a hard drive to back them up onto. Back up, back-up, back-up! Having lots of back-up makes us and our clients very comfortable!

What do you love most about weddings?
What we love most is the idea that we have been selected by our couples to perform this very creative task. We love being a part of this monumentally important family event and sharing in all of the very personal experiences that evolve during the day. For me though, I love to see the bride walking down the isle!

What is your most memorable moment from past weddings
I have to say, it is the unexpected moments that often end up being the most memorable! Sometimes it’s a mistake that happens, sometimes it is a “planned surprise”. I love when a bride or a groom gets up and performs during the ceremony or the reception and I’ll never forget one groom who got up and sang, “Stickshifts and Safetybelts” by Cake to his bride! No one was expecting that one!

What is your favorite wedding detail to photograph?
We love to photograph the wedding rings, the dress, the invitations and anything else that tells part of the story of what the bride and groom selected to represent their wedding day. In the same way that we like surprises however , we also like being in on little secrets and so, we always love when a groom wears his grandfathers cuff links or when a bride has a photo in a cameo or a piece of her mothers wedding dress sewn into the hem of her own. These small, hidden or personal details are what we most like to capture.

Tell us three things you can’t live without.
Family, Friends and Art

What is the best advice you can give engaged couples who are planning their wedding?
I try to tell everyone to leave plenty of time for the events of the day so that they never feel rushed or stressed. This is a day to relax and be happy. That is why we always give up to 11 hours of coverage with each and every full day package.

Is there something you wish couples knew about wedding photography?
A good wedding photographer has to wear so many hats! He or she should be a great portrait photographer, a great documentary photographer, a great still-life photographer, a great architectural photographer and so on. And because we’re often capturing life in motion, we have to be able to compose and execute a beautiful shot, in changing conditions , sometimes at a moments notice. We also have to be fantastic at customer service, be very patient and be a great people person. When the shooting is over, a good photographer needs to have the discipline and the talent to deliver this gigantic job in a timely manner and make it look beautiful too. It is a very difficult job to do “very well”.

I wish that when couples were choosing a photographer for their wedding, that they would know to look, not only for sharp pictures or a low price but for all of these things, versatility, flexibility, experience, patience, trustworthiness, reliability, and then of course, creativity and style. When your wedding day finally comes, you will spend more time with your photographer than any other wedding vendor. We will be there in your family home or hotel room while you’re getting ready and all of the moments in-between, right up to the close of the reception and so, personality can be just as important as anything else. The best and most frequent compliment that we get (that is not photography related) is that we made everyone feel comfortable and relaxed. My hope is that everyone would know to look for these qualities in a wedding photographer as well. Choosing a wedding photographer is one of the most important jobs that any bride and groom has. The pictures will after all be the only thing left when the wedding day has ended. We wish everyone a lot of luck picking the right person for their own big day!