Philadelphia photographer — city light, park light, and the people in front of it.

I photograph in Philadelphia, and I've got the work to show you: Jill and Shaswot's engagement session at the Water Works, and a branding shoot for Brows by Tara Giorgio in the city. Both are on the blog.

Weddings, engagements, senior portraits and branding sessions for small businesses — Center City, Old City, Fairmount, Chestnut Hill, Manayunk. Pottstown is my home base, and I'll take any excuse to come into the city.

Jill and Shaswot walking hand in hand at the Water Works in Philadelphia, the domed pavilion behind them
Brows by Tara Giorgio branding shoot in Philadelphia, an esthetician working on a client mid-treatment

Philadelphia spots I love

  • Fairmount Park, Boathouse Row and the Kelly Drive riverbank — the river, the boathouses and the skyline stacked up behind them. Philadelphia Parks & Rec requires a permit for wedding, engagement and other professional photography on its property, and the application has to be in at least 10 business days before the shoot — later than that and it gets surcharged. So we pick your date early.
  • Wissahickon Valley Park, Forbidden Drive and the Thomas Mill Covered Bridge — a gravel carriage road along the creek, and the only covered bridge in Philadelphia. It's also the only one left inside the boundaries of a major American city. Same Parks & Rec permit, same 10 business days.
  • Morris Arboretum & Gardens, Chestnut Hill — a 19th-century estate garden inside the city: mature trees, a rose garden, long lawns. Every shoot here needs arrangements and a fee set up in advance. One hard limit before you fall in love with it — they don't permit wedding photography at all. Engagements, seniors, families and headshots, yes.
  • Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, West Fairmount Park — a traditional Japanese house, a pond and a garden, and a completely different frame from anything else on this list. Shoots aren't allowed during public hours: it's a private booking, after hours or on a day the site is closed. That constraint is the whole point. You get an empty garden.
  • Bartram's Garden, Southwest Philadelphia — America's oldest surviving botanic garden, with a stone house and a river meadow looking back at the skyline. Personal photography is welcome and free. Anything commercial goes case by case, carries a fee, and the request has to be in at least three months ahead — that lead time is the fact to plan around.

Or your own corner of the city: the block you live on, the shop, the roof. Tell me the spot.

Camera on a tripod framing a plated dessert during a small-business branding shoot
Bride and groom walking a lawn at the edge of autumn woods, her veil trailing behind

Recent Philadelphia work

More on the blog, and kind words on my testimonials page.

Philadelphia questions, answered

Do you shoot in Philadelphia?

I do, and there's city work on the blog to prove it — Jill and Shaswot's engagement session at the Water Works, and a branding shoot for Brows by Tara Giorgio. Pottstown is my home base, and I come into the city for sessions.

Do I need a permit for photos in a Philadelphia park?

On Parks & Recreation property like Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon, yes: wedding, engagement and professional photography needs a permit, and the application has to be filed at least 10 business days before the shoot or it gets surcharged. Two more worth knowing early. Shofuso only allows shoots outside public hours, as a private booking. Morris Arboretum requires arrangements and a fee for every shoot, and doesn't permit wedding photography at all. I handle the paperwork — I just need your date early enough to do it.

When's the best light in the city?

The hour before sunset. It's soft, it's warm, and along the river it gives you the boathouses and the skyline in the same frame. I have shot it plenty and I still get excited about it. Early morning is the other good one, mostly because the city is still quiet.

How does booking work?

Send me a note through my book me page with the kind of session you're after and a rough date, and I'll tell you what's open. Session length and the rest of the details are something we go over when we talk through your shoot.

Let's get your Philadelphia session on the calendar

Dates are limited, I book out early, and city permits need ten business days of their own. Reach out sooner than you think you need to.

BOOK YOUR SESSION

Just outside the city: Delaware County photography · sessions in Bucks County · wedding photography in Montgomery County

How I shoot weddings · portraits, seniors and branding.

And when the semester starts I'm in Virginia — I go to Liberty University, so the Virginia half of my year happens in Lynchburg.