5 out of 5 stars and 59 reviews
5
(59)Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada
About this vendor
With FotoVitae, a wedding photographer based in Portland, OR, your moments matter. Brandon, the head photographer of the company, takes a photojournalistic approach to wedding photography in order to capture the authentic emotion behind each moment. He serves weddings throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Brandon photographs over 35 weddings in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California each season. He loves to see the reactions of each couple as they view the photos of their special day, as it is their joy that keeps his interest in photography piqued. Brandon studied photography at The School of Photo in Johannesburg, South Africa with the hopes of becoming a wildlife photographer. However, he later discovered that working with people was an opportunity far too rewarding to pass up.
Brandon focuses on taking photos that will make his clients feel sentimental. He aims to take pictures that couples will look at over and over again as if it is the first time they are seeing them. His shots keep the couple at the center of attention while emphasizing the wedding’s environment.
FotoVitae’s wedding package starts with eight hours of wedding coverage by Brandon himself, with the option to add on a second associate photographer. They are always willing to cover destination weddings and are happy to meet to discuss traveling further than the Pacific Northwest. Couples may also wish to avail of an engagement session, which can be added to the wedding package or purchased separately. Those who book Brandon’s photography sessions also have the option to rent his photo booth as part of their package.
Details
Photo Shoot Types
- Day After Session
- Engagement
- Trash The Dress
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Online Proofing
- Photo
- Printed Enlargements
- Printed Proofs
- Second Shooter Available
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Documentary
- Lifestyle
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
Awards and Affiliations
5-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2020.2019.2018.+2 more.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Hall of Fame
Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.059 reviews
Brandon is the best. He took our engagement and wedding photos. He was very professional and made us feel comfortable in front of the camera.
Highly recommend the photo booth tha...
t he provides. The photos were excellent quality and our guests loved it.
Brandon was beyond our expectations, he came in and was super organized with everything we wanted pictures taken of. He even helped us with different poses and really captured the ...
excitement on our day. The pictures came back an amazing quality and I love all of them!
Brandon is awesome and his pictures are more then what you could imagine.
My husband and I are fairly awkward in front of the camera and were kind of dreading the photos portion ...
of the wedding experience (my husband especially). But Brandon got us to relax and be ourselves with in the first 5 minutes of our engagement shoot. We were joking and it felt like we were just walking through the park with a friend.
For our wedding, I knew that the venue we chose didn't have great photo spots due to recent construction. I expressed my concern with Brandon a head of time and he came early on our wedding day to see what he could find. He found WAY more then I thought he would! He truly has an artists eye and went above and beyond. He really listens to your concerns and "must have shots" to make sure he gets them.
Also get the photobooth! Holy cow, that thing was a hit!!! The kids and adults loved it and you get all the pictures after so you can see everyone enjoying themselves.
Overall, Brandon is a phenomenal photographer and I will be hiring him again in the future.
Brandon at Fotovitae was fantastic! We purchased the package that included our engagement photos and wedding day and we have SO MANY beautiful pictures. He was punctual and got bac...
k to us quickly via email. His prices are good (honestly I would have paid more, our photos are gorgeous). He was really good at rounding up and getting the after ceremony pictures of our families and bridal party (he even learned peoples names!).
I’m not sure how he captured as much as he did!! Seriously!
After the wedding several of our family and friends commented on how great he was.
My husband and I plan to go to him again in the future. Best photographer I’ve ever worked with!
We hired Fotovitae for our May wedding. Counldn’t have been more pleased with Brandon and his assistant. They were very professional and did an amazing time photographing our weddi...
ng.
Brandon and his team were wonderful on our wedding day. Providing guidance and direction while we dealt with inclement weather. 5-stars
We used Brandon for our wedding photography, engagement, and his photo booth. We couldn't be more happy with all of our photos and memories. The dancing photos were INCREDIBLE!! T...
hanks so much!!
Brandon photographed both our engagement pictures and our wedding pictures. Working with Brandon was always incredibly easy. He was always easy to communicate with; proactive in co...
mmunication and then quick to respond if I had any questions. Both my husband and I appreciated the gentle instructions he'd give when being photographed (getting our picture taken definitely wasn't natural for us, but he made it look like it was.)
On our wedding day it rained up until our ceremony time. Brandon was always patient and instructive with everyone involved so that we could get the best pictures possible. At times he braved the rain with us, at others he was patient and waited with us for the rain to pass. Always, Brandon was checking in to ensure that we were comfortable with how things we going.
Most importantly, I have so many beautiful images from both our engagement session and our wedding. He truly captured the beauty, excitement, and fun that we and our guests had. One of the best decisions we made was to work with Brandon on our wedding day.
Brandon and his assistant Wesley were just fantastic. They were professional, easy to work with, prompt, efficient. Even our wedding guests commented on how approachable they were,...
and how they seemed to be capturing all the sweet moments and details. Our wedding pictures are beautiful and we couldn’t be happier. The photo booth they provided was also a smash hit!
Brandon did such an amazing job capturing our wedding day! We could not be happier with our photos. He was also extremely professional, easy to communicate with, and did a great jo...
b putting us and our guests at ease on the big day.
Brandon with FotoVitae did the photos for our wedding on a snowy day in February 2019. He did an amazing job and we were so so so happy with his results. He was affordable, reliabl...
e, efficient, clear in his directions, kind, funny, and very talented. He went above and beyond what we had asked for or expected from him. He worked well with our wedding coordinator, and all of the other vendors. We also loved having the fotobooth which was a big hit, so much fun, and much less expensive than any other fotobooth services we looked at. We had some weather issues and Brandon drove our wedding coordinator to the wedding through the snow and ice. He stayed longer than what he committed to and was so generous about it. He gave my cousin who is an aspiring photographer, some great tips and was very kind and helpful towards her. Now to the part about our photos. They were beautiful. He did a thorough job capturing all of the important moments and more. We loved looking through them and finding beautiful interactions between people captured by his camera. People meeting at our wedding and enjoying conversations, laughs, food, and dancing. I could not recommend him more. We were so thrilled with his professionalism, his hard work, and his beautiful pictures. I hope to have another reason to hire him again. I would hire him again in a heartbeat. Thank you so much, Brandon!
Eternally grateful,
A&W
Brandon was fantastic to work with - very patient, knowledgeable, and professional. Our photos are great, he captured the important moments, the little details, and even the photo...
s of people dancing turned out well. We so appreciate his eye for a good, interesting shot. Our photos were ready in less than three weeks, and we got a ton of them. Definitely recommend Brandon!
He was great. Showed up early to scope out the venue. Patient with us and the whole big groups but nicely directive and in control of the right shot.
Brandon was more than just a photographer on our big day. He was running (literally running!) all over our venue to get us whatever and whoever we needed. He was great at directing...
us how to pose and adjust in photos so they turned out perfect. We are so happy with how our portraits look! The lighting was absolutely beautiful. He also captured so many pieces of our wedding but somehow stayed unseen. Definitely a 5 Star photographer!
It was a pleasure working with Brandon. I felt he really understood what was important to me for our wedding photos and that helped me be completely relaxed on my wedding day! The ...
photos are beautiful and capture the joy and fun of the day. I highly recommend FotoVitae for your celebrations!
We absolutely LOVED working with Brandon! Even just from our first initial meeting, we knew Brandon really cared about us as a couple and our vision! He was on top of the check-in'...
s before the wedding and was super responsive to all our questions and needs throughout the whole process!
It rained on our wedding and there were a lot of moving pieces on the-day-of. However, Brandon was super prepared and was able capture our special day flawlessly, even with all the unknowns during the event day! He came to check on both the Bride and Groom Quarters (going back and forth in the rain no less!) and was very clear in his communications. He kept us on track with our timeline and was super flexible with all the changes. He made sure we switched things around as necessary to capture the best light/angles for all our pictures!
Brandon was not only professional, took amazing pictures, he was also friendly, approachable and passionate about what he does! The pictures came out just incredible and we are very happy with both the colors and black&white copies. Definitely recommend for future newlywed!
We absolutely could not be happier with our wedding and engagement photos. Brandon really listened to us and gave us exactly what we wanted. The prep and ceremony photos are beauti...
ful, and while formal photos weren't important to us (we gave him about 15 minutes to take those so we could get back to our guests) they turned out beautifully too.
What we really wanted him to capture was the joy of our friends and family celebrating and that is exactly what he did. I am absolutely in love with the photos from our reception. I will be gifting so many people beautiful, funny, joyful shots of themselves celebrating with us this year.
Brandon took photographs for our engagement session as well as our wedding. His directions were both clear and given always with an upbeat attitude even after a long day! He went a...
bove and beyond the day of arriving well before anyone else did on site to ensure there were good picture taking locations around an otherwise bland environment. Professionalism was very apparent in that he is ALWAYS very quick to respond and followed up with the final photo sets right on point. Brandon is worth every penny - I can't recommend his services enough!
Fotovitae, from start to finish, exceeded our expectations. We worked with Brandon directly and to say he captured our wedding day beautifully is an understatement. He has a clear ...
communication style, is warm, flexible, accommodating, and laid back, and works at an amazingly quick clip. His photo style is beautiful, rich, and warm. We are so thankful for Brandon and all that Fotovitae contributed to this magical time in our lives.
Brandon was so great! During our photoshoot he was very professional and made everyone feel very comfortable. He is easy to get along with and I can’t thank him enough for the beau...
tiful photos we’ll have forever.
Choosing Brandon as your photographer will be giving yourself a timeless gift- Trust me!! He photographed our wedding in 2008. We’ve loved our photos since. We’re almost to our 10...
yr anniversary and just had him recreate some of our wedding photos while including our three kids. They are amazing! Our family shots are phenomenal, and the comparison of then and now is priceless. After so many years, Brandon remembered us, details about our lives and our wedding. Not only is his work amazing, but he’s so pleasant to work with and an all around great guy. Chose him!!
Brandon was so great to work with. He made the whole process very easy. He was easy to communicate with and always responded to emails very quickly. He made the day of the wedding ...
very comfortable, and the whole family loved working with him. We got the pictures back very quickly, and they turned out wonderful!
Brandon was amazing! He was very professional and easy to be around. He made everyone feel comfortable as he did his thing! He isn't afraid to get down and dirty for a great sho...
t, which he definitely has an eye for. He got us our pictures super fast and we couldn't be happier! Best Bang for your Buck! If you pick Brandon, you won't be disappointed!
Brandon was very quick to respond to our initial email inquiry, and he was also flexible when scheduling an in-person appointment. He is a warm and lovely person that we really enj...
oyed spending time with during our engagement pictures and on our wedding day. He is very skilled at his job, and we received all our pictures in less than 10 days! We are thrilled! And our moms cannot stop telling us how much they love all the pictures too :)
Brandon was absolutely phenomenal. We had so many amazing photos and he got them all back to us in less than a week! I honestly don’t know how he got all the shots he did because ...
I barely saw him. He blended in soooo well. You will not be disappointed if you choose him. Absolutely amazing work.
We were so lucky to have found Brandon! He is not only a phenomenal photographer but a very kind, patient person.
Brandon was able to corral our big, crazy family. He was able t...
o handle all the personalities,requests,and (at times) unsolicited advice. Lol!
He got every shot that I could have ever wanted. And all the photos were beautiful! I had access to my photos within just a few days.
Thank you, Brandon, for being part of our special day...and being one of best vendors we have encountered!
We absolutely LOVED working with Brandon, as cheesy as it sounds from the first night we met with him, we knew he was "the one" we wanted to have shooting the best day of our lives...
! His education + experience in the field is unmatched. He is professional, punctual, and committed to getting all of the right shots. He is truly so kind and passionate about his work, and that shows. He went over and beyond with our engagement shots, and met us at sunrise in the Gorge! His process is simple - which is SO nice for a bride trying to manage many vendors. My wedding party, coordinator, family, guests - all had compliments to give about Brandon. We loved how his style is more "journalistic" - his photos are true colors and perfectly composed! We were looking for something that was not over-edited or over-stylized. He got some EPIC action shots from our Reception, as well as all of the portrait, detail, ceremony photos we could ever want. His price is so reasonable! We truly do not have enough great things to say about Brandon and FotoVitae - but mostly do not skip booking him! Take a look through his portfolio, if it fits your style, seal the deal because if you wait and he books - you'll be kicking yourself!
I love Foto Vitae! I was so impressed with Brandon’s eye when it came to lighting and helping us with our poses. I had a vision for our engagement and wedding photos and it far exc...
eeded my expectations. I highly recommend Foto Vitae, not only for Brandon’s skill in photography, but he’s also very pleasant to work with which is exactly what you need on your wedding day.
Brandon of FotoVitae was nothing less than amazing! He captured our destination wedding perfectly and efficiently considering we were working against the clock trying to get every ...
shot done between the ceremony and the sun setting. The images he was able to capture (even with my 3 boys) were breathtaking and also very natural. Brandon is professional, friendly and a great photographer. You won’t regret hiring him!
My Wife and I were very impressed with the quality photos taken by Brandon. He carefully managed to capture many precious moments and details of our special day. He interacted well...
with our guests and coordinated the group portraits nicely. His experience showed by the way the photos turned out with great colors even under varying light conditions. For example, it rained during our ceremony's and the photos turned out amazing! I would say Brandon's photography of our wedding exceeded our expectations and we are glad to have chosen his services.
Brandon was great to work with! Not only were our photos beautiful, but he was very professional and easy to communicate with. For instance, he responded quickly to our emails, was...
able to schedule the shoot quickly, and did a fantastic job directing us in the photos. We highly recommend Brandon!
We had the best time working with Brandon! He communicated well and made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. We had a great time on our engagement photo shoot and he even l...
aid in the snow to take our photo! Our wedding photos turned out beautiful and we loved that we got so many photos. We just got back from our honeymoon and our photos are already edited and waiting for us which is awesome! He was so efficient at the wedding with taking all the family photos which we liked so we didn't miss a lot of the cocktail hour. Overall it was so worth it to work with Brandon!
We loved having Brandon with us on our wedding day! He was so flexible with our wedding and knew everyone's name! Overall the shots we got were great and we would gladly hire him a...
gain!
I spent hours researching wedding photographers in the PDX area. Brandon's portfolio was by far the best I found. He has an amazing artistic eye and went above and beyond to get sp...
ectacular photos. We now have hundreds of photos to remember our special day by (way more than I expected).
Brandon was absolutely amazing to work with before, during, and after our wedding! He was always quick to respond to emails with questions/ideas during the planning process, and on...
the day of the wedding he was so easy to work with. I had been so nervous to get pictures taken, and he was so comforting, gave great direction, and knew how to find all the best locations regarding light/aesthetics! During the ceremony and reception, he was great about being everywhere without being intrusive--getting all the best candid shots! Not only was he personally wonderful, his photos turned out so breathtakingly beautiful. We will cherish them forever.
Brandon was our photographer for our wedding and we couldn't have been more impressed. His style was exactly what we were looking for and resulted in beautiful, natural photos of u...
s and our guests. Beyond his technical expertise, he was excellent as managing the countless large group photos of friends and family. He was direct, clear, and kind in these interactions and we couldn't have been happier with his professionalism. If you are looking for a photographer, FotoVitae is your guy.
Brandon was our wedding photographer, as well as our engagement shoot photographer. After our initial shoot with Brandon, we were so excited. Brandon was so professional, giving us...
specific instructions when we were unsure in front of the camera. Every one of the photos turned out so lovely. During our wedding day, we barely noticed him, yet, he captured more moments than I even thought possible. We are so thankful for all Brandon did to capture our special day in such a long-lasting way. We got so many compliments on his professionality as well as the amazing photographs he produced. I was also impressed with how quickly he edited them and had them ready after the wedding. I absolutely recommend working with Brandon. You won't regret it.
Brandon was so great! We were planning an out of town wedding in Portland, OR from Phoenix, AZ and Brandon was easy to work with and always in contact. On the day of our wedding, B...
randon did all the right things. He captured the perfect moments so comfortably. Besides his incredible professionalism and amazing quality of work, what impressed me most about Brandon was that he took the time to learn the names of our bridal party and our large families. While we took pictures, he was addressing people by their names, which made it feel like we had already known him and that he was just a very talent guest at our wedding. I would give Brandon the highest recommendation for a photographer. Also, he is just an all around stand up guy!
We are beyond thrilled that Brandon was our wedding photographer. When searching for our match, we were struck by the photojournalist perspective, the real faces and expressions, t...
he awesome lighting, and the very natural feel to his pictures. When we heard back, we were even happier that his rates fit in our budget - we were sold. Brandon was a pure joy to have at the wedding - super professional, very friendly and great with our families and friends. To be honest, once we finished the posed pictures (first look, family and group pics, portraits), I barely saw him at the event, he was a super subtle presence. So when we got the pictures, I was blown away - he managed to capture everything and so beautifully. We didn't have many specific requests, but he complied with each one - and took the initiative to get great shots of things we hadn't thought about (I said I didn't need getting ready pics... so happy I have those now!!). We keep referring to him as a ninja or wildlife photographer - he managed to be everywhere and get great shots of everyone, whether it's romantic first look pics, moving ceremony pics that take us right back to our vows, or rowdy dance floor action. We are so thrilled that we had the fortune of having Brandon's pictures as stunning illustrations of our forever memories of that day. If you aren't a natural in front of the camera (we were decidedly not), the engagement shoot is a great tool to have a chance to work with Brandon before the big day, get used to being papped and directly and also get some sweet shots where you aren't wearing a white dress - totally worth it.
I am so happy that we chose Brandon to capture our wedding day in Portland. He was amazing! My husband and I just looked through our gallery and it brought back the joy and love we...
felt on our special day. Brandon captured all of the happiness and I am so happy we have so many wonderful photos to keep for the decades to come. Thanks, Brandon!
Brandon was a terrific photographer! He was responsive and helpful, and really captured some beautiful moments. So glad he was our wedding photographer!
Brandon did a fantastic job at making my wife and I feel at ease during picture time. He skillfully captured special moments of hilarity, tenderness, and love. I loved his versatil...
ity in terms of capturing both really down to earth moments between folks, and really intricate beautiful shots of the venue, wedding party, and our venue. Brandon's the best.
I could not have been more thrilled with the photography services by FotoVitae. Brandon, the photographer, did engagement photos and wedding photos for us. The engagement photos we...
re included in our package and were a great opportunity to get a sneak peak of the lovely photographs Brandon takes. He took those photos at Sauvie Island and the pictures were beautiful and creative. Before the wedding, Brandon's professionalism and excellent communication skills made us feel very comfortable that he knew what we hoped to have captured on film for the big day. It seemed like Brandon was magically everywhere on our wedding day- capturing special moments at all the right times. Brandon got all of the shots that we were hoping for and more. Additionally, FotoVitae photography services were an excellent value and we received our photographs less than a week after the wedding. Without reservation, I would recommend FotoVitae photography services for those in search of a wedding photographer.
We loved working with Brandon! Both for our engagement pictures, and on the wedding day, he was such a pro! He wrangled our disorganized families to take formal portraits without b...
reaking a sweat. But where he really shined was capturing moments of pure joy and genuine emotion. One of my very few regrets of my wedding day is not paying for extra time with Brandon so that he could have captured even more of our day. I hope I get a chance to work with him again. If I could, I would pay him to just follow me around and instagram my life.
Brandon was so easy to work with on our big day and managed our lively families very well! In the end, he took so many beautiful photos that were exactly what we asked for- and we ...
got them well within 10 days of the wedding. Exactly what we wanted.
Brandon was our photographer for our 12/19/5 wedding. We ABSOLUTELY loved working with him. He took all the pictures off of my photo wish list and even was very easy going and fun...
to work with. He did a great job at organizing our large family for photos and the photos looked great. I'm so excited to be working with Brandon again Summer 2016 for another photoshoot! We highly recommend Fotovitae for you wedding if you want someone who is easy to work with, affordable (We payed about 1,400), and takes breath taking pictures. Thank you Brandon!
Brandon did a wonderful job. He kept up with our high energy families and captured beautiful pictures of our day. We didn't hire a videographer but since Brandon was a photojournal...
ist he was able to capture all of our special moments in photos just as a video would have. We are looking forward to seeing him and his work at our friends upcoming wedding next summer.
We found Brandon after googling affordable wedding photographers. We wanted great pictures, but we didn't want to break the bank. We also wanted a quick turn around and to do the...
work of editing, printing, and distributing ourselves. Brandon was the perfect fit. Within a week after our wedding, he had approximately 900 photos on CDs in the mail for us.
We were looking for someone who would be discrete, catching photos without anyone really noticing, especially during the ceremony. He did just that. We loved the portraits we received and the candid shots of all of our guests. We told him to focus less on the details and more on the people and he did just this. We wanted to spend most of our time with our guests and not taking posed pictures, and he listened to this request and did not force any agenda onto our day. We were glad to have found him. He was easy to work with and just what we needed for our low key wedding weekend.
Brandon was so amazing! I would highly recommend him to anyone and everyone who needs a photographer for any occasion! we used him for our wedding and he did an awesome job! At fir...
st I was worried about only having one photographer but his prices were great and couldn't be beat so we decided one would do. When we got his pictures they were more then we had hoped for. Somehow he managed to make it look like we had two or three photographers we had so many pictures taken from all different angles throughout the whole wedding, I don't know how he did it. And on top of being a great photographer he was the sweetest most down to earth guy! He really set the positive mood for the vendors which was just what we needed because our videographer was an a**hole but Brandon's great attitude rubbed off on him and he followed Brandon's lead. Overall great photos and a great guy to work with!
Brandon Schmidt did an outstanding job as my wedding photographer! And he flew across the country to PA (from Portland, OR) to capture "my" day. Every photograph (100's) is superb,...
high def, color, and black and white. Expressions, emotions, laughter, tears...he captured it all. He stood, crawled, ran, and jumped to get the right picture. He even lost his cell phone in the grass to get the exact photo.
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Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada
FotoVitae's photos