What The Lockharts Learned From Their Own Wedding Photos

Luis Lockhart was editing photographs for a class assignment in a New York City coffee shop when a magazine editor approached him. The encounter eventually turned into a job offer, and the job opened a door to fashion publications, shoots with the New York Post, and opportunities to document the city's fashion, music and culture. His love of photography began in childhood, on his mother's vintage Kodak Ektralite 10, a 110 film camera, and was studying at The City College of New York when he decided to take it seriously.

Weddings came later, and for a more personal reason. In 2011, Luis and Michelle married in a classic New York City celebration, and the photography was not what they had hoped for. There was little direction through the day, but the main reason was that the photographer had somehow lost or formatted their photos by mistake, which is why they never received most of them. Recovery software rescued fewer than 200 images in a compressed file format, and they came away with a handful of candid photographs, detail images, and glimpses of a day they had poured themselves into. The realization, as they put it, was that “even the most beautiful wedding deserves to be documented with the same thoughtfulness and care that went into planning it.” Soon after, a friend asked Luis to photograph his wedding. Michelle assisted. The favor became a turning point.

The Lockharts is now a studio where photography and cinematography sit under one artistic vision, with a team of associates, an in-house quality control process and a client list that arrives mostly through referrals from other vendors. This is the story of how they got there, and what photographers can take from a studio that treats its relationships with planners, florists and venues as the heart of the business rather than simply a source of referrals.

The Photographs They Wish They Had

The 2011 gallery still shapes the work. Luis and Michelle discovered at that first friend's wedding how naturally their strengths fit together, and how much they loved being part of such a meaningful chapter in a couple's life. More importantly, they knew exactly what they wanted to offer: the thoughtful guidance, intentional artistry and exceptional experience they had wished for themselves. Years of formal photography and cinematography training followed, in college and beyond, and more than 500 weddings.

“We often think about the photographs we wish we had from our own wedding. While we may not have the collection we once imagined, that experience gave us something invaluable: a deep appreciation for what these memories truly mean.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

Alongside that sits a commitment to timelessness. Trends may shape the details of a celebration, but the Lockharts want their photographs and films to look as beautiful and relevant decades from now as they do today. They describe the work as creating pieces of family history that will be revisited, shared and treasured for generations, rather than simply documenting a single day.

Knowing When to Guide and When to Step Back

Their style is timeless, elegant and editorial, drawing on classic imagery, fashion editorials and genuine human connection. In practice it is a balance of documentary, editorial and classical work. Luis has always been drawn to composition and the influence of fashion editorials. The shared approach is rooted in preserving emotion and connection. They love a beautifully directed portrait as much as an unguarded moment between a bride and her father, the quiet before a ceremony or a dance floor late in the evening, and a large part of the craft is knowing which one the moment calls for.

What makes a gallery exceptional, after 500 weddings, is that it feels unmistakably personal. Many celebrations share similar milestones. No two love stories are the same, and the design, the family traditions, the personalities and the small moments are what separate one from the next. The Lockharts want couples to have the elegant portraits they will frame, and also the way their parents looked at them during the ceremony, the laughter with their closest friends, and the moments they never noticed while the day was happening. Those are often the photographs that mean more with time.

“Anyone can create a beautiful photograph, but telling an entire wedding story with the same level of intention, artistry, and attention to detail requires preparation and experience.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

One Studio, One Vision for Photo and Film

The Lockharts believe photography and film should read as different expressions of the same story rather than separate pieces of a wedding day. The studio combines digital and analog photography with cinematic filmmaking so the collections complement each other, and because both live in one studio, keeping a unified creative vision matters to them. For a wedding weekend, the planning starts months out: reviewing the schedule for every event with the lead planner, understanding the priorities, and briefing their own team on where each person needs to be and how their work fits the whole.

They welcome the longer celebrations. A welcome party, a rehearsal dinner, a cultural ceremony or a farewell brunch each offer a different angle on the couple's story, and the quieter gatherings sometimes reveal some of the most personal moments of the weekend. More than fifteen years in the industry, they also plan for the unexpected, with systems for equipment contingencies, team coordination, file management and backups. The memories they are handed cannot be recreated, and having those systems in place lets them focus on the creative work knowing the practical details are handled.

The biggest challenge they name in a wedding weekend is the weather. Months of planning can go into an outdoor ceremony or a sunset portrait session that the sky has other plans for. The answer is to monitor conditions, stay in contact with the planner, and prepare alternative locations and timelines in advance, so the pivot happens without the couple feeling it.

“Ultimately, we plan every wedding with intention so that we can leave room for the moments we could never have planned.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

There Is No “I” on a Wedding Day

A vast majority of the Lockharts' bookings come through vendor referrals, and they see each one as a reflection of the trust someone has placed in them. When a planner recommends them, the planner is putting their own reputation behind the recommendation, and the studio works to make sure that partner feels confident their clients are in good hands. Their approach has always been rooted in collaboration: communicate early, understand each partner's priorities, respect the work behind every detail, and anticipate needs before they become problems.

The practical version looks like adjusting their approach around a design installation, helping navigate an unexpected timeline change, or flagging a potential issue before it reaches the couple. A planner needs room to run the day. A florist needs to see the designs come to life. A venue team needs the day to flow. The Lockharts see their responsibility as doing their own part exceptionally well while making everyone else's work easier where they can.

“We often say that when we are working a wedding, there is no ‘I’, there is always ‘we.’ We are all there for the same reason: to create an extraordinary experience for the couple.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

They are clear that the trust runs both ways. Partners rely on the studio for consistent imagery, a professional presence and a seamless experience for their couples. In return the Lockharts get to work alongside people whose creativity and dedication inspire them, and they view those relationships as long-term partnerships rather than simply a referral channel.

Growth That Does Not Cost the Experience

Over the past year the Lockharts have become more intentional about the entire client experience, not only the photographs and films. Luxury, as they describe it, is in how a couple feels at the first inquiry, through planning, on the day, and when the collection arrives. As the studio has grown, the Lockharts have expanded the team in the office and in the field, invested in professional development for the office staff, and raised the standard of their client welcome gifts.

Behind the scenes, every deliverable now passes through an in-house, three-stage quality control process before it reaches a couple. The reasoning: these are memories a couple will revisit for decades, so every collection gets that extra review against the studio's creative and technical standards before it goes out.

One development they call particularly special is the associate team. Increasingly, couples book The Lockharts because they experienced the work as a guest, or because a trusted planner recommended the brand when Luis and Michelle were unavailable for the date. Couples are placing their trust in the brand's experience and standard of care, beyond the two founders personally, and the studio has been intentional about making sure anyone representing the brand understands the preparation and attention to detail those couples expect.

“Growth should never come at the expense of the experience.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

Where the Relationship Starts

Social media matters to the Lockharts because photography and film are visual and digital-first, and because it reaches couples and wedding professionals in destinations they might never have reached otherwise. They treat it as an extension of the brand rather than a stream of advertisements: a curated visual narrative that shows the artistry and the care behind each wedding, and that makes a point of celebrating the planners and vendors they work alongside. The portfolio, the personal connection, the referrals and the experience itself are what turn that first look into trust.

Publication works the same way. Being featured in respected wedding publications, Style Me Pretty among them, builds rapport with couples before they ever reach out, and with the professionals who may one day refer them, and shows the work in an editorial context. The studio is selective about submissions. They look for weddings with a clear point of view, where the imagery conveys atmosphere and emotion rather than only how things looked, and they match each one to the publication's aesthetic and audience. Which weddings go where depends on the studio's brand and marketing goals at the time.

“Our goal is for someone to encounter our work online and recognize not only an aesthetic they love, but also a team they can trust with memories they will cherish for generations.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

Pricing the Whole Experience

The Lockharts price collections around the complete experience, from the first consultation and the preparation through photography, cinematography and the heirloom deliverables at the end. They focus on full celebrations rather than short, limited-coverage events, because the storytelling they want needs time. Each collection is tailored to the complexity of the celebration, the hours of coverage, the team required and the post-production involved, and multi-day or destination weddings add coordination, team members and logistics. They also believe in the lasting value of albums and prints, keepsakes that let couples experience their memories beyond a screen.

Pricing has been adjusted upward as their experience, team and service have grown, and the Lockharts frame raising prices as a way to keep investing in people, equipment, professional development, quality control and the client experience. Rather than compete on price, they explain what is different: the experience, the consistency, the collaboration between the photo and film teams, and the responsibility they take for preserving the memories.

Their underrated tool is the client management system and the structure built around it. Inquiries, proposals, contracts, planning conversations, questionnaires and wedding-day details live in one place, which keeps the team proactive across weddings that often involve multiple events, many vendors and months of preparation.

“We have learned that luxury is often found in the details clients never have to worry about.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

What Remains

Asked how couples have changed, the Lockharts are careful not to put anyone in a box, but they see a shift toward personalization and digital discovery. Millennial couples often arrive with a very defined vision, sometimes built from years of collected inspiration, drawn to a cohesive, timeless aesthetic, and many emphasize the overall experience, including multi-day celebrations. Gen Z couples are well informed, comfortable blending influences across platforms, and may be more open to unconventional details, candid moments and a less traditional approach to how their story is told. Younger couples in particular can discover a photographer on Instagram or TikTok, explore the portfolio and the personalities, and decide whether the aesthetic and values align before reaching out. What has not changed is the desire for trust, connection and memories that grow more meaningful with time.

They have brought AI into some parts of the business, where it has made them more productive and freed attention for other work. Their advice to a photographer breaking into weddings is short. Becoming a successful wedding photographer is about much more than learning a camera. “Invest in yourself, invest in your clients' experience, invest in consistency and also relationships.”

Their relationship with Style Me Pretty has run alongside the studio's own growth, and they thank Nora on the Style Me Pretty team by name for always being there for them and making a point of staying in touch. What they appreciate most about Style Me Pretty is that it tells the story behind a wedding, and they are grateful when a feature lets the whole creative team be recognized. That brings the story back to where it started: a couple with a handful of photographs from their own wedding, and a studio built to give its couples the guidance, artistry and experience the two of them had wished for.

“The details will eventually fade, the flowers will be gone, and the day itself will become a cherished memory. What remains are the photographs and films that bring it all back.” — Luis and Michelle Lockhart, The Lockharts

Credits

All photographs by The Lockharts, an active Little Black Book member, numbered to match the images above.

1. Planning: Elite Planning Firm | Venue: Faena Hotel Miami Beach | Florals: Petal Productions

2. Venue: The Louvre | Hair & Makeup: Styles by Vero

3. Venue: Dallas Arboretum | Planning: Alexa Kay Events | Florals: Vella Nest Floral Design

4. Venue: Arlington Hall at Turtle Creek Park | Planning: Events by Kristin | Florals: Three Branches Floral Design

5. Florals: The Garden of Love | Venue: Villa del Balbianello

6. Venue: The Field Museum | Planning: Clementine Custom Events | Florals: Yanni Design Studio

7. Venue: The Hillside Estate | Planning: The Simply Elegant Group | Florals: Lavenders Florals

8. Venue: The Olana | Planning: Todd Events | Florals: Avant Garden

9. Venue & Coordination: Peconic Bay Yacht Club | Florals: Riverhead Flower Shop