WPJA.com HomeWedding Photojournalist Association

California Wedding Photographers

Find a Photographer / United States / California

California Wedding Photographers

Find California photographers serving:

California Wedding Photography, Engagement Photo Sessions + Elopements

YOU CAN'T STOP LOVE - In recent days, some of our California wedding photographer vendors have expressed their desire to accommodate couples who don’t want to wait to be married and are rushing the ceremony.

Many couples have recently discovered that less is more when it comes to wedding planning in California, and those small weddings allow them to truly enjoy every aspect of their day. While they may be planning a sweet and simple California elopement, couples still want to have their wedding day documented.

The WPJA has an abundance of top-ranked, California documentary wedding photographers available right now who understand that some weddings and elopements can’t wait. Find yours today!
Recent WPJA WedElope Story Awards
Beach Wedding Ceremony Picture | The bridal party created a wall of support for them during the ceremony
Rogerio Frota dos Santos
La Fattoria di Baciano, Arezzo, Tuscany, IT Elopement Photos | The bride and groom look into each other eyes
Simone Bacci
Belgrade Elopement Photographer | Hotel Moskva's lobby wall paintings for a photo session after preparations
Ufuk Sarisen

California Photographers for Large or Small Weddings

Shooting an elopement or small California wedding event is a wedding photojournalist’s dream: a fairly open schedule with lots of breathing space for creativity – it’s just the photographer, the couple, the officiant, and perhaps a few select companions.

United States WPJA members are ready to document any courthouse, town hall, mini, or elopement wedding, even if it is a Monday-Thursday ceremony. Search for the “Can Shoot Weddings on Short Notice!” message on the listings below.

California Wedding Venues We Love

California Wedding Photographers...

California Wedding, Elopement and Engagement Images by WPJA Photographers

Below are some California wedding photography samples from the world’s best wedding photographers of the WPJA. Some of these California marriage pictures might be artistic portraits, details, or documentary-style images that have come from getting ready sessions, wedding ceremonies, reception venues, or California engagement portrait sessions with couples.

An after the wedding proposal engagement picture session in Saratoga, California created Before he deploys in the military
A romantic engagement session at Sacramento, California created down at the park under a cool arch of the tree
Los Gatos couples lifestyle outdoor photography with a mischievous look from their furry baby dog
A Lake Tahoe Wedding, Elopement, and Engagement Photographer created this creative, sunset portrait of this California groom to be holding his bride to be in the countryside with dog at Pearson-Arastradero Preserve
A San Francisco Wedding, Elopement, and Engagement Photographer created this creative, beach portrait of this Capitola couple walking on the sand at a beach
A California Wedding, Elopement, and Engagement Photographer created this creative, rural portrait of this Santa Cruz couple embracing in the wildflowers
San Francisco actual wedding day couple portrait by the seaside with the Golden Gate Bridge as their backdrop
A great wedding day image from a San Francisco venue of dancefloor at the reception

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who are the best California wedding photographers for small elopements?
A: The WPJA is proud to have some of the top California documentary wedding photographers for elopements. Our members are able to submit WedElope Stories that take you step-by-step, via a 9 image picture story, through the unique and moving elopements that take place around the world.
Q: How can couples find California photographers for pre-wedding engagement portraits?
A: The WPJA issues Diamond Awards for California wedding photographers to showcase their best engagement photography work. These awards are given to photographers who prove that they have an ability to be creative, artistic, and intuitive while working on-location with couples who are newly engaged.
Q: Can a wedding photojournalist create artistic portraits on my California wedding day?
A: While wedding photojournalists strive to capture candid moments on the wedding day, our photographers also are skilled artists who can compose powerful portraits. If you have a specific vision of what types of images you want from your wedding day, look at the top-ranked California wedding photographers who have earned Artistic Guild awards for portrait and detail images.
WPJA Communiqué: Featured Wedding Photography Articles
Small Weddings - How to Budget and Save
Traditionally speaking, often times it is the couple’s families who help pay for their wedding. However, unfortunately that’s just not possible for everyone, especially these days when the cost of weddings can quickly and easily get out of control. Some couples...Read more
An Unforgettable Romance: The Intimacy of an Elopement
While some people live for the hustle and bustle of a big wedding with extravagant décor and an impossibly long guest list, others find these kinds of weddings to be too much hoopla, preferring instead something simpler and quieter, allowing for more intimacy between them...Read more
Wedding Economy: The Ups and Downs
We all know that the economy can go through some hard times, and be somewhat reminiscent of past recessions. However, as people cut back on non-essential little luxuries here and there, one constant remains: weddings. People don’t tend to just stop getting married due...Read more

WPJA Communiqué: Viewpoints
Elopements: Traditional and Modern
The oldsters among the WPJA ranks no doubt remember when 'to elope' meant, in Merriam-Webster’s definition, “to run away secretly with the intention of getting married, usually without parental consent.” Many wedding photographers have gone on the lam with couples who did just that. However, even Merriam-Webster now acknowledges that “elope appears to have become shorthand for ‘ small destination weddings ,’ a ‘ wedding that is not financially insane ,’ or a ‘ wedding that allows us to not invite all the people we would rather not invite .’” Smaller Weddings are... Read more
What is Reportage?
On Instagram and elsewhere, one can see images labeled as #photojournalism or #reportage when they are, in fact, merely photos. I say "merely," even though photography has been my career's great passion. But it's because of that passion and my respect for the work of actual photojournalists that I am particularly bothered to see wedding photographers call their work "reportage." That word properly used actually means something important beyond just a stylistic conceit. By contrast, however, I'm the lead cheerleader for those practitioners of #weddingphotojournalism ... Read more

WPJA contest judges have been recognized by their industry peers, winning top awards as staff picture editors, staff photojournalists, and newsroom mentors while working for these and other leading publications and journalism organizations.