Have you found one of those things that really makes you shine?

One of those things that bring out your best self that you are really, really good at. A thing you immersed yourself into in order to learn as much as possible to get as good as you can because you just love it and could do it every day?

Well for me, that “thing” is photography. 4 5 6

Hi!! My name is Zak and I’m a wedding photographer, photojournalist, and portrait artist based in Billings, Montana.

I got the shutterbug back in 2008 when I took my first B&W film photography class. That class set my life on a path that I am SO happy to still be on. The aesthetic of the images I created in that darkroom still influences my editing style today. At this point in my journey, I was primarily producing fine art and covering live music, but I wanted to learn more.

In the pursuit of perfecting the craft, I moved to Chicago to study in Loop at Harrington College of Design where I earned my degree in Commercial Photography. At school, I focused on portrait photography, event coverage, and studio work. After that milestone, I spent a short time as a commercial photographer producing work for online eCommerce, and I hated it.

In 2013, on what was intended to be a quick trip to Billings for a dear friend’s wedding. I met the love of my life (and now my wife!!) and I decided to leave the city and get closer to the mountains.

My first wedding season happened by accident only weeks after the decision to leave the big city. When my hometown learned that I was back in the proximity. That summer I photographed 8 weddings, but most importantly, I realized what I was meant to do.

Only a couple of years later, came the next major evolution of my photographic journey. I spent a few seasons in the Big Sky/Bozeman area where I mentored under a wizard of a wedding photographer for a few seasons. (I’m not kidding, I swear he can summon rainbows! Half the weddings we worked together had at least one!) During this time, I learned and unlearned so much about wedding photography and began to anticipate moments.

Ever since then, that’s been it. Wedding stories told through genuine candid moments and beautiful natural portraits.

I am relentlessly sentimental. It is an amazing feeling to know that something I have captured will hang in the home of so many families, and be cherished, for generations to come. It’s nearly overwhelming when someone who’s never liked any photos of themselves and hates being in front of a camera, lets you know how much they love an image you captured and how it’s changed how they perceive themselves. It’s my favorite when you can hear the laugh in a photo and it transports you back to a time or a place where you can feel the energy of a loved one.