We are Paul and Katie McPherson, a married husband & wife / photo + video duo. We live in a small town in the four corners, Farmington, NM. It's a little bit of desert with a view of the Rockies up the road. We thrive on loving our three beautiful children and cultivating experiences that will shape them into positive, productive, healthy human beings. We treasure having access to the diverse terrain & native history in this area and live to adventure throughout it.

We have a love for travel and adventure paired with great food and cozy digs. We enjoy music, binge watching Hulu & Netflix (Office, New Girl, Last Man On Earth, Stranger Things, etc).  Paul has a really dry, sarcastic sense of humor and Katie is everyone's favorite person.

We like getting cozied up with a bowl of Haagen-Dazs. We like Star Wars but aren't fanatics. We're are conservative LDS Christians but come from a diverse and colorful background. God & family are most important to us. We love each other deeply and that hopefully shows through our passion to shoot weddings and elopement events for this long. We have a knack for helping people get comfortable in front of the camera.

For 15+ years now, we have loved creating this art and can't think of anyone we would trust more than ourselves with something as important as documenting getting married.

meet
Paul & Katie

THE STORY BEHIND "MAKE ADVENTURE YOUR TRADITION

We feel like Weddings & Elopements have become more of a stewardship than a "job" if that makes sense. With our combined experience we know we can create a stress free and memorable experience for anyone. It's not uncommon to find Katie with a needle and thread hemming a dress, fixing hair or makeup, or helping to divert a panic attack at the very last second. Meanwhile Paul is off chumming it up with the bros, helping Grooms and Groomsmen feel comfortable and regal in front of the camera. 

We’ve become the shoulders to cry on, the consoling voice optimistically assuring that all will be well. We expect clouds to part and miracles to happen on this special day.  


We also have great connections!!  Florals, DJ, Catering, Venues, Hair & MUA's...we’ve got your back! We've been a part of weddings so small that we've doubled as witnesses, and weddings so large that we've gotten lost on the dance floor. No matter your wedding plans, wherever they may be, we would be honored to share in those beautiful moments with you. 

the ARTISTS behind the lens

PAUL & KATIE

MORE ON OUR PHILOSOPHY

Our passion is capturing love in all its naturally lit glory. We love creative souls who share the same love for life, light and the art of capturing memories. We love explosive laughter. We love making people laugh. On purpose. Because we’re funny. Like, really funny! Ok...maybe we’re not that funny BUT WE DO like getting people to laugh! We also like those sexy, sensual, breathy shots too. Not to forced. But maybe forced enough to make you laugh.. 

“Just get out of the camera!” we say. "Show us your friendship" because in the end that's really what matters.

Most photographers don’t authentically know how to get people out of the camera but it’s the key to getting those super natural - candid - lifestyle looks.

Show us the real uninhibited nature of the relationship you share & we will make those moments last forever.

At the core of every human being is something so incredibly beautiful. Part of our gift and what drives us is understanding how to break through the surface layers to get down to the core of a person. The center of the tootsie pop.  The core of the everlasting gobstopper. Piercing deep into their very soul.

Every wedding poses this wonderful challenge for us to crack this code. Part of what drives us to do what we do is our love for revealing the true nature of a persons soul. The result is timeless. The result connects you to memories and experience in ways that will move you emotionally, not just put a smile on your face.

We peel back layer after layer until you're raw, naked & exposed. For that my friend is at the heart of why you're making this decision in the first place. Remember it. Sear it into your brain because if you're not careful, life will do everything in it's power to make you forget.

Never forget.

the how and why

our philosophy

Family

The greatest miracle to transpire in our lives without a doubt has been our 3 children Nora, Kayl & Asa. Their existence influences every aspect of our lives. When we have spare time, they get it. When we need a break, we sit down and figure out what things we can do that will become significant memory making material for them. Don’t get us wrong, WE LOVE having our alone time, going on dates, and being “kid free” from time to time, but at the end of the day, we recognize that our time with them spent this intimately, is limited...so we do our best to take advantage. There is no greater joy than the joy that comes as a result of our children.

Faith

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints & believe that Christ should be at the center of anything we do. We believe that this life has a purpose, that we were created with specific talents and abilities unique to our personalities that allow us to add maximum light and beauty to this world. When the weather app on our phone shows nothing but rain, we watch in faith as clouds part.  We love relying on faith to insure that as we put forth our very best effort, everything will work out exactly the way it needs to. We trust that God is ultimately in control & that we're better off involving Him in our decision making. We understand the value of sharing the same faith with your spouse.

POLITICS

Simply put, we're conservative. That being said, we question the current state of our government, and respect it as much as the Bible suggests we should.  We believe in the nuclear family and conservative values and at the same time believe we don't have the right to judge others. We teach our children to love all people unconditionally. We believe in not letting the past define our future, that today is the most important day to focus our lives on. We don't believe any political party will have the answers to all our problems, but want to live in a country that enjoys freedom of speech & religion at its core.  For more insight, visit our Twitter. 🤣

food

We're best friends. It sounds so cliche, but we really are. We do everything together. There is a trust, and a bond so indescribably permanent that we would be lost without each other. Consequently, we don’t have to do much to have a good time. Sometimes shooting weddings even feels like a date. But probably our most favorite thing in the word to do is to enjoy a really really good meal together. When we go to New York, we go to eat. When we go to LA, we go to eat. Fine dining + our friendship = pure magic. If you don't feed us at your Wedding we will be seriously disappointed haha.

The Beach

The one downside of living where we live is NO BEACH! We both have California roots, and the second our feet hit the sand and we can hear the melodic sounds of the waves, we’re in immediate in heaven. Our kids can’t get enough of the ocean. Tide pools, surfing, boogie boarding, digging up sand crabs, we love all of it!

you, me & the tv

One of our favorite addictions is binge watching series on Amazon Prime or Netflix, especially while mass editing photos. The most recycled show we have watched over the years is The Office & New Girl. Our top favorite shows currently are Survivor, Alone, Big Brother,  Stranger Things, The Crown, Brooklyn 99, Super Store, Mandolorian (and Katie is a sucker for most HGTV shows lol) .  At the end of the day it’s always you, me and the TV. (Don't tell anyone be we love binge watching shows on the road. While driving.(

Music

We probably have the most eclectic taste in music ever, gravitating more toward chill, happy, uplifting, upbeat vibe music. We’re hardcore spotifiers and love finding new unpopular gems destined for greatness. There are very few moments when we’re not adding a soundtrack to our real life. We're "freekbox" on spotify.

Ice chunks

We’re on a serious ice-cream mashup fix right now. We are generally working with Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerrys. Our favorite mashup right now is Häagen-Dazs Chocolate + Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. We don’t just throw scoops in and eat it. We mash it with a fine metal ice-cream blade. Sprinkle a little milk over the top. Push and fold until there’s a chunky, iced, mix. Then add 5 small dabs of whip cream. Every night. Perfection!

addicted to adventure

There really is not place we'd rather be than exploring the great outdoors.  Whether it's hiking, 4 Wheeling or road tripping we're constantly on the go.  Paul is an avid Onewheeler and loves to blaze bikes trails every chance he gets.  We lead active lives, try to stay healthy and try to bask in all the natural wonder that exists here in the four corners.  Our favorite thing is take people into spectacular places they've never been.  Our camping trips our by far some of most valued memories.

paul's apparel

Paul has always been obsessed with starting his own apparel company under the brand Shutterfreek.  He truly believes that every person that loves cameras should want to rock our merch  Personally I think he does it just so he has a closet full of new tees to wear, but it's something he's been passionate about through our entire marriage.  And, the designs really are pretty cool haha.  Check out merch our site!

katie's gift of gab

Katie is one of the kindest, easiest people to be around you'll ever meet. She's helped more Brides through stressful situations than we can count. She has a knack for having conversation and many times you'll find Paul reminding her that she's working and that there are shots about to be missed if she doesn't stop talking lol!  It's not that she just talks a lot, it's that everyone she meets wants to talk to her.  I consider it a super power and it truly comes in handy most all of the time. 

what's in the bag

While we're hoping to get more into Sony, we are loyal Canon users.  We currently operate with Canon C70 cinema camera, 2 - Canon R5's with all RF lenses. Drones - DJI AIR3 and the Air 2S.  Our favorite go-to lens is the RF F2 - 28-70mm.  We shoot everything including video in RAW / CLOG. We also shoot film from time to time with a Pentax 645 and a Canon P.  We shooting all video in 4K 422 10BIT. We are very meticulous about our gear and approach so that we can deliver the highest quality / resolution product possible.

katie is joanna Gains

It never fails, at every event at least 1 person tells Katie that she looks like Joanna Gains. She's as sweet, as creative and thoughtful, as intentional and even more gorgeous if I do say so myself.  And while I don't look particularly like Chip, I am the sarcastic one of the duo, so together we do make for somewhat of a "Chip & Joanna" experience at each Wedding haha.  

meet the McPhersons'

next

legendary ADVENTURE ELOPEMENT & INTIMATE Wedding PHOTO + Film duo
 Paul & Katie MCPHERSON |  SHUTTERFREEK®

FOCUSED ON ADVENTURES IN THE FOUR CORNERS
 NEW MEXICO • COLORADO • ARIZONA • UTAH

with developed portfolios IN THE FOLLOWING geographic locations:
KANAB UT • PAGE, AZ • DURANGO, CO •  TELLURIDE, CO • PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO • SILVERTON, CO • MOAB, UT • SEDONA, AZ • ST. GEORGE, UT • ZION CANYON, UT • ALBUQUERQUE, NM • SANTA FE, NM • TAOS, NM • RED RIVER, NM •  FLAGSTAFF, AZ •  LAKE POWELL, UT
white sands, NM • phoenix, AZ • vail, co



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