The one thing you will actually have in your hands, literally on the walls of your home, for years to come will be your wedding photos. The pressure to find the right photographer can be immense, but selecting Thomas was actually one of the easiest decisions of my wedding planning. He had been the photographer for my brother-in-law's wedding, so we had seen his work and knew how spectacular it was. It really depends on what you are looking for, but for me he was a perfect choice because I wanted a more of a photojournalist style, with photos that captured candid moments, the emotion of the people there that day. That is what Thomas excels at. Of course you need some posed pictures with the wedding party, but beyond that there were not many photos of the "stand together and smile" variety, which is exactly what we wanted. He is great at finding those small moments that showcase a person, emotion, event. An example is a fun photo he took of me and my now-husband, with the groom making a cute expression. When we saw this moment on the wedding video, we realized that the whole scene took place in about 2 seconds, yet Thomas captured the perfect moment for the photo. He has a great eye for light, expressions, and composition, I just couldn’t be happier with how they came out. He is also a joy to work with, very flexible and with a great sense of humor. The only problem we now face is selecting which pictures to put in an album, there are just so many great ones to choose from!

If you can get Thomas Graves, do it.

Thomas is a consummate professional. He is a perfectionist and a detail-oriented organizer when it comes to the administrative aspects of his work, which makes him very easy with whom to work. His photography is top-notch, an expert at capturing the actual moments of our wedding day rather than lots of posed photos, which was exactly what we wanted.

My wife and I found Thomas' reliability invaluable. Many of our other vendors were unresponsive or simply inaccessible when we needed to talk about details; Thomas was always accessible and as our wedding day approached and we lost valuable time tracking down our other vendors, we didn't have to worry about photography.

On our wedding day Thomas captured far more great shots than I could have expected. Of course he got all the big things, but we really like the candid moments between our guests. He's a great guy and working with him was a pleasure at all times. I can't help but smile when looking through our album. We are thrilled with our wedding photos and if we had it to do again we would still choose Thomas.

I did a LOT of research on wedding photography and local photographers before I settled on Thomas. As an experienced photojournalist he has a talent for capturing moments, not just creating posed ones. He and his assistant (his lovely wife) were more like cousins at our wedding who had the best cameras (and superior talent). They were discreet yet still managed to capture all of the moments that meant so much to me. He really worked with me, with all of the crazy wedding planning, he would give me gentle prompts if needed and gave me plenty of notice if he needed something from me... which was great as I had a lot going on in my life at the time. Everyone has loved the photos and I have recommended Thomas to everyone I know. You will be glad that someone you can trust is taking care of the most important job of the big day.

Quickly after we met Thomas (and after looking at the photos on his website) we knew he was the right photographer for us and our wedding. He takes gorgeous, expressive photos AND made us feel comfortable both with his easy demeanor and his professionalism. Thomas struck a good balance between really listening to our thoughts about what we wanted for engagement and wedding photos, while also offering his own advice about how to maximize the shots (especially for the engagement photos where we were outside in a public park). On our wedding day, he and Edna were thorough but quick with the formal photos and everyone was amazed at how smoothly it went. The candid shots are outstanding and tell a complete story that allows us relive the day when we flip through them. Thomas also went above and beyond, staying longer than we'd asked for and offering bandaids for my husband's blisters and advil for my sore back. In all, we love our photos, and the experience of working with Thomas was a true pleasure! We'd recommend him highly to friends and family.

Thomas is a photographer that can capture the true beauty of a wedding by capturing the emotions of the people you love in an image. When thinking about how he was able to do this so remarkably well, I came up some of the keys to his success:

Thomas Listens - Prior to the wedding, we spoke with Thomas a few times so he could get an idea of what we were looking for him to capture at our wedding. Most photographers gave you the standard form of who the family is, who the bridal party is, and some general likes/dislikes. Thomas does this, but also hones in on what elements of the day are the most important to us - the first dance, special friends, locations that are special. His ability to take our personal feedback to guide his work is phenomenal.

Thomas is Flexible - Thomas is able to adjust at the drop of a dime. A wedding planner may be albe to scehdule your event perfectly. However, things can change. Thomas is able to adjust on the fly and make even little goofy moments that you werent't thinking about into precious moments you will remember forever. I also have to say that this man was everywhere in the wedding. Even the wedding party was suprised at how he was able to capture so many different scenes and emotions, and still get the essential pictures of the Bride and Groom.

Thomas gives you Value - When discussing what was part of the package, it was evident that Thomas understands what the bride and groom really want - the knowledge that the pictures belong to us. Most of the photographers we spoke with would say they would give us access to prints online and we could order the ones we wanted. When I heard that from other photographers, I felt that I should have the same rights of ownership to my personal pictures - Why should I pay someone else for permission to print a picture of me? Thomas hands you the disc of all your pictures and gives you the power to do withyour pictures what you will. Can he make you a photobook, YES! However, being given the flexiblity to use your pictures the way you want is priceless.

I could go on and on about other factors, but if you take a moment to see his work and talk with him personally, you will have a hard time choosing someone else. Thomas is a consumate professional and a true pleasure to work with. My wife and I said that the most important investment in our wedding was the pictures, and with Thomas, it was an investment that will last a lifetime.

It was a wonderful experience working with Thomas. He makes you feel quite at ease while getting the pictures done. The pictures themselves are breathtaking! Everyone who has looked at them said they are the best wedding pictures they have every seen! He really knows how to capture the moment

I can't say enough good things about Thomas Graves. He was the first vendor we hired for our wedding, and he was invaluable from the beginning as he expertly (and patiently!) fielded questions about venues and other vendors. He was also amazingly flexible when some of the details of our event unexpectedly changed. Thomas always responded promptly to questions, and he took care to get a clear sense of our personal style and our vision for the event. On the day of the wedding, Thomas was a pleasure. He kept a very low profile during the event yet somehow managed to be in exactly the right place to get amazing pictures. (And when my bustle broke, he appeared with a safety pin -- exactly what was needed to fix the problem.) Throughout our time working together, I felt that Thomas was genuinely interested in doing what he could to ensure that we had a wonderful experience at our wedding. And he is clearly committed to producing a great product -- our photos are truly stunning. I was also amazed at how quickly he returned the photos to us. Friends of mine have reported waiting a year or more to get their wedding photos, and we received ours in only a couple of months. I would highly recommend Thomas to anyone.

Thomas was an outstanding wedding photographer! My husband and I loved his style because he was able to make very artistic, yet elegant photographs. He is very easy to get along with and will make you laugh all day long! (Someone you would obviously want to have on your wedding day.) Thomas is very responsive and willing to work with you to make your day the best it can be! Highly, highly, highly recommended! :)

Thomas was fantastic. He was perfect at being in all the right places at the right time without being intrusive. He was very efficient at herding people for the obligatory family photos. Most importantly, we can't imagine how our pictures could have been any better.

Thomas Graves is an exceptional, professional and extremely talented photographer! My husband and I worked with Thomas for our wedding in May 2010 and we honestly can not say enough about Thomas and his beautiful work. He is very professional and it has been such a pleasure and joy to work with him before, during and even after our wedding. We have seen Thomas' work before from my sister-in-law's wedding and baptism of their second child. We knew then that there would be no question in our minds whether or not to ask Thomas to help us with our wedding album.
His talent is evident when you see the end result of all his hard work and dedication. From start to finish, Thomas had kept us up to date with the progress of our album and he had even sent us proofs of a possible layout for our album in a PDF file.
Thomas is not like any other photographer that I have had experiences with in the past, where they are either barking orders at you, always in your face or "there" or sometimes no where to be found when you need them. Thomas' presence while working is more like he is apart of the crowd and you honestly don't even feel like he is there...but he most certainly is, because you will find some of his photos and wonder, "When did he take that? I didn't even know he was there!"
Thomas will definitely shock you with his work. He shocks us each time we look through our photos and our album and we couldn't be happier with the end result.
Thomas continues to work with our family for any special event that comes up such as baptisms. He is and will most definitely continue to be our "family photographer" as more special events come in the future. My husband and I have already agreed to ask Thomas to help us in the future when we have children of our own and we have their baptisms.
Truth be told, we can not tell you enough about Thomas' work, talent and skill. It would truly be a mistake not to have Thomas Graves work with you, because you honestly don't know what you are missing!!

Thank you so much Thomas!! :-)

thoams graves was an amazing photographer. he was so nice, very flexible and very attentive to mine and my parents requests. i would recommend him to anyone. I was absolutely amazed at how well he captured the emotion and action of the day. I couldnt have asked for a better photographer.

Thomas was wonderful to work with. We planned a very low-key DIY wedding and thus, initially did not plan on having a professional photographer. Just a few weeks before the wedding, we changed our mind and I am so happy we did. The photographs that Thomas took were just amazing. Several of our married friends have commented that they were the best wedding photos they have ever seen. There were a number of touching and humorous candid "portraits" of friends and family that we will charish forever--photos that you do not typically see in a wedding album. Yes, getting pictures of the happy couple, the white dress, the cake--all great--but the beautiful candid photos really showed Thomas' talent and artistry. We highly, highly recommend!

This review is for all the grooms out there (and brides-to-be). Like most grooms, initially I was not all that interested in selecting the photographer – which I imagine stems from my general lack of interest in getting my picture taken. Much the same as most couples, we knew what we wanted but were not sure where to start, so we used the Knot and Wedding Wire to find some local photographers in the DC area. We meet with a few and came away unimpressed, either with their work or due to their general lack of interest in what we had to say. We were looking for someone with more of a journalist approach – someone who could capture the essence of the day rather than just stale, posed pictures. A friend recommended Thomas and his wife Edna and sent us his website – obviously the style and quality of his work online speaks for itself and was exactly what we were looking for. When we meet with Thomas it was not like any other photographer or studio we had talked with to date – he asked us questions about us, our story, how we met, what we were looking for – he was genuinely interested in learning about us and how we wanted to captured our wedding day – we knew right then even before we left that appointment that we had found our guy.


On the wedding day Thomas and Edna were amazing – first off for all of you like me who have a hard time smiling on command – not to worry - Thomas and Edna could be stand-up comics. In addition to being incredibly talented, professional and prepared, Thomas and Edna have a calming effect. They work fast and are possibly one of the most entertaining coupled we know. They scouted each place we were going to be that day to make sure everything would be just right by the time we got there. They had some suggestions and were open to trying any ideas we threw out there on the fly. They even attended the church rehearsal to meet our families and everyone in the wedding party. They truly were a pleasure to work with and really did help make our wedding day special. The finished products are absolutely amazing – the quality of work and the number of pictures he was able to capture still amazes us. It was as if he was in multiple places at the same time – we have full catalogue of the entire day, which r really tells the story of our wedding from the preparation to the ceremony, formal pictures and the atmosphere at the reception. We have recommend Thomas Grave Photography to a number of people – I hope you give them a call as well – they truly added to our wedding and helped to make it a fun and truly exciting time.

If you are looking for a photographer who truly sets him self apart from the rest than Thomas Graves is the photographer for you! My now husband and I met with a few photographers who turned us off completely and who we felt would give us just generic wedding photos. But we left our meeting with Thomas knowing right away he was the photographer for us. He has an amazing background in photography. He was so great to work with for over a year of planning and was always responsive to a question or concern I had. We had him shoot the rehearsal dinner along with the wedding and we were so glad we did. He never felt in the way and blended right in. And the pictures turned out wonderful. He knows how to capture a moment wonderfully and all the pictures tell the story of the day. Now seeing certain images of the day bring back the emotion and feeling of the moment when that picture was captured and it's great. It takes true talent to produce such a response with a picture. And we have received so many compliments on how amazing the photos were. Thomas is an amazing photographer who genuinely cares about his clients and we are forever grateful he was our photographer!

Thomas Graves was an absolute joy to work with! From our first correspondence with him it was clear that this was someone that was kind, patient and truly sincere who genuinely cared about capturing those special moments of our day. This was a day that all of those people who are so dear to us were all together and we wanted to always remember their enjoyment.
Thomas took the time to meet with us so we could get to know each other and understand our thoughts. He was more then willing to listen to our ideas and interpreted how we could achieve the photos we wanted . He also went to the church and reception site well in advance to get a feel for the venues so he could discuss with us the best locations for photos. He explain to us every aspect of the process which made us much more comfortable and relaxed when the day came. His professional guidance through the process before, during and after our wedding was an invaluable asset to producing the most beautiful and touching photos.
Many guests at our wedding commented on how nice he was and how he seemed to be everywhere at one time without being intrusive. He worked our wedding alone, without an assistant, which was amazing in itself considering all the photos he produced, over 1000. We didn't have a very long reception but he managed to capture every guest laughing and having a good time. He also took a lot of the stress of this day away with his light hearted and relaxed manner which we appreciated so much. This is not only a comment on his high level of professionalism and experience which we were very impressed by but how wonderful a person he is.
We had no doubt that our wedding pictures would be those that would show wonderful memories and we were not disappointed. Upon going through them we were amazed how he seemed to capture the personalities of our guests and of us. It was so wonderful to see all of those moments that had been going on around us that day which we could enjoy again.
Our photos are beautiful and we are so happy that we found Thomas. He came highly recommended to us and there is no doubt we would pass on our praise to those looking for a photographer for any event. We consider ourselves lucky to have had him at our wedding and even happier to have him as a friend.