Words really do not do Sam or her work justice. We hired her as a destination wedding photographer, and she was with us all weekend. Thank goodness! Because we and our friends and family all fell in love with her. First, Sam is just incredibly sweet, warm, and helpful. She acted honestly as a planner and coordinator just as much as a photographer. She didn't hesitate to jump in and help wherever she could, which was so appreciated. Second, she has the best energy. She is funny, kind, and totally no judgment. This means that she gets incredible, natural photographs. Lastly, she's unbelievably talented. She captured our days so beautifully -- and so well, in fact, that we plan to have vow renewals just to have Sam capture all the moments of our life together. Thank you, Sam!

I cannot put into words how grateful I am that we booked Ernst & Co. as our wedding photographer. Not only is her work amazing – but she was so much more than a photographer on our wedding day.
Let me paint the full picture for you and start by saying I was thee Type A Bride. I had everything planned out to the T. Sam and Santana showed up to the getting ready room and started taking the detail shots as I finished getting ready, when I was done I went over to them and I was like “oh did you see this, did you shoot that?” Sam knew my vision and had already taken pictures of all the things that I hoped she would.
Getting into my wedding dress was a task – internal corset and 1 million buttons going down the back. Sam helped me in and out of that sucker when my sister and my mom could not do it!
Now for the story/wedding events that left my entire wedding party in awe of Ernst & Co. Photography. Myself and my husband had just finished our first look and Sam looks at me straight face, no bullshit, and says “okay, I need to know what photos you want taken outside, because those photos need to happen now” (It had been overcast all day but it wasn’t supposed to rain until 7:30-8:00 that night.) I told her that realistically I didn’t want any indoor shots but if we had to pick, I wanted the bridal party photos outside. We got all of those done and just as we finished a giant drop of rain fell on my arm.
We rushed inside as the sky opened and a total downpour started 3 hours early and roughly an hour before our ceremony was set to start. It felt like everything I had been planning was for nothing. That’s when Sam stepped up and helped us come up with a plan. We were moving the ceremony up 45 mins and getting married in the rain. My ENTIRE wedding party said if they didn’t know Sam was the photographer they would’ve swore she was with the venue coordination team. She was a crucial part of why I didn’t crumble under the pressure of having to move our ceremony up 45 minutes and doing it in a total downpour. I am so glad we decided to move forward with the ceremony in the rain because man, those photos are EVERYTHING!!
Other important points to hit on;
• Sam and Santana are just a blast to work with. They were cracking jokes left and right and the vibes were not stuffy by any means.
• They came with everything the bridal party could need; someone asked for a bobby pin, Sam already had it ready to go. Body tape, yup. Safety pin, yup.
• Their work speaks for itself, see photos below!

We worked with Santana for our engagement shoot and the day of our wedding. She instantly made us feel comfortable and worked with our goofy personalities. She had such a huge role in our special day and it really felt like we were working with a friend. We got our sneak peek 3 days after the wedding and the photos were absolutely breathtaking. We can't wait to get the whole lot and have a viewing party. We can't recommend this team enough.

Samantha was a pleasure to work with. She perfectly captured our wedding. She went above and beyond for us to make sure everything was amazing. Her attention to detail is impeccable! My wife and I cannot recommend her services enough.

On top of being an incredible talent (the photos from our engagement shoot and wedding are more than I could ever imagine), she is down to earth, fun, and helps you feel incredible on your wedding day. She is also super knowledgeable about the upstate wedding industry and can offer great advice. Sam also does a fantastic job keeping the day going and making sure she captures everything. Couldn't have asked for anyone better to represent our day! Highly highly recommend.

Such a great company to work with. Super nice and organized! Highly recommend :)

I think that people may get sick of me raving about Sam from Ernst and Co. but I don't care. In the words of my husband, “She managed to make my stupid face look really good.” Anyone who can make my anti-photo husband relax and feel comfortable in front of a camera deserves everything.
Working with Sam is so easy. She talks to you honestly, gets you laughing, AND makes sure that your photos are something special! She’s the reason we went to the State Fair for photos and they were AMAZING. She’s the reason we have beautiful downtown photos from our wedding day. I have had the hardest time picking out which photos from our engagement shoot and our wedding to print and post. Which is a great problem to have!
If you are looking to have a friend with you on your big day, who will be concerned about you and only you, Sam is the person to book. She’s in your corner no matter what that day. She will make sure that your schedule, your shot lists, your wants, and maybe a bustle or two are done the way YOU want so you can have fun and enjoy it.
I don’t think we could’ve done the wedding without her. 10/10 would recommend booking Ernst and Co. The photos are out of this world but the experience with her made them even more special!

Oh Sam, we hired Sam for our wedding on 9/4/2021, after we lost our previous photographer due to a COVID rescheduled wedding, back in July of 2020. When we called her in November of 2020 and said “Hi, were eloping to the Adirondacks in January” she didn’t bat an eyelash. She strapped on her boots and puffy jacket and drove up to mountains with us where she witnessed our first marriage. Sam was GREAT that day she kept us alive in the 7 degree temperatures and knew all the best spots to get some amazing photos. Fast forward to September 2021, Sam came back to our actual wedding day and again same result. This time we said “Sam, there’s a creek out back and we really want to take photos in it…” Again cue amazing photographer, Sam kicked off her shoes rolled up her pants and practically dove into the creek to help us get some once in a lifetime shots. Even with some last minute schedule changes Sam was there with a helping hand. She provided advise, an extra set of hands, and overall a great friend to have around on a super stressful day. Not only is Sam’s work AMAZING but she is a wonderful person to be around on your wedding day. Anything you could ever need Sam will help with, I need more big life events to happen so I can hire her for all of them.

Sam is absolutely incredible! She captures such amazing memories for us in both our engagement session and wedding day that we will cherish forever. She makes you feel so comfortable in front of the camera and as though you have been friends with her forever! Even throughout COVID, she was so flexible and understanding.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, Sam made both of our wedding days amazing! She was extremely flexible and easy to coordinate with while everything was changing minute to minute. Our first wedding day (6/6) was cancelled due to the the pandemic and instead, we had a small ceremony with just our families. Sam was down for whatever we wanted to do and travelled over an hour to capture our elopement. Just a few months later, Sam was with us again to capture the big wedding day. The pictures were so amazing that it was impossible to narrow down favorites -- we currently have 10+ canvases all over our house and, somehow, we still have more of our favorite shots that didn't make the cut! Sam is the best of the best who provides incredible photos to look back on, while also making the experience fun and free of awkwardness. HIRE HER!