Charleton Churchill Photography

Charleton is the absolute best! He's so professional and experienced with where to scout out the best spots. Around the Yosemite area we took great photos, but the phone reception can be bad. He had Walkie-Talkies for us to use as we drove around the area to take breath-taking adventure shots. He knew exactly what to say to make us comfortable and pose non-awkward ways--because we're really awk. He was respectful and enthusiastic for all our requested shots for the ceremony and reception. He worked well with our huge family and was the perfect vendor for this role. I'd hire him again in an instant. Oh and he became an immediate friend too.

Just do it and hire Charleton. Having been to and in plenty of weddings, I knew Charleton needed to be the photographer to capture our big day. I came across him about 10 years ago, when he captured a friend's wedding and then recommended him to my bestie when she got married. So, I knew when we were locking in our wedding date with our venue, I reached out to Charleton to see his availability for the date. He is phenomenal to work with, very responsive to emails, down to earth and engaging personality, and hands down captures amazing images. And, yes, he does traditional weddings as ours was at a golf course and resort (as we are not the outdoor adventurous type). He captured some exquisite shots at the wedding as he did during the engagement session. FWIW - we felt extremely comfortable with Charleton during our engagement session and consider it one of our top date nights. You are going to have these pictures forever so go with the best! You won't regret it!

Just look at his work on instagram, the pictures speak for themselves. Even in the worst weather he was able to capture beautiful pictures. Highly highly recommend

We had been looking forward to working with Charleton for years, and we immediately connected with him from the first virtual meeting. After chatting with him a few times and then spending two days with him during our photo shoot, we walked away with a lifelong friendship. He is kind, genuine, funny, supportive, outgoing, and an incredible photographer! We were blown away by the images we received, and better yet, we arrived home with countless unforgettable memories from the events behind the scenes. Thank you, Charleton, and best of luck on your future adventures!

I fell in love with Charleton's work when I found him on Instagram. Not only did we receive AMAZING photos from him, but our experience with him felt like we gained a life long friend. He beyond exceeded any expectations we had of him and his work! Charleton helped us feel comfortable throughout the day as professional photos aren't something we ever do and we are so glad we had him shoot our adventure elopement. If you're considering him, stop looking for other ones, his work and time with him is worth every penny!

Charleton was extremely professional, helpful and delivered everything we wanted and more. By far our greatest vendor. I had specific directions and a shot list and he captured everything so perfectly and over-delivered. He also assisted our videographer tremendously as he was new to the industry. I have already recommended him to 3 friends and will continue to do so!

We cannot put into words just how incredible Charleton Churchill is. He is so much more than a photographer. He is an artist, adventurer, visionary, guide, and expert in his field.

When you plan your wedding, you can only hope that it will meet your expectations. Thanks to Charleton, our wedding day exceeded our expectations.

From the moment we met him, he gave us his full attention and made us feel special. On the fly, he found an intimate place for us to share our first look and he made us feel like we were the only two people in the Park.

We booked seven hours with Charleton, and we can honestly say that he made the most of every minute. He knows Yosemite better than anyone and he made sure we experienced a wide variety of locations. From Yosemite Falls to El Capitan Meadow, Tunnel View, a secluded Wooded Area, Glacier Point, and Taft Point, we experienced it all.

We are both huge adventurers, and we really wanted to experience the epic views that Yosemite has to offer. Charleton showed us the breathtaking mountaintops and cliff sides, but he never made us feel unsafe. Rather, he made us feel very safe with his knowledgeable and careful (yet fun) approach!

Charleton is a people person, and it shows. He got to know our families before our ceremony and he made them all feel special and included in the photos. He took the time to talk to our young nieces and show my sisters some of the cool photo locations at Taft Point. You can tell by his interactions that he values family and he portrays that in every aspect of what he does.

Charleton is flexible and gracious. We had to reschedule our wedding TWICE because of covid and both times he was accommodating and understanding. He also helped us plan our wedding. He provided us with vendor referrals and even helped us navigate the wedding permit and marriage license process. We don’t know how he manages to do it all, and do it well... But, he does!

Charleton is the name to know for adventure wedding photography. Every single one of our vendors knew who he was. From my hair and makeup artist to the permit application park ranger and the chef we hired for our dinner, everyone knows the name, Charleton Churchill. Even strangers in Yosemite knew who he was and asked for advice while we were hiking. That alone should tell you that he is the photographer to hire for your adventure wedding or elopement.

To sum it up, here are five reasons you should hire Charleton Churchill for your special day:


(1) He is the definition of “professional” from your first conversation through your wedding day and beyond; (2) He is gregarious and will make you and your families feel like the only people around and comfortable in front of the camera; (3) When he says you’ll have an adventure, he means it in every sense of the word; (4) His photos are unmatched and they capture the story, emotion, and adventure of your wedding day; and (5) He believes in marriage and truly wants to help couples start theirs in the most “epic” way possible.

Charleton, we can’t thank you enough. You made our wedding day the most epic and memorable day of our lives. Not just because of the photos, but because of who you are and the experience you create.

For my wedding, the photos were what was most important to me. This is one of the only things that last after the big day, and I wanted something to look back on that will take me back to the whole experience. Charleton did not diassapoint! Every image he captured is amazing, so hard to choose the one to display. Such beautiful statement piece material. He is amazing to work with, and has great vision for all of the photos. He works hard, scouts the location beforehand, and has an amazing personality. My husband and I had a great time working with him. He really makes you comfortable, and works with you to get great shots. I actually am super uncomfortable getting my pictures taken, super self concious, and I love how all the photos turned out. He is just amazing at is job, and I am very happy to have found Charleton for our wedding event.

Here is some backstory:
We got engaged on my birthday in 2018 and again on my birthday in 2019. We wanted to pick a meaningful date and were looking at our anniversary date in 2020, but his sister took that weekend for her wedding. We started officially making plans early in 2020, and then, COVID HIT! Originally, my husband and I were planning to get married in Norway in October 2020. It was terrible. We had no idea what we were going to do because everything was closed. Fast forward to the early 2021 months when we decided we would just elope by ourselves with a photographer and have a party with friends and family at a later time. It wasn’t hard figuring out we wanted to elope in Yosemite because of all the special times we had there. Yosemite was where we shared our first trip together as a couple. We went there many other times in our almost 7 years of dating, and we even were able to experience Firefall in February 2021.
We chose Charlie’s, our fur baby’s, would-have-been 13th birthday, 2 years after his last living birthday, so our date was set. I quickly did some google searches of Yosemite elopement photographers. I reached out to a few photographers. Nothing really caught my eye. I went on Instagram and did a search there. I reached out to a few photographers from Instagram as well to see if they were available and to see what pricing was like. There was only truly 1 photographer that Josh and I both thought would capture our day effortlessly. Charleton was it, so hopefully he had our date free, and we’re so thankful that he did!
Everything else lined up perfectly for us after that. We opened our elopement into a micro wedding with less than 25 friends and family. The weather was perfect. The rains came the weekend before and missed our time in Yosemite completely, and we had flowing waterfalls!
I’m one of those people that believe everything happens for a reason. Our plans may not have gone how we wanted them to initially, but everything turned out perfectly and beyond what we envisioned. Charleton was more than just a photographer for us. He helped capture our love for each other and did it in the most epic way. The pictures were absolutely stunning. The lighting was perfect even though they were doing controlled fires during our wedding. He took well over the average number of wedding photos, and each and every photo was AMAZING! He really captured our chemistry and the raw emotions and feelings in those moments. Both Josh and I could never get over how perfect Charleton’s artistic eye portrays his couples, and we were so blessed and excited to be one of his couples. We can’t wait to plan to go to Norway this time around and having Charleton capture a day for us there. Maybe our 5th anniversary.
TLDR: Charleton is amazing. He’s personable, easy to talk to, perfect at engaging with younger guests, but above all else, he is THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER! We could not have asked for a better experience. He will not disappoint. I promise you that. Just let him lead you anywhere, and you will have gorgeous photos.

There are not enough stars to give or words to describe how much we enjoyed working with Charleton! From our engagement shoot to our big day, and any questions in-between, Charleton was AMAZING! Charleton was the one vendor we knew we didn't need to worry about. His photos and work speak for itself but more importantly, Charleton is honest, hard-working, and that feel good guy you want behind the lens on your big day. Trust me when I say he is worth every penny! We can't wait for more adventure sessions with him in the future!

Charleton was an absolutely fantastic addition to our wedding day, and my husband and I are so happy we went with him. Not only was he a supportive guide through our photography adventure in Yosemite, but the photos he took were nothing short of breathtaking. He made my husband and I, who are usually awkward at posing for photos, and helped us look incredible with ease. 10/10 recommend him to anyone.

I contacted Charleton 4 months before our proposal in Yosemite. He always answered very quickly and he gave me all the tips, hacks, instructions, permits needed and general information for us to get the perfect pictures for such an important moment!

On the proposal day, Charleton arrived on time at the place we agreed, and perfectly played the role of a tourist guide (as we previously agreed), so my girlfriend didn't suspected. I even doubted at some point if he was actually a photographer because of the good role he did as a guide. At the end, we got the most beautiful pictures of the proposal because he knows perfectly where, how and at what time the pictures had to be taken.

We truly believe he is one of the best adventure elopements photographer, and also an incredible human being!!

We wanted a starry night shot to be the highlight of our elopement wedding photoshoot, and after reviewing his previous work on amazing night shots with wedding couples, we knew Charleton would be our guy. And let me tell you he did not disappoint! We did not know what to expect on our wedding elopement day, but with Charleton's warm, welcoming and professional manner, we knew from the get go that we were going to have a wonderful day. We could tell that he put in time researching for places that would create amazing backgrounds for our photos, all the while making sure to accommodate our comfort level, ie. how much we were willing to hike, considering the terrain and weather etc. We are both "camera shy", but Charleton kept us feeling comfortable throughout the entire day, skillfully directing us to take lovely photos. And of course, our day with Charleton concluded with a breathtaking night shot that we had always wished for. All in all, it made for an amazing day of hiking and adventure, and it was definitely the highlight of our entire trip. He brought 100% dedication, experience and creativity to all of our photos, and gave us an elopement day that we will never forget. He is the man for the job! Would we recommend Charleton? Anytime.

Charleton is overall such a great guy. He made us feel comfortable in our engagement photo shoot so that our wedding day was that much easier and no pressure! We trusted and appreciated all of his tips and staging and most importantly, LOVED the way the photos turned out. He has a real talent in seeing the most beautiful shot that can be made and succeeding in taking that shot!

Where do I start with Charleton… I first hired him for a surprise engagement in Tahoe, he played the part perfectly, knew where to go, took us off the beaten path, and took absolutely epic pics. Plus, he was extremely comfortable and fun to be around, I’d hang and shoot with him any day of the week. The second time we hired him was for an elopement in Yosemite. He made the process swift and easy, picked the perfect location, arrived earlier than us, extremely professional around family (all the family actually loved him to be frank), and once again he delivered the most epic wedding landscape photos you could think of. Between the two shoots, we had endless people reach out asking for his details, the shots were not run of the mill boring wedding shots you see all over your feed. We hiked miles on end in our wedding attire and virtually spent the entire day with him, we wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anyone else. If your contemplating hiring Charleton, just hire him, he won’t disappoint. The only disappoint is if you ended up hiring another photographer and didn’t get the beautiful Charleton shots you should of gone with in the first place. His work is top tier, better than most likely every photographer your comparing to, yes you will probably pay for it a bit, but it will be 100% worth it. If we had a third event, he would be my go to guy hands down!