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About

Emma McDonald is an award-winning wedding photographer who has been shooting professionally for more than 10 years. Her style is the best of both worlds blending creativity with a classic, elegant aesthetic that will withstand the test of time. In addition to the beautiful details and big important events, Emma captures the honest emotions and true candid moments that make your day unique. Through her photography, Emma preserves precious memories in a way that allows couples to relive the feeling of their wedding day for years to come.

When she is not behind the camera, Emma loves to travel the world, cook, practice yoga, and hang out with friends. Prior to starting her own business, she worked for a renowned photojournalist in Paris, France and served as a photography instructor in NYC and Charlotte (NC). Emma has a BFA in Photography, specializing in Portraiture.

  • Woman-owned
illustration popular

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Reviews of Emma McDonald Photography

Francesca
Francesca Sent on 06/15/2026
5 out of 5 rating

Obsessed with our photos!

Although we’ve only gotten our preview photos back, we are so thrilled with the photos thus far and the way Emma handled the craziness of the day. We have a huge family so there were tons of photos that we requested and her and her team were so efficient and made sure to capture everything and more! She has such a wonderful aesthetic for her photos too - they are so bright and colorful which is exactly what I was looking for. We used her for our engagement shoot too, and we were also obsessed with those photos. Love love love working with her and her team!
C
Casey Sent on 09/30/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Book Emma ASAP!

We feel so, so lucky to have worked with Emma for our engagement shoot and wedding! We absolutely love the moments that she captured and are so excited to look back on them for years to come. Communicating with her in the leadup to the big day was seamless, and she did an amazing job putting us at ease despite the tropical storm conditions on our wedding day! If you have the opportunity to work with her, book her ASAP!!
R
Rachel Sent on 08/25/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Emma is amazing

My husband and I cannot say enough good things about Emma - she is truly incredible. We loved her photos online, but I could tell she was the right fit from our very first phone conversation. She is easy to talk to and down to earth and when we met for our engagement shoot we both felt super comfortable. She was so awesome on wedding day, moving us seamlessly through so many cool shots and getting every picture we had wanted with friends and family. When we got the photos back, we were truly blown away - they are better than we could have even imagined. Her eye for lighting and background and posing is incredible and she captured so many special moments absolutely perfectly. We are truly obsessed with all our portrait as well as all the candids and the shots of all our guests showing how much fun they were having. She absolutely nailed capturing our happiness on film and I am so happy we hired Emma, she is truly the best!
Carolyn
Carolyn Sent on 03/15/2023
5 out of 5 rating

The best photographer out there

May I just say that aside from the venue, my number ONE requirement for our wedding was an amazing photographer - and Emma and her team (shout out to Tim & Taylor) were nothing short of spectacular. From our engagement shoot where Emma managed to wrangle our 1-year old golden retriever into cooperating at Bear Mountain, to being with us and our family/closest friends for 9 hours documenting one of the most significant days in our lives. Emma also deserves an award as she created such beautiful photography all while being extremely pregnant. Every picture captured all of the love and giggles that day. Her team was such a pleasure to work with, and we are so grateful to have hired her and her team. We will treasure these memories forever, and hope to work with her again in the future! She does shoot maternity and family shoots as well! :)
M
Miriam Sent on 08/09/2022
5 out of 5 rating

My favorite wedding vendor

If you are lucky enough to have found Emma with availability for your wedding, hire her!! I was immediately put at ease on my wedding day when Emma showed up - she is calming and creative. Her photos from our ceremony capture the emotion of the day so vividly -- I really felt like I was reliving my wedding and getting to see aspects of it that I did not appreciate in the moment. On the day we got our photos, my sister was late to work because she was so lost in the gallery of endless, amazing photos. Emma also does a thoughtful job editing and parsing down the thousands of photos she provides so that you are left with all high-quality photos. I can honestly say there is not one photo in the entire gallery that I don't like. As my wedding planner said, "how will you ever choose which to frame." I was an anxious bride and Emma was the only vendor I truly trusted --- she captured my day beautifully and I am so grateful.
Jenna
Jenna Sent on 08/01/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Hire Emma!!

Emma is fantastic. Besides the fact that she's immensely talented, she is simply just a pleasure to work with. Emma captured our wedding day beautifully and was a calming presence throughout. I can't say enough great things about working with her, will definitely work with her again for various life events, and will treasure our wedding photos always. Thank you, Emma!!!
C
Chelsea Sent on 10/15/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Captured our special day so exceptionally well!

We had an excellent experience working with Emma for our wedding photography!

Leading up to our event, Emma was very easy to work with, responding promptly to questions or issues and providing helpful guidance on key items like our day-of schedule, list of requested photos, etc.

On our event date, Emma and her associate were incredible. They kept us to a tight schedule and were always in the right place for the best shot, even when a spontaneous photo op came up. They made us, our wedding party, and our families feel very relaxed and comfortable during our photo session. They went above and beyond in so many ways, like having a stain remover handy when the groom stained his suit and saving the day.

We just got our photos back from Emma, and we’re thrilled. She highlights all the emotions, candid interactions, and subtle details of the day so exceptionally well! We’d recommend her to anyone without hesitation.
Rosanne
Rosanne Sent on 05/10/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Hire Emma!

The day I met Emma, I knew she had to be my photographer. She made every interaction and correspondence easy and enjoyable, and was a blast to shoot our big day. Emma's pricing was fair for her level of expertise and skill, and our final photos are amazing. Photography was super important to me for my wedding, and Emma made our vision come to life. Also, the photo albums she produces are high-quality and gorgeous. When I think back on our wedding day, I think of Emma as a friend who hung out and blended right in with the rest of my day-of crew. We had a blast running around Brooklyn with her, even on a windy, cold November day (though you'd never be able to tell from the photos because we are all smiles and joy). It's been 6 months since our wedding, but every single time I look at our photos, I fall more in love with them. Hire her, you won't be disappointed!
K
Kelly Sent on 03/27/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Simply The Best

Emma is the most wonderful, incredible photographer who also happens to be one of the nicest human beings I have ever met. We fell in love with her photos and were thrilled she had worked at our venue before, but it was sitting down to meet her that we knew we'd met "the one". She's laid-back but excited, creative and kind. We couldn't stop talking and the moment we left, my husband and I turned to each other and said "we don't need to talk to anyone else, right?". We were sold. Emma answered all our questions leading up to the day, helped us decide on the ceremony time and overall timeline, and always seemed thrilled to hear from us. On the day, she and her WONDERFUL second shooter seemed to be in every place at once, catching all the moments we wanted captured. One of our favorite parts of the day was simply running around the grounds with Emma, laughing and posing in all the great spots she scouted. We just loved working with her and the photos reflect that. We got back our full gallery today (weeks before the contract "deadline") and we had a sneak peek of 85 photos within like, 4 days I think? Amazing. Every photo is incredible. Emma captures how the day FEELS, the love, the joy, the humor and the whole feeling of the day. We literally cried looking through them this morning - and also busted out laughing. I've never felt more beautiful, and yes part of it was the makeup and hair and great equipment Emma uses to shoot, but she captured ME and all my joy that day. I can't ever thank her enough for it.

Hire Emma. She is the person you want with you on your day. She will capture YOUR wedding - not some cookie-cutter idea of a wedding (though she certainly makes it looks like a fairy tale), but the little moments that make it yours.
Nicholas
Nicholas Sent on 10/31/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Could not imagine better!

My husband and I found out about Emma when a friend of mine who also works in the photography biz pointed us to her with his highest recommendation. It was love at first sight once we looked at her posted photo albums. Her remarkable, vibrant colors; her impeccable ability to capture her subjects' inner lives, "in the moment";  her equal adeptness at shooting posed/composed photos and spontaneous candids, at artfully balancing foreground and background, at capturing poignant moments and delightfully ridiculous ones--all those qualities stood out to us immediately.   No other photographer we considered offered comparable quality within a remotely comparable price range.  She quickly stood out as our top choice. We haven't looked back since.
Our own experience working with Emma was just as worthwhile as we hoped. She was instantly personable, warm, and encouraging, making us feel at ease right away, and showing genuine interest in getting to know our story and values as a couple, and our vision for the wedding and the photos. She listened carefully to what we wanted, asked insightful questions to help us become more articulate about it, and offered very helpful suggestions; thanks to her, we even arrived at a clearer vision of the wedding day than we'd had before. She was always professional, organized, responsive and punctual.  And she had a knack for lightening our moments of stress with humor, which carried from our first phone conversation to the big day itself.  On the wedding day, everyone in our party, and our family, loved working with her, for just that reason. She knew how to move things along when she needed to,  and made sure we got all the shots we most wanted, without ever feeling pushy or intrusive. 
As for the photos, well...they exceeded even our already high expectations. Emma and her likewise wonderful second photographer perfectly captured every moment, every feeling, every experience of the day that we wanted to remember--and plenty we missed, in the rush of things. We treasure the pictures she took; whenever we look at them, we're transported right back to the wedding, and all the joy, love, and gratitude, we felt that day.  Its magic lives on through her pictures. All the family and friends we've shared her photos with treasure them too. Each one has commented upon how lucky we were to have had Emma as our photographer.  We agree, and would give her our highest possible recommendation.
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

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Emma McDonald Photography frequently asked questions

Emma McDonald Photography includes the following photography services in the starting price:
  • High-Res Images
  • One Event / Day
  • Digital Files
Emma McDonald Photography includes the following photography services in their most popular wedding package:
  • 2nd Shooter
  • Engagement Shoot
  • High-Res Images
  • One Event / Day
  • Digital Files
Emma McDonald Photography offers the following photography styles:
  • Photojournalism
Emma McDonald Photography offers the following photography services for weddings:
  • Additional Hours
  • Destination / Travel
  • Engagement Shoot
  • High-Res Images
  • One Event / Day
  • Second Shooter
  • Wedding Portraits
Emma McDonald Photography offers the following photography materials for weddings:
  • Albums
  • Digital Files
  • Prints
  • Proofs
Emma McDonald Photography is recommended by 100% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 5.0, with the same score awarded for quality of service, flexibility, value, professionalism and average response time.

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