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Weddings

About

...a wedding and lifestyle photographer based out of Southern California, John loves loves loves his brides and grooms! Regularly gracing the pages of wedding magazines and fireplace mantles, John's art is deeply inspired by the influence of modern art, fashion, and photojournalism.

Brides often describe his highly refined style of wedding photography edgy, chic, and brilliantly narrative.There's so much more to wedding photography than gear, lighting, and technical hoo-ha. It's about timelessness. It's about story telling. And it's definitely about bending over backward just to get that o.m.g. shot.

You see, that's where John's experience, love for people, and intuitive desire for awesomeness come into play. Not only does John play the role of a "ninja in a tree" to capture the candid and unrehearsed moments but he also loves it when he gets to step up to compose the imagery that brought you here in the first place.

John's best advice to brides: Keep a pair of flip-flops near you all day. Your feet will thank you!

John is available for both local and destination adventures and travels to photograph his clients.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the starting price for your wedding photography services?

$4,500

Which of the following are included in the starting price?

2nd Shooter
Add'l Hours
Boudoir Shoot
Custom Graphics
Engagement Shoot
Hand-Coloring
High-Res Images
Multi. Locations
One Event / Day
Slideshow
Toning
Trash The Dress
Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Flush Mount
Matted Prints
Negatives
Prints
Proofs
Save the Date
Thank You Cards

What is the price of your most popular wedding package?

$10,800

Which of the following are included in the price of your most popular wedding package?

2nd Shooter
Add'l Hours
Boudoir Shoot
Custom Graphics
Engagement Shoot
Hand-Coloring
High-Res Images
Multi. Locations
One Event / Day
Slideshow
Toning
Trash The Dress
Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Flush Mount
Matted Prints
Negatives
Prints
Proofs
Save the Date
Thank You Cards

What primary photographic style do you identify with?

Contemporary
Natural
Photojournalism

What photography services do you offer?

Additional Hours
Destination / Travel
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Second Shooter
Wedding Portraits

What photography items do you offer?

Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Flush Mount
Matted Prints
Negatives
Prints
Proofs
Save the Date
Thank You Cards

Reviews of SimplyTwo Photography

We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
5.0 out of 5 rating
5.0 out of 5 rating
175 reviews
100% recommend it
  • Quality of service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating
Deborah
Deborah Sent on 05/24/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Fun and magical

This review is long overdue. My husband and I got married last October at South Coast Botanic Garden, and John helped us take some amazing pictures of our wedding. We also had him take our engagement pictures for us. My husband and I are not particularly comfortable in front of a camera, but throughout both the engagement shoot and the wedding, John made us feel so comfortable and relaxed. Dare I say we even had fun! He was accommodating and always timely in his responses. He even got our pictures ready for us earlier than anticipated. We're very happy to have worked with John!
Peter
Peter Sent on 01/22/2020
5 out of 5 rating

An ABSOLUTE UNIT....of a Wedding Photography Artist that is.

Make no mistake, you get what you pay for in this world and John Yao is NOT your average, budget friendly, run of the mill, volumes mentality, wedding photographer. If you allow yourself to listen to John and are flexible with the vision of how you want your photos to turn out for your special occasion, you will not disappoint. It's almost like entering a relationship in my opinion because the way John handles your needs and inquiries makes you feel like you're in really good hands and yet he does not force himself or his opinions on you. Give him a free rein and he won't let you down (like Rick Astley). This guy's THAT GOOD. And humble. And caring. He's just a superb human being with a camera that captures magical essence of anything he points. My wife and I met him on 2011 and we're happy to say not only did we find an AWESOME wedding photographer, but became really good friends after that. He also gave us a beautiful session of our 1 year old daughter and that was phenomenal. I feel like the amount he charged us wasn't enough for the sheer dedication and professionalism he brought to the table.
Emma
Emma Sent on 06/07/2018
5 out of 5 rating
STOP LOOKING! John has the finesse, experience, and talent like no other photographer (evidence: his portfolio). I’ve been following John’s work since my undergraduate years because we happened to be from the same university. I loved his pictures even before he started his SimplyTwo business. I knew from the start that I wanted him to be my wedding photographer HANDS DOWN. So that was like…8-ish years ago?? I kept him in the back of my mind all those years and it was totally worth the wait. He was the first thing I booked in terms of wedding items (that’s right…even before I had a reception venue). And praise God that it all worked out. We had one meeting over video chat to talk about any ideas we wanted to use for our pictures and places to shoot. We were worried about the timing of getting all our ideas and when was the best time to take the pictures (e.g. time of day). With John’s experience, he was able to help us develop a timeline and it made things so easy. During our engagement shoot, John was totally down to take the photos my fiancé (now husband) planned with the props that we made. He even threw in his own ideas and they turned out awesome. Even for the pictures where we didn’t have props, John basically led us in positioning us and tell us to try out different poses. Everything went smoothly and we both felt comfortable during the entire time. He even would tell me when my bangs had an awkward part in them so I can fix it (you girls know what I mean...MAJOR POINTS FOR THIS!) The pictures for the wedding day were also just as awesome. We were tight on schedule but John made sure he had a good amount of pictures of my husband and myself. I can definitely tell that his priority was to spend as much time as possible with us so we could have a good library of pictures to look back on. I’m so glad that I was able to work with John and would 1000% recommend him.

Professional Network & Endorsements

5 Endorsements
ECHOUMAKEUP MAKEUP & HAIR STUDIO {AIRBRUSH / HAIR EXTENSION} ECHOUMAKEUP MAKEUP & HAIR STUDIO {AIRBRUSH / HAIR EXTENSION} Wedding Hair & Makeup

John, Simple Two we had a lot of same customers who love his style and personality. I love to work with John too, he is easy work with and all my brides were very happy with their pictures.

Ryan Geldermann Cinematography Ryan Geldermann Cinematography Wedding Videographers

the man is a genius. 'nuff said.

Mad Mochi Photo Booth Mad Mochi Photo Booth Photo Booths

John Yao from SimplyTwo Photography is simply awesome. He was the photographer at my sister and now brother in law's wedding and not only did he put in time and effort to do a great job on the engagement shoot and wedding, but he went above and beyond. We had a photo booth at the wedding and had some technical issues with the flash. He was kind enough to let us borrow his extra flash unit. John is super friendly and knows how to please not only the wedding party, but the guests as well. Can't wait to see more of his work!

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