Brown Stones Photography Reviews
Reviews
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
-
Tiffany Sent on 02/20/2024
Stop the search, you found the one
We had the pleasure of meeting Keely almost 1.5 years ago to talk about potentially being our wedding photographer. And I’m so glad we decided to go with her.. our engagement & wedding photos are BEAUTIFUL! All of our family and friends talk highly of them.
Photos are the only thing you take away from the day besides memories.. and I’m definitely glad we have some amazing photos to use for years to come! -
-
Stuart Sent on 06/01/2023
The smartest choice you’ll make for your wedding
Where do I begin? When we first met with Keely on our wedding vision, she said don’t hire me if you don’t like my vibes, you’re going to spend a lot of time with me on your wedding day. Fortunately for us, we loved the vibes!
We had an idea of what we wanted, but we wanted a trusted advisor that would listen to our thoughts and ideas and develop a creative and well researched plan that would result in a day of flawless execution. We had ideas that she was able to take her years of experience and turn it into something incredible. Beyond just the photography, she took a tremendous amount of time to understand our vision, our historic venue, and our schedule of events to ensure her plan for photography was thoughtful and included as part of the plan, but would not take away from our opportunity to experience our day.
We were smart to do a couples session prior to our wedding where we got to spend 2-3 hours shooting with Keely, and we said goodbye with big hugs feeling she was just as excited for our wedding as we were.
On our wedding day, Keely was prepped and ready and was there calling shots in the best way. Just like she directed us when she was behind the camera to engineer the best photo results, she was not shy about getting to know and working with all our vendors to make sure everything happened in concert. With background as an architectural photographer, she knew not only how to capture beautiful shots of us, but also how to shoot the venue and us in our venue to truly capture all of our beautiful wedding choices we’d worked so hard to plan.
It was important to us that all our guests got great photos of themselves as it was that we got great photos. Since we asked our guests to dress in formal attire, Keely created a Photo Booth at our venue and made sure every guest got great photos of themselves and/or their group.
Keely was quick to turn around our photo edits, and she went above and beyond to help us create shareable albums with our friends and family. The experience of working with Keely alone was tremendous, and the quality of the photos she was able to deliver far surpassed our expectations. -
-
Olivia Sent on 02/15/2023
Best Decision!
Keely is hands down the best. She was my saving grace during our wedding and was straightforward with me the whole time. Her patience and drive for this business is incredible! Our wedding pictures look so perfect; the colors, positioning, and amount we got back are above and beyond! -
-
![Katelyn]()
Katelyn Sent on 04/26/2022The best part of our wedding was having Brownstones capture our day!
Looking back on our Big Day, I cant put into words have thankful I was to have had Brownstones helping me through everything. My mother is a photographer, too, and she couldn't help be gawk at Keely's incredible work and ease throughout the day.
Timelines were (of course) thrown off throughout the day, but Keely kept us moving along with comforting help as we got every perfect moment captured. She absolutely nailed every moment, and she was so fun to have by our side. My husband and I wish that we lived closer to have Keely photograph every milestone in our lives - She's just that incredible! -
-
![Danielle]()
Danielle Sent on 01/12/2022The Best Ever & Easiest Vendor Choice
There's really not enough great things I can say about Keely and BSP. We met Keely at a friends wedding and kind of hit it off with her. She was so nice and personable, that even as a guest, we felt she was the best photographer we've encountered. (and we have been to a lot of weddings haha) Fast forward a year and it was now our time to look at vendors—we had a list of photographers in hand but knew we had to choose Brown Stones. Keely was great with communication, direction, and asking all the necessary questions and helping plan, so this worried bride's mind was at ease. Thank you so much Keely!!! Hopefully we will be able to use BSP for even more major life events in the future :) -
-
Rylee Sent on 01/04/2022
Local or away, check Keely out!
Keely made my wedding vision come to life in our engagement photos and wedding photos that we received! My fiancé and I had never taken professional photos before and Keely made the process easy and comfortable for us. She captured some really special engagement photos that we still look back on. Most of all, she captured beautiful wedding photos for us on our special day. She was able to accommodate our large families and get some beautiful pictures that are now hanging up in our families homes! She has a good eye on where to take pictures and get the most out of the experience. She even pulled us away to get some awesome sunset pictures (highly recommend doing this during an evening wedding). The quality of pictures and amount we received were worth every penny! If your local or even away, check her out! -
-
![Corey]()
Corey Sent on 12/19/2021Excellent photographer and experience!
Keely was absolutely wonderful to work with and does an excellent job. She makes you feel comfortable while not being shy about making sure she gets the best quality pictures. Several of my wedding guests commented how great she was and they wished they had a photographer like her for their event. Keely is both an awesome person and awesome at what she does, can’t recommend her enough and my husband and I will definitely use her in the future for our photography needs! -
![Maddie]()
Maddie Sent on 12/17/2021We loved Keely! Highly recommend!
I cannot say enough good things about Keely and Brownstones Photography! She has been my go-to photographer for years. She did both me and my husband's high school senior pictures and we both had such great experiences that when it came time to hire a wedding photographer, we knew Keely was our girl.
From the moment we booked her for our wedding, Keely made sure to make us feel like we were a priority. She helped us schedule an engagement session quickly (so that we could send out save the dates), and when it rained in the middle of our original session, she let us take more photos a month later to have as keepsakes / to print out for wedding items.
Keely is so easy to work with and truly helped our wedding day flow smoothly. A few weeks before the wedding, she sent us a questionnaire to fill out to ensure that we got EVERY photo that we wanted (with each grandparent, extended family, group of friends, etc.), which I wouldn't have deemed as important, until wedding day came and who you want in which photo is the last thing on your mind :) With Keely, everything was well planned out and we were sure to get every photo we wanted. She also gave us a timeline of when the different sets of photos would need to be taken, and how long they would take. VERY helpful!
On wedding day, Keely showed up promptly and immediately began taking photos of the girls getting ready, detail shots, shots of breakfast, you name it. She was able to get all of the girls shots in and then head to the boys suite to take their photos too. When we got to the church, she made sure the boys had their boutonnieres on correctly and were ready to go, while also getting every shot we could ever hope for. (After having been to other weddings where people are just waiting for everyone to waddle over, this is IMPORTANT and a huge time saver!)
We got amazing outdoor and indoor photos after the ceremony, even though the day was pretty rainy. Keely also captured fun photos of all of our guests on the dance floor, which was a treat to send to everyone afterwards. We are constantly getting compliments on all of the photos!
All in all, our experience with Keely couldn't have been better, and we are so grateful that we chose her to photograph our wedding. We would HIGHLY recommend her!! -
-
Emily Sent on 11/30/2021
Best Photographer Out There!!!
I cannot say enough good things about Keely! Not only did she an amazing job with our wedding photos, she is an all around great person to be around. She is so fun and sweet but also knows how to help guide the flow of the day so you stay on schedule. She has done our family photos and wedding photos for my wedding and my brother's wedding. She is basically part of our family now! -
-
Ashley Sent on 11/17/2021
Amazing, simple, fun
Keely is the best photographer I have ever worked with! So easy to talk to and she always knows how to get the perfect shot. -
-
Anna Sent on 11/16/2021
Keely is just wonderful!!!
Keely is SO wonderful!!! Why? Because she is kind, punctual, brilliant, and such a professional. She KNOWS what she is doing and she deserves all the credit she has earned for her hard work! On the day of the wedding she was there to help and she literally helped organize and manage the show like a wedding planner and I needed so much help! She took on so many roles and was always so caring and helpful to all of us! She focused on what we needed and wanted. The photos she sent were set on this stunning site! I can’t stop looking at them! The detail and colors are unbelievably intricate and you can tell she cares deeply about what she does! Thank you to the moon and back, Keely!! We appreciate you so much!! -
-
David Sent on 06/11/2019
Amazing Photographer
Keely is fantastic and you won't go wrong by hiring her to do your wedding photos! She's flexible and worked amazingly well with us to capture all the special moments from our wedding. She's creative in her shot selection and works well with all the many personalities involved in wedding (e.g. your in-laws, crazy aunts, and squirmy kids). Also, she's LGBTQ+ friendly for those who value that in a photographer! We would recommend her to anyone! -
-
Jessica Sent on 10/11/2022
Amazing wedding photographer!
My husband and I love keely! We are so glad she took our beautiful photos & can’t wait to use her for other important moments in the future. The photos are exactly what we envisioned and I know we will enjoy looking back on them for years to come! Keely made us feel so comfortable and our guests raved about her! -
-
![Cassidy]()
Cassidy Sent on 01/11/2023Affordable, lovely photos, but an unprofessional experience
My husband and I hired Keely to take our Engagement photos and provide eight hours of coverage on our wedding day.
Overall, Keely did a nice job with our photos. She was a positive presence on the day, and the photos turned out wonderfully. We also found her to be more affordable than some of the other photographers in the area, which is always a bonus when planning an expensive event. But, as a person who values organization, communication, and deadlines, I found Keely a bit difficult to work with.
Before we finalized the booking, Keely was very responsive and communicative, she was also very experienced. It was something I valued and one of the reasons I hired her. As soon as we made our payment (we decided to pay all up front because she offered a discount for doing so), communication took a turn for the worse.
Our engagement photos were included in the cost of our wedding package. However, scheduling the engagement shoot turned out to be a big challenge, with Keely altering plans multiple times. It ended up going well and we liked the photos, but it turned what was supposed to be fun into a stressful experience on our end.
Throughout the year leading up to the wedding, it often took her a long time to respond to emails. She also had to last-minute reschedule a few of the check in meetings we set.
When it came to the wedding itself, our experience was positive overall on the day. Keely was great at directing the group. She was a good leader and we wound up with some excellent group shots. I know my wedding party enjoyed working with her as well. She made us all feel really comfortable in the photos and was very helpful when it came to poses and feeling natural in the spotlight!
With that said, our photography package included an assistant, whom Keely was very clear would be there to help, but not take photos. I assumed that this would be someone who was a photography-adjacent professional. However, the assistant ended up being her teenage son, who was nice, but was not as experienced or helpful as I would have hoped. He mostly assisted Keely by holding her equipment rather than assisting with posing or gathering groups of family for photos.
We did accomplish all shots on the list, but when looking at the full gallery, I was a little disappointed by opportunities we missed or live moments that were not captured. In the end, I feel like an experienced assistant would have really improved the experience. In the last hour or two when Keely was supposed to be getting general event coverage, there were very few candid shots of guests talking and dancing.
Lastly, the aspect that bothered me the most about our experience was how long it took to receive our photos. Our contract stated that the full wedding gallery would be delivered in 4-6 weeks. I believe at some point she told me she was going to be updating future contracts to be 6-8 weeks (but our contract was never updated to reflect this). At the wedding, I distinctly remember her telling me it would take 6 weeks. At 6 weeks, I checked in and she told me it would be closer to 8 weeks. Then, a day or two after the 8-week mark, I checked in again and she said they would not be ready until the following Friday. She emailed me on that Friday after 5pm to tell me the photos were uploading and I did not get the full gallery link until the following evening at 8pm (9 weeks after the event). She did give me a $100 print credit for being late, which was a kind gesture. That said, delivering the photos a three full weeks after the agreed-upon date is a breach of contract. I spoke to my wedding planner about this, and she said that this is not industry standard.
Overall, we were really happy with the photos and we got along well with Keely throughout the day. As stated above, she really made us feel comfortable in front of the camera and got some excellent shots of my husband and I that we’ll cherish forever! However, it’s important to know that when booking with her, you may be dealing with someone less-than-organized who can be unprofessional at times. -
![Erin]()
Erin Sent on 11/05/2021Frustration and Regret
Hiring Keely was my biggest wedding regret. She breached contract, was extremely difficult to work with, & the photos I received were nowhere near the work I had paid her for. I hired Keely in Jan of 2020 for our July 2020 wedding, paying in-full up front. Once she had received my payment, communication dropped off. She was flighty with our engagement shoot, ignored my attempts to get on her calendar, and finally I ended up just asking for credit for a future shoot.
When postponing the wedding due to Covid, I let Keely know that we were officially on the venue’s calendar for July 10, 2021, but that we planned to double check with friends and family. I asked that she let us know if the other dates in July started to fill up (as that would impede our ability to change the date further if we needed to.) She confirmed & I did not hear from her again for 9mo.
When I reached out to her in Feb, she told me that she had booked another couple for July 10, citing that I had not signed a new contract, so she had not held the date. She had not sent a new contract, nor told me I would need one. Her only attempt to reconcile was to offer credit for future shoots, and she avoided a phone call to discuss. I politely requested a 75% refund so we could hire someone else, to which I received a defensive reply explaining why this was anyone’s fault but her own. Finally, she agreed to hire an associate to shoot and she would handle editing. I was not allowed input into who she hired, nor would she tell me who it was.
Moving forward, Keely was disinterested and annoyed by having to work with me, despite me being friendly & polite with every interaction. My questions would receive half replies or be ignored. She was constantly forgetting to send things she said she’d send. Despite 3mo of planning, I didn’t receive confirmation on the location of the pre-ceremony photos until the night before the wedding.
On our wedding day, it was revealed that Keely did not hire a second shooter, even though I had been contracted for one, had planned for one, and Keely had confirmed she would send one last year. When questioned, Keely made excuses, saying the contract “meant” something wildly different than what it actually said. I dropped it because I didn’t want her retaliating on my photos. I was told I’d receive sneak peeks at 2wks, and when I hadn’t seen a single photo at 4wks, I reached out and she passive-aggressively told me I needed to wait in line. She finally delivered my photos at 9wks only because I had to ask AGAIN about the status. Seeing the photos, it was clear Keely had either rushed editing or the associate was nowhere near the same skill/quality I had paid for. The exposure, color, and posing were terrible. The flash that was used was so harsh that nearly all the photos taken in the venue looked like they were taken on a disposable camera, despite the room being FILLED with natural light. When I expressed concern, she mysteriously "found" a new folder of photos that were taken without flash.
Even though Keely refuses to admit the photos weren’t of quality, she has still not posted them anywhere, obviously not wanting to associate herself with them. I wanted to avoid leaving this review, however, when I reached out to her to let her know how much stress she had caused me over the last 20 months - instead of apologizing, she instead blocked me various places on social media. She brought a sad frustrated feeling to every one of my wedding photos. -
Are you interested?
Are you interested?