Matt Schmachtenberg Photography Reviews
Reviews
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Micah Sent on 10/13/2025
Love, love, love
Matt was absolutely amazing to work with! From our engagement shoot to our wedding day, he went above and beyond in every way. He’s not only incredibly talented behind the camera but also such a kind and genuine person. He made us feel completely at ease, captured the most beautiful candid moments, and paid close attention to every detail.
Matt was wonderful with our families, making everyone feel comfortable and included. By the end of the process, he truly felt more like a friend than just our photographer. We’re so grateful for the memories he captured — every photo perfectly reflects the joy of our day. We couldn’t recommend him enough and would love an opportunity to work with him again! -
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![Jonathan]()
Jonathan Sent on 09/26/2025Fantastic photographer
Matt photographed our wedding and engagement, and we truly had a wonderful experience working with him. He is prompt, professional, and very accommodating. During the wedding, he was extremely efficient and organized with taking portrait pictures of all of our friends and family. Most importantly, the quality of Matt’s photography is unmatched. He has an uncanny ability to capture the moment with his lens, and his editing skills are quite impressive. My wife and I are so happy we chose Matt to be our photographer for our wedding. We cannot recommend him enough to anyone looking for an easy-going, highly experienced photographer who offers reasonable pricing. -
![Michael]()
Michael Sent on 09/21/2025Incredible photos!
We absolutely loved working with Matt!
We wanted our wedding photos to have a candid, documentary feel to them, and we chose Matt because we could see in his galleries that he executed this style brilliantly! Everyone in the photos looked genuine and joyful, and not at all posed or inauthentic.
Still, when we showed up to our engagement shoot—since neither of us had ever had a professional photoshoot before—we felt a bit nervous that, somehow, we would end up being the ones who couldn’t pull off the naturalistic style. Nonetheless, Matt did a wonderful job putting us at ease and capturing us in exactly the way we were hoping!
Given our experience with the amazing engagement photos, we felt confident going into the wedding that at least one of our vendors was a guaranteed winner – and, of course, Matt didn’t disappoint!
On the day of the wedding, Matt did an amazing job reading the room to know when the right time was to pull us for specific shots, and when to just let moments happen. He was great at getting the groups together for portraits, but also incredibly creative in the way he captured candids and details throughout the rest of the day.
When we got our full gallery, we were blown away! We’ve had many friends and family rave about just how incredible and artistic the photos are. Truly, we will cherish them for years to come! -
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Patty Sent on 10/16/2024
Kind, professional, excellent to work with, and takes stunning photos
Working with Matt Schmachtenberg has been a joy from our very first meeting. I’m writing this review 3 days after our wedding, before even receiving our preview pictures or full wedding photo set, because I have high trust that we will love anything he sends our way.
First call: We hired Matt to photograph our wedding over a year before it took place, and even the first call inspired confidence that he understood what we valued: The people who we loved being featured front and center, and an eye for candid, human moments. We wanted to minimize the amount of posing that we did on the day. We deeply appreciated how up-front and transparent his pricing was, and after interviewing the other (lovely) photographers on our list, it was clear that he was exactly who we were looking for.
Engagement shoot: Our engagement shoot was a wonderful experience. We did an in-home shoot, and Matt was so good at keeping things playful and creative. We came with some ideas (cooking, playing board games), and as opportunities arose, so did he. We danced around the living room, we laid down on the floor while he got on a chair, and we talked and got to know each other. He was warm, calming, and professional. For the engagement shoot, he was on time, he returned the preview shots super quickly, and the full album was stunning. We used his pictures all over our wedding website.
Wedding: On our wedding day, he was super grounded and friendly, and was willing to roll with multiple sites (our ceremony and reception were different places, and our getting-ready shots too. Sorry, Matt!) We received compliment after compliment about our guests’ interactions with him. We got some (totally not expected) phone pictures from the day, and we’re already in love with them.
We did not have a super specific vision for what we wanted our wedding or engagement pictures to look like. I know that is not the case for everyone, so I can’t speak to what that would be like with Matt. I’d say that we went in able to articulate the things that we valued (which Matt also asked about in a survey he sent out before the wedding), and really let Matt take the lead. It was easy to do that given how much he inspires trust. Everything we have seen from him has been a work of art, and working with him has consistently been one of the highlights of the process of hosting a wedding. I would recommend him without hesitation to anyone who asked. -
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Elizabeth Sent on 04/04/2024
Highly recommend!
Matt was so wonderful to work with! He's such an easy going and fun presence, and he made us feel super comfortable having our photos taken (especially during our engagement shoot when he said, "Oh I forgot to mention it's super awkward for the first few minutes, but it will get better!" haha!) My husband has a Chandler-Bing-esque inability to smile normally in a posed photo, but Matt was able to overcome this and capture his candid smile perfectly :) We had a blast with both our engagement photos and our wedding day. Oh yeah, and the photos are gorgeous!! We haven't even gotten our all our photos back yet, but I know we'll cherish them forever. You can't go wrong booking Matt! -
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![Ryan]()
Ryan Sent on 02/08/2024Great guy, stellar photographer, highly recommend
Matt was the first vendor we locked down for our wedding, after we’d seen and loved his work and style on his Instagram. And, man, he totally lived up to and exceeded expectations. He put us at ease quickly and played off our energy so well when we met him for an engagement shoot in Old Town Alexandria, so much so that when it started to pour we just rolled with it. Those photos turned out great — a mix of black and white and then mostly color, some posed, some capturing us walking or doing some bit he always encouraged — and we loved the way we looked, too.
Matt and his second shooter, Xiaoqui, totally on it for our wedding day, too, from getting-ready and detail shots to small emotional moments to the ceremony, cocktail hour, first dance, scene, speeches and dance floor. He also thought big, in a move that I think captures him well: Matt had taken the time to scout out our venue property and found a field of flowers just a short drive up the hill from our reception site, and at sunset we stole away to take some just stunningly beautiful, memorable shots. We’d recommend him to anyone, and we already have to all our friends. -
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![Abigail]()
Abigail Sent on 02/03/2024Engaging photographer, beautiful photos
Working with Matt on our dream engagement and wedding photos was an incredible experience. My husband and I are generally camera shy but Matt put us at ease and captured beautiful, intimate moments without awkward, unnatural posing. We will treasure these images forever. Matt's process is collaborative and flexible. He was extremely accommodating throughout the planning process and the wedding itself. We were especially impressed by the sheer number of photos included in our gallery and the range of memories he captured. My husband and I get so much joy out of looking through our gallery and reliving different parts of our celebration. Without hesitation, we highly recommend Matt! -
Anna Sent on 08/17/2023
Absolutely love our wedding pictures!!
Matt is awesome!! He did our engagement shoot and wedding photos and they are all stunning!! He captured our wedding day perfectly, and we will treasure the pictures for years to come! -
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Molly Sent on 08/06/2023
So fun to work with!
I can't say enough good things about having Matt as our photographer. He traveled to OBX for our intimate wedding, and was so easygoing throughout the entire day, willing to be flexible as planned changed a bit. The photos turned out amazing, and he perfectly captured the fun of the day! -
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![Grace]()
Grace Sent on 06/10/2023Thank you, Matt!!
Matt's gorgeous, candid photos captured all of the joy of our wedding. Not only that but he was an absolute pleasure to work with—incredibly responsive, kind, and put us at ease immediately. We could not have been happier to have the chance to work with him and his excellent second photographer, Katie. -
![Nate & Lily]()
Nate Sent on 05/20/2023An easy choice - thanks for the memories!
We had a great experience working with Matt for our engagement photos in Fall 2021, and we were so happy to work with him again at our wedding in Spring 2023. Matt has a warm, calming presence that helped put us at ease, be present, and focus on the love and joy we share with each other. We love his focus on natural beauty, both in his emphasis on candid moments and on capturing the beauty of the great outdoors. Weddings have the potential to be so stressful and to fly by way too fast, but Matt helped us slow down and create quiet moments to reflect, laugh, and savor the time we had together on one of the most special days of our lives. He was also well-prepared for rainy skies and still found ways to get lovely shots outside (with and without umbrellas). Not only is Matt a great guy and a fantastic photographer, but he was also willing to travel all the way up to Philadelphia for our wedding! We’re looking forward to cherishing the memories in these photos for years to come, and we would highly highly recommend working with Matt. -
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![Sarah]()
Sarah Sent on 08/14/2022The best of the best!
Matt is the best and his skills are amazing. You can’t get any better! He captured our energy perfectly and never made us feel rushed or crowded. 10/10 would recommend ❤️ -
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![Holly]()
Holly Sent on 03/26/2022Outstanding
Matt is an outstanding human and exceptionally skilled photographer. While searching for a wedding photographer, we were stopped dead in our tracks when we came across his work. The quality of his photos was so refreshing after sifting through generic, staged, run-of-the-mill wedding photograph collections. Matt's photos are genuine, uncontrived, and natural; there is a great deal of diversity in his work because his photos capture the personalities and experience of the couple. We later found out that pre-wedding industry, his career was rooted in photojournalism for the Richmond Times Newspaper. So OF COURSE his photos are different! Rather than manufacturing a product, Matt captures the genuine FEEL of the wedding, documents the authentic moments, and tells a story with his photographs.
Matt was a pleasure to work with throughout the planning stages. He was accessible, knowledgeable, and exceptionally kind and understanding. He worked with us to plan for complicated family dynamics (staged family photos are a bit of a pressure-cooker when it comes to family drama), and to calm my anxieties about being the center of attention. Beyond everything he did to prepare for our wedding, I cannot say enough about what he did on our actual wedding day. Despite a mid-March wedding date, we had a huge snow storm move in the morning of our wedding. Imagine ice, whiteout conditions, blustery wind and freezing temps, and LOSING POWER AND WATER at the venue for 7 hours. Matt rolled with it all, and his calm and kind demeanor helped us enjoy the moment despite the conditions. Luckily the power/water came on an hour before the ceremony, but honestly I was never concerned. I knew that our expert vendors would ensure that our day was special no matter what happened, and I could just enjoy myself under their direction.
The end result was stunning. Our photos are beyond our wildest dreams, capturing every feeling and emotion we had that day... and we've only gotten the preview photos so far! I highly recommend Matt and appreciate his professionalism, approachability, and kindness! -
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![Leslie]()
Leslie Sent on 08/24/2021Wonderful photographer!
We had the privilege of working with Matt during our wedding in December 2019 and I could not have asked for a more positive experience. First, we both knew that wedding photography was not something we wanted to bargain with. We wanted a photographer that could timelessly capture our wedding in a way that we could cherish for years to come. We set-up a 60min call with Matt to get a better sense of how he works with people, what his style of photography was, what his motivations were as a photographer, etc., and I knew the minute the call was over that we had found our guy. Here are some reasons why we were so happy with Matt:
Professionalism: Throughout the entire wedding process (before / during / after), Matt was professional, responsive, and helpful. Even after almost two-years, Matt worked with us to create the most beautiful wedding album and didn't hesitate to respond to my 1B daily emails.
Aesthetic / Personality: Matt has such a unique and caring way when working with his clients. He made everyone feel at ease, seamlessly blending into the background, and emerging when needed to get the right photo in its most organic state. If you haven't looked at his portfolio, I would do so immediately. He really does capture people in their most organic and happy state, and I think a huge part of it is that he clearly cares so much about what he does.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Matt. I highly recommend him and hope that you work with him to capture the most important moments of your life. -
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![Lucy]()
Lucy Sent on 08/16/2021You can't go wrong!!!
Matt..... is the best wedding photographer ever. Hands down! He made us feel so calm and excited on on our wedding, and he really captured all of the excitement of the day in a way that felt honest and all-around joyful. We didn't end up hiring a videographer for the wedding, and looking back we really didn't need to because all of the emotions and happy memories from the day can be seen in Matt's photos!
It was sooooo tough to choose a few photos to feature here because they're all so good!! Matt, our wedding day would not have been the same without you - THANK YOU! -
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![Natasha]()
Natasha Sent on 08/04/2021Matt is so good!
We are so, so happy that we chose Matt as our wedding photographer. He's so good at what he does! He captured such beautiful, candid moments between us. We feel so grateful that we're going to have these pictures forever. Also, he was so fun to work with. He sat with me at the height of my wedding nerves - right before the first look - and made me laugh. Can't recommend him enough. -
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![Billy]()
Billy Sent on 11/27/2019Blown away! Hire Matt!
Seven months later, and we are still blown away every time we look at Matt's amazing photos from our wedding outside of Charlottesville, VA. Matt captured everything about the day so perfectly--from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the backdrop to the candid moments shared between us and our guests throughout the day--and we look forward to cherishing the memories forever. Moreover, Matt is just one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and makes any photo session a blast.
Highly recommend the two-photographer package (great deal and they are able to capture even more moments between the couple as well as the guests). We also hired Matt for our engagement photos in Shenandoah National Park, and his work was phenomenal--taking the time to scout the area to find the perfect locations and making it an unforgettable afternoon!
Thank you again Matt for your art and helping to make our wedding the unforgettable day that it was. Sending love from our new home in Kansas City! --Megan & Billy -
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![Katy]()
Katy Sent on 11/18/2019Simply the best
It's hard to put into words what Matt brought to our wedding. He was the first vendor we hired (almost two years out) and he turned out to be so much more than a dude with a camera; he really had a major hand in shaping the experience. He was kind, funny, and always willing to give advice on planning questions. And he worked out a time to do an engagement shoot in our city despite living across the country, which was so helpful for our comfort level.
By the time we got to the wedding day, Matt felt like an old friend. He has a great instinct for when to be unobtrusive and when to really jump into the action, and it shows in the final product. In both the portraits and candids, the emotion shows so true to life in every image. Looking at them just instantly takes me back. He got every shot we told him was important to us, plus so many fantastic moments of our friends and family. I've seen at least six people make one of Matt's photos their profile picture (which is probably not your highest priority but to me that says something about his ability to turn out photos everyone loves lol!) On top of that he deftly wrangled our massive wedding party and all the family members to keep us ahead of schedule, which I'm pretty sure has never happened before in the history of weddings.
I really can't say enough about what a great decision hiring Matt was. If you're looking for true-to-life, beautiful, evocative photos of your wedding, Matt Schmachtenberg's your guy. And if you live in Oregon, I doubly urge you to hire Matt so my husband and I have an excuse to hang out with him again! -
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![Alexandra]()
Alexandra Sent on 09/14/2019Wonderful Photographer - Honest, Candid and Beautiful Images
We had a fantastic experience with Matt as our photographer and one of the best decisions we made for our wedding! My husband and I saw his work come across our instagram feed over a year before our wedding, and we just knew we had to work with him. We loved his cinematic style and the way he is able to effortlessly capture his couples. His style (and approach) brings out the authentic and candid nature of his couples and his work really honors the locations of his weddings in a beautiful and unique way. When we met Matt on an incredibly windy and cold evening for our engagement shoot in San Francisco, we instantly felt calm and comfortable in his presence - it was like he was an old friend we had known for a while. My husband and I never really posed for photos before and felt awkward early on in the shoot, but Matt helped us feel at ease and joked around with us throughout and the final results were stunning! He joined us in Lake Tahoe for our wedding weekend and really went above and beyond. Our family and friends loved spending time with him and his photography partner. He captured the day, the setting and all of the sweet, fun and even wild moments absolutely beautifully! We are still staring at our wedding day photos in awe and we will treasure them forever! Throughout the process, Matt was super easy to work with - communicative, professional, flexible and easy going. It was so great to have him on our team!
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Erin Sent on 03/27/2019
Authenticity in every aspect!
I can’t recommend Matt enough! He was calm, cool, and collected the entire event and captured so many great moments throughout the wedding of us and all our guests. He and Lindsey seemed to be everywhere all night. Looking back at the photos, he snapped photos not only taking advantage of the gorgeous architecture surroundings, but the strong emotions throughout the evening, whether prominently on display or in hidden glances. I am so thankful to have those memories and the smiles, laughter, and tears encapsulated in film. He worked extremely diligently to take any photo we specifically mentioned and his laid-back, ‘enjoy this moment’ attitude made my hesitation in front of the camera dissipate (if not completely, at least partly!)
Outside of the event, he was extremely professional and approachable. He promptly responded to emails and questions no matter how minute and delivered all his photos and galleries on time. And for our engagement photos, he was willing to wake up at an ungodly hour to meet us for our sunrise engagement shoot and was game to explore an area he had never visited before. Simply put, we will treasure the photos Matt (and Lindsey) took forever, thank you so much! -
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Claire Sent on 10/08/2018We actually found Matt through a friend of a friend off Facebook. I loved his style immediately. Matt was beyond fantastic to work with. He was incredibly responsive and did his best to find the right photo package to work within our budget. He was the only photographer I could find that had the vibe and style we were going for. I was adamant about not having corny poses and fake smiles. Matt still captured the love and fun in all of our candid shots. He was flexible with our busy schedules and we had a Skype call before the big day. We did our best to reel in our loud chaotic family to get pictures in quickly - and he took it all in stride. He came prepared and ready to roll. We received the preview pictures and they took our breath away. Everyone is raving about them and we can’t wait to frame them all. Even my budget conscious husband knows it was well worth the $$ to have the photographer understand you and have pictures to last a lifetime. Thank you Matt!
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Sahar Sent on 12/20/2017Matt is a consummate professional - but also, super fun. He totally *got* our vision for our wedding and engagement photos. He was on time (aka super early), had all my notes printed and prepared (because who remembers the group photos on their wedding day?!) and guided us through everything day-of. Our photos are truly beautiful, and captured every single moment perfectly. I am so happy with our decision to work with Matt and hope to have the opportunity to work with him again for any future memorable moments!
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