About DTyler Photography

Deacon Tyler and crew have photographed hundreds of weddings across the country and abroad over the last thirteen years and Deacon remains one of Las Vegas' top professional photographers. Our style is a unique blend of classical portraiture and 'in the moment' photojournalism that captures raw emotions and important moments as they occur.

The manner in which we work with our clients is very calm and easy, never loud or pushy. People are born to pose and know what makes them look good, so our energy is put towards watching you have a great time and popping off shots without constant interruption or being a nuisance on your special day.

After your shoot is over, we provide professional post process retouching at no additional charge and allow you to preview your photos online and order prints quickly and easily.

Deacon Tyler's story

I began my career as a professional photographer in March of 1997, shortly after my own wedding - which in itself is an amazing story consisting of winning a radio station contest officiated by a local shock jock during a ceremony filled with lyrics from 1980's pop songs and mildly inappropriate jokes. It's a tale so unbelievable that I can really only describe it verbally (I love sharing it with clients), but the moral of the story was that my own wedding and made the biggest mistake of my life by not hiring a professional photographer, relying instead on family members and the five free prints that were included in my wedding package.

Not only did we deprive our family members of their wedding day enjoyment and impose on them by acting as photographers, but the pictures....well, let's just thank them for their effort. Two things happened in the following week - I purchased my first SLR (film at that time) and I learned the value of professional photography. Within a month, I had booked my first wedding and thirteen years later I haven't looked back once.

Since 1997, we have shot over 1,000 weddings across the United States and several abroad (averaging over 100 per year), as well as fashion photography, portraits, boudoir and commercial photography. In that time, our love of photography has not diminished one bit. I believe that one of the more compelling reasons to work with DTyler Photography is the high level of energy and enthusiasm we bring to every shoot!

My personality

My partners and I all hail from the Midwest, and we're very much what you would expect - Warm, friendly, hardworking and honest. I'm an extremely easy person to work with and have an almost constant smile and an easy laugh that I'm told puts my clients at ease. I have a great sense of humor, but keep my humor clean, appropriate and without sarcasm.

Good wedding photography is not like a standard client / business relationship - it's more like a short term close partnership and finding a photographer you like to communicate with is just as important as their equipment and technical ability. I work closely with my clients in the months prior to their weddings to come up with unique and creative ideas for their weddings; be it finding a neat location to shoot before or after the ceremony, coming up with poses or just being there to get to know my clients.

The importance of wedding photography

Weddings, maternity, baby's first steps - these are all unique and important events that deserve immortalization. In the case of weddings, it's a one time event that can never be duplicated. Years after the cake has been eaten and all the guests have gone home, the only constant remembrance you will have of your wedding day are your photographs, making photography one of, if not the most critical decisions you make in regards to your wedding preparation. These are timeless and priceless memories that will take you back to your wedding day and keep your love alive whenever you view them. It sounds like a pitch, but I challenge you to try this - whenever you find yourself in disagreement with your spouse, pull out your wedding album and look through all of the pictures of your smiling faces and watch as the anger melts away. This is the magic of good photography!

Equipment

The quality of a photographer's equipment often gets overlooked, but in addition to technical ability and personality, this should be one of the three deciding factors when selecting a photographer. The quality of a photographer's equipment makes an immense difference in color rendition, sharpness and the printability of your photos, especially in low light situations such as darkened churches and reception halls. I strongly recommend that, when contacting photographers, a client inquire about the camera models, lenses, lighting and backup equipment that will be used for their shoot.

Not every photographer uses professional equipment and while their low resolution galleries look great, a huge difference can be seen in print quality between an entry level SLR and a true professional SLR. My partners and I only shoot with professional Nikon equipment that includes:

Camera bodies

Nikon D3 (studio camera), Nikon D700 (wedding camera), Nikon D300 (backup camera)

Lenses

Nikon 17-35mm wide angle zoom, Nikon 50mm f/1.4, Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro VR, Nikon 85mm f/1.4, 2 x Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 zoom, 2 x Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 zoom, Nikon 35mm f/1.8, (etc)

Lighting

2 x Nikon SB-900 speedlights, 2 x Nikon SB-600 speedlights, 3 x Alien Bees B800 studio strobes, along with various diffusers, softboxes, umbrellas and reflectors

Shooting style

If I were to sum it up in a word, it would be 'fluid'. Every client is different, with individual personalities and comfort levels in front of the camera, so part of the 'getting to know you' phase is learning the type of photography my clients are looking for.

I'm a big fan of photojournalism, as it captures raw, unstaged emotion and some of my best photos include random shots so beautiful in their simplicity that few premeditated shots can compare. On the other hand, no wedding is complete without portraits. Portraits ensure that your eyes are open, the background/lighting is good and you're both together. I love 'iconic' looking images - standing proudly and gazing into a distant future together, passionate kisses, huge smiles, funny poses - these are a key aspect of wedding photography that should never be skipped.

Knowing you're in safe hands...

Let me start out by saying that in thirteen years I have never missed a wedding. I have shot weddings with pneumonia, a 102 degree fever, a broken finger and a sprained ankle. Having missed out on wedding photography for my own wedding, I've committed myself to ensuring that it never happens for any of my clients.

I bring a lot of backup to a shoot. Backup cameras, backup lighting and lenses too. But the most important backup I bring to ever shoot is backup people. With me always is one of three photography assistants that act as co-shooter, equipment manager, wardrobe manager and should I (heaven forbid) ever become ill or incapacitated, they could take over as a relief shooter.

In closing, I would like to thank you for your consideration of DTyler Photography and encourage you to keep in touch throughout your planning process. I can always be reached at the numbers below and am always tickled pink to hear from you :)

Mazel Tov!

Sincerely,