Yosemite has a way of humbling you. The scale, the silence, the light…it all makes you feel small in the best possible way. As a Yosemite wedding photographer, I’ve seen this park under every kind of sky, but that day with Shae and Nhat was something different. It wasn’t about perfection or control. It was about trust.
From the beginning, they gave me complete freedom…a shared understanding between storytellers. Shae and Nhat are both photojournalists, and because of that, they saw the day not as something to stage, but as something to feel. They knew the beauty was already there, in the unexpected, in the honest.
After the ceremony, we headed into portraits. That’s when the storm arrived. A sudden downpour soaked everything, but Shae and Nhat didn’t flinch. They laughed, embraced each other, and moved through the rain like it was exactly where they were meant to be. Their joy was calm and complete, a perfect reflection of their trust…in each other and in me as their photographer.
That’s what I’ll remember most…their openness to the moment. The sound of rain on granite, their clothes and hair dripping, the way they held each other and didn’t let go.
As a wedding photographer in Yosemite, I live for this kind of day. The raw, unscripted, beautifully imperfect ones. When nothing goes as planned and somehow it becomes everything you hoped it would be.
When I photograph weddings like this, I’m reminded that emotion doesn’t need direction. It just needs space. Shae and Nhat gave me that…total trust, total openness. And what came out of it were images that feel alive, full of movement, full of truth.
If you’re planning to get married in Yosemite and are searching for a Yosemite wedding photographer who values honesty over perfection, who’s not afraid of a little weather, and who sees the story in the in-between…I’d love to be there to document it.
Your Narrative blog will appear here, click preview to see it live.
For any issues click here
Yosemite Wedding Photographer: Gabe McClintock Photography | Location: Yosemite National Park
