Shawn & Brittany
Yosemite Wedding Photography is the creative partnership of Shawn Reeder & Brittany Colt — a real-life couple and a world-class photo team, capturing love in wild places with heart.
We don’t just photograph Yosemite.
We lived it, loved in it, and built our lives in it.
Why Couples Choose Us
• A true two-artist team
You get two distinct creative eyes — Shawn’s cinematic storytelling and Brittany’s emotional, fine-art vision — working together to tell your full love story.
• Yosemite & Eastern Sierra locals, not weekend visitors
We spent over 15 years living and working in Yosemite and now call the Eastern Sierra home. We know where the magic lives — and how to avoid the crowds.
• We met and fell in love here
Our own relationship was born in these mountains. When we photograph your wedding here, it’s personal.
• Designed for intimate, meaningful weddings
From mountaintop elopements to elegant gatherings at places like The Ahwahnee, we specialize in soulful, intentional celebrations in beautiful nature.
• Adventure without chaos
We guide, plan, scout, and problem-solve so you can relax and be fully present on your day.
• Art that feels like you
No stiff posing. No forced moments. Just honest connection, beautiful light, and images that feel alive.
A little about Us
We met, fell in love, and built our life together in Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra — so these mountains aren’t just where we work, they’re part of who we are. Most of our happiest days have been spent wandering granite domes, chasing light through alpine meadows, getting lost on dirt roads, and watching the stars come out over the Sierra.
When we’re not photographing couples, you’ll usually find us:
- Exploring new wild places (from high alpine basins to desert landscapes)
- Traveling slowly and intentionally
- Making art just for ourselves
- Cooking good food, tending our garden, spending time with friends, and enjoying our big backyard
- Dreaming up our next adventure
We’re both artists at heart, just in different ways. Shawn is drawn to sweeping landscapes, special moments, and the quiet magic between people. Brittany is drawn to emotion, beauty, light, and storytelling. Together, that blend shapes everything we create.
Why this work matters to us
Getting to witness two people commit their lives to each other, especially in a place as powerful as Yosemite or the Eastern Sierra, is something we never take for granted. We know how sacred that moment is, because we’ve stood there deeply in awe ourselves. In awe of love itself, and then amplified by the power of nature.
Your wedding isn't just a milestone, it's an Experience of a Lifetime.
We care deeply about people, about love, and about experiences that actually feel meaningful. That’s why intimate weddings and elopements resonate with us so strongly. They feel real. They feel honest. They feel like something you’ll still remember clearly decades from now. And they're exactly what we chose for ourselves and our love as well.
We’re not just here to take photos.
We’re here to be present with you in it.
It means a lot to us to be part of something so personal and meaningful. That’s really what this work is all about.
Shawn Reeder
Shawn has a deep love for the earth and our relationship with it, especially the beauty of wild places. Whether in the awe-inspiring presence of the mountains, the grand vistas and intimate canyons of the desert, or the utter magic of the ocean, Shawn feels at home both viscerally and creatively traveling and in nature. Shawn loves photographing couples in love, filming beautiful landscapes, and capturing humanities' interaction and relationship with nature, yet his favorite art is admittedly the all encompassing art of life.
Shawn first came to Yosemite when he was 18. He won a trip to California and chose to explore Yosemite. Yup, you read that right, he “won” a trip. Maybe ask him about that when you’re out photographing together. It changed his life forever and he moved to Yosemite the following summer. Living in Yosemite in the mid 90’s into the early 2000’s was a special time. You could actually fully immerse in the nature and be outside of society in a way that just seems rarer and rarer in today’s hyper connected digital world. The ability to truly get lost in nature and find yourself before we all had cell phones and the internet was such a gift in retrospect.
Throughout the 2000’s Shawn spent his days hiking, climbing, and exploring one of the world’s greatest playgrounds for outdoor adventure lovers, always with his camera in tow. It wasn’t long before Shawn had befriended some of the greatest rock climbers of all time, and visionary first ascentionists exploring some of the most outrageous locations in Yosemite and the High Sierra. For over a decade Shawn would go on to photograph climbers pushing their limits and creating art in the Sierra and beyond. He was regularly published with Patagonia, Prana, Black Diamond, Climbing Magazine, Rock and Ice, and many other leading outdoor brands.
It was also during this time in the mid to late 2000’s when Shawn found a love for photographing couples in love. At the time there weren’t very many photographers focusing on shooting weddings in Yosemite, and as he started to transition out of the outdoor industry his passion for photographing people in nature remained. Shawn saw an opportunity for a business that would serve outdoor lovers like himself in a very special and sacred way. And thus Yosemite Wedding Photography was born, which continues to grow and thrive to this very day.
By the early 2010’s Shawn had found a new love and he went all in to learn the art of Timelapse and showing the beauty of nature through motion picture. Shawn spent most of the decade perfecting the art of motion control Timelapse and aerial filming to show nature in a spectacular way that we just don’t see every day. Many days out in nature and nights under the stars ensued as Shawn created over a dozen stunning short films showing us just how beautiful Mother Earth and the Night Sky really is. During this time Shawn worked with many high end clients and ad agencies delivering high resolution footage and edited video to clients like Samsung, Philips, Sony and other premium electronics manufacturers. Shawn also worked on some incredible films that afforded him the opportunity to travel and see some of the most beautiful locations on earth.
The end of the 2010’s into the 2020’s brought Shawn back to his roots so to say in the most unexpected and delightful way. With adventure elopements becoming all the rage through social media apps like Instagram showing just how awesome they can be, and Shawn coming back to a focus on working with couples in love, a new era for Yosemite Wedding Photography was born. While we still love photographing weddings, especially at places like the Ahwahnee in Yosemite, Mammoth Lakes, and Convict Lake, adventure elopements in the Sierra and beyond have become our primary focus.
And Yosemite and the Sierra in general is tailor built for an adventure elopement or intimate wedding. There’s nothing like having only you and your partner, or those you’re closest with, and finding a beautiful bit of nature to share your sacred ceremony. And THE PHOTOS!!! I mean that is why you’re here, isn’t it. We absolutely LOVE capturing moments and creating stunning images together, and having a small intimate wedding or adventure elopement allows you so much more flexibility and options to create a magical wedding day that is perfect for you.
Check out below one of Shawn's favorite nature films showing the stunning landscapes of the American West.
Brittany Colt
Brittany is a gifted artist and visionary photographer with a deep connection to nature who has an impeccable eye for details and the subtle nuances of light. Giving up everything in her life 5 years ago, she listened to her soul’s whispers urging her to leave the city and her old life behind and start fresh in some of the beautiful nature on Earth, Yosemite National Park. Brittany courageously followed her heart and the divine timing she was presented with and got a job as a staff photographer at one of the most esteemed Photography Galleries anywhere, The Ansel Adams Gallery. That started a whole new chapter for her where she fully immersed herself into the art of photography and the creative process amidst the healing nature of Yosemite.
While photography has been an important and driving part of Brittany’s life for over 15 years now, her life as a creative started much earlier. As a young child she loved to create with her hands and was surrounded by friends and family who loved to take on creative projects. It set the stage for her to see life in her own unique way. And to say that Brittany sees in a unique way would be an understatement. Being blind on one eye means that she’s always seen the world different than you or I.
Perhaps it helps explain why she is drawn to abstract and intimate scenes, and photographs them in such a way that really captures their spirit. She certainly has vision, and it is so beautifully apparent in her striking landscape photography . After living in Yosemite for only a little over 4 years, you'd think she's spent an entire lifetime living there with amount of stunning & unique "I've never seen that before" images she has in her Portfolio. If you want to see the Valley like you've never seen before make sure to check out her Yosemite and Black and White portfolios.
Years working in the film industry has left its impact on Brittany's approach to photography as well. She did everything from work as a production assistant, to help with costumes and wardrobes, to work as a camera assistant, and with cameras and lighting, to eventually producing a film. Living in Portland during a time when the city was filled with creative independent artists and filmmakers was supremely inspiring and helped Brittany develop her cinematic eye.
Also evident in Brittany's work is her love and appreciation for design. Her many years of studying graphic design have certainly influenced how she sees the world, and her use of leading lines, layers, texture and negative space is exquisite. This leads to visually striking images that really set themselves apart. You "know" when it's a Brittany Colt image. She has a style and eye all her own.
After a decade of building her foundation as an artist on so many different levels, life serendipitously threw a curve ball into Brittany's life. Selling everything that she couldn't fit into her Kia Spectra, Brittany left her life and everything she knew and ventured into the unknown. She packed her bags and made her way to Yosemite like so many other soul searchers feeling the call of nature and a simpler life. Brittany accepted a highly coveted job as a staff photographer for The Ansel Adams Gallery and a new chapter begun.
At the Ansel Adams Gallery, Brittany worked for years as their Education Coordinator and learned a tremendous amount about the art of photography and the beauty of Yosemite. She ran the workshop program and led hundreds of classes and private workshops, helping people of all levels to capture stunning images of Yosemite's breathtaking landscapes. She gained an intimate understanding of Yosemite's magic and learned how to help people have an amazing experience while immersing in the creative process. The healing energy of Yosemite left its mark on her, and the time she dedicated to exploring and photographing built her a stunning body of work.
Yet the winds of change blew into her life once again whispering to her it was time to up level yet again. This brought her into the present where she now lives in the Eastern Sierra with Shawn, and together we couldn't be more excited to serve you though Yosemite Wedding Photography. Thanks for being here, we can't wait to meet you.
Check out this video below to get to know Brittany in this beautiful film her and Shawn created together.
