Welcome, friend! I'm David

And I’ve made it my life’s work to humbly observe and artfully capture love in its infinite forms, its incomparable beauty. Behind my lens, you’ll find a gentle, heart-driven North Carolinian grateful to be invited into your story—wherever it takes place.

I’m at home in the joy of capturing this uniquely emotional time in my couples’ lives, and I work to strike a balance between organic, in-the-moment shots and meticulously composed portraiture. Shooting from the heart and searching for the light, I create photographs that are honest yet refined, drawing you in again and again to remember exactly how it felt to be so in love, so surrounded by it. And when I’m not behind the camera on your big day, I’m recharging on the water or with my wife and beloved dog, savoring my own moments of meaning.

I’ve always been a natural storyteller. From creating imaginative illustrated magazines in my childhood to processing self-portraits and sunset shots in my high school darkroom, I’ve long been drawn to using images to convey a feeling or the significance of a moment when words fail. And while it took me until adulthood to connect this love of storytelling with weddings like yours, I haven’t looked back since my first in 2017.

My Photography Journey

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a small business. This journey started with curiosity, grew through countless hours of learning, and evolved into a full-time passion. From experimenting with a point-and-shoot camera to capturing the deep emotions of a wedding day, every step along the way has shaped the photographer—and storyteller—I am today. Here’s how it all unfolded.

2003

Obsessed with the web and coding, I started a photography blog, coding it from scratch as a showcase for photos taken with my parents’ point-and-shoot camera.

2006

I took a darkroom class in high school and began experimenting with film photography while also exploring nature photography, documenting my life list of bird species seen in North Carolina.

2013

I pursued a graduate degree in Interactive Media, which taught me a few more photography courses. I traveled to Ecuador and photographed my adventures there.

2014

I began work as an art director for a marketing agency, which included building a photography department from scratch. I photographed some large brands including Bojangles, Papa Johns, Pinehurst Resort, and more.

2017

I photographed my first wedding. Having shot mostly products until then, I fell in love with the emotion, excitement, energy, and artistic approach weddings offered, realizing it was what I wanted to pursue in life.

2023

After working as an art director for almost a decade, I decided to pursue my small business full-time!

Love Notes

“David captured our day with intention and heartfelt generosity. As a queer couple getting married in the South, we held our breath before vendor bookings, hoping to receive the same kind of enthusiasm and dedication to our day that we’ve seen so many of our straight friends enjoy. But with David, we were held gently, safely, made to feel beautiful and worthy of beholding. We will not soon forget his kindness, and the way he spun even our quietest moments beneath a bright Charleston sky into gilded images we return to again and again.”

- Caroline B., Charleston Bride

"As a wedding planner, David Howell is a dream of a photographer to work with. I’ve never worked with a photographer so involved in the pre-wedding collaboration as David is. He truly cares so much about his clients and wants to capture the things most important to them. He builds relationships with his clients before the wedding day, so when the wedding arrives, it’s like working with a friend. I highly recommend David to any of my couples!"

- Maggie Marsh, Eastern NC Wedding Planner

This means everything to me.

What remains of your wedding day after the guests have gone home with tired feet and the flowers have faded, when the lilting notes of the band’s last love song have played? Photographs are what keep us close to that magic, and I know better than most the value of such memories.

By the age of 31, I had lost both of my parents. And while they never got to see my own wedding, through the stacks and stacks of photos they took and kept of themselves, I’ve seen them grow up, fall in love, get married and start a family. I look at my mother in black and white, just a teenager, and hear her laugh. I see my father on a skateboard and smell his cologne. I believe this is why wedding photos are so important: they help us time travel, bring us back to people we’ve loved and lost and let us stay there with them, for just a moment longer. The images I capture are meant to endure, to be discovered and treasured for years to come.