Our Story
In 2008, Sean sent me a message over social media. He was friendly and unassuming, and said I seemed like a fun person to talk to. When we met in person a few months later, we were immediately and forever inseparable.
Sean had just returned home from the Art Institute of Las Vegas, and we discovered early on that we were both driven by creativity, and a sense of adventure. We would walk through forests, go to the beach, visit new towns, always exploring. I had a cheap, sparkly-blue canon that took cold-toned, blurry, grainy photos, but I loved that little camera, and brought it everywhere.
We both had a little background in film, photography, and design. In 2010, Sean created Ivity Studios, and we began to actively pursue these passions as an art. We obtained a new camera. With our focus on portraiture, scenery, and photo manipulation in the beginning, we practiced and improved our skills, slowly developing our own styles, and cultivating small successes. We learned countless strategies and processes for our work along the way, and still adapt when we find a new technique, setting, or piece of equipment we want to apply.
People began to notice our work. Sean was asked to document my brother's wedding, and my great grandmother's funeral. I photographed his brother's wedding. I began to take clients for portraits. Sean filmed music videos with The Hugs. It could feel like things were happening so slowly sometimes, but they were happening, and we just kept going.
We were married in 2014, in front of a candle-lit Hawthorn tree, surrounded by a field of tall grass and daisies, family and friends. It was the most beautiful, incredible day. We went to Victoria, British Columbia for our honeymoon, and took a trip to New York a few months later.
After our own wedding, we found a new, steadier sense of creative direction. Seeing our wedding photographer navigate her work gracefully had pulled at both of our heartstrings. Both of us had documented weddings before, but sharing our own experience cemented our desire to do this work. We found that we both preferred to capture events together, as a team. Each one stays with us, lovely and incredibly special; they are an absolute dream, as unique and significant as the individuals promising to spend their lives together.
Around that time, I also discovered an enormous love for family photography. The connection and bond of family, and the complexity and depth of each relationship, is an inspiration and honor to record.
Sean began to designate more time and attention to his film work, which he enjoys immeasurably. He made a couple of horror shorts from beginning to end, writing, directing, filming, and editing everything with the help of some family and friends as actors. He has continued to work with The Hugs (I acted in a couple of their videos!), and continues to create music videos with other musicians, as well. Some have attracted the attention of local media.
With this drive, and the growth and skills that years of practice have developed in us, we have pressed forward with a brilliant confidence which, I believe, settled permanently within us in 2016, with the first elopement that we documented together. Since then, we are Sean and Anna, a husband and wife photography and film team.
But, there's still a little more. In 2017, we went to Europe for three weeks. We visited Iceland, Italy, Amsterdam, and Norway. That trip was so beautiful, and the time together exploring was more valuable than anything I own. We both view that trip as a pivotal moment in our lives, and still talk about it often.
A year later, our son was born. For awhile, all of our time was for Owen. We were wholly immersed in our family, and nothing else. Those were beautiful days full of emotion and discovery for all of us. The kinds of days that you can't help being nostalgic for, even as the moments are unfolding around and within you. Days we breathed every detail.
In 2020, We reverted Ivity Studios to Sean's film work, and rebranded under our own names. We built and launched this portfolio, finally.
Today, we are creatives still. For us, to capture precious moments is to capture magic, and to make art from those moments is to release your magic back to you. Our clients have no idea the extent of our excitement while we process their media. There's a moment when one photo is done and I just sit with it for a few seconds, in gratitude, appreciation, and sheer happiness, before moving on to the next one.
And with that, thank you for visiting this page, and reading our story. I hope you'll continue to follow along with our work, that it speaks to your soul, that it brings you some joy.
-Anna
Our Creativity
Weddings and Events
Your wedding is special to us. It will be as individual and unique as your story together. We will document your day with honesty and celebration, observing and preserving every detail for you, so that you can enjoy every moment with ease and happiness, and remember it well for years to come.
We photograph most weddings, elopements, and events together, and you can choose to include a video montage of your day accompanied with music of your choice.
Portraits
You are individual, special and unique, and we want to capture you just as you are, in a way that lets you see your own beauty.
Couples
Sometimes there's a slowing down that happens, a holding of hands, heads touched together, a sigh and an easy smile that means comfort and closeness. Other times there’s play, and spinning in circles, hair whipping around wildly. Above all, there’s love.
Newborn and Family Lifestyle Photography
In the evening, when we are settling down to rest, we sometimes ask each other, “What was your favorite part of today?” Always, it was time we spent together and with our son, something funny that was said or a closeness that we felt. These are the moments that we want to document for you, so you will have them to hold onto forever. We want to capture the memories you are already making, scenes that are unique to your family, things that you love to do together, places that you like to be together.
Pets
We want to photograph animals where they are happy and comfortable. We want to illuminate your bond and friendship, and the joy you bring to each other’s lives. We love all animals, so whether you have a cat, dog, horse, pony, rat, snake, turtle, gerbil, hamster, pig, guinea pig, chinchilla, cow, rabbit, goat, chicken, hedgehog, monkey, or peacock, we can’t wait to memorialize you and your best friend.
Surreal Portraits
Sean likes to use photography as a way to bend reality. If you’d like to utilize illusion with mirrors, frames, or flying objects, or evoke a gritty, eerie, moody quality in your photos, this might be for you.
Travel
Seeing the world, and expanding our knowledge and perspective through the experience of travel and culture, is a true passion of ours.
We are working to process our travel photos, and will soon have a portfolio gallery dedicated to our adventures. Locations which will likely be featured are:
Lincoln City, Oregon
Crescent City, California and the Redwood Forest
Victoria, British Columbia
New York City, New York
Reykjavik, Iceland
Rome, Italy
Florence (Firenze), Italy
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Oslo, Norway
As we update this section of the portfolio, we will post about our progress through social media.
Film and Video
Sean loves creating and telling stories with video. From wedding montages, to music videos, to short films, whatever your video or film project, he will love bringing it to life.
Please feel free to contact Sean with any questions you might have.
Our Pricing and Process
Photography Process
First, email us! Don’t hesitate to start a conversation, and include any ideas or interests you have. We will answer your questions and plan your photo session with you.
For portraits, you can choose between us based on our individual work that you love, or we can decide which of us is best suited to make the photos you want to create, based on your ideas.
We’ll have a great time taking photos at the decided time and place, exploring as we go for various photo settings within that location.
We will begin editing your photos immediately and get them to you as soon as they are finished, via free digital download or a USB drive you can purchase with us for $20, which covers shipping and the drive itself.
Photography Pricing
There are a lot of factors that go into pricing, so we will need to communicate with you about your ideas and incorporate them into the final price, but as a baseline, our general photography (anything outside of weddings and events) begins at $250 per one hour of shooting time. This includes 50 of the best photos from your shoot, which you'll be able to choose. Additional photos will be available at $8 each.
Wedding Process
First, email us! Don’t hesitate to start a conversation, and include any ideas, interests, plans, and questions that you might have.
We will make an appointment to talk about your wedding in depth, either in person or over the phone, and can even help you plan your timeline for the day to optimize coordination for photos and the time you’ll spend with your guests.
On the day of your wedding, we will both be there to immortalize each precious moment. Usually in the beginning, we split up to capture each of you getting ready, and follow the flow of the day from there, working together through the ceremony and family portraits, into the reception. If you have chosen a video package, Sean will record your ceremony and speeches, and create a montage of your day accompanied by music of your choice.
We will begin to process your wedding documentation the next day. Generally, Anna edits all of the photos, and Sean edits all of the video. We will usually send you a highlight reel of photos within the week, and send the rest of your photos and video as soon as they are completed.
Wedding Pricing
Weddings and elopements are incredibly personal and differ in a lot of ways, so we will need to talk with you about your event before presenting you with a final price, but as a baseline, our wedding package begins at $1,500. It will include all of the best photos from your day, which can number anywhere from 200 to 500 photos depending largely on the duration time of your event. The baseline to include video is an added $500.
Film Process
First, email Sean! Don’t hesitate to start a conversation. Include the type of video you want to make with any ideas, interests, plans, and questions that you might have. Once the conversation is started, we can work out the details together via email, phone, or in person.
Once the details are finalized, the real fun begins. Lets shoot! After filming, I will then edit the footage and once it's finished you will receive the final project. Editing times can vary, depending on the scale of the project, but the time-frame will be determined during the initial planning process.
Film Pricing
Pricing starts at $500 but can vary depending upon the scale of the project. Please contact Sean.