Clane

Clane Gessel’s passion has always been in photography. Shooting fine art images right out of high school, his work was featured on the cover of National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines. At the time he was flat broke and living out of his car, but he refused to let obstacles stand in the way of his passion.  Deciding to go back to college, he worked for The Seattle Times in his early 20s, further sharpening his photographic eye. After he graduated from the University of Washington, Clane eagerly stepped out of The Times’ shadow in search of a spotlight in the world of weddings.

Clane is uniquely qualified to do this – he is the only wedding photographer on earth that’s been on the cover of National Geographic and in National Geographic fine art galleries.  He understands what fine art is, and loves telling love stories through fine art photography. Using his unique photojournalistic style, he helps each couple open up in front of the camera so their personalities come through. He specializes in capturing the whole story- from wedding details and environment to the couple’s family and intimate moments. Clane’s mission is to give each couple fine art wedding photography that captures the essence of their day in one picture.

12 years later, industry leaders haven’t overlooked Clane’s efforts.  His work is among the most iconic imagery in weddings – his work has been featured in nearly every bridal magazine. He was named top 5 wedding photographers in the nation, and one of the most published. His extensive knowledge of wedding photography has earned him appearances on TV and radio programs and is widely considered one of the best wedding photographers in the country.  His favorite part of the wedding day is when the couple sees each other for the first time.

Stanley

Stanley can be described as an exuberant, creative, innovative photographer, with a heart for people. Stanley comes from Miami, Fl, where his main focus was to serve people in civil service with an emphasis in law enforcement. Stanley’s dream was to become a US Marshal and later join the northeast Fugitive Task Force. After graduating, he began working for his local police department for 4+ years, all the while studying photography in his free time. He has since brought together his passion for serving people and love for photography by moving into weddings.

Stanley has worked with a variety of couples, local music artists, and entrepreneurs. He excels at telling a story through his photography, and is dedicated to sharing and developing photography techniques, and blogs consistently to help others understand the importance of these techniques in application.

From after meeting his wife in 2012, Stanley’s passion and respect for marriage extend from his camera to his family. His inspiration for photography comes from the love of his wife and the world around him. He currently resides in New York, and looks to capture the endless love and personalities the city holds. In his free time, Stanley would be hanging out with his best friend (his wife), trying new restaurants and cheesecake spots throughout the city.

Monali

Monali is an uber-talented photographer and artist.  On top of being a physician, Monali enjoys stand-up comedy and spending time with her husband.  Monali is an accomplished artist and photographer, we’re honored to have her on the team.  Clane heavily recruited Monali for her talent and eye, she’s adept at getting all the detail shots at each wedding, and makes sure nothing is missed.  She’s shot a number of weddings with Clane and team around the world, and her portfolio stands apart.

Sue

Sue was juggling a busy life as a medical researcher and freelance violinist in NYC when she decided to buy a camera that was “better than a cell phone”. Since then, she has jumped headfirst into photography with no regrets.

Born in China and raised in New Haven, CT, Sue graduated from Duke University in Biology with distinction and Chemistry and Music performance minors. She has a lifelong goal of helping others and has worked in the past decade as an EMT at Yale-New Haven Hospital and research coordinator in transplant medicine at Columbia University in NYC. It was through photography that she realized she could marry both her passion for helping others and for artistic expression.

Always exploring the technical aspects of photography, Sue uses her science background in the developing and printing her own film photography. Her musical background gives her a unique perspective in the art of timing for perfect moments. Her specialty is candid portraiture and photojournalism-style scenes. And she loves stories, especially love stories.

Sue travels often with her husband, a touring violinist. In her free time, she enjoys playing chamber music, board games with friends, and baking pies.

Angela

Angela Strauman is ecstatic to join Clane’s team! Born and raised in Minnesota she came to New York in 2015 ago for school, and will soon graduate with a BFA in musical theatre from CAP21/Molloy College. As much as Angela loves performing, she is excited to put some of her other gifts to use; ie creating spreadsheets. This skill is something not many people think of, but Martha Stuart better watch out, because Angela creates some of the best spreadsheets in all of the world. (Actually, though, they are really pretty great!). Along with her organization skills, she helps run the back end of the Studio, organizing, tagging and culling photos – she is the only non-photographer on the team. Angela enjoys making a difference in people’s lives and feels Clane’s work does exactly that. It’s exciting when work/life goals line up with each other and Angela could not be more excited to join Clane and his fantastic team.

Chloe

Chloe moved to New York from Georgia to look persue a career in acting. After graduating from Marymount Manhattan College in 2018, she worked professionally as a performer and became involved in teaching and coaching vocal students. Chloe first picked up a camera in hopes of sharing her student’s progress with the world, and soon found a talent in telling stories.

Chloe has spent time as a model and photographer, so she’s familiar with the nuances of posing and lighting. She helps couples feel comfortable in front of the camera, so she can capture their memories as they unfold. Her style is more photojournalistic, She gave up a modeling career to tell couple’s stories behind the camera. Chloe also helps run the office, set up meetings, and respond to emails. She enjoys helping couples with more than just photography, and can help each couple find the right planner, venue, music, and other vendors.

Chloe has shot weddings with the Studio all over the country and loves destination weddings. Her favorite part of the wedding day are the vows (she cries every time).