Archives: Testimonials

Choosing the right photographer was the most important decision for my wedding day! Joe not only took incredibly stunning, artistic photographs that captured our emotions and precious moments perfectly, but he also did a great job wrangling my large bridal party. We were married at Duke and had the reception in Chapel Hill and he k ...

5 stars all the way! We had the honor of having Joe as our photographer for both our wedding in Wisconsin and during our engagement session at Duke Gardens. The photos turned out amazing as expected. His style captures real life moments and great lighting. I would highly recommend Joe Payne Photography. Thank you so much Joe!

Working with Joe on my wedding was an amazing experience. He was very focused and organized the day of the wedding and took the time and effort to get to know about my husband and I before the wedding. The pictures are spectacular and we could not be even more excited about the life long memories he was able to capture. I would def ...

After reviewing several photographers portfolios, my wife and I decided to work with Joe. Joe is not the cheapest, but like most things in life, you get what you pay for. For documenting the biggest day of our lives, I was not going with a sub par photographer. Joe has tons of experience and is extremely professional. We were extre ...

We had a wonderful experience working with Joe - both for our engagement photos and our wedding photos. The composition and lighting in Joe's photography is incredible. We could not be more pleased with the results. Thank you, Joe for capturing our special memories in such an artistic, tasteful way!

Pretty much right after booking our venue, my husband and I went through their list of recommended photographers because we knew that having amazing photographs from our wedding was a high priority for us. As we reviewed all of the photographers' websites, Joe emerged as the clear frontrunner because of how beautifully he leverages ...

If we could rate Joe Payne higher than 5 stars, we would. Joe not only captured our wedding day with impeccable talent, his work actually tells our story as a couple. He made us feel comfortable from the very beginning and took the time upfront to get to know who we are as individuals and as a couple, as well as our expectations ...

  Joe is simply the BEST! Whether the photos taken indoors at the Duke Chapel or outdoors at the Washington Duke Inn - his work is simply OUTSTANDING! Joe created forever memories of our special day. My wife and I HIGHLY recommend Joe Payne. The bonus - Joe is a terrific person.

We could not have been happier in choosing Joe to document our wedding day. Our photos are very much reflective of his use of light, attention to detail, and passion for photography. I have never witnessed anyone that will go to such great lengths to capture the best moments as Joe. Everyone in the wedding party and all of our gues ...

We absolutely loved our experience working with Joe! Joe is a true professional in every sense of the word. Most importantly, his work is amazing and we feel truly blessed to have had our day captured by him! Throughout our wedding planning journey, he was incredibly responsive, available to discuss our questions, communicated clea ...

Joe is an incredible photographer! We hired him for our wedding and are so pleased with the way our photos turned out. He pays attention to every detail. Joe focuses on capturing great moments between people and also creating beautiful, artistic compositions.

As we flip through our wedding album, we are stunned by the superb quality of Joe’s work. His wizardry with light (natural and artificial) is showcased in every photo. Each special moment of our wedding was captured editorial-style, as if readying for a magazine print. Joe is a true artist, and we were so lucky to have stumbled acr ...

  As the mother of the bride and an amateur photographer, the photos were the most important element of my daughter's wedding for me. We looked at several photographer portfolios online and it was quickly clear that Joe was the photographer we wanted. His ability to utilize natural elements to capture stunning images and hi ...

I could not have asked for a better experience! Everyone keeps telling me how incredible my pictures are. They are artistic and capture the tone of the wedding perfectly. Joe is an amazing photographer, hands down the best wedding photographer I have ever seen. If you are looking for beautiful wedding photos that are not the normal ...

Our wedding was outdoor on a mountain and it was WET and WINDY! Joe found ways to make all the pics clear and beautiful! He scouted out locations for weather and took AMAZING pics! During the ceremony he climbed all over that mountain to create beautiful photos. He clearly understands light, color, and perspective. In his photos I ...

I hired Joe to photograph my bridal portraits and the session far exceeded my expectations. Not only were the photos unbelievable, (making it hard to choose just one for the portrait), but Joe was also a really awesome coach, which was something I really felt I needed. He's very trustworthy, professional, and funny making anyone fe ...

Joe is such a wonderful photographer to work with. He exceeded our expectations in every way. He came out to our wedding venue a week early and scouted some amazing shooting locations that were definitely off the beaten path. The day of, he was respectful of every wish and need I had during our photo sessions. Joe captured some of ...

We had the best experience with Joe! We are from MS (also where our wedding will be), but we recently moved to NC. Prior to moving, we had already hired a wedding photographer in MS and were looking for someone in the Raleigh area to do a standalone engagement shoot! We discovered Joe Payne Photography online and thought it was a g ...

I cannot say enough great things about Joe. From the moment my now-husband and I booked him for our wedding, and continuing on past the day, he has been so much fun to work with and SO helpful. Most importantly, his photographs are incredible. Joe is a true artist and catches the mood and emotions of your day. We just got our weddi ...

I did a ton of research and spoke to multiple photographers before confirming Joe, and I was so happy with the decision! Joe is an amazing photographer and so easy to work with. I definitely recommend him to others!

We took our post-wedding photo session and we are very happy with the way the photos turned out. The photos Joe took were excellent. We could see the art and beauty in the photos. Joe have a great eye for capturing memorable photos. He is talented, patient, friendly and humorous. Undoubtedly Joe is very easy to work with. We ...

I loved Joe's ability to blend into the background and let moments unfold naturally--not too much posing (aside from what we requested), or otherwise contrived photos. Joe's documentary-style photography was just beautiful--now if I could only get around to picking my favorites to have printed! With so many emotions and endless dec ...

Joe is an absolutely brilliant photographer. I was first drawn to his beautiful shots that captured the essence and moments of the most important day for couples. The photos were one of the most important things for me because while the memories may fade, your pictures will be forever. When we met Joe in person, his personality ...

I am not sure how I came across Joe's website but when I did and saw his work I knew he was going to be the photographer for us. He was punctual and patient because I was a bit hungover from the night before. He was so accommodating of our delayed schedule and took it in stride. He was everything we hoped for and we are so very ple ...

Just say yes! Joe was incredible throughout the entire wedding planning process. He was wonderful to communicate with and always more than helpful. He jumped right in during a chaotic wedding day and was able to capture incredibly beautiful moments. His photos are truly lovely and I feel so lucky to have them to remember our weddin ...

When looking for a wedding photographer, we scrolled through several wedding sites until we came across Joe’s work. We contacted Joe after perusing his gallery and discovering that his work looked more like it needed to be up in a gallery rather than collecting dust in a photo-book on a forgotten shelf in the house. Flat-out, Joe’s ...

Joe did an amazing job shooting our wedding. He was very easy to work with and the photos he produced for us are absolutely amazing. He is able to capture the moment in a creative, yet traditional way that gave us photos that will last a lifetime. He also did our engagement photos and was really easy to make you feel comfortable in ...

Joe is an amazing talent and made our engagement and wedding photos one of the most memorable parts of our wedding. His work is absolutely stunning, and truly captured the essence of our wedding. Above all, he is incredibly personable and all of our guests raved about how wonderful and friendly he was. He is worth every penny! ...

I can sum up our experience with Joe in one word - Phenomenal! Joe came highly recommended and after seeing his work online and meeting with him in person, we knew he was the photographer for us. Meeting him and having him photograph our engagement, bridal and wedding portraits was the best decision ever. Joe is easy-going and make ...

My wife fell in love with the photography from one of Joe's other weddings at our venue and booked him right away -- it was literally the first thing she did. We didn't do engagement pictures, so we didn't actually meet him until about a month before the wedding, but he immediately assured us both that he knew what he was doing and ...