About - Marjorie Therese Photography

Photographer. Dreamer. Dancer. Hype Girl. Birder. Possibly a human encyclopedia. And what else?

Hey Friend! I’m Marjorie

& i’m so glad we found each other

Listennn. My portfolio is all over this website. You’ve seen my work and you’re thinking about possibly hiring me. But you came here to this “About” page to learn more about me, how I might relate to you, and what I stand for. So here’s my take on why photography matters.

For the entire human history, we have found ways to document our lives and what mattered to us. Photos are like a bookmark of the present time. They are how we remember what mattered and document our very own existence. We get to be the storytellers of our own narratives and that’s extremely powerful.

Let Me Know What You’re Documenting

“When I first started my hunt for a photographer,
never in a million years did I expect to make a friend along the way.”

IDZEL + GOVINDA

Breaking Expectations and Returning to My Self

Why I’m AN ELOPEMENT
Photographer

Let me be super real for a minute. While growing up, photography was a fun hobby–not a career option. Like many immigrant Filipino families, I grew up with the expectation to enter healthcare. I spent a good chunk of my life with anxious perfectionism. I was terrified of failing and hid behind a mask of perceived success.

After a series of job changes, I picked up my camera again. I thought to myself, “What if I took photography seriously for just three months? How far could it take me?” I was shocked to find that friends and family actually supported me and were excited about the new art I was creating. I loved being able to reconnect with my own community but this time, from a place of creativity and real passion for documenting our very lives.

Now let’s circle this back to you.

Your wedding day should not be another performance to make everyone else happy. It should be a celebration of you and your partner. So what if you made the decision to reject the traditional wedding and elope instead?

Elopements are not just about the imagery; it’s the transformation that takes place by allowing yourself to simply be. This is my guiding principle: To create safe and joyous spaces for others, so that, by unapologetically celebrating themselves, they reclaim a deep and lasting sense of worthiness. So if you feel like you’re doing something nontraditional and not totally sure how you feel about it, I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. Let me encourage you to fully lean into that part of yourself that wants to experience something different.

Dream Big and Let’s Do This

Fun Fact

01

I have been a dancer since 2000. I’m trained in ballet, hip hop/urban, Hula, Tahitian, jazz, modern, musical theater… I’ve tried everything at least once! Don’t be surprised if I teach you some dance moves during our time together!

Fun Fact

02

I am a boba fanatic and I will 100% say yes to a boba date with any of my clients. My go-to drink is a Jasmine Milk Tea or Peach Green Tea. My favorite boba spot in San Francisco is Qualitea in the Castro!

Fun Fact

03

Before I launched my photography career, I worked as an emergency medical technician (EMT) in a local emergency department. I maintain my CPR and First Aid certifications at all times, and take safety very seriously! Even when we’re hiking in remote places, you know I’ve got your back!

Boring Fact

04

I have a lowkey excessive nighttime teeth routine. I also see the dentist three times a year instead of two.

Boring Fact

05

You can tell I’m a millennial because I own a wallet and wear ankle socks. Yes, I know what a floppy disc is too.

(Arguably) Boring Fact

06

If we’re in California, then yes, I can probably name that bird. My favorite birds are the Belted Kingfisher and American Avocet.

Fun (And Boring) Facts about Marjorie

01. I have been a dancer all my life, starting at age 5! Even as an adult, I still am still a competitive Hula and ‘Ori Tahiti dancer

02. I love boba. My favorite is Jasmine Milk Tea or Peach Green Tea from Qualitea in San Francisco

03. Before launching my photography career, I was an EMT! So you’re in safe hands with me.

04. I have a lowkey excessive nighttime teeth routine.

05. You can tell I’m a millennial by the way I wear ankle socks and own a wallet. And yes, I know what a floppy disk is.

06. If we’re in California, then I can probably name that bird.

This is What I Stand For

Documenting Your Life

Marjorie Therese Photography is committed to creating safe and welcoming spaces for all, and does not discriminate based on race, ancestry, citizenship status, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. All are celebrated here.

Black Lives Matter
Love is Love
Trans Lives are Human Lives
Reproductive Rights are Human Rights
Science is Real
No Human is Illegal
Free Palestine

No one is free until we are all free.

here’s The Unique Ways I’m Standing on Business

It is my intentional, conscious priority to present a diverse public portfolio of all races, sexual orientation, gender expressions, and body types. That being said, there are also “invisible” aspects of identity that are not always obvious in photos. Every image you see on my website is chosen to include a very wide range of identities because my clients come from all backgrounds, and I want to continue working with diverse and thoughtful people who can truly see themselves in my work.

When it comes to including second photographers or other personnel on your elopement day, I am very selective to only work with other photographers who share the same values, or are members of marginalized communities themselves. I am not offended if you choose a different photographer who aligns more closely to your own lived experience.

How often do you hear the term “photo shoot” or utterings of “I’m going to go shoot a wedding.” It’s extremely common to use “shoot” as the primary verb to describe what photographers do. However, I have chosen to eliminate this word from my business vocabulary because of the rampant gun violence in the United States. Furthermore I do not want to make clients uncomfortable who themselves may be victims of gun violence. You’ll instead typically hear me say, “photo session,” or “I’m going to photograph a wedding.”

This one is going to be controversial, but there are exactly two ways in which I do use AI (and many more ways in which I do not).

Full disclosure – This is when and how AI is used in my business:

Photo Culling – I use AI culling software to cull through hundreds and sometimes thousands of images after a photo day. AI Culling software is assesses and ranks images for image sharpness, and clarity of facial expression (did you blink, or were your eyes intentionally closed). I never trust the software blindly, and will still manually go through all my images to make sure the AI didn’t miss any good moments This still saves me many hours per session and get to editing faster.
Complicated Object/Person Removal – There are many tools and strategies to remove distractions and many of them actually do not use generative AI. I usually will default to the non-AI option whenever possible. Some images may require more care, and these are the uncommon cases where generative AI tools may be a reasonable option in order to save potentially hours of manually redrawing backgrounds (which I’ve had to do before 2023… it was not fun). My best approach to minimize using generative AI is to compose the image as thoughtfully as possible while photographing in real-time.

And here’s all the ways AI is never used in my business:

Client Guides and Posts – If you have ever seen a slide deck, PDF, templated carousel post from me—all of those visuals were put together via Canva.
Marketing Media Visuals – Any graphics or logos you see were created by me or other humans, and never generative AI
Copywriting – Any words you read on my website, social media, in emails, texts, contracts, are actually all written by me, or by another human (ex. human copywriter, lawyer). I do not even use the AI “suggested response” features at all.
Summarizations – I do not utilize AI to read/summarize your replies to me. I actually read what you write.
Notetaking – I still handwrite notes with pen on paper. This is also why I send you an email after our meetings with what we talked about (and why it can take up to 30 minutes to receive a recap email!).
Significant Alterations – I never use AI to generate different weather (creating a warm golden sunset if your session day was foggy), to add/change props, to change your body, to create new images that were missed during your day, etc.
I no longer use ChatGPT. I admittedly used it at the beginning of my photography business journey (2023) to assist with copywriting. And even then, I would still edit whatever it spit out. Pretty much everything has been rewritten since.

And if you were wondering, I enthusiastically support your right to choose a different small business if you disagree with me. Everyone deserves to work with vendors who align with their values.

empowering couples to embrace the nontraditional

Nostalgic. Emotive. Playful.

Photography captures not only what a moment looked like, but also what it felt like. My prompt-based approach creates images that evoke the full range of emotion, from joy and laughter to quiet intimacy and tearful moments. I encourage you to allow yourself to be documented as you are.