M&M Photography in Johnston Creates Fun, Creative Wedding Photos

Creativity, flexibility, price and personality add up to a successful and growing wedding photography business for Mike and Maria White of Johnston.

“People want that catch-the-moment kind of a picture, along with the more traditional poses,” he said.

Mike’s approach at is different from many wedding photographers. All the photos he takes are put on disc, some or all edited according to the couple’s wishes, and then given to them. A release is included, so the couple can do whatever they like with the photos, whether it is to make the photos available online, have some printed or have a photo book made.

Traditionally, wedding photographers have proofs available and then clients choose which ones they want to buy.

Angela and Jason Bru of Bouton hired White for their May wedding. They heard about the business from the DJ they hired and looked up White's photos online.

“We liked what we saw and that he was cheap and had some cool photos,” she said.

The Brus visited his in-home studio and found White was flexible and willing to do what the couple wanted.

One photo, called a “trash the dress” photo, turned out to be Angela’s favorite. The image shows Angela in the water at Raccoon River Park with the skirt of her dress floating around her.

The photo hangs on her office wall, and “people comment on the photo all the time,” she said. Angela had discussed doing a trash-the-dress photo, and Mike helped her come up with the idea.

While Mike takes the traditional wedding photos as well, he nearly always takes some out-of-the-ordinary photos, such as the bride dragging the groom back to the church or a statue that looks like it's chasing the bride or groom. One photo he took made it look like a giant praying mantis was chasing the couple.

“I shoot what I like, using what’s around and available. Sometimes we stop somewhere on the way to the wedding or the way back,” Mike said.

His foray into wedding photography began after he and his wife were married.

While the couple got some decent photos, the photographer was very demanding and rude to his assistant. Mike and Maria felt that for what they paid, they should have had more of what they wanted.

Mike figured he could do as well, if not better, although he didn’t go to school to be a photographer.

“I think a lot of it is having an eye for a good photo, being flexible and approachable,” he said. “I’m there for their day and should be helping them.”

Now, Maria is the technical owner and Mike is the photographer.

A sampling of Mike’s photos, along with the price of varied packages, can be seen at his business website: mandmphotosonline.com.

Although he has raised his prices as he has become better at taking photos, his packages usually run around $1,800 to $2,000, with the price depending on the time commitment.