First, I guess I should tell you who Photography by Verdi is exactly. We are a husband and wife photography team. Rich got his photography degree from the prestigious School of Visual Arts in New York City back in 1977. Right after graduation, he worked in NYU's photography department and then moved on to work under Gerard Barnier, a French photographer, well known in the actor/celebrity photography fields. Rich and Mindi then opened a studio in downtown New York photographing models for print, as well as photographing parties for celebrity clientele at such well known clubs as The Limelight, The Red Parrot, Regines and Studio 54. After 14 years, we sold the New York Office and opened a new studio on Long Island, focusing our attention to brides and grooms who wanted a more relaxed feeling toward their wedding photography in response to what was being offered at the time.

We felt the photographer should be your eyes for the whole day capturing all the little nuances. You have created a vision of your wedding based on your personality and it is that vision that should spark the imagination of your photographer. It has taken you maybe a year or more to put together all your ideas and desires into one complete fantasy day. The moment when the bride looks into her husband's eyes and hears him whisper, "I do" for the first time, or the way her dad reacts upon seeing his little girl all grown up in her white dress. It is our privilege to make sure that they will never be forgotten and that anyone glancing at their photos will be able to place themselves there at that specific time in history. It is also the photographer's job to see to it that all this is done discreetly.

We realize family photos and some portraits are important to the couple, and, therefore, accomplish this in a timely and fun manner, as to not intrude on your cocktail hour, whenever possible. Time constraints with cocktail hours immediately following ceremonies are discussed with each client and worked out to their best advantage. Timeless photos, i.e. ones that could have been taken 50 years ago or maybe they were taken yesterday, are filled with expression. Their casual, un-posed simplicity looks up-to-date and not some preconceived idea that a photographer conjured up. They're real and emotional and, more importantly, intimate and valid. They're not people all lined up and asked to respond to some cue shouted by a photographer to get your attention and alter the moment. When your album is completed, we want your book to be your guide to one of the most beautiful moments in your lives.