( the instinct to build something. )

Magi Fisher started photographing weddings as a law student. By then she already had years of work behind a camera — time spent with the United Nations Development Program in Africa after finishing college early, and a gap year traveling with professional surfers. Years of photographing motion, color, light, and people who were too busy living to pose for it.

By the time weddings were coming in steadily, Magi was juggling first-year law classes and Saturday weddings. And the instinct was always the same: build something rather than outwork it alone.

( where the visual style comes from. )

The way we photograph weddings didn’t come from a mood board or an editing trend.

It came from years of working in places where the light was extraordinary and the moments weren’t staged. Coastlines. Surf trips. Travel. The way color sits on skin in late afternoon. The way someone laughs when no one is asking them to.

That’s the throughline. Natural, true-to-life tones. Organic posing. Nothing forced. Photographs that feel like the day actually felt — not performed, not manufactured.

That sensibility shaped the studio from the beginning, and it’s the standard every photographer on this team meets today.

( the team behind the team. )

Arianna is the studio’s backbone.

She joined in 2021 to run it — first as studio manager, taking on client communication, timelines, editing standards, gallery delivery, and the team itself. Over time, she stepped behind the camera too, and is now one of our lead artists alongside the role she built. Magi often jokes that Arianna is the real boss. It’s only half a joke.

Around her, a team of lead artists who each contribute something different. Kelee leads many of our biggest weddings of the year, and runs our marketing alongside the work she does behind the camera. Ashley has been photographing with the studio since 2016 — a senior editor and lead artist whose tenure is its own credential. Casey is a constant on our wedding calendar, out front week to week. Liz has been part of the team for years, stepping in across our season.

These are not photographers we found for the weekend. They are part of the studio. They know each other’s rhythm. They’ve photographed together in every kind of light, every kind of venue, every kind of day a wedding can throw at them.

That history shows up when your photographer and their second walk into your getting-ready room. They’re not meeting for the first time. They already know how to move together. And when a season gets full, the team moves around each other — covering, supporting, second-shooting for each other — because that’s what a studio actually is.

The result is a team that doesn’t have to figure itself out on your wedding day. That’s the work Arianna and Magi have built behind the scenes, so our photographers can walk in with one job: be present, connect, and photograph well.

( more than a team. )

Most of the women on this team are working moms. They balance weddings on Saturdays with school pickups on Mondays. They have built careers around this work, and around each other.

That shows up. When someone needs a hand on a complicated day, the team is there. When a season gets heavy, the team moves parts around. The studio is the structure that makes it possible — Arianna and the production team holding the operational side, so our photographers can be fully present for their clients. And for each other.

It is the kind of place we would have wanted to find when we started. So we built it.

( why two brands. )

A few years in, Magi started working more under her own name — Magi Fisher — focusing on destination events and multi-day productions alongside planners around the world. She still photographs weddings, events, and portraits in our region too, just on a smaller, more select scale.

Magdalena Studios is the team that has been building this work for years — photographing primarily in our local region, deeply familiar with the venues, the planners, and the way a day moves here. This is their work, and only their work. They are not stretched across markets or stretched between brands. They are here, and they are excellent at it.

What you see on @magdalenastudios belongs entirely to this team. That was always the goal — not an extension of Magi, but something that could stand on its own.

( what this studio is now. )

Over a decade in, Magi is still as involved as she’s ever been — just differently.

The creative direction, the standards, the artists who join this team — that’s still her. The day-to-day work, the client relationships, the galleries you see on this page — that’s the team.

Fresh enough to feel current. Timeless enough to last thirty years.

This updated look felt like the right moment to say all of that clearly: The look is new. The studio is not.

Built as a studio. Led by craft.

Curious how we work? Read our full breakdown of studio vs. associate photographer models →

Ready to start a conversation? We’d love to hear about your wedding →

For photographers: If you’re interested in 1-1 coaching, reach out to Magi directly →