The people behind the lens

Just like you —
on the other
side of the lens.

"We don't just show up to take pictures. We show up to become part of your story."

Kris and Jessica Woitena shooting at Disney's Animal Kingdom

A maxed-out credit card
and a Nikon N70.

It started at UTSA with a camera Kris probably couldn't afford. He maxed out his credit card for a Nikon N70 and a kit lens — and carried that thing everywhere. Down scenic roadsides, into graveyards, out onto piers at midnight in Port Aransas.

That midnight pier shot — a long exposure down the dock that came out perfect on the first try — got submitted to a photography contest and published twice. His first paying gig followed: $50 for a friend's bridal portraits. The eye was always there.

Then film got expensive, DSLRs were out of reach, and life moved on. The camera went in a closet. For a while.

Kris Woitena

For that kind of money,
we could just do it ourselves.

When Kris and Jessica were planning their wedding, they asked a friend to shoot it. The quote came back: $2,100 for the wedding, $500 each for bridal and engagement — and that was the friends and family discount.

Jessica looked at the number and said what would become the founding philosophy of Woitena Photography: "For that kind of money, we could just do pictures ourselves."

They bought a pair of used DSLRs and got to work. A D80 became a D3500. D3500s became D5300s. Then a D600. Then a D810. All Nikon — always Nikon.

Kris and Jessica Woitena

Shot in our living room. Remote shutter. Studio strobe. Kris was wearing shorts. Jessica was in sweat pants. We call that efficient.

Choreographed.
Never scripted.

Kris and Jessica shoot differently — and that's exactly the point. Kris moves around his subjects, taking 5 to 15 frames from every angle, hunting for the one that has the light, the expression, and the moment all at once. Jessica is a sniper: one shot, perfectly posed, perfectly framed.

At weddings, they become something else entirely. Before the ceremony starts, they walk the venue together — scouting positions, mapping movement, deciding who goes where and when. It looks like a coach going over a football play. When the ceremony begins, they move through it like a choreographed team: into the aisle, out of the aisle, switching sides, never in each other's way, never missing a moment.

Clients have called it "running point like a wedding coordinator." They take that as a compliment.

Kris and Jessica

The team

Kris Woitena
Kris Woitena
Primary Photographer

Started with a Nikon N70 and a maxed-out credit card. Still shooting Nikon. Still can't stop.

Jessica Woitena
Jessica Woitena
Photographer & Posing Director

One shot. Perfectly posed. Every time. The eye that makes sure everyone looks their absolute best.

Our gear
Nikon D810 · Primary body Nikon D600 · Secondary body Nikon D5300 · Backup Full Nikkor lens lineup Always Nikon. Since the N70.

"Just be yourself and accept us as people — because we're just like you. Just on the other side of the lens."

— Kris & Jessica Woitena

Friends first.
Photographers second.

Before a shoot, we like to meet at a restaurant. Not to talk packages and pricing — to talk. To get to know each other. To become friends before we become your photographers.

We've found that when clients feel like they're just hanging out with people they like, the photos look like it. The smiles are real. The moments aren't performed. And more often than not, the people we photograph become people we stay in touch with long after the session is done.

Most of our clients have become friends — before, during, and after the shoot. At weddings, we've been welcomed into families. We think that says something about how we do what we do.

Ready to be
on the other side of the lens?

Let's grab coffee first. Then we'll talk photos.

Reach out