Meet Yisroel Teitelbaum | Wedding & Documentary Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yisroel Teitelbaum and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yisroel, how does your business help the community?
My business is divided between events such as weddings, and documentary/political/cultural photography.
I found incredible fulfillment and validation in each in the following manner.

Within weddings in general, the food gets eaten, the music fades, the flowers wilt, but the photos will be forever and not only that, but every photo or gallery i deliver to a client, i am not only making them happy iwth the depiction of their memories, but i am handing them what will eventually evolve into treasured family heirlooms. Starting from the walls of their apt, to their homes, until its the grandparents wedding photos on their grandkids piano. Countless people who i will never meet will view these photos as crucial parts of their family story, and that impact of my work and effort will long outlive me as the photographer and them as the subjects, and thats a big part of what makes me happy about my work and how i feel it has helped many.

On a documentary/street/political sense, i am not contracted or owned by any media corp or platform, which gives me the freedom to photograph, edit, and post whatever i like, without being bound to an agenda or narrative. I am aware through my own family’s experiences what revisionist history looks like, and its abhorrent. I know that through my photography i am documenting what the streets, communicty, city or world actually looke dlike at that particular time, so that my family, friends, and all i encounter, may have an uninfected record of what happened, where i went, what i documented and saw, and that preservation of history and current events is super important to me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career started while i was in Rabbinical School in Maryland. I was looking for a side-hustle and a friend of mine was a rising star Wedding Photographer. I offered to be his lighting assist and to carry his gear in exchange for minimal pay, but proactive education, and i am forever grateful for the opportunity he gave me. After 2 years i moved back to NY and he added me to a group of tristate lighting asssitants. Through that chat i met an incredible NJ based Wedding Studio and over the next few years i went from their lighting assistant to videojournalist to lead-videographer, then switched to second photographer and ultimately lead photographer. I am forever gratefulf or how they took me in and treated me as a family member while enabling me to develop my skillset.
I got married the day NYC went into COVID Lockdown, March 22, 2020. Entering a new life chapter with a job dependent on large crowds and parties was a challenge, so i scrapped for every solo job i could get and ultimately built my own brand that has been growing since.

I have many projects that i am extremely proud of. Various projects that i have worked on have gone viral, being seen by millions and impacting untold numbers of people. I have photographed over 1600 weddings, and documented the war in Ukraine, ICE deportations, the October 7th Massacre, as well as aspects of the current Gazan War.
I believe one aspect that may set my work apart from others is having worked on my presence and personal impression upon clients and others that i encounter. The product you provide is only half, or possibly 49% of whta makes you a good photographer and/or artist.

I wish more people knew, as far as weddings and events are concerned, that your vendors are people with lives, families, emotions, and complexity. I have navigated my business through marriage, covid, parenthood, tragedy, and war. I have edited galleries in the ICU at a family member’s bedside, and the client was rudely demanding faster turnaround time, and when he later apologized, his context was that i had to understand why he was short tempered as he was in the hospital at the time, to which i politely responded: “Me too.” he got the point.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a proud New Yorker, but if a friend wanted to travel with me, im getting a flight to somewhere many miles from any city lol
But as far as New York is concerned, im a big fan of DUMBO, its a foolproof spot for photography and NY lovers. Aside from that theres a bunch fo cool spots in Crown Heights that i love.
For a first timer, the observation deck of the freedom tower is a no-brainer, and travel everywhere is by subway, no exceptions lol
If they appreciate wwii history like i do, the intrepid is a NY Gem that a surprising amount of people dont know exists, which really shocked me when i found that out.
I draw my tourist-trap line at Times Square, all my international friends always want to go there, and if i reaaallly like them ill grit my teeth and bear it lol but otherwise im much more of a side-streets hidden-gem kind of guy

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been honored to have encountered many inspiring and influential people who had incredible impacts on my career, but ultimately the greatest gratitude is to my wife who sticks by me no matter how wild or topsy turvy our lives may get. She is my rock and my North Star.

Instagram: The Big Picture – @thebigpic.inc

Image Credits
Yisroel Teitelbaum / The Big PIcture