More About Me Antonio Crutchley Your Miami Wedding Photographer

Before I get going, I want to give credit to my wedding photographer for the above photo – Photo by @brianfayphotography

Thank you so much for wanting to learn more about me! I’m truly honored and grateful for you taking the time to learn about me, that is really sweet, you are super awesome. I promise I won’t bore you with a long-winded story. I’ll just cut to the chase and give you the basics of who I am so that you can understand why I do what I do.

My Humble Beginning From Jamaica to The United States of America

I was born and raised in the beautiful mountains of Saint Andrew, Jamaica, where my passion for art was most noticeable by my classmates and teachers. Back then, I was the go-to student in all of my art classes. However, in my teenage years, I abandoned my love for art. I began to focus on acquiring skills I believed would be most beneficial in earning a living wage.
In my early adulthood, I migrated to Miami, Florida, and shortly after that signed up with the United States Navy. While serving at my very first Duty Station in Washington DC, I bought my first Vivitar 35mm Camera with a 50mm lens. That camera became my best companion in those early years. I used all my free moments to photographed everything that piqued my interest, from the Cherry Blossom on the Washington Mall to sunsets on the Potomac River. My camera and I were inseparable. See a couple photos below!

Unfortunately, some years later, while I was traveling from Italy to Jamaica, I lost my camera at an airport. Throughout the remainder of my military career, I would always own and used a point and shoot camera. Eventually, I bought a Canon A1 with 3 lenses at a public auction, but I still couldn’t pick up where I had left off.

From Military to Real Estate to Photography

After honorably serving my country, I got my Real Estate License, and I started working as a realtor in Los Angeles, California. However, I wanted to take advantage of my government Post 911 Education Benefit. So I think long on hard about what I would go back to school for. Because I already have an undergrad degree in Computer Science from California Lutheran University, I wanted to study something light and fun. I wanted to study something that would allow me to work my real estate job full time and go to school part-time.

It didn’t take long to decide that I wanted to go back to school to study photography. So, I enrolled in the Professional Photography undergrad program at one of the Worlds’ most prestigious photography schools, Brooks Institute. Approximately three weeks after starting my second undergraduate studies, I began reflecting on my life’s experience. This phase of my life was like an awakening, a new chapter. I rediscovered my love for art, particularly photography.

The feelings I got from those early days of formal photography training is hard to explain. It just feels right! To this day, whenever I picked up a camera, it’s like I entered a different world. All the noise around me disappeared, leaving me, my camera, and my subject. I guess you could call it a Zen-like feeling, right? Ok! I can really get off into the weeds about photography, so let’s return to me personally. Just know that I genuinely love what I do!

Me Personally

In terms of personality, I like to think that I’m sincere. I’m not a religious person, and for the most part, I keep my political views to myself. I love to people watch, and I believe that every person is inherently a genuine person. My wife, Paula, is my anchor in love and life. I’m very grateful to her for believing in me even when I may not believe in myself, trusting me, and continued support and love.  

Here are a few more things you may want to know about me:

1. I love to cook Caribbean food, especially curry chicken.
2. My favorite movie is The Russia House.
3. I am not a morning person – don’t call me before 10 am unless Miami is on fire!
4. Military service members are near and dear to me.
5. I can’t sing to save my life, but I loooove listening to some country music. Luke Combs is my favorite country singer, and my favorite song is Beautiful Crazy. Go figure ah? I bet you could have never guessed in a million years that I love country music.
6. I’m a big reggae fan too – I am more of an old school type of guy—Beres Hammond, of course, Glen Washington, Pam Hall, and others. 
7. I love to travel – my favorite place I’ve been to so far is Cape Town, South Africa. 
8. Love a good glass of red wine – Merlot, Cabernet or Pinot. Anyone of these will do, I just don’t like dry wine and please don’t chill it either. 

In essence, you could boil me down to these words – photography, family, travel, good friends, food, and music.

Have questions? Let’s connect here.

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