Yes. Sometimes I get nervous. Truth. I’ve been photographing now professionally for 9 years – 200+weddings, hundreds of sessions, and a plethora of commercial assignments – and I still get nervous. I was DEFINITELY nervous for Alissa and Aj’s engagement session.
I care about all my clients for sure – and kick my butt creatively to do my very best for each and every one of them – but Alissa has a special spot in my heart. You see – Alissa’s been working alongside me for nearly 4 seasons as one of my wedding day lighting directors.
We’ve formed a close buddy-buddy relationship. She knows ALL my tricks on a shoot… heck, I bet she can even tell you when I’m feeling creatively flustered behind the camera.
Beyond just knowing the ins and outs of my creative processes – Alissa is a dear friend. I care about her and AJ oodles, and I really wanted to push myself hard creatively to give her the best of myself. That’s true for every client I create with. I work hard to push myself past my previous successes (hey – and failures too!). I truly love to give people fresh artwork, and fresh ideas.
And when it’s someone you know so well? It makes it easy for their personality and life to really come into the image. And that’s crucial – personal imagery and artwork is flat and boring – stiff and stale – when you sense that the person in the image is distant emotionally, or disconnected somehow from you the viewer.
The reality is that the more the person behind the lens knows and enjoys the person in front of it, the more the image will speak to the viewer.
Let that sink in for a second too ok? Don’t just breeze by that – it’s easy to miss. If you’ve ever looked at wedding / engagement / personal portraiture and felt like you somehow connected with the subject of the image, it’s because of that simple reality. The photographer knew the subject.
The opposite is true too. Other than serious technical issues with image capture, wedding and personal imagery can feel bland & cold due to the lack of relational connection between the photographer and subject.
You know what else? Alissa is comfortable with me. For real – she trusts me and feels at ease with me. Are you looking for a wedding photographer? Hang out with them. Make sure you feel comfy and trusting of them. If you don’t – it will show in the images for sure.
It meant a lot to me that Alissa asked me to be her wedding photographer. She’s been by my side at countless weddings. It was a serious compliment to me – not only in how she feels about my work as a whole, but how she feels I am like to be around with as a person on a wedding day. One of my staff Friends asking me to photograph their wedding is perhaps the greatest affirmation I’ve received this year as a photographer.
