Archive for January, 2016
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know that I don’t stray far in to the personal aspects of being a wedding photographer. I like to keep things even and make it about the people and the places; the things that make the wedding day happen and make our couples happy. Besides, Lindsay and I lead perfectly normal and happy lives for photographers and studio owners. We work our tails off, we raise our two beautiful daughters, and we enjoy our play time. So…what’s to say?
It has been twelve years since Lindsay and I shot our first wedding together and 400 weddings later we’re still at it, still loving every second of it, and can’t wait for the next twelve years and more. We do often wonder, Lindsay and I, how we can keep up the energy to shoot a very demanding wedding schedule each year, often travelling multiple weeks of the year and sometimes shooting two or three weddings in a weekend. For those that think wedding photography is easy, one work day a week, money, I would love to buy you lunch and give you a short 17 hour talk about what goes in to running a successful wedding photography studio 🙂
So what makes it worth it? The answer is…couples like Sarah and Dan.
When you get to know two people like we did them, get to know their families, their friends…it’s easy to see how even at the end of a busy year we look forward to the Saturdays. The Zelenkos and the Astrops, starting with Sarah and Dan of course, were incredible from start to finish. When you truly feel like a member of the family on the wedding day, it’s so much easier to capture all the emotions and hilariousness. It all happens right in front of you, all around you, and you just have to keep your eyes open and smile while you nail great smile after great cry after funny dance move. It’s a shame that I can’t share everything we did for them that day, but I hope you enjoy what’s here all the same.
Lindsay and I had remarked to each other on several occasions this past year at how amazing our couples were in 2015. From start to finish, weekend after weekend, we just simply had fun. Effe and Brian were one of those couples from this past year and a prime example of why this has been one of our favorite years. First, they had that combination of quirky and happy that you live to work with. And that charm and personality was also present in the guests and especially the families. Secondly, when you’re spending the better part of an entire day with people, mixed with the already intimate nature of photographing people, it’s lovely to feel welcome. Effe and Brian made us feel like part of their family in a way that not only makes the photography that much easier, but actually better. Last, but certainly not least, you have the always stunning Mt. Ida Farms. While I would have photographed these two in a cave by candlelight, it certainly helps to have that perfect late Fall sunset over the mountains of Charlottesville, Virginia as a backdrop.
Enjoy these selected moments from the day.