Well, I know that lots of people out there are more than happy to see 2016 go, but for me, this has been quite the epic year! Not only did I get the chance to meet some wonderful new couples, but this year was also when I really started to find my artistic voice as a photographer. Each wedding was a new chance to tell a love story with light and with my own artistic flare.
In the spring of this year, I started the blog. I started tracking my journey, for my clients, friends and compadres, but also just for me, so that I could start charting my path through this incredible fun (and challenging) adventure.
My shooting evolved as I learned different cardinal elements of posing techniques, flash-usage and framing. I gained new skill levels with post processing techniques, and oh…let’s not forget the business end of the wedding photography thing! Wowza…from partnering with new vendors to planning out styled shoots, this year was a full-on plunge into small-business ownership. The website got a major re-haul, I started attending my first real vendor-networking events, and I made some incredible friend in the industry that have helped guide me through this year of crazy growth.
I won a few awards this year, added a few new pieces of gear to the arsenal and had the chance to photograph all different types of wonderful events in the deserts of Arizona, on the beaches of California, and under the forest canopies of Washington.
I was reading an interview done with Annie Leibovitz last week and I came across a quote that really struck me as a perfectly put, incredible truth regarding photography, especially portrait photography:
“When I say I want to photograph someone, what it really means is that I'd like to know them. Anyone I know I photograph.” - Annie Leibovitz
That’s one of the really wonderful things about this job. The most wonderful thing, if you ask me. Not only do I get paid to create my own artistic vision, but I really get to know the people I photograph. And with wedding photography, I get to learn beautiful new love stories, all the time! So with this new year coming our way, all I hope is that it’s just as fun and challenging as the last one. I can’t wait to “know” all my future couples and tell their love story with light. Let’s do this, 2017!
