Last week I went to the printers to pick up an engagement photo for a client. I was being helped by a young woman who complemented my work and wanted to know if she could ask a few questions about being a wedding photographer. Now, any one that knows me knows that you usually can’t get me to shut up about it, so naturally I said I’d be glad to. It turns out that she was very passionate about photography and was thinking about pursuing it full time. What she really wanted to know was why I chose wedding photography. I started to laugh, which I think was very confusing to her. The funny thing was that I never meant to become a wedding photographer at all!
I have always been in love with photography. Even at a very young age I was the kid with the camera in hand snapping pictures of his friends. I studied photography in high school and college but I did it all just for the joy of it. I never thought I could actually make a living taking pictures. So after college, I went out into the real world and got a grown up job…. and hated every…. minute… of it!
It wasn’t until I met my beautiful wife that things changed. When I met with our wedding photographer I was very specific about what I was looking for. I knew what kind of images I wanted and what I didn’t want. I wanted someone that was artistic but could also capture those emotional, spontaneous moments. Our photographer was very patient with me but finally stopped me and asked if I had a background in photography. After I filled him in on my history, he offered me a job right there on the spot!
I was amazed and shocked that someone would just offer me a job without knowing anything about me, or seeing any of my work. Not to mention that I had no digital photography gear! When I asked him why I he would do that, he told me he could already see that I had good people skills, had an eye for detail and most importantly, I had a passion for it. He said those were the only things that could not be taught. So he would buy my first digital camera, and I’d work it off. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse!
I wasn’t sure how I felt about being a wedding photographer, but I jumped at the chance to do what I loved. Now maybe it was the fact that I was (and still am) very in love with my soon to be wife and we were in the mists of planning our own wedding, or maybe it was the fact that I was doing what I loved for the first time. Whatever the reason…I shot my first wedding… and I was instantly hooked! Being a wedding photographer is so much more than just taking pictures. It’s about capturing and documenting the greatest day of a couple’s life. It’s about love, family and joy! I love being there to share in a couples joining and be witness the beginning of their new life together. When you come right down to it, my work day is being invited to a huge party and asked to take pictures! Which, is what I would be doing any way!
So … Why am I a wedding photographer? For the pure, over whelming joy of it all! I love, love, love what I do!
