WHY PHOTOGRAPHY MATTERS

In November 2019 I had the privilege of attending a workshop that would change the way I approached photography, which shifted my focus from overly-posed images, to more candid, truthful images. 

During the workshop, one of the workshop hosts shared that while he was on his journey into photojournalism, he decided to ask his past clients to choose one image from their wedding that they felt represented their memory of the day. Did the “creatively posed” images or the Pinterest recreations make the list? 

What he learned (and what I also found when asking my clients), was that the images couples chose weren’t the ones that were artfully set up with the photographer’s vision in mind, but they were often real, genuine moments, as well as images that contained important people. In my own asking, I found that some of the images contained memories and stories that weren’t even directly about their wedding. Things that I had no idea about when I was pressing the shutter. 

This was such a valuable exercise for me and is now something I carry with me to each wedding and family session I photograph.

Matt & Megan
-10/10/15-

“This is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding day. I'm so glad that Matt and I could get away from the busyness to simply focus on each other and savor our day. All of the pictures taken at this location are particularly meaningful because it is one of the places that we went when Matt proposed to me. This picture perfectly captures the joy that we felt about starting our life together. When I look at it, I remember the beautiful fall day and the fresh air. I remember feeling calm and completely at peace as I enjoyed some quiet moments with my new husband.”

Giuseppe & Christine
-9/17/16-

(Top Left) “This one means so much to me because this is my late uncle/god father. My sister knew how important it was that he was with me on my wedding day.”

(Top Right) “This picture has so much more meaning behind it that what is on the surface. My dad and I had many difficult years together. It was Giuseppe that brought us closer and repaired our relationship.”

(Bottom Left) “This explains our entire relationship together. We try not to take anything too seriously and enjoy life in the moment. There is pure love on our faces.”

(Bottom Right) “This picture is a favorite because you see family and friends truly watching over us.”

Mike & Erica
-12/9/17

“I love this picture because it represents the way I remember my wedding day. There was so much going on around us with the lights, music, makeup and people that it's all kind of a blur, but I very vivdly remember having the best time with my new husband in our own crazy little world.”

Jared & Imelda
-10/13/12-

“We are so happy that we chose you to be our photographer. You captured some of the most amazing candid images and I love looking back at them. Attached is the one that truly is our "wedding picture." The reason we love this one so much is because it did not just capture us as a couple, but it captured the reason why that day was so special, we are both laughing and enjoying ourselves surrounded by all of our loved ones. We feel this picture in some amazing way captured everyone that was there that day, not just us. We also get complements on that picture all the time.”

Andrew & Emilee
-6/8/19-

“I couldn’t choose just one!”

Daryn & Lillian
-9/8/18-

“It was so hard to narrow it down, but these are some of my favorites. The caption for all of them would be Pure Bliss!”

James & Andi
-6/17/17-

“You took so many wonderful pictures at our wedding that I couldn’t pick just one - so I chose two!”

(Left) “This picture is so sweet and special to me! Our long engagement was filled with lots of emotions, and lots of anxiety the final days and hours leading up to this moment. This picture from our first look perfectly captures the peace that flooded our hearts the moment we saw each other. In the midst of all the craziness, the emotions, the dress drama, the impending weather... we had a moment to breathe, just the two of us, and remember why we were here in the first place.”

(Right) “This picture is another one that comes to mind when I think of that day! Not only is it so beautiful and amazing - look at those crazy clouds! - it’s a perfect picture of God’s faithfulness. When rain threatened to ruin our outdoor ceremony, I prayed on repeat “Lord, put a bubble around us, protect us from the rain!”. When I look at this picture I’m reminded of the fact that God did just that - rain in the east, west, north and south, but not a drop on us the whole ceremony! In my simple request to not have rain on my wedding day, He reminded me of how faithful He is and how he has provided - and continues to provide - as we entered our married life! This will forever be one of my favorite pictures of that beautiful day.”

Geoff & Stephanie
-7/22/17-

“I have loved so many of the photos from our wedding, but this one is currently my favorite. When I look at it I remember the absolute joy of the day and the happiness we felt becoming husband and wife.”

Paul & Kristen
-7/20/18-

(Left) “This photo is so deeply special to me because this was the part of the ceremony where Paul's and my parents came up and prayed for us during the ceremony. It was so precious to have them pray for us as we begin our own marriage and to have them as such great role models of such godly marriages.”

(Right) “This picture means a lot to me because I was these girls' high school small group leader for all four years of their time in our church's high school ministry. They all decided to road trip it from Omaha, NE to Naperville, IL to see me get married and it meant so much to me. They got to know me before I was dating anyone, through Paul's and mine long distant relationship and then through the 6 months of engagement, and it was amazing to share this day with all of them. God had done some amazing things in these girl's lives and I know that he is continuing to do so in their college years!”

Tim & Shela
-7/25/18-

“We had fun discussing it – but boy that was tough picking! We loved so many of your photos! I could easily have added pics of my brothers reading (loved those) and my nieces singing (loved those!) and my son’s toast which made everyone laugh hysterically!”

Josh & Ashley
-2/13/16-

“This pictures holds a special place in our hearts because our lucky relationship number is 13. We began dating Friday 4/13, engaged Friday 11/13 and got married Saturday 2/13. While we were out taking photos in the very cold temperatures we happen to realize that in that exact moment on our wedding day it was 13 degrees outside and you captured the picture perfectly! My memory is of our beautiful wedding day that was completely us!”

John & Jackie
-6/19/15-

“These are some of my favorite photos from our wedding. These bring back all the memories and emotions from the day.”

Drew & Christie
-5/15/2015-

“This is my favorite picture of our wedding day. We did a reverse traditional first look, so Drew walked up to surprise me. I love this photo because i can feel the joy exploding from both of us as we see each other for the first time. That morning was so stressful, but in that moment, it all melted away. I’m so thankful to have that captured in this photo forever.”

Jake & Christina
-6/27/11-

(Left) “Probably my favorite pic of everything I have! I little but of sass and Jake being all serious. It perfectly captures us as we are and on our wedding day.”

(Middle) “Me with my bouquet! I love flowers and it has grown since our wedding day. The florist ended up putting fake flowers in there which I asked them not too but I didn't let it ruin my day. It still looked so beautiful! It was a great day with things going wrong that didn't bother me one bit! It was perfect.”

(Right) “Jake is hilarious! What can I say?!”