At first, I never wanted to be a photographer.. My first love was writing; seriously, what 3rd grader dreams of being a writer, right? My Aunt and Uncle both worked for LIFE magazine, he as a photographer and she as a journalist, and I had the blessing of growing up on their stories when they would visit. I’d sit there cross-legged on our fashionable juice colored carpet just in awe of their stories of adventure throughout World War 2 gathering dreams for my own life. My grandmother was also an avid photographer and would always share her photos of Africa, India, and her adventures throughout the world. With every story, tale, and photograph she shared, my love for photography grew. Every photograph she shared with my gave me a glimpse into who she was, her dreams, and her passions.
I kept writing throughout high school and my first year of college when my parents gave me my first SLR and I enrolled at my university’s dark room class. When my first print started developing before my eyes, I was hooked! I decided I was going to be a photographer. So I bought my first DSLR with the remaining scholarships I had, took it to a local newspaper and said I wanted a job. They gave me my first assignment and I got the job. I was living MY dream, making a living with my camera.
Soon a friend came and asked me to shoot her wedding. I was a little nervous about the huge responsibility of shooting a wedding for someone, but knew I had enough experience with my journalism career to do at least a good job. There was just something so different, so special, and so amazing about the joining of two people’s story into one. I was immersed in love, in tears, in beautiful toasts, prayers, sweet first dances, and the tears of father’s giving away their daughters. As I left that vineyard that day, it was more than a love of wedding photography I found….I was hit with a deep sense of purpose…my calling.
I’m a wedding photographer. Seriously, I love weddings. But what I love about them is the symbolism, the stories, the tears, smiles, kisses, and hugs. The embarrassing best man speeches, the tearful Father Daughter dances, the toasts, Polka Lines, Grandma breaking out her dance moves. All of it. Every part of the story that started with a“yes” and a “I do.” That’s why I do what I do. Because it’s more than just a wedding, shoes, and couples in love I get to photograph. I get to photograph memories that become legacy.