There is something so special about photographing in the place couples call home (or, will call home). I believe you can capture "home" in a warm embrace on a mountain top, (because as cheesy as it sounds, home is where the heart is), but I love being invited to photograph in the space where traditions will be created and memories made. Photographing in the home allows for couples to let their guards down and just be fully themselves. It makes my heart beat faster for the images that are created are intimate, authentic, and honest - unique to each couple and home I'm photographing in.
Lindsey is an amazing and inspired writer. She invites her readers into a refreshingly real and raw space, touching on how messy and beautiful life can be. Recently she wrote something that I literally threw my hands up in the air and exclaimed, "she gets it!" It's the complete heart and drive for what inspires me on a daily basis as photography for my profession. Yes, the wedding day is one of the most important and celebrated days of your life (and goodness it's so so special), but what inspires me the most is the pursuit and passion for the relationship & marriage journey after. The adventure together is so beautiful - but let's be real, it can be also be darn right messy and life can be hard. I fully believe the vows that are shared with our spouse are a promise of a continued pursuit of a deepened relationship on the journey of your lives together. I could write a novel about this topic, and I may continue to touch on different aspects of this in future blog posts. It needs to be discussed more.
Photographing these genuine here-and-now moments can serve as a powerful reminder to bring couples back to the why. The reminder and why of what the pursuit (and sometimes the fight) is for. It's one of the reasons why engagement and anniversary sessions are so inspiring and powerful to me. It also serves to "feel all the feels" on happy celebrated days to take you back to all the memories. It's such an honor to document couples and families in their most vulnerable and joyful moments. In ALL the ways that love is shown - the quiet glances from across the room, the warm heartfelt embraces, or the shouting it across the mountaintops for the world to hear; I love capturing what it felt like exactly in those moments.
That's my art.
Lindsey said it better in a recent post than I ever could:
"Making something work, truly is an overcoming; Of the weaknesses in yourself, in the lies that you believe - about yourself, about your partner, about your life and what unexpected realities might be thrown your way. And frankly it's an absolute fight to stay in tact. It's a real conscious choice & decision to make. And only you can choose it for yourself.
I'm not married yet, but I've sure had to fight for something that I love for the last two years to keep it. And I'm taking that with me into the years ahead.
David, thank you for going through the hard days with me. Life is not glamorous. We know that full well. There has been so much mess to overcome, but it's what we do. We always have, & we always will.
Thank you for choosing to do life with me. My life is richer, fuller, and stronger because You are in it."
