| | I'd like to share a little bit of what's been on my heart... Since I've been rather honest lately, why stop now? :)
I've been bothered lately by the "rockstar photographer" trend. Yes, you can get a decent $500 digital SLR and knock off some pretty decent family portrait sessions. I'm all good with that. You can redo those if they turn out poorly. The part that bothers me is when those same photographers jump into the event industry (which requires a completely different skill set) after taking a workshop that has made them *FABULOUS* then charge $3000-4000, with little to no experience. There is a whole new crop of photographers now marketing themselves for weddings next summer at those prices. I'm baffled. It's very deceptive to brides to discern the valid photographers who have a camera bag with $15-20k worth of gear and those who show up with a mini backpack with no backup equipment. Should something go wrong... you see where I'm going here. I've had two different $5k camera bodies die on me while in the middle of weddings. It happens. The other thing is that workshops are so different than real life photography. They give a photographer a false sense of what they're capable of doing on a wedding day. Yes, they now have a portfolio consisting of a bride. To me, that falls in the same category as family portrait sessions without the kids. Right now, one of the only workshops that I would consider a valid and worthwhile investment is Bob and Dawn's workshop on St. Simon's Island. First of all, I adore Bob and Dawn (and Sarah Skow for that matter), but secondly, this is a wedding. It's the closest thing to a real world experience in photography. Most other workshops out there prepare you to be a great portrait photographer.
I don't say this to knock the photographers out there teaching workshops or those attending them -- heck I was one of them. But documenting weddings is NOT about how many odd positions we can place a bride and groom to get a great portrait (i.e. a bride on the ground hugging the leg of her groom), how many external flashes we can set up, or how heavily we can edit a crappy photo to make it look "creative." Also... not that those are bad, but the trend has been so HEAVILY focused on those things.
Let me pose a few questions. What if you were documenting someone's last day with a parent or spouse? What will they value most? How would that change the way you shoot? This week, the gravity of this career hit me harder than it ever has before.
Two months ago, I had that wedding. You may remember Jessy and Andrew's wedding in Traverse City on the Fourth of July. I fell in love with who they were a year ago when I did their engagement session. I met the rest of the family on the wedding day and was equally as impressed. At one point, Jessy's dad, Shawn, took me aside and told me how much he valued what I did and was so thankful that I was there to capture their day. While giving Jessy away, he accidentally stepped on her cathedral length veil and pulled it out. It crushed him because he just wanted her day to be perfect. He told me later, "Man, I feel terrible." I lightly said, "Don't worry about it, it actually happens ALL the time!" Well, not maybe all the time but I think it made him feel a little better. Through the amazing toast he gave I had a better glimpse of how passionate and deliberate he was in showing his love and pride in his wife Colleen, Jessy, and their other daughter Shannon.
After the wedding Jessy and Andrew headed back to their home in Arizona. Her wedding day would be the last day she spent with her dad. Over the weekend, he unexpectedly passed away. Talking through some of this with Alicia, it became clear to me how God has woven a tapestry in Shawn's life. In His grace, He gave them the most perfect day imaginable to celebrate together. No arguments, nothing left unsaid. And on a glorious Saturday afternoon before his passing, he took Colleen aside, then Shannon and told them how much he loved them and how proud he was of them. God gave them their perfect day, too. Complete with a motorcycle ride. Deliberate. Might be one of my new most valued character traits. Going back through my photos to try and find a few to print and send... I was astounded by the sheer number of photos I took of her dad. That's all God. He knew they would need those memories to begin healing. I'm humbled and brought to tears.
This job is not about being a "rockstar photographer." It's NOT about ME.
Please pray for healing for Jessy's family. This loss is immense.
Seeing Jessy for the first time..
Colleen, Shannon, Jessy, and Shawn
After his toast... what I've learned is his "frown/smile."
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| | Posted 9/17/2009 3:07 PM - 750 Views - 10 eProps - 12 comments
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