I never thought that posting one single blog post that made my heart skip a beat with anxiety would be the source of so much positive feedback and energy. In fact, I’ve been writing this blog for as long as I’ve been running my business and not one single time had I received comments that inspired anything that resembles confidence. After being so honest in my last article, I realized how much easier having a candid, open dialogue with my clients and community is than trying to make myself fit into an online personality that doesn’t quite suit me.



The truth of the matter is, I never set out to be a wedding photographer in the first place —



One of the first questions that potential clients ask me is the standard “how did you decide to become a wedding photographer?” and I give the exact same response. “It just sort of happened by chance. I shot one wedding and it spiralled into what it is now.” I watch their faces go from enthused to confused in a split second.

When I was in college, I wanted to be a fine art photographer. I spent my days dreaming up concepts that had deep political and social reflections like every other angst-filled teenager with a canvas and a pair of Birkenstocks. I was convinced that one day I would travel the world having gallery openings and was genuinely annoyed when I would tell people that I’m a photographer and they would respond with “Oh, so you shoot weddings, then?”

What my teenaged self didn’t know is that fine art photography is a very broad term —



My first wedding was in October of 2012. I had just returned from my first trip to Iceland and was completely broke from over a month spent in a foreign country with a very different cost of living. My good friend Erwin and his then fiancé immediately asked me to photograph their wedding and in desperation for the $800 pay day, I said yes.

After it had gone so well, I shot weddings behind the scenes to pay the bills. I began slowly becoming obsessed with natural lighting techniques, film emulation, and styling, and would spend my spare time psychotically making notes in the corners of Jose Villa and Elizabeth Messina’s books. It took me over a year to bring up the courage to put wedding work on my website and ruin this image that everyone had of me as an “artist,” but looking back now, I was doing myself a huge disservice by being pretentious. Wedding photography has evolved into an entirely new art form. It is fast paced, full of emotion, and has the potential for some of the most authentically beautiful images to be made. Not only am I travelling more than I ever have, but I am also creating work that I am actually fully passionate about.



If I can take away any piece of advice from my journey, it is to be open to things that are outside of your comfort level. The most inspiring people are not those who are trying to be inspiring. They are the people who are trying new things, making mistakes, and finding the awesome in the unexpected.