This is the time of year when I start getting excited for my summer weddings – anxious with anticipation. Growing up with a German mom, I’m not the most overtly emotional person, but when shooting I am drawn to it like flies to sugar. For people to be so overcome that they forget my presence (and everybody else’s for that matter) and to just be in the moment is wonderful.
Often, people ask me how I can shoot such private moments – don’t I feel like I’m invading their privacy? Just recently someone said to me: “I feel like it’s wrong to capture such a personal moment.” But – that’s what makes a good photo great – when you can connect with it on an emotional level as opposed to just saying – oh that’s pretty.
I got a lot of practice in this as a photojournalist for a newspaper – I shot some of the most intimate moments in peoples’ lives: a death of a spouse, births, losing championship games, funerals for children, adoption proceedings, and times of prayer and worship . And after almost each one was published – I would get an email or phone call that said “Thank you.” Thank you for allowing me to remember this moment and for helping everyone to remember this person/event.
So, you see, when I am capturing people at their happiest, it’s a ton easier than capturing them at their saddest. And believe me, for not being an emotional person, I cried like a baby alongside widows or at funerals – all for people I had never met.
Here’s to a ton of happy moments this summer – I can’t wait to experience it with you!
And, an example of a happy moment from last August: Right as the bride and groom walked out of the church, both broke down in tears – so overwhelmed by the ceremony, their guests’ love and their love for each other.
