11/02/2024
Last Shot
It's a strange and surreal thing to close the door on a 20-year wedding photography career today. I've been going over the timeline of my very last wedding this morning, and it suddenly hit me that I would never do this again. In fact, there are so many things that I've taken for granted while working in this particular industry. First and foremost are the outstanding professionals I've been incredibly lucky to have worked alongside. Whether they were coordinators, videographers, cake artists, DJs, Florists, Bartenders, Security, Penguins, or Robo Dogs, I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with them. I have my favorites (you know who you are), and I'll always miss working with you.
Because of this career, we have been able to travel all over the United States and even the world. We've photographed in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, California, Maine, Canada, and even London, England. I will be forever grateful that it has allowed me to see the world and capture it as I experience it. This was primarily due to some of the incredible clients we have had throughout the years. Yes, we’ve had challenging clients, but I can honestly say they were a tiny fraction compared to the ones we truly enjoyed spending the day with.
One of the best parts of this job was getting to live through and experience our client’s best day with them. It’s one of the aspects that I think a lot of photographers fail to appreciate these days. We’ve always been grateful that they have trusted us to walk through those moments with them and capture them.
I always said I never wanted to become a jaded, burned-out wedding photographer who walks away hating everything about their craft. Making the decision to no longer photograph weddings was difficult because I still truly love photographing them. I will miss the connections we make with our clients and other vendors. I’ll miss brides' reactions when I’m showing them an image I’m excited about. I’ll miss the satisfaction of delivering a final product that took weeks to complete. Most of all, I’ll simply miss watching people laugh, cry, and love in a way that you can only experience on a wedding day. It’s for those reasons, though, that I’m happy to close the chapter on this part of my photography career. I’d much rather end things on a bright note and have all these amazing memories to cherish. Having this extra room on my plate, however, will allow me to have more time with my family and more time to bury myself in my studies as I complete my master's.
One of the best parts regarding this last wedding is that I'll be photographing it alongside my amazing wife and absurdly talented son, Aiden, who will be the videographer for the day. What a way to go out!
Even though I will continue to photograph Families, Seniors, and Corporate in the near future, I will miss these moments greatly. Thanks to everyone for all the support and love this past twenty years. We could never have done it without you.
“We’re all so frightened by time and the way it moves on and the way things disappear….but that’s why we’re photographers. We’re preservationists by nature. We take pictures to stop time…to commit moments to eternity…human nature made tangible.” -Kodachrome
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