Introduction and Background - My first Blog Entry

I know this blog is long overdue, but I’ve finally caught some free time between the busy live of shooting weddings and my three kid’s athletic and academic activities. Plus, my husband just returned from a year in Iraq with the Marines, and it’s a huge help having him back to share responsibilities. He’s my marketing guy, website designer, PC and MAC tech support guru, and even a pretty decent soul mate ☺….


My Background
So….. I guess to kick things off with my new blog, I should tell a little background on where I come from and how I got to this point in my life and career. I feel that to really capture the emotions of a wedding day, I have to know a little about the bride and groom, and its equally important that they know me more personally than just “the photographer.” We accomplish much of that in the preliminary meetings, engagement session, rehearsal dinner, and other such pre-wedding events. By the day of the wedding, we know each other, and that’s extremely important to me. It emotionally attaches me to the couple to the point that I tear up when they tear up.
Sorry, I digress…..
My husband and I grew up together in a little town in Southeast Ga called Waycross. We married shortly after high school graduation, and he soon was off to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC. He’s now a Major and PhD candidate, and I can say that while stressful and hard at times, its been a blast. We’ve lived all over the country, to include Jacksonville NC, Charleston SC, Quantico Va, Monterey Ca, Temecula / Murrieta Ca, and even spent three years in Japan. It was there that I really discovered my love of photography. My husband gave me a hard time about the money I spent developing dozens of rolls of film per week, but I was hooked. Later, while living in Monterey, I remember talking to my husband about going back to school and finding my own career. After all, I’d been a stay at home mom (toughest job in the world) for over a decade while he rose to the Officer ranks and earned his Bachelors at The Citadel, is Masters, and Doctorate degrees. I really felt like the opportunity to forge my own skills in something had passed me by. It was my husband who suggested that I already have a well-developed skill in photography, and that I should start my own business. Then, around 2003, he surprised me with new camera, high-end lenses, a website, business cards, and a business license! I began shooting family and maternity shots of friends to develop my portfolio, and vowed that I would never get in to the wedding industry. But after a few relatives and friends begged me to shoot their wedding, I found the challenge of ever changing lighting, the emotional roller coaster, and fast pace to be addictive. I added weddings to my list of services offered, and over the years, have become exclusively a wedding photographer! I absolutely love it….. that said, I would have never agreed to photograph the wedding of a friend had I not already been shooting at a professional level for a while, and have a fool-proof workflow, data back-up strategy and solution, and high end equipment. I cringe every time a bride-to-be tells me that she has a friend with a nice camera that is going to shoot her wedding. I have a nice hammer, but wouldn’t offer to build their house! if you want PROFESSIONAL images, hire a professional. I think a lot of couples end up regretting the amount of money they spend on things that evaporate from memory over time, and skimp out on the one thing that they can hang on their wall or put on their coffee table as a cherished reminder of that special bringing-together of souls to be enjoyed for generations to come.