I often think about who my couples are — their likes, interests, and who they are as people. It’s so important to visualize and know your clients. What kind of music do they listen to? What do they read? What kinds of movies do they watch? What kinds of things do they value?
When you’re photographing someone’s wedding, you can get close to them. Getting to know so many couples over the past few years, I’ve noticed that my clients have a few things in common.
They are creative.
People who work with me enjoy visuals and art and are generally creative people. Even my clients who are engineers and scientists are creative. They cook and sew and garden and play piano. They bake bread, dance, make their own beer, or are photography buffs. They are interested and interesting, and pay attention to aesthetics. If you were to ask them what’s more important — living in a marble mansion or residing in a humble space and surrounded by art — they would probably choose the latter.
They are kind and trusting.
As a wedding photographer I am constantly struck by how kind people can be. When I’m driving in Boston traffic, it’s easy to think that most people are jerks. Sometimes I go grocery shopping and have such a negative experience battling carts that I come home convinced that civilization as we knew it has ended. But when I work with my clients and their families, I am so often struck by how much they trust me, and how kind and thoughtful they are. I can honestly say that I have never encountered a bride- or groom-zilla. I thought maybe I was imagining things but then a wedding planner told me that I have the nicest clients. I also realize that I’m lucky to have a job that allows me to know people in this way.
They share their feelings.
I like people who show their emotions. I’m an emotional person. I get angry, happy and sad very quickly. I sometimes cry at the weddings I’m photographing (the vows kill me). For better or worse, it’s hard for me to hide my feelings.
I don’t want to photograph indifference, and the couples I work with are not cold or detached models. I don’t want to do that kind of photography, and documenting something that’s highly personal is a big part of why I got involved with weddings. Since I’m photographing people on such an emotional day, feelings are often on the surface, and even when they’re not, I’m constantly trying to read them. Are they joyful, anxious, or a mix? Are they relaxed enough to let me get closer? Is this person self assured in front of the camera, or do they need a little confidence building?
I also have selfish reasons for enjoying people who share their emotions: It helps me take amazing photographs. If someone lets go and shares their feelings then I can capture more of their humanity. The people who view those photographs later on — including the subjects — will more deeply relate to the images.
While my wedding couples have much in common, I’m also struck by how different every wedding, every couple, and every person I photograph is. Even though I’ve photographed dozens of Christian ceremonies, tens of non-religious couples, and multiple weddings at the same venues, every day I photograph is different. People will often ask “Have you photographed at this venue before?” or “Have you photographed our kind of ceremony?” and I think “Yes but that doesn’t matter because your wedding will be different. You’re you.” Thank goodness for the differences. Because that’s what keeps life — and photography — interesting.
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