On August 11th, 2008 we received an email from a newly engaged couple who were seeking a wedding photographer. My response took more than 24 hours which is not typical and i was apologetic in my response for the delay. The response that came back was "Hey! No problem on the response time I understand that you have lives outside of work :)" That says a lot about someone who is seeking something as important as their wedding photographer. "I understand that you have lives outside of work :)" While Ashley and i may not make this distinction all the time, we feel as though Nuzum Photo is tattooed on our hearts, we do have lives outside of being Nuzum Photo. One that this couple would quickly become a part of.
After a few back and forth emails we setup a meeting date and time. The first time we met with this couple it was a little scary. We were expecting them to arrive any minute and we heard a knock at the door. I peaked out the blinds to make sure of who it was and all i could see was a uniformed police officer....I didn't believe I had broken any laws recently. So I started to sweat a little. I knew we were expecting this couple and a cop shows up just before. When I opened the door standing there was our future bride-to-be and her fiancé, a police officer. Now that I could stop sweating we could get to talking about themselves and what they wanted from their wedding photographer.
The two of them fit together perfectly. They were in love and ready to married. I think if circumstances had allowed they may have gotten married right there on our couch that day. Becoming an ordained minister is as simple as filling out a form these days. I could have taken care of it. We were easily into conversation with both.
The amazing thing about that meeting was we didn't talk much about wedding photography. It wasn't the most important thing we had to talk about. We talked 45 minutes about who we were. Who they were. What we liked and what they liked. They like to snowboard. They like board game nights. They recently moved. They lived right around the block. They were just a few houses away from us. I had run past their house many times not even knowing who they were. Just another house that I passed on my route. That day's meeting would change that.
We scheduled engagement photos for October 14, 2008. They had a spot picked out in Newton, IA that turned out to be a great location. We wondered around having a great time and learning more and more about who they were and how their relationship came to be. Learning about a couple during an engagement shoot is nothing out of the normal. We always talk about who they are and what they want to do and where they want to go. Getting to know a couple provides us an emotional connection that brings out the best in our photos. You can definitely tell the difference in our photographs from when we are emotionally connected to someone and when we are not. We don't do it on purpose, but the results don't lie. Finding a connection with the bride and groom or any subject is vital.
It wasn't very long after the engagement shoot that this couple started coming over regularly to hang out, play games, and play with our kids. These two loved playing with our kids and our kids quickly learned names and were asking when they would be coming back over. The kids learned that they had dogs and that was the coolest thing ever, even cooler than our own dog. The friendship would grow and eventually came the wedding day.
May 23, 2009. They were married in Newton, IA. By this point we felt like pretty good friends with them. We didn't really know families or other friends but we'd spent quite a bit of time hanging out with them and getting to know them. This is where our emotional connection to the wedding photos becomes important. These two are our friends now. We felt that connection that we strive to feel with all of our brides and grooms. The connection that gives emotion to our work. We knew that they felt bad that we were "working" on their wedding day. They felt that we could be guest, but that is far too tough. We had a job to do and we had to do it. We still did some of the things you do and a friend's wedding. We participated in the dollar dance and we took some photos in the photo booth.
Over the next year we would continue to hang out and have game nights, they came to our annual Halloween party in 2009 dressed as M&M's and at our 2010 Halloween party as an oven with a bun in it and a chef. This couple had taken the next step in their life journey and were expecting a baby. As Ashley and I had followed them on their journey we were certainly excited for them. We get no more joy than following along with life's journey that we saw begin at a wedding. Life is full of stations that we reach on our journey and these two had just reached the next station. I still haven't got to the best part of the story yet.
Ashley would later photograph the maternity photos. Another important milestone in their lives that we were their to capture. The experience is the most important thing, but the photos bring the experience back to life. Ashley would also be capturing the next big experience for these two, the moment when they actually become parents.
We are photojournalist for the most part. We do not intrude, we do not alter events, we do not take part. But with these two we have always broke those rules. We did so because we felt like we were suppose to be part of it all. As the bride anxiously waited she would send Ashley updates on the baby's plans for arrival. As the due date came and past Ashley continued to receive updates and give advice as best she could from our own experience. Two of our three boys were late arriver's, it can be a tough time.
This past Sunday the time had come. This couple went to hospital early in the morning and would not return home without their baby. Ashley continued to get updates and I texted over a few words to the would be dad of what I had learned from having kids, men's secret knowledge of course. In the early evening it was time for Ashley to head down to the hospital as things were getting close and the new baby would arrive soon.
Little did Ashley know that the lines of photojournalism would be tested that day. With Ashley there she quickly become part of what was going on. She headed into the moment expecting to capture a new baby's first moments in this world. What she ended up doing was standing bed side. Taking part. She was part of this families first moments together. She was counting out and helping with breathing coaching. What had started as an email on August 11, 2008 about a wedding photographer had turned into a moment where Ashley was part of a birth of a child on February 13, 2011. Ashley was now more than just a wedding photographer, she was an intricate part of their life story. The life story of our friends. Matt, Jessica, and Karrigan.
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