PART THREE. The “why” and what it means to be a constant student. As much of myself as I put into my work, ultimately, it is all about my clients. That’s the “why” of my work. As one living, feeling human being to another: I want you to know that these photos are about you. I want you to see your story in this world. I want you to look back on your photos and always remember the love that was present. When my clients receive their gallery and tell me those photos are something they’ll cherish and pass down forever - that’s my “why”. . People are different. They need different amounts of care and information. Contrary to what many might think, the majority of my time isn’t spent shooting, or even editing photos. It's spent trying to learn more about these connections and how to hone my craft to reflect this. I think a huge mistake that’s easy to make in the wedding industry is thinking there’s a “magic formula” to running your client experience. You can memorize all the posing templates you can find, but you can’t force couples into styles they aren’t comfortable with. You can’t hide behind canned emails. Real conversation has to happen in order for me to connect with my couples and create images that are true to their relationship. . Let me tell you an honest, raw story. . This image is from Liz and Wes’ engagement session at Sutro Baths. Confession: this wasn’t my first time photographing these two. This was actually part of our remake session, as we weren’t completely in love with the results from the first. It can be so hard to admit when we’ve made a mistake. Truthfully, I felt like a complete failure. It took a little while (and the help of ultra-supportive industry friends) for me to see that how I felt was rather silly! . As a photographer for people and their life stories, it should never be about my ego. Getting published, receiving a whole list of accolades, as lovely as all of that is, that’s not why I entered this business. It’s about telling real stories. Once I remembered the “why” again, I was able to work with these two on a session that spoke volumes about their love for each other and this city that they call home. (POST CONTINUED IN COMMENTS)