Controlling the Light

Some photographers, especially just starting out consider themselves “natural light photographers”. To me, that’s code for “I don’t know how to use flash”. I personally think that this is right up there with not editing. I use flash and control the light in all of my photos. I also edit and make the photo look the way I want.

My thoughts on manipulating images is that I’m NOT a photojournalist, I’m an artist. I’m not here to document a scene and show you what I saw, but rather to show you what the couple felt. Theres a huge distinction to me. I need to control the light, the exposure, the setting and remove distracting elements from the background (or even from the subject, like if theres a blemish on the model/bride)

My approach to photography is to tell a story with my photos that my couples will love for their lifetime. I have conflicts sometimes with wedding planners who are trying to keep things on a timeline and have guests waiting around. My personal philosophy is that in 10-15 (or more) years, they’ll still have beautiful photographs of their wedding and will not remember that they were a little hungry or that the food was cold when they sat down. Creating the memories that will last a lifetime is what I do.