Working on my year in review is always one of my favorite and most dreaded tasks of the year. I love looking back at all the incredible events I had the honor to document, but I always end up with 1000 photos and editing it down is way too difficult- especially this year with all the beauty I had the joy of photographing! I got it to just about 300 photos and there’s so many more from weddings that are waiting to be published at Martha Stewart that I can’t share just yet- so stay tuned in early 2019 for some more amazing weddings! 2018 was a BIG year for me in so many ways both personally and professionally. It was the year I really dove head first into education. I’ve been mentoring photographers for a few years now and my amazing lab, Richard Photo Lab, asked me to teach again at WPPI and then I was asked by my followers to turn it into an e-course. I loved the experience and saw an exciting opportunity to bring a new type of education the wedding industry and I’ve been testing out new ideas and have some big plans for 2019! 2018 was unintentionally the year of the flat lay for me! I saw flat lays as a great way to enter the education world because I love doing them and when you break them down they’re all about the basic elements of composition and I realized how easily teachable they could be. It was incredibly exciting to build my flat lay community and I’ve loved seeing the transformation in my students work! Another fun bonus is also all the flat lay photography I’m doing outside of weddings and have some fun projects in 2019 for some big brands outside of the wedding industry- so stay tuned for that! Once again, I spent a lot of time flying back and forth across the country quite a bit once again, as well as two trips over to Europe, which included celebrating my 30th birthday with friends and family on Lake Como before a month of travel in Italy, France and Norway for weddings and a very special engagement session. 2018 had me shooting in New York City, Connecticut, Big Sur, The Loire Valley, Dordogne, Pennsylvania, Malibu, Beverly Hills, Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Ravello, Como, Norway and Napa! I’m so happy to be home for the next month before 2019 starts with a bang in Sri Lanka!
2018 started in a scary place for me. I injured myself in 2017 and after months of doctors appointments I started the year still not knowing what was wrong or why I was in so much pain. Luckily after 6 months of being misdiagnosed I finally figured it out and got myself to the right doctors and physical therapist and am feeling great! I started the year barely being able to walk without extreme pain and I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment after reaching a waterfall in Norway after a 9 mile hike in July. I share this with you because I know many start out the new year setting goals for themselves and so many of us are self defeating. We never even start on the path to reaching our goals because our heads are filled with thoughts of “no, because” instead of “yes, and.” As we head into the new year I encourage everyone to stop their own self-limiting beliefs of: No I can’t do this because of X. Instead, focus on Yes I can find a way and here’s how I’ll do it and here’s what I’ll do next! Whether you’re a wedding industry professional looking to grow your business and afraid to chase your dreams or you’re a bride or groom just engaged and worried about where to start planning your “perfect wedding” or worried about looking perfect at it- push aside those limiting beliefs and just focus on being your most authentic and happiest self and the rest will fan into place. I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for me, I’m shedding my own limiting beliefs and hope you all join me in celebrating a wonderful new year full of BIG things! Congratulations to all the couples out there planning your 2019 wedding! It’s going to be a great year! Sending a big thank you to my incredible assistants and second shooters who I could not live without!
Happy New Year!
xoxo
Planners featured in this post (in alphabetical order): Amorology, Callista & Co, Ebb and Flow Events, Elegant Ninja, Encore Events, Kate Siegel Events, Mark Kintzel Events, Matthew Oliver Weddings, Ro & Co Events, Shannon Leahy Events, Simply Troy Events, Simone Lennon Events, Toast Santa Barbara
reflect on the powerful and beautiful imagery I get to create and
remember how lucky I am to be able to do what I’ve dreamed of doing
since I was a kid- create pictures that people will remember.
One of my favorite aesthetic philosophers, Roland Barthes, broke down
his analysis of a photograph into two parts: the studium and the
punctum. The studium is what a photograph denotes. It is the subject.
Every photograph has one. The punctum, however is personal. It is what a
photograph connotes. It is what jumps out of the photo and wounds you,
personally connecting you to the image. The punctum can coexist with
the studium, but it changes it. It transforms an image you like into an
image you love. An image that you can look at for a second and think of
it all your life, as quoted by one of my favorite artists, Joan Miro.
My intention in all of these photographs below are to create images full
of punctum- images that pierce you. Images that stay with you for the
rest of your life. Images that turn into beloved heirlooms to be
cherished by generations to come. I’m so grateful to all my 2017 couples and families who let me into
their lives to document a little piece of it and all the incredibly
talented wedding vendors and editors who’ve kept me on my toes
creatively and inspire me everyday. I’m incredibly excited for all
my 2018 clients who I’m just getting to know and can’t wait to see what
magic we create together in the new year. I already know I’ll be crisscrossing the states again with a handful of weddings on the East Coast and will be spending a few weeks in Europe photographing some incredible weddings, engagements and fashion editorials.
In addition to weddings, engagements and portraits, I had the opportunity to photograph four major editorials this year. They were published in The Knot, Destination I Do Magazine (coming out January 2018) and on Style Me Pretty. I also added more commercial work shooting for Joanna August, Vow to be Chic, Madly Bride and Hushed Commotion. I was honored to win the Grand Prize in Rangefinder Magazine’s Wedding Photography Awards and had the honor of photographing the 2017 Knot Dream Wedding. A landmark wedding as Amanda and Elena were the first same-sex couple to be selected by The Knot for the prize. I had online and print features in Martha Stewart, Us Weekly, The Knot National and California Editions, Flutter Magazine, Style Me Pretty, Magnolia Rouge, Brides Magazine, Trendy Bride, Wedding Flowers & Accessories Magazine, Rangefinder Magazine, People Magazine, Modern Luxury Weddings Magazine, Dear Gray Magazine, Green Wedding Shoes, Carats & Cake and a few other international publications. Brides Magazine named a photograph from Jo & Al’s wedding as one of the 50 Most Stunning Wedding Photos of 2017. Wedding Chicks named a photograph from Amanda and Elena’s wedding as one of the 20 Most Epic Wedding Photos of 2017. Style Me Pretty named Jenna and Shane’s wedding one of the Best + Most Beautiful Wedding of 2017. And Martha Stewart included my photo of Melissa and Mike’s cake in their favorites of 2017. While all of the publications and awards are so exciting, there’s still nothing better than the feeling I get when I press send on a gallery and imagine my clients watching their slideshow for the first time. Sending a huge thank you to all my incredible clients for allowing me to document your day! Another big thank you to the incredible planners, designers, florists, makeup artists and hair stylists, stationery designers, fashion designers, chefs and all the other talented artists I get to collaborate with every weekend! I love working with you all to bring beauty and joy into our clients lives. And lastly thank you to all of my second shooters and assistants who work tirelessly to help me bring nothing but the best to my clients! I know I shoot a ridiculous amount of film and I love all of my assistants whose fingers are exhausted by the end of the day from speedily rolling all my film! Cheers to the new year everybody! Sending love, light and joy for 2018!
Sending a big thank you to all of the planners, second shooters, assistants, editors, florists, designers and artists I got to collaborate with this year!
