Talking

My wife teases me about this, but I have a habit of adapting my speech to sound like the person I'm talking to. For example, whenever I talk to my friend Tanner, Kara always says I put on this "Arizona Cool" accent.

I always tell Kara that I'm not trying sound cool, it's just that I think I subconsciously am just trying to communicate better with the different people I interact with. This can come in especially handy for a wedding photographer.

As I reflect back on this year in wedding photography I have had the opportunity to meet so many great diverse people that I never would have known before. 3 weddings really stick out in my mind with how different they were from each other, and how I had to adapt to each couple's style.


Sean and Amanda's wedding was so great and different. They put their own style on just about everything, from the 3 day wedding festivities to the belly dancer at their reception, their wedding was something I'll never forget.

Soon after Sean and Amanda's wedding I shot Bailie and Tyler's wedding in Bonanza. They're wedding had their own style too. A style totally different from Sean and Amanda's. Some of my favorite memories were the wedding party jumping on the tractor to go take pictures and Tyler wearing a gas mask to remove Bailie's garter.

A little later I shot Calvin and Lisa's wedding. Their traditional Vietnamese wedding was an amazing marathon. All the details of all the different dresses and the importance of tradition were two impressions that I took away from this wedding.

The one thing that these three diverse couples have in common of course is that they hired me to be their photographer. Looking back on my interactions with each couple, I had to adapt to their own distinct wishes and desires. It's a part of my job that I truly love. Every couple is so unique and getting to interact with each one is fun for different reasons. So yes, I guess Kara is right, I do talk differently with the people I interact with. Thinking about that now, it's something that I'm proud of.