A Farewell To Weddings

Many of you have heard that I am stepping away from weddings. While the last nine years of shooting weddings has been a blast, I’m sad (but, also excited) to say that I am taking my business in a different direction. As of a few months ago, I am no longer marketing myself as a wedding photographer. There are so many awesome things about my time spent shooting weddings, but after a year of thinking, talking, planning, and (now) committing, the time has come to shift my business in a different direction. AN INCREDIBLY EXCITING DIRECTION!! But more on that in a couple weeks. ;) I was going to write out this whole farewell to weddings and post it on here, but my husband beat me to it! Austin has been working along side me as my second shooter (as well as my tax professional, personal chef, and all around incredible idea bouncer-offer) for the last five years. It’s my name in the logo, but it’s actually been “our” business since even before we were married. He sums up our time in the wedding industry beautifully, so I’m just going to leave the “goodbye’s” to him. :) So, ladies and gentlemen...my husband.

“June 19th marked the end of a season in my life. For the past 5 years I have had the honor and privilege to shoot weddings alongside my amazing wife. With the focus shift of Leah Judway Photography toward portraiture, last month’s wedding was my last wedding as a second shooter, (except for the occasional friends’ wedding).

I have known this day was coming for quite some time. Over the past few weeks I have been reflecting on the experiences we have had shooting together. This job has provided so much more than I have ever imagined. We have gone places we never would have gone, seen things we never would have seen, and grown closer as husband and wife because of this adventure.We have traveled to the Wild West of Cheyenne Wyoming and seen the Milky Way in the night’s sky. Sipped wine in the vineyards of the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. Battled torrential rain and mosquitos the size of Yugos on a campground in Florida. Were awakened by the fire alarm the morning after a wedding in Cape May, needing to evacuate the hotel only to find the entire wedding party bleary-eyed and in their PJs, including the bride and groom...yea, awkward. In San Francisco we learned that there are more than two kinds of garbage cans, the third being compost, who knew? We also ate Mission Burritos and watched Elk graze at misty Point Reyes National Seashore. Oh and the breweries, we have been to some great breweries all around this great country!I have gotten to meet some truly amazing people. One of the best parts of the job, other than the free dinner of course, is getting to hang out with the bride and groom on their wedding day. Seeing the full range of emotions, start to finish. One of my responsibilities was always to be there for ‘guys getting ready shots’ (by shots I mean photographs not booze, but I took many shots of shots during this time too!). Most folks only get to experience this truly unique occasion on their own wedding day and maybe a few times other than that if they are in other bridal parties. I have gotten to experience this dozens of times over the last 5 years and it is awesome! My favorite part is when the time comes to put on the tux. It’s like they didn’t truly realize why they were there until that moment.

It’s hilarious. I have also needed to have a certain MacGyver mindset to being a second shooter. I always liked this part of the job! When schedules went by the wayside or flowers didn’t cooperate or the tux rental company sent a tux 3 sizes too big, much of the time it was up to us to fix the issue and remain calm in the process. I always carried what I referred to as my “Wedding Emergency Kit”. This kit contained items such as safety pins, needle and thread, Band-Aids, Advil, a lint roller, deodorant, mouth wash, a hair comb, handkerchief, black socks, and of course Duct Tape. I can vividly recall an instance when the flowers fell off the bride’s veil and we were behind schedule so it fell to me to “fix” it! “I need a hot glue gun and a paper clip”, and as you can see below I spent the next 20 minutes trying not to melt the headband while I attempted to get the flowers back in place. Thinking on your feet, rolling with the punches and a good sense of humor are all key to succeed as a second shooter. Leah says that primary photographers need those attributes as well.

Maybe they do, but all the random and weird jobs seemed to fall to me.Even with all these incredible experiences and adventures, the one thing that will always stand out to me as I think back will be the faces. The job of a good second shooter is to be the eyes in the back of the primary photographer’s head. As such, you glimpse little moments that not everyone gets to see. The tears in a fathers eyes as he waits to escort his little girl down the aisle. The laughter when the groomsmen are getting ready as they tell the REAL stories of youth that never make it into the Best Man’s speech. A flower girl picking her nose. Smiles, tears, laughter, a look, a stare, a wink, these are what tell the story of a wedding day. Even as certain details fade in my memory I will never forget the faces. In closing, thank you. Thank you to our clients who allowed me to be a part of your lives. Thank you for trusting us with the honor of capturing one of the most important days in your life. Thank you to my wife, for seeing that little hint of talent and knowing exactly how to bring it out in me. Thank you for being patient when I was, unknowingly, in your shot or out of position. Thank you for bringing me into your world! And finally Thank You to God. It is through Him I can do all things. This was a thing I never envisioned myself doing, but it was an amazing run and I will miss it.”       -Austin

Ditto.        -Leah