How being a Wedding Photographer made me a better Street and Travel Photographer.

“ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. – Matt Hardy

Any photographer worth their salt is constantly struggling with how to "see and compose the beauty" that Matt Hardy speaks of. When it comes to me I know I find it "easier" to see the beauty when I'm shooting street or travel photography. See the thing with travel and street photography is that I do it on "my terms".....I only have myself to please.....I can walk around for 10 hours and come back with 2 images....or 200 images. And every single image shot just has to appeal to me and me alone. That kind of shooting really gets you into a comfort zone of sorts.

I now see that in order for me to continue to grow as a photographer I have to step outside this comfort zone. I guess the universe thinks so as well because in the last 2 years it has conspired to create multiple situations where I agreed to photograph not for myself but for "someone else".....multiple weddings and family sessions later I am a much better photographer.

Jed and Vicky's summer Wedding was one of those invaluable learning experience for me. They came all the way from the UK to get married on the shores of Vancouver's Jericho beach. A laid back and fun loving couple, they were an absolute joy to photograph. Truth be told I had a heck of a time trying to shoot their wedding while keeping a straight face...I know I missed more images than I captured courtesy of my giggling. There was loads of joking, teasing and general merriment going on.

They kept a positive attitude throughout their day even when life kept challenging them....first a giant limo-bus showed up to pick up the bride instead of a limousine....second their wedding commisioner went to the wrong beach and showed up late to their wedding...third it started to rain on their August beach wedding....etc...etc...etc. The love they have for each other was clear to see and they weren't going to let anything get in the way of celebrating their special day.

The hours I spent with them and their guests flew by so fast and when all was said and done I had about 700 frames of "beauty seen and composed" to edit. It wasn't my usual "street" or "travel" photography, but at the end of that day I ended up with some of my favorite frames of all time. Thanks Jed and Vicky for a wonderful experience.