Subject 2: Wedding Photography

Since moving to San Antonio I have started my first real job. I am now a wedding photographer, and it is all Amy's fault. Had you told me two years ago, "Hey Evan, You're going to be a wedding photographer when you grow up, and you will like it," I would have laughed and muttered something about never growing up.

So how does a bleeding-heart stuck up artist like myself wind up in a state like this? Amy did it. In June Amy and I were going to a wedding in California as "guests". This was until two weeks before the ceremony. The bride calls Amy telling her that the photographer threw her back out. In her efforts to console her dear friend, Amy assures her that if she can't find a suitable Photographer that I would gladly shoot the wedding. I of course was completely unaware of being volunteered.

Needless to say that the wedding was a great success. Highly stressful of course, but left me thinking may be I could do this for real. While we were looking for work in San Antonio, Amy decided that it was a lot more fun to look for jobs for me, rather than for herself. Among the prospects was an ad. for a wedding photographers assistant. Once in town I called upon the job to find that it was already taken, but I got a lead for a company that was hiring. I Interviewed and got the job.

Since the end of august I have been working weddings nearly every weekend, and have gone to my first bridal show. I really am surprised at how much I enjoy the job, and how it allows me to work on my painting and sculpture during the week. I Have also received a lot of interest in independent photography jobs, especially from students at Amy's school. Next week I get to shoot a students Quinceanera (Think of a mexican sweet sixteen and a bar-mitzva rolled into one).

There are a few niggles with the job. I am not sure how much I like handing over the copyright of the images I shoot to the company and wave all of my rights to the images. Also since the company caters to the higher end of the market, I end up seeing some very affluent weddings, and being a child of Milligan's Christ in Culture makes seeing the extravagance some people blow one one day quite troubling. However, in spite of this it is the best job I have ever had, and I have Amy to thank.