An Open Letter to Photographers Everywhere.

Dear Photographer,

I heard it in a late- night conversation with one of my photographers recently.."This wedding season has been hard.." It's only August and I can only imagine the fatigue that is setting in. Photographers have a very time consuming, pressure filled job, and I just wanted to take a moment to say.. thank you.

You capture the first smile of a newborn. The First kiss of a husband and wife. You capture tears. Laughter. Even pain. You capture the first moments of a person's life, and in some cases - the last moments too. You freeze moments in time that will never be lived again and deliver those precious memories to your clients with great care and precision. You deal with unexpected rain. Schedules running behind. Sore feet. A sun that is TOO bright. High expectations. Sometimes, very little thanks.

You hold the precious moments and memories of people literally in your hands, and you do it carefully, skillfully, and with great pride and excellence. You watch over those memories until they are safely on hard drives and displayed on a print. You're an artist & a guardian.

This past week I culled through some photos of a wedding where a family member had received a grim cancer diagnosis. My eyes welled up with tears as I saw the moment unfold - this family member posing with the bride and the bride's eyes filled with tears. Mine filled with tears as well as I realized these photos held memories that this family would truly treasure for the rest of their lives. You cannot put a value on that.

Thank you.. Thank you for making sure we never have to only try to re-imagine those timeless memories in our fuzzy brain.. thank you for giving us a clear, true picture of what each moment means and the emotions they hold. Thank you for handling our moments with care.

Love,

Joy Danielle, your privileged Photo Editor.