


I do?: A new digital photography adventure





I’ve never wanted to be a photographer.
Once I became one, I’ve never wanted to shoot weddings.
Now that I’m shooting them, I never want to stop.
Digital photography is a happy accident. Booking weddings is an even happier accident. The practice of photography itself doesn’t excite me at all. But the stories that are told through them do.
I’m sharing these details first simply to emphasize how special and rewarding this season of professional growth is for me. Storytelling is in my DNA and wedding photography is letting me be the author of milestone memories.
I took photos at my second wedding booking EVER earlier this month. I had worked my first only six months before. Crazy, right? So much room for radical failure. It makes me feel anxious writing about it.




The quantity, quality, speed, precision, detail and more is a terrifying expectation. Before this summer, my paid experience was limited to portraits and news. One is staged and the other is raw. Weddings are a little bit of both and ultimately feels exponentially harder to produce.
So, when I started getting requests I was hesitant. While I talk a decent game, I knew the real reasons why my DMs were filling up. Part of it is because I’m talented. Most of it is because I’m cheap. However, even cheap is still a lot for a broke 20-something college kid like me.
I’m also in love with new challenges, no matter how scared I am. So the threat of failure and the $$$ offered my first time around was too good to pass up.
Now I’m neck deep in real life experience that feels like a six-credit self-taught college course at an unaccredited art school. I have decent gear, Google, Youtube, and a self-depreciating eye for detail guiding me along.
My first wedding was a jarring learning experience.
I had a back-up photographer friend join me in May. He had a ton of expensive gear and practices his craft hourly. I knew he’d work hard and get a ton of photos, so I had less pressure and could take my time practicing.
The quality and quantity he produces was exponentially higher than me. We delivered his entire crop with a mix of mine to the couple later.
For a month I was, like, “What the hell did you get yourself into? Never again.” Then I got a text from an old colleague. She needed a favor. There was no real reason to say no other than fear itself. So I booked, again.
The Cairns' wedding was hosted in a small renovated building in the middle of Pullman, Washington. I couldn’t secure a second photographer, so I scoped out the scene four weeks in advance to prep.
Lighting was limited and inconsistent. I only shoot in natural settings and without a flash. The ceremony and reception was hosted in a room that could only fit 45 people. A photo-booth was hosted in a room that could fit maybe 15 people. I’ve predominantly practiced my craft outdoors.
I was freaking out and counted on failing. How was I going to maneuver in all of this and still deliver a full, high-res catalog that could be printed by the family within a few weeks of the wedding?
Not giving up and having fun became my savior.
I took pictures of things that weren’t important but caught my attention:






I took pictures of things things that I’ve never seen in a wedding album before:



I did our group session:






And I snagged all of the precious moments expected:


















I felt like I was a part of the family. I enjoyed myself. The two-weeks of post production that followed felt like nothing. I wasn’t editing these for myself anymore. I was helping family make memories.
I experienced the tone and emotion I needed to visually preserve. I knew exactly what I needed to do to make this day last forever, and the task became a pleasure because the content had value.
As I move forward, I hope all of my gigs are like this. I hope I find a way to value each experience. If I ever grow weary of the work, I hope these memories remind me it’s worth it.
One day I won’t need to do wedding photography to make ends meet or gain exposure. When that day comes, I’ll choose to continue booking them for family and friends. What better gift could I give? So good.
Follow me on Instagram at @photosbylancelee or on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest by my full name or visit www.mediabylancelee.com.
