Andrew Niesen

At a wedding Mark and I shot on Saturday, I was wandering through cocktail hour watching surreptitiously for hugging, laughing - those unprompted moments that are so difficult to capture because most people's natural instinct, when they see your camera, is to group together and smile directly into the lens.

At one point I was watching a guest take a picture of a group of her friends with her digital point-and-shoot. The women stood still, smiled serenely into the camera with their arms around each other's waists, and the photo was shot. The woman then put the camera down and the group immediately started cracking up over something one of them said. And I thought, this is a great moment that most people tend to miss. While it's nice to have that group shot that shows them straight-on, I think the moment that shows these women's spirit and the dynamic of their friendship is the unprompted moment of them laughing with each other, the one that comes directly after the photo the women were prepared for.

Of course I always shoot the posed group photos when asked, but I have also learned not to walk away right afterward. Because once the flash goes off and they see you've taken the picture, inevitably someone says something funny and the group will laugh together, or someone will give someone a hug. This happens in between formal photos too. The groom will give his new bride a quick kiss on the forehead, or the mother of the bride will give her daughter a proud, loving glance. These are always the moments in between. They are the moments that define a family, or a group of friends.

So here's something to try next time you find yourself in the middle of a bunch of posed pictures. Keep your camera up and anticipate the next moment. And watch -- those are the photos your clients will love the most.

One of the primary reasons we chose to start our own business was to create freedom in our lives.

In the early stages of our business, Mark wisely encouraged us to read Michael Gerber's incredible book, The E-Myth. Gerber's mantra is: "The purpose of your life is not to serve your business -- but the purpose of your business is to serve your life." When your business serves your life, you are liberated and given the freedom to truly pursue the dreams you've imagined.

Sounds great, huh?

After reading the E-Myth, I mulled over its principles for a few days and kept asking myself, "So, now what?" Achieving freedom is great. But...freedom to do what?

That deeply-rooted question haunts me daily; it challenges me more than any financial or artistic question ever could. So, this week when I had the opportunity to spend time with two photographers I admire and respect, I brought this question along with me.

Over lunch, wedding photographer David Jay talked about why it is important to anchor oneself with basic, soul-searching questions such as, "What am I doing with my life?," "Why am I here anyway?," and "What do I want to do with the freedom I'm working so hard to achieve?" David has been at the forefront of the wedding photography industry this year, selflessly sharing his message about "Creating Freedom" with photographers around the US. His message is vital to the future of the industry itself. We must learn how to build businesses that give us freedom. Otherwise, how will we ever find time to serve one another and serve the world? You can't change the world if you're too busy designing wedding albums, burning disks and slaving away in photoshop! Thankfully, David is pushing photographers to develop smart business strategies that will set them on a path to freedom.

Over dinner, documentary photographer Colin Finlay talked about how he has achieved financial freedom through photographing corporate advertising campaigns. By shooting lucrative ad projects, Colin is able to use the freedom he has earned to travel the globe, documenting human suffering. These are the photographs that Colin is truly passionate about. He believes photography is a catalyst for social change. By bearing witness to tragedy, Colin gives a voice to the voiceless. "Giving people the ability to speak through my camera is what charges me," Colin says. His latest book, Testify, is a 17-year retrospective of his documentary work. Most recently, he established a community of photographers who are creating a collective photo story of Sudan's history. The project, called "PROOF," will include a traveling exhibition of photographs. Colin exemplifies what I hope to do with the freedom I achieve through my business. He is a purpose-driven photographer, with a clear sense of calling. He is using his freedom to give something back to the world.

So, this week has been one of those surreal seasons that reminds me why I believe every life has a purpose and every person has a calling. Once you discern what that purpose and calling is, you can truly harness the freedom your business creates for you. And you can use that freedom to give back. And then, there's no limit to what you might accomplish.

"Our calling is where our deepest gladness and the world's hunger meet." — Frederich Buechner

We were honored to be invited to speak at OSP South in Chattanooga, TN organized by our friends, Garrett and Joy Nudd and Nathan and Amber Holritz.

For the uninitiated, OSP is an acronym for OpenSourcePhoto, an online forum for wedding and portrait photographers started by David Jay.

Our friend, Anne Ruthmann, who drove all the way from Terre Haute, Indiana for the conference, was kind enough to shoot video of us speaking and share it on her blog. Click on the YouTube screenshots to be taken to her blog entry.

Sam Abell is one of the most inspiring photographers working today. His books, Stay This Moment and The Photographic Life, are some of the most cherished volumes in my collection.

Mark sent me an amazing article, written by a photojournalist at the Herald-Leader in Lexington, KY. The article pushes photographers to consider their own style. I love this quote from Sam:

"There's more to a photograph than graphics," Sam told me. "There's content — spiritual content, psychological, emotional and even editorial content. All of these things come from somewhere, and the place they come from is probably long-buried bedrock."

Here is an excerpt from the article:

How Sam Abell helped me to find my signature
By Janet Worne
HERALD-LEADER PHOTOGRAPHER

"The world was divided by an ever-present level line that splits the world equally -- above and below, near and far, known and unknown."

National Geographic photographer Sam Abell wrote that in his book Sam Abell: The Photographic Life. He was referring to the topography in Ohio where he grew up but also about his signature, a particular style of seeing or giving structure to the world. This signature -- the horizon line -- grew organically out of that childhood landscape. He wrote that this level line "is at the center of my seeing and gives to deeply different places a common ground."

I had heard him describe this the first time I saw him speak at the University of Kentucky more than 10 years ago, and I felt an instant kinship. Here was a real thinker, a spiritual photographer, someone who has difficulty separating his personal life from his work.

I have been accused of thinking too much. And it's true, I do. It drives me crazy sometimes. But here was a photographer whose work I had long admired, with a thoughtful, analytical approach to photography, and it showed in the depth of his work.

To a photographer who likes to think that a tree is not just a tree and a photograph is not just emulsion on paper, this was exciting stuff. It started me thinking about my own work. Did I have a signature? And if so, how do I find it?

So finally, after a decade of musing over this, I called and asked Sam to expound on his theory.

"Dedicated photographers invariably have it when they're photographing intuitively from within themselves over a long, long period of time," he said. "A style or compositional tendency, whatever you want to call it, will organically emerge from that devotion." But this can happen, he added, only when the photographer is able to work "without excessive supervision."

But how does a photographer go about finding it?

"My advice to people who are trying to discover this within themselves and within their work is get out your favorite photographs ... and earnestly confine yourself to those photographs that you love, and study them. I then urge people to think about their early life, particularly the geometry or the graphic of their home, their hometown, the landscape that they first knew and also the values that were represented to them in their early life."

Here is the link to the full article

Digital Journalist interview with Sam

So why is this blog post title closely associated with the Catholic faith paired with a photo that is obviously from a Jewish wedding? The irony is not lost on me. Read on...

I am just shy of six feet tall. Unfortunately, so are most other people. This is a particular problem on a crowded dance floor during the traditional Jewish chair dance called the "Hora".

When I find myself in this situation, I borrow a trick from my sports photography days. I use a technique called the "Hail Mary," which is when you hold the camera over your head and shoot "blind."

With the advent of digital photography, this technique became much easier because you receive instant feedback. Back in the film days, I used to pray the "Hail Mary" that my shot was framed up correctly, sharp and properly exposed.

This technique is about instinct and familiarity with your equipment -- and luck, of course! You must feel comfortable and confident enough in your own photographic abilities to risk a key storytelling image to the photographic equivalent of a calculated guess.

To perfect this technique, it is important to use a wide-angle lens (with a naturally deeper depth-of-field) and to increase your aperture one to two stops (shoot at about f4.5). Pre-focus the camera on the subject before lifting it over your head, and then aim the lens at a slightly lower angle than you would expect.

The prayer helps too.