Intro by Skip Cohen

Yesterday on Facebook, my good buddy, Sandy Puc, posted the two paragraphs below with the attached image. I read it this morning and can't get it out of my head...but it's not just Facebook, it's our blogs, social media, even conversations with friends.  Sandy said it all, so anything I'd add would just be redundant!
 

I was looking over my Facebook archives and realized that in sequence my life looks really fun. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy and life is great today, but I noticed a few things missing in my posts. There were those horrible divorce years that I felt so lost. Oh, and all the laundry...you never see any of that here. Bills to pay, kids to feed, days that I felt I would not make it and I would curl up and cry. 
 
I am glad that today I am healthy, happy and ready to take on the world, but I just wonder how many of my friends are feeling like I did a few years ago and yet they keep posting their "happy" lives because we have all been trained to "look fabulous".. Sometimes it feels good to say HEY FACEBOOK...I'm human too!!!

Sandy Puc

Intro by Skip Cohen

At the beginning of January, in a post called "Why I Love This Blog", I put out a request for an idea for a new weekly feature, "How I Got Started."   Teri Hofford sent me her story.

I want to thank Teri for this post, but there's a funny sidebar. The first image I opened is on the right. Since it was such an amateur looking shot, my first reaction was to not open any other images. It wasn't until I actually read Teri's story that I realized she was only twelve when she took this image. Seriously, how many of us actually have our first image or even remember what it was?

If you'd like to find out more about Teri and her work, check out her site.

In terms of future stories about how you got started, here's what I'm looking for. Who's been your inspiration? What made you fall in love with photography? This is real simple and meant to be fun, not feel like a homework assignment from when you were a kid. It's 200-400 words, (I'm happy to edit it for you) a head shot of you, a link to your website and 1-2 images you're most proud of. Images only need to be 5x7 equivalent at 72 dpi...and obviously YOURS!  Send it all to my email, skip@mei500.com. 
 
Okay, so who's next to share how they got started?

Growing up in a small town, my fashion inspiration as a child was the Sears catalogue plus my mom's sewing pattern books.  I used to love looking through these and decided one day in grade 7 to take my awesome Kodak Point and Shoot to school, I put the grade one kids up on the play structures like I saw in the pattern books and took some "amazing" shots.  I came across one the other day and have included it here.  

Fast forward to 2005 and I find myself 23 and in Busan, South Korea.  I wanted to get into plus size modeling so I purchased my first "big" camera (Olympus E-Volt 500) and starting taking pictures of myself.  I soon realized that I enjoyed being BEHIND the camera much more than being in front of it.  

Once I got back to Canada I started working as a part time photographer to grow my craft, doing weddings and portraits.  It was within the last 3 years that I finally quit my full time job and launched photography full time.  I now run a successful wedding and boudoir business and haven't looked back since.  In fact, one of the girls in the first picture ended up being one of my brides!  I like to think that both my work and fashion inspiration have improved significantly since grade 7.  I love looking at my past work to see how far I have come and hope to continue growing.

At every wedding Justin & I do, we try to make sure to get what we call “The Iconic Bridal Portrait.” 
This is a picture of our bride: young, in love, beautiful, and full of hope and promise for the lifetime ahead. 
Like we always tell our brides, we don’t really take these pictures just for her. 
We take them for her future granddaughter to find one day.
Mary Marantz

Every two weeks last year I posted a new episode of "Walk Through a Wedding" with Justin and Mary Marantz. About half way through the year, we added a new feature called "Walking the Talk", with images from real weddings, tying back to the topic of each Profoto "how-to" episode.  All of the episodes are on the Profoto site, but just because the series is over doesn't mean we can't still share images from one of the strongest couples in photography and education today.

After the "Mind Your Own Business" webcast last week I asked Mary and Justin for permission to share some additional images. What I wanted was iconic portraits, the ones that not only pay the bills, but build your reputation. I not only received some stunning images but a couple of terrific comment from Mary. Here's one that really puts it all in perspective.

When we shoot, we shoot for the silver frame. Because we know every time we push the button, 
these images have to last a lifetime. 

Justin and Mary have a brand new website, just launched last week, and it's definitely worth your time to check it out. Plus, at the time of writing this post, they have just TWO spots left at their two-day April Walk Through a Wedding w/ J&M workshop in New Haven, CT.   

As a wedding photographer, no matter what your style of shooting might be, you need to understand how to capture a stunning traditional bridal portrait. Justin and Mary are just the couple to help you understanding lighting, posing and how to build a great relationship with your clients, so you get natural expressions to match the look and feel of each image.