As lead photographer at a wedding, I HAVE to guarantee that my couple gets the images they want, but I know that if I miss something, Pete usually has my back – and a whole lot more. He’s always in the background, interacting with the wedding party, guests, and vendors while I concentrate. He’s an excellent second-shooter, willing to do anything anybody needs, right down to rolling the carpet down the aisle if the coordinator forgot. There is nobody I trust more to be at a wedding I’m shooting, and evidently, other people are grateful for his presence too.
At our last wedding, someone pulled him aside while I was shooting formal portraits and whispered conspiratorially, “It’s photographers like THAT who make me glad for photographers like YOU.”
My husband swallowed a grin and shot back, “I happen to be married to THAT photographer.”
I am not always “photographers like THAT” (just during portrait formals on a wedding day), but I am always on the side of my couple. They have trusted me to do what I need to do to capture their memories, and even if friends and guests don’t care about what they want, I DO. I’m willing to fight for that; I’m willing to let go of what people will think of me.
That courage to throw the approval of everyone to the wind comes from the knowledge that I’ve got Pete in my corner and on my side. He knows my style; he knows my heart.
Pete is amazing with people – having been blessed with a personality that is nowhere near as polarizing as mine. He’s Mr. Nice Guy to everyone, but we both know why he’s really there, and why I can’t shoot with anyone else.
He picks me up when I fall down, runs interference for me, defends me and our contract to pushy people. He is my safe place at the end of the day, absorbing me on the drive home – everything I have to process from what I saw and what was said and how people didn’t like me or my style and the mistakes I made and the shots I missed. He’s there, loving me, and he’s the one person at that wedding who sees everything I see and whose approval I will never have to earn, ever.
He’s held me when my camera died as the bride came down the aisle, brought me food in the middle of a portrait session, tracked down the lens caps I leave lying around, sat with me through culling and processing and the hardest, hardest moments I’ve had coming to this place.
Husband, business partner, photography assistant, second-shooter, best friend – It is a man like THAT who lets me be the photographer I have to be in any situation. It is a man like THAT who I can – and do – trust with my life and all the fine art to be found in it. He’s my hero, the person in the world I most want to be like. I respect and admire him more than anybody I’ve ever known.
What I do now? I do it because he believed in me before I dared to believe in myself. I do it because he wanted me to share what I see with the world, wanted everyone to see the way I see.
FILED UNDER: Behind the Lens, Personal, Pete n Kel
I would have loved to see the person’s face when he said he was married to you.
Thanks, Pete.
:)
Amy, the guy avoided him for the rest of the wedding!
Kelly, how incredibly beautiful! A little glimpse of the Father’s great love for us. A love to celebrate! A treasure, a gift, a blessing. Thank you for sharing a little bit about the man behind the woman and her art. :)
This is beautiful, Kelly. Amazing how long before you even realized it, God knew exactly what kind of man you needed for each aspect of your life– right down to shooting weddings in 2012– and orchestrated it perfectly for you.
(And I’m super curious what you did to be labeled a “photographer like THAT.” But that’s just my natural nosy self.)
I wanted a wife for Peter that cherished him as much as I do…Thanks!
So wonderful to have the support and backing of someone who is so important and close to your inner you. I’m glad for you both!
@ Erin – I have a WHOLE other post about that. :-P It’ll probably be a FAQ post sometime soon.
Kelly,
For the past 3 years, I’ve loved reading your posts, seeing your incredibly beautiful photos and have been inspired, encouraged, challenged to be more real through you sharing your journey. Thank you for letting us into your life. And thank you for speaking so highly of your husband – not enough wives do that.
Someday when I get married, I want you to be my photographer because no one does it like you. I’ve been praying for this so we’ll see what God works out. ;)
Awww so sweet!
What a lovely reflection of your marriage!!!
What a lovely way to thank your husband!
A sweet tribute, for sure!
Ah, the light dawns. I just knew there had to be a back-up guy there somewhere. And what a guy! How blessed you are to have someone truly see you – and love what he finds.Thanks for this superb tribute – as Angela noted above, we could use more such love notes from one marriage partner to another. You’re both blessed to have chosen each other.
Having been a wedding photog, I love this story
You guys make an amazing team together–Pete IS such a good support, both physically and emotionally. That was obvious at all times during Kelly’s wedding day. You are blessed to have each other!