A letter from my husband:
If I could sum up what being married to a photographer is like in one word, it would have to be blessed. I am not going to lie, there are a lot of words that come to mind, but this one is true to the heart. I am blessed to be married to my awesome wife, who has taken her incredible, creative gifts and used them for the benefit of others. She literally gets joy out of capturing other people’s most-precious moments and that speaks volumes about the kind of lady she is and the character that she possesses.
To be straight-forward, I never really thought much about the work photographers do when I saw them at events throughout my life. Not that I had anything against them, I just simply never stopped to think about how much effort really goes into their work. It was not until my wife started doing photography at a professional level that I saw how much time and effort goes into it. It is not just showing up at an event and taking some pictures like I had thought, it is actually quite extensive. You see, people overlook the obvious. Photographers do not just show up at events, snap a couple shots and leave…they have to go home, go through all the pictures, take out the best of the best, edit and then deliver the finished product in a timely manner. Again, that may not sound like much, but I guarantee that if you do it the proper way, you will see how demanding of time and energy it really is.
I chose the word blessed for multiple reasons. Now, I will not be able to address all of them in this post, but I will zone in on two for now:
- My Wife’s Character.
As I stated before, my wife gets joy out of serving others. This is something that I get to see in her work and countenance. She is so excited about the sessions she does, that no matter how late it is, she ALWAYS edits and posts at least one picture from that day before going to bed. She is so happy to just sit down and scroll through the pictures and see the love captured on the camera. Not only that, but she loves emailing the couples as soon as she is done because she wants them to be able to see their story depicted from another’s perspective. - Priority of Timing.
Anyone who has experience with photography will tell you that from start to finish, the process takes a lot of time. This may not mean too much to some people, but when you are a wife and mother, time is not always at your disposal. With that said, I admire my wife’s work ethic and how she balances her professional life and personal life. I, for one, would not be able to do everything that she does, especially to the degree to which she does it. My wife went from working a full-time job, to starting a family and running a business from scratch. If that is not a successful feat, I do not know what is. I am very appreciative of my wife’s hard work in the photography realm, but more-importantly for making time for myself and our two children in the midst of it.
Being married to a photographer can be a crazy experience, but it is also a blessing. I am proud of my hard-working wife and her creative spirit that she uses for others. To all the other photographer spouses out there, keep your priorities in line and find the balance. After that, everything falls into place. Hope this is an encouragement to someone out there.
