2023 // Moments in Review

What an incredible privilege it is to get an all encompassing pass; to get real close, to be in every aspect of the day; from the anticipation in the room hiding away, to the very last song. The ability to roam the aisle during the ceremony, witness it from every angle. The dream and strive that is to photograph in so many different ways within one wedding day; photographing the home that you have chosen for your wedding day, something as simple as the weather that too, is a guest on your wedding day. Photographing the scenery in which your wedding resides.

Photographing the many people in a documentary mold; them mid laugh, mid hugging embrace, mid swoon that is all over the entire face. Searching for moments where these people are at their most relaxed, most themselves, I strive to search for it until I capture it. Documenting to induce nostalgia and memorialize you and your people, photos of such that will only be more and more loved as you grow older.

I am filled with joy and humbleness to get to put this journal post together year after year. I look forward to it all year. I truly enjoy going through each gallery all over again and finding moments that to me, that are not deemed as grand or special or ones that you would hang on your walls, but ones that truly bring the entire collection of photographs together.

These photographs are all what make up a gallery, if not is the gallery in my opinion. The aspects of life that last, the human nature of those we love that won’t always be. The fleeting moments of the in between grand moments. Moments of long awaited affection, joy radiating, and the quiet moments too. These are the types of photographs I endlessly search for on wedding days, ones that often are overlooked, and only grow more meaning with time. Ones that need to be looked at a little longer and noticing new things each time. Ones that I need to be so present for, with wide eyes, finger on the shutter, ready to press before the moment is gone. Ones that I treat as if they were my own.

Thank you to all of those who trusted me and gave me this gift of documenting, I do not take this privilege lightly.

Enjoy, - nataly.

Two Thousand & Eighteen // Moments in Review

I truthfully look forward to creating this journal post all year long. There are so many moments that make up an entire wedding day, moments that are so present that tears start streaming, and eyes begin to disappear from laughing so deeply. When those around me don’t even notice I am there and focus on each other instead. These are the moments that always stand out to me the most.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from the minute I entered into one of the most intimate crafts in photography is how badly we as humans want to connect. We search for sentiment and nostalgia becomes our greatest high. We crave connection and search for it endlessly. As we should. And I found myself with the same cravings and same endless search for intimacy with these strangers reaching out because they connected with my words, my work, who I am. Never was there a moment did I have to be someone else, never did I have to create a moment to fill in an uncomfortable situation or silence. Instead, I would ask an inquisitive question because connectivity was my job, I would relate intimate details about myself because constructing a relationship was the basis of the work I create. The collaboration of intimacy can only be done when both myself and my couples are also running on connectivity and honesty. What I’m getting at is that even after years of doing this unbelievable job, I am in shock that my world revolves around an idea that I believe so deeply about, one that I am truly passionate about. Closeness. And in every aspect of the word. So many of the photos you will see here are not taken with a zoom lens or a long focal length, they are simply me getting real close in any situation, with no fear of how the camera will affect the intimacy of the moment because of the relationship, trust and connection that has already been so beautifully created prior. But as I always say, I couldn’t do any of this alone - this is a pure collaboration and without that trust and comfortability to be themselves, the people in front of my lens and in these photos wouldn’t reach such deeply honest and fervently uncontrived moments. Closeness is my job, connectivity is the most powerful tool in my arsenal, and these people are my passion. Feeling immensely grateful to be able to fit that all in the small bubble of a venn diagram that usually seems impossible to reach simultaneously. Writing that out made me laugh out loud.

This past year I focused more on growing roots into shooting closer to home. Creating homemade relationships with couples I still get to see or shooting at venues that I feel even more familiar with. I will always favor and love new experiences and amazing new places to see, but there is nothing quite like shooting in your own backyard (or at least what feels like San Francisco’s backyard) and being a part of a community that feels like home.

I am so grateful for every moment and every love filled day. I am so grateful for getting to do what I love and foraging connections all while connecting to my surroundings. I am grateful for every moment of vulnerability I get to be a part of. Being a part of one of the most personal and intimate days of a person’s year is so wild. Being an observer and a documenter of affection and interaction is truly amazing. I am grateful for what I do and those who let me in to do it. But above all else, I am grateful for constantly staying true to myself and what I believe for that is what attracts these truly rad humans and these absolutely meaningful weddings. People who simply just want to be themselves too.

As you may have read here and there, my work is heavily influenced by my street photography and I use the same mindset on a wedding day - present and immensely observant, building relationships with your people that allows me to take intimate photos of people with their guards down, and yet simultaneously being ready to hit the shutter at a moment of intimate affection or gorgeous outburst of laughter. These are some of my proudest moments and this post is unapologetically long but I am so happy to share them with you.

-Nataly