Let Me Introduce You To The Lukacs’
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I do. About the photographs I take and the stories that remain with me. And one of the things I’ve realized is that I love the opportunity to photograph a life, not just a wedding.
Yes, the wedding is part of it, of course. But I don’t ever want the wedding to be the end. I love when I can be around for the milestones that follow as well. The babies. The reunions. The family photos that span out for years to come.
I love when I can follow that life.
I’ve been able to do that with the Lukacs family.
Years ago, I heard from Amber. She and Mike had gotten married in Mexico about 6 months prior. I’m going to let her tell you what brought them to me after the fact:
Amber: We accepted a gracious offer from a family member, who is a photographer, to take photos of our wedding. Unfortunately the photos didn’t come out quite as we had expected and some of her equipment was broken, affecting picture quality at night. I had researched photographers a bit before my wedding and found Jen at that time, but to save money we decided to go with our family member’s offer. Had we known then what we know now, we would have booked Jen right from the start, because in the end, all you have to remember anything by is your photos.
About 6 months after our wedding, we booked Jen to do a post-wedding shoot that was just my husband and I. It was great! We booked a suite at La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla and dressed up in our fabulous wedding outfits, complete with hair, makeup and new floral arrangements. It was really nice to be able to take pictures without the wedding day stress hanging over us. The photos came out amazing, and we were able to enjoy a night on the town celebrating after the fact! I actually recommend a post-wedding shoot to everyone now!
Even better? Jen helped us with the actual wedding day photos too, and she created a beautiful album combining the two shoots.
I really do love doing things like this, and as Amber mentioned, it was a great day! With a lot of clients, though, that will be the last I hear from them. They assume I just do weddings, and we don’t get to see each other again.
Not with the Lukacs family, though!
Amber called me when she was pregnant for maternity shoots, and when her babies were born for newborn shoots. We took photos for Lexi’s first birthday, and most recently, we did a combination 2nd birthday and maternity session, follow up by newborn pictures once Jax was born!
Following this family, being able to watch them grow and share in their memories with them? I love it.
I love being able to capture their lives, not just their “I Do’s.”
I asked Amber recently what good photography means to her, and why it’s so important to her to maintain a timeline of professional photos with her family. Her answer was one I basically would have crafted myself, so I’m going to share it with you now, simply because I do truly believe there is so much value to her words.
Amber: As a result of our wedding photo mistake, I am very conscious of the fact that photos are all you have to remember moments after they pass. So I feel like we have made a concerted effort to make sure we capture the big moments that have happened ever since as best we can, which means having a great photographer who can capture those moments just perfectly.
Time passes so quickly and although we take photos with our iPhones and cameras, you just cannot replace the photos that a professional photographer can provide of your family. It’s so nice to have someone just there to shoot the average moments that happen daily that you would never capture otherwise. It’s priceless to have a record of you and your family just hanging out together, being a family. I really love how Jen can capture you just talking to your husband by a trash door and it comes out looking like you are models in a magazine. And it’s so great to be able to look back through all your shoots and see your family grow before your eyes. It gets expensive, but one thing is for sure—We will NEVER regret having those pictures, so it’s all worth it.
You won’t ever regret those pictures. And sometimes, it’s about so much more than just the wedding.
I’ve been honored to photograph this lovely family all these years, and they’ve helped me to realize just how much I really do love being able to photograph a life.
