We’re very Tired. Last night was awesome. After an exciting intern application process – we finally met all of our 15 (FIFTEEN!) new interns! We also invited our Alumni Interns to come along because we wanted to acknowledge their hard work, progress – and generally putting up with me (Mark).

This is a short clip shot by our friend Mark Hubbard. He’s the executive director of Renew Social Ventures (where we’re the Photographers in Residence):

• renew is a nonprofit collaborative space in the heart of historic Roswell, Georgia. Our mission is to spark, support and incubate Social Ventures and Nonprofits that are tackling the societal, ecological, economic and cultural challenges we face today.
• renew provides the creative and engaging environments needed for Social Ventures and Nonprofits to form deep connections with each other and with their communities.
• renew organizes and hosts regular programming focused on addressing social challenges and encouraging social innovation (i.e., new ideas to resolve existing social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges for the benefit of people and the planet).
• renew is also a community cultural center devoted to supporting and encouraging the visual and performing arts in Roswell and the greater Atlanta metro area.

If you’ve noticed anything about Leah and Me – it’s that we’ve been coming up with ideas that we joke about, and then they somehow end up becoming reality. Like taking a trip to China for a month AND getting paid for it. Done. (I ‘telecommuted’ and did my job for a month from China – and Leah somehow got enough vacation time). Or taking on 10 Interns. And now fifteen. Oh. And how about a low cost studio space? Did you see the video? Do you notice how HUGE that studio space is? There is no way that we could’ve afforded it if it wasn’t for Mark Hubbard and RenewSV.

• renew Memberships are $400/month for unlimited use by up to two Member employees – additional employees may be added for a fee.  We also offer $200/month Grassroots and Partner Memberships.

Yeah. It’s awesome. Find out more information here.

It was a very exciting evening. So many new faces, so much talent, and you could feel how nervous they all were to start working and shooting. It’s kind of tradition now that all First Intern Events must basically consists of pushing them out there to just shoot and sort of ‘jolt’ them out of their comfortable shooting habits. Here’s one flash. Here’s two. These are your starter settings. Start shooting. Start directing the model.

Then we walk around and help out for adjustments, but the Interns just have to start shooting and making mistakes so we can get past them and eventually get to the really good stuff. We’re not trying to avoid mistakes or bad shots, we’re trying to specifically work through them. Getting  a perfect shot isn’t worth much if you can’t do it again.

This group of New Interns mostly live in the Metro-Atlanta area, but some live further out and are actually in Atlanta specifically for this internship. We have people commuting from as far out as Carrollton, Ga. – and that’s crazy in itself. However Tristan lives in North Carolina and will be driving down every two weeks (per the requirements) – and Kristen lives in Orlando, FL. but will be here in Atlanta for the three months of the internship.

Leah and I are… overwhelmed by the trust and faith that our Interns have in us – and we’re going to do more than our best to deliver.

I’m still working on getting all of the Intern blogs and the navigation links updated – but until then….

Introducing, our newest Interns (click on their photos to go to their blogs…):

These are our Interns.

During the first year of my social work program, I interned with an amazing agency called the Georgia Justice Project. GJP works with a population that many people might write off, or find undeserving – those who have been convicted of crimes.

Georgia Justice Project is an unlikely mix of lawyers, social workers and a landscape company. We defend people accused of crimes and, win or lose, we stand with our clients while they rebuild their lives. We believe this is the only way to break the cycle of crime and poverty.

GJP doesn’t just help clients through their trial, or probation, or prison sentence. They are there for the long haul, helping clients build job skills, find employment and housing, reach educational goals. They stay in touch with their clients for years, offering support as needed, and building a true sense of connection and community. I had a wonderful internship experience at GJP, so when they asked us to photograph their Back 2 School event this past Saturday, I eagerly agreed. The Back 2 School event is a day for the clients and their families to receive school supplies – backpacks filled with notebook paper, calculators, pens, pencils, etc.

There are specific backpacks for all ages, from infants through college students. But it’s not just a backpack giveaway – it’s a fun festival in the park, with bounce houses, face painting, games, sno cones, and more! There is also health, dental, and housing information for the families. Oh, and the local fire station came out and let the kids play all over the fire truck, honking the horn, talking on the loudspeaker, etc.

This event wasn’t about giving items to the “needy”. It was a day for fun and celebration, a day for families to come together and, for at least a few hours, let go of the stress and the stigma they face in their day-to-day lives.

Most of these photos were shot in our first four months of shooting. They represent some of our favorites, and they’re still in our posted Portfolio. More than just showing you how far we’ve come since we began – they also represent the chances that people took on us from the very beginning.

It’s hard starting out as a photographer. We know because we’re still starting out. But for some reason, people have consistently taken a chance on us and hired us to photograph some of the most important moments in their lives. When a family asks you – no – pays you to enter their home and photograph their newborn baby, you can’t help but feel honored. It goes without saying that we appreciate all of our clients, and if we were ever unable to deliver a quality set of photos, we’d give them back ALL of their money.

This is what I wrote after my first wedding (Kind of foolishly, I did it without ever having any wedding experience except my own wedding):

Word of Advice: If you’ve never shot a wedding before – if you’ve never even been the second shooter assisting the main wedding photographer – don’t sign up to shoot a wedding. Nevermind the difficulty level. Nevermind that it’s not like any other event you’ve shot. The fact is that it’s just too important for you to think that you’re that good enough of an amateur photographer and you can shoot anything.

Especially if you want to do anything close to a reasonably decent job – and by decent I mean that all of your shots need to look like something that no one else at the wedding could’ve gotten. There is a reason you’re being paid, and that reason is because YOU are supposed to get the shots that NO ONE ELSE can get. Your shots need to look 100% better than anything anyone else with their point and shoot cameras could possibly shoot. I mean it. This isn’t the time to be a notch above the crowd. You’re competing with 50 other amateur photographers and if even a single one of them out does you – then you should hand over all of your sorry prints, and tear up the check.

Our relationships with our clients is a serious thing because there are so many other photographers they can choose instead of us.

Having said all of that – we feel the same way about our Interns. Up front we require a lot of commitment. And then we send a second email asking for MORE THAN DOUBLE that level of commitment and work + they have to answer two essay questions. Not only do we want committed and talented photographers, we want good writers. If you’re thinking that we do all of this to ‘weed’ people out – you’re absolutely correct. In case you haven’t noticed, our Photography Internship is different. You have to be much more than a very talented photographer. Are we good enough to require that level of commitment and effort from people?

We don’t make that decision – the Interns decide for themselves if this is worth it – or else they wouldn’t do everything we ask during the application process.

Our Interns represent us. We send them on assignments to cover events, and accompany us on paid gigs. We introduce them to people and put them in positions where they can make some of their own contacts and relationships with clients.  Basically, we try to have them mimic what we’ve been doing all this time.

It’s really that simple.

Selecting this group of Interns was considerably difficult. For some of them this is their second time applying. It was even more difficult for those applicants because we could compare their current work to their work from three months ago. Of course – simply applying again doesn’t guarantee acceptance – as much as we wish we could’ve done that for everyone.

We’ve selected a group of fantastically talented photographers. They come from many different backgrounds, and are at different points in their lives. Some have graduated from art school, and others are working professionals doing the daily 9-5. We have a military wife and mother of two that lives near Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Per the requirements, she’s agreed to make the 7 hour drive to Atlanta twice a month to work on photoshoots with us and take instruction. We have a very talented high school student in his Junior year, and we also have an NGO staff photographer that has traveled the world photographing third world slums and high ranking government dignitaries.

Our eventual goal isn’t to make profit from some sort of photography training program – there are enough photographers offering weekend “workshops”. Our goal is to earn a living as working photographers and as much as we can make it, this Internship with us will always be free. We’ve also created a repository where we’ll store and share our collective knowledge. Different resources such as the full archive of our weekly emails, and some photoshop .psd files showing how certain photos were edited, will be kept there for reference. All ‘Alumni’ and Current Interns will have access to the forums and hopefully we’ll even have some discussion threads going on.

None of what we do is secret, but not everyone knows all that we do.

This selection process hasn’ t been easy. In fact it was very, very difficult and even then so much of the success of this internship is out of our control.

Look for the official post on Thursday where we introduce all of our New Interns.

Thank you.

We like photographing the Secret Suppers held by our friends BlackTie BBQ. They’re always fun AND we get really, really great food. Not satisfied to hold their secret suppers in normal event spaces – they held their Valentines Day Secret Supper in the unfinished eighth floor of one of the high rises in Atlantic Station. That’s just cool. So when I found out that this time they were serving dinner ON STAGE at Theatrical Outfit – I knew it’d be awesome.

I also suspected that lighting the space for photos would be… like lighting the inside of a black box. Yup. Exactly. Below is a photo of what it looked like with just the available light – except of course in real life it was even more dim, and you know – moody. This shot was taken at f/4.0, ISO 3200 – and a shutter speed of 1/10th. If you don’t know what that means – trust me – you can’t photograph events that way. Everyone will be blurry.

There’s technically enough light in this picture – but like we always ask, ‘Is it the quality of light that you want?’ No. Absolutely not. If we only used the house lights we’d be stuck with far too many badly colored photos with generally flat lighting.

But hey – it’s okay – they hired LeahAndMark.com – and we always bring our own lights.

Now they’re not ‘floating in black space’ like they were before. And you know – now we can do some cool stuff with shadows and where the light hits – stuff you can’t do when you don’t have control and you’re dependent upon the theater tech for lighting. The trick though is to not BLOW OUT the guest with your high powered studio lights. It’s still supposed to be a candle lit dinner ya know? So fully lighting the space isn’t an option – at least if you don’t want to anger the guests. It’s not a wedding and everyone’s not drunk… for most of the dinner!… so you have to be aware of what your lights are doing to the scene and mood.

We had initial difficulties finding the right light setups – and then we were making adjustments all night.

I spent waaaay too much time trying to get this light to go across the curtains like that – and even then, I helped it in Photoshop.

Plus, if you’re having dinner on stage – you want it to look theatrical right? Of course!

What’s cool about BlackTie BBQ is that they’re absolutely great people. In case you haven’t noticed – Leah and I are all about working with great clients that like us, and ones that WE LOVE. Now – we’ve both worked in really rushed and hurried kitchens where when things get crazy, politeness goes out the window and people start snapping at each other. But even at the height of the rush and when attitudes could have easily gone south – all of the BlackTie BBQ staff weren’t just polite to each other – they were genuinely good to each other.

Mistakes happen, plates are dropped, and in other kitchens, we’ve seen attitudes change for the worse – but not with this team. Having worked with BlackTie BBQ several times now and seeing how all of the staff interact with each other, it’s beyond impressive. They’re not a ragtag crew of servers hired for the night. I see the same faces over and over again – and they all do a great job.

You can tell their food is made with the same consideration they give each other.  There’s just something special about it.  Love and goodness and amazing flavors.  We can’t get enough.

“Having spent the last three months working with us – what would you like to say about your internship experience with LeahAndMark.com?”

Intern Amé:

Well from the opportunities this internship has provided for me, I have gotten lost in Atlanta for two hours and got into a five hundred dollar fender bender. And yet, I can still say it was worth it.

Honestly, I think I learned the most about getting the best out of your equipment. Though I still feel like I’ve learned loads about shooting. I’ve gained insight about working on location with other photographers. And seen ways to make something that’s truly boring, into art. I feel like more doors are open to me now as well as new angles and perspectives I met new people, saw some amazing set ups, made some friends, and got some great shots. What more can I ask for? And walking away from this, all I can hope is to move forward still and hopefully keep in touch with the friends I’ve made. And maybe even weasel my way into some really great shoots.

I will definitely say I learned a lot about flash lighting. Every shoot Mark sets up strobes. And for the new interns, they now have a studio that they’ll be using. they definitely advertise for us and gave plenty of networking opportunities. You get what you put into it, but I would *definitely* recommend it. I feel like I’ve benefited from the internship.

Plus, they’re both just really cool people. And it was great shooting with them. You’ll have shooting locations you wouldn’t have thought of before. Most of us didn’t have a strobe set up. So he brought enough for us to trade off during our shoots.

“Having spent the last three months working with us – what would you like to say about your internship experience with LeahAndMark.com?”

Intern Brook:

I learned a lot from Leah and Mark. Before I interned I was guilty of just taking pictures of cool stuff and the odds would catch up with me and eventually I would accidentally take a great picture. I knew I had “it” in me to be good, I just didn’t know how. At first I was a little hurt when I would show Mark what I thought was a good photo and he would start to pick it apart. I hadn’t really shown too many people my work until my internship. That was an obstacle I had to over come if I have any future in this business. Eventually, I would try to guess what Mark’s comments might be about my photos and I looked forward to his critique. He really did help me see things in a different way and think outside the box. I didn’t always agree with him and I probably never will but he made me think about what I was doing and how I was shooting.

I would have to say that out of all the elements of photography that Mark helped me improve upon the most, it was composition. He helped me understand what an “epic” photo was. He encouraged me to find a style of shooting that I could relate to.

The areas that I feel I got the least help and really need a lot of guidance would be lighting. I managed to purchase some really great speed lights but I am not 100% confident when using them. I am hoping that since the new studio space is walking distance from my house, we can remedy this problem.

After 3 months, I feel like I can actually make money doing this. Thanks Leah and Mark!

“Having spent the last three months working with us – what would you like to say about your internship experience with LeahAndMark.com?”

Intern Jenna:

Community / Relationships

• It was really nice to get to know a lot of local photographers that were in a similar professional stage. It was nice to share experiences and work with each other – especially on group shoot when we worked with partners or observed how other interns directed.
• I think a very small thing that made a big difference was the investment that Leah and Mark took in each of the intern’s lives – going out to eat before/after a shoot, checking in on what was going on in other aspects of their lives.
• Another little thing that made a big difference is how visible and approachable they are. They are always prompt in answering emails, usually on gchat for immediate questions, available phone / text, visible on facebook. It was really nice to feel like I could find them if I needed to, and they were very good at answering questions.

Education

“Having spent the last three months working with us – what would you like to say about your internship experience with LeahAndMark.com?”

Intern Claire:

Mark initially said he was going to give us a some prompt questions for our review of the internship, but in the end we just got one: “what would you like to say about your experience?” Hmm, where to start? I could tell you that during this internship I learned a lot about off camera lighting, equipment, and light placement. Or that I learned new tools to keep in mind when composing my shots so that they’re better and more interesting. Or that I learned about model directing and posing and what to do if a shoot doesn’t seem to be going my way. I could also tell you that I learned about marketing, advertising, and business strategy. All of those things are technically true; I did learn about all that stuff. But the most important things I’m taking away from this internship are:

A) Increased confidence as a photographer. I used to just think I was a good photographer, and now I know I am. And it’s b/c of the things I’ve learned while working with Leah and Mark that I can say that. They allowed me the opportunity to shoot things that I wouldn’t have shot otherwise (dancers on trampolines for example!) and to shoot in ways that I wouldn’t have otherwise (w/ a lot off camera flashes for example).

B) I’m leaving with a great group of photographer friends, who I know I can call up to help me with a shoot if needed. When I found out there were going to be 10 interns, I was nervous that we were all going to be competing with each other and just generally not get along. One of the things that makes photography so great is that there’s no typical “photographer” mold. We are all very different people and different photographers, but that’s ok b/c we all share a passion for photography and a desire to be better. We all came to learn, and Mark and Leah came to teach. Not sure there’s a better recipe for a successful internship experience than that!

In the short amount of time I’ve been in professional photography, there has been one characteristic that I’ve noticed all the really top notch photographers seem to share: They all give back to the up and coming photographers. Whether it be traveling the country speaking and holding workshops, writing books or newsletters giving away all their secrets, or posting endless amounts of (free!) information on the internet, all the top photographers give back. And I think it’s a great method to follow, and I think it’s awesome that Leah and Mark took on 10 interns! I mean who does that, really?? And not only did they take on 10 interns but they kept us busy, real busy, and were constantly open to our questions and concerns.

It’s hard to quantify exactly what I’ve learned in the past three months, so I hope the above gave some insight into the experience; I know I am in a much better place as a photographer than I was in May, and I definitely owe that to Leah and Mark.

Part of the LeahAndMark.com philosophy is “Show Everyone”, and I think that’s some of the best advice out there; so seriously, if you do nothing else, then just do that, you’ll be a better photographer almost instantly by putting yourself out there!

We require our Interns to blog about their photoshoots. The main reason is because it forces them to take another look at their work – and identify aspects of their progress, habits, and things they’d like to continue working on. This sort of open-self-evaluation is really helpful – especially since we’re not making art only for ourselves. In the end we have to satisfy our clients. I think that’s where a lot of us as paid photographers… tend to just chicken out. The insecurity creeps in and overwhelms us. What if they don’t like my work because it’s too different.

Anyone will tell you that you need to balance your artistic vision with what the client wants – and that’s true – except we aim for an imbalance in our favor. One that leans more towards our artistic vision than solely client expectation. Yes. They hire us for consistency, professionalism, and just flat out being able to get the job done without hassle – or excuses.

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While I wouldn’t say it takes ‘bravery’ to create work that is both commercially viable yet artistically satisfying – it definitely takes a  lot of WORK, and overcoming insecurity. It takes a lot of work to deliver really interesting ’safe’ shots on a consistent basis. Like a broken record (or scratched CD?) – we tell our interns to not just ’shoot what’s there’.  Heck – I tell them a lot of things. And since I seem to spew advice to them (wanted or not) – I’ve been thinking about my own work lately.

We’re taking on a new group of interns – and although they’re looking to learn from us – they’re all fantastically talented themselves (I’m speaking of the applicants at this point since we’re still accepting submissions until tomorrow at 12pm Noon.)

Being in this position, I’ve started to wonder about my own abilities. Knowing that we’re going to be working with some already very talented photographers that want to learn from us – it’s very easy to over think things and let that insecurity that we all have as artists, take hold and start clawing away at the bit of confidence we should actively be protecting.

I still get a little nervous before every photoshoot. Until I start shooting, I have no idea how things are going to turn out. But I don’t rely on the photos to save me. I give my insecurities space, just a little. I like feeling nervous, it gets mixed in with excitement and as an artist I really think you need to welcome uncontrolled impulses. Especially since so much of our daily lives are often measured and controlled into a grey middle.

Of course – I give my insecurities space in my head because I also beat them into f*cking submission when it comes time to work. When it comes to insecurity, I literally say to myself “F*ck that, I’m going to make some beautiful photos.”

Whether it’s a wedding, a family portrait, or a Chef Demo at the farmer’s market down the street with Top Chef finalist Kevin Gillespie. You have to go into it believing that you’re going to make beautiful photos.

Leah and I need help. We’re fortunate that our clients not only took an initial chance on us – but that they keep coming back and referring their friends to us. It’s a great problem to have – but we’re busy. Really. Busy. So busy in fact that we’ve decided that we need help. We need a few interns.

Don’t worry – we’ll get to the requirements and qualifications in a little bit.

If you don’t know anything about us – we’re Leah and Mark. This is our Portfolio. We started this photography business a little less than a year ago, and we’ve been going all out ever since. We didn’t start out with expensive gear (and we still don’t have any) – but that’s okay. We’ve had to rely on creativity and hard work – everything else just makes things slightly easier.

If this is the first time you’re hearing of our intern program – then you’ll be interested in watching this video – it’s a slideshow portfolio of some of the photographs they’ve made over the past three months with us.

And you can check out their progress over at their Intern Blogs – and also this Post. Our Interns photographed more in the last three months than they did in the past year. Since becoming an Intern – some of them have increased their number of paying gigs, shot on assignment for Creative Loafing and other publications, and have received much more exposure for their photography in general – nevermind the experience and knowledge they’ve gained.

You should know what’s in it for you. Because if you’re considering working with us, then you should know exactly what you’re gaining – since it’s definitely not money!

Although it’s not really popular these days – we’re ‘generalists’. We don’t specialize in anything and that goes against the current trend of finding your ‘niche’ and specializing in one or two specific types of photography. We run the gamut and we photograph everything from weddings, to parties, to corporate headshots, to family and children portraits, to senior portraits, and even product photography. Without arguing if our photography is actually any good – we can only go on the fact that our clients REALLY like us, they keep coming back, and new ones seem to keep contacting us and asking us to work with them.

We’re very busy and as our intern you will have lots of opportunities to photograph in a wide range of different styles and subject matter.

What we need is for you to have some idea of what you’d like to focus on and learn from us. Some of what we can offer is:

• How to pose subjects, especially strangers – and become confident at it
• How to better handle light – off camera flash and natural
• How to stop taking photos like everyone else (it’s easier than you think)
• Get away from ‘technically’ perfect photos
• Photographers learn by photographing – you’ll photograph a lot with us.
• Stop feeling restricted by the gear you DON’T have

AND MARKETING subjects – because you want to be an actual paid and working photographer right?

• How to be truly different from EVERYONE ELSE who is a ‘Photographer’ these days
• How to hustle and get business
• How to keep clients and get repeat business
• How to charge appropriately and be paid for your services
• Turn ‘good exposure’ jobs into ACTUAL Good Exposure for YOU
• Attend our photography business-marketing class (for Interns only)

AND Even More

• Build the client base that you want
• Find out if you do make photographs like everyone else – so you can stop
• Make friends
• Have fun
• Try crazy ideas because no one’s going to stop you
• Push the boundaries of what your clients think they want – and keep delivering something just a little different
• Be hired as an artist – and not just a button pusher

We also setup group photoshoots where the ratio is roughly 2-3 photographers per model – and sometimes it’s 1 photographer per model. We believe in getting the best position for the best shot – and you can’t do that if there are 20 photographers shooting 3 models in a group session.

That’s what we think we offer and what we think an Intern can learn from us.

Here’s what we’re asking from our Interns:

• You own a DSLR camera
• You have at least a rudimentary understanding of shutter speed and aperture
• You have your own artistic ideas – even if you’re still working on them
• You aren’t afraid to try everything
• You don’t say ‘we can’t do that’
• You are willing to photograph everything during your time with us – even if it’s not your style
• You will read any materials we actually give you to read
• You will be available for at least two (2) five hour photo shoots a month (and possibly more permitting your schedule)
• You have a portfolio to show us – and you’re proud of your current work – no matter what
• You are nice
• You are stubborn
• You want to learn
• You can commit to working with us for 3 months (roughly)
• Possibly accompany us on photo shoots/weddings out of town (on our tab)

Everything we do is based on three principles:

1. Be different
2. Do things that matter
3. Show everyone

If you are interested in being one of our interns – please send an email to Email@LeahAndMark.com with answers to the following questions and a link to your portfolio:

1. What’s your name? (Tell us about yourself)

2. What artists do you like/admire/study ? (do not list photographers)

3. Why do you like our photos? (It’s okay if you don’t like our photos – but it makes no sense for you to work with us if you don’t like our work – we don’t want compliments, we want reasons why you want to work with us based on our photography.)

4. Are you able to commit to the full three month term? (and just so you know – we don’t have any problems with you having a full time job. It’s all about scheduling.)

5. What do you ultimately want to do with your photography?

(Tip: In-depth answers are better – this is an application, not a short answer survey.)

Please understand that this isn’t a judgement on whether or not you are ‘worthy’ – but in the same way you think you’d be a good fit to work with us, we’re trying to come to the same conclusion. We consider much more than your current portfolio since you’ll also be representing us to a large degree, and working with the other interns for some of the time. Personality and attitude is very important.

Deadline for applications is THIS Friday – July 23rd at 12pm noon. You will be contacted on Friday evening at 8pm one way or another, through email. Please be sure to check your junk mail/spam inbox after 8pm on Friday in case you don’t receive a message from us.

Thank you for your time and we hope to hear from you!

Atlanta. Photography. Internship.

When we originally decided to take on a few interns, we didn’t plan on it turning into the big bag of awesome that it eventually became. Wow. Even back when we thought we were only going to have two interns, we knew that it wasn’t going to be your regular ‘just carry our bags’ type of arrangement. They agreed to work with us, and we agreed to not only give them more opportunities to photograph a variety of subject matter, but also to push them and their photography – even if just a little – and more importantly… let them know that we believe in them and their photography. Sometimes you need that more than anything else.

Sometimes life gets in the way – and plans change. We started out with 10 Interns but finished with 8. I’m happy to say that it’s not because of anything terrible or a disagreement – Nadine and Jason just found photography related jobs that they couldn’t pass up – and that’s awesome – and I hope to work with them again sometime soon. But for the 8 that stuck it out and are finishing the 3 month term – it’s quite an accomplishment. They’ve photographed more in these past three months than they did in the year before. They’ve gone on 5am photoshoots, carried our gear, set it up, shot events with me, and generally put up with my crazy-stream-of-consciousness-thought-process. Oh yeah – and they’ve put up with my flood of emails sent at 1 or 4am.

Leah and I want their photography to make progress and grow – but it’s tricky. Because you know what? Great photography is F*cken personal. I know mine is very personal to me – and knowing that, I try to be careful and give some direction without completely changing their vision. The idea isn’t to teach them how to shoot like us, it’s to show them how we shoot, what we’re thinking and then they can add that knowledge and experience to help their own work grow in different ways.

We selected people with a few different backgrounds. A high school student, a single mother of two, an office 9-5 worker, college graduate, college student, elementary school teacher, and more. With so many different schedules, the biggest factor of their progress was simply the amount of hours they put into the photography work. I feel comfortable talking about the hard work aspect – and how much more work it takes to go from a weekend amateur photographer to someone even closely resembling a professional photographer – because hard work was always our biggest advantage, and we’ve done a considerable amount of hard work over the past year since we started this business. Of course, there’s still so much left to do and still learn.

We held a photography business marketing class a few weeks ago for the interns – and we plan on doing it for every group of interns – and only interns. With everyone and their mom claiming to be a photographer these days, it’s even more important to have not only good marketing – but creatively different and effective marketing. Having a Facebook fan page isn’t going to cut it – and in fact, Leah and I don’t have one, and we don’t plan on it. Our marketing class will change and develop with each session because we’re constantly trying to come up with new, different, and outstanding marketing ideas. Again – good marketing is hard work – and combined with some creativity, it’s one of the best things we’ve got going for our business. In the end though, everything we do is based on three principles:

• Be different.
• Do things that matter.
• Show everyone.

This coming Monday, we’re going to start looking for a new batch of interns. We don’t know if we’re going to take on another ten, or five, or fifteen. If you think you’d like to commit to working with us for the next three months, we hope to hear from you.

Thanks.

You might remember seeing Kelsey & Adam from when we posted their engagement session a few weeks ago. Leah & I spent this past weekend in Savannah to photograph their wedding! Since I grew up in California and Arizona – this was my first time in Savannah – and it definitely lived up to its reputation of awesome. The wedding took place at the Dresser Palmer House just off of Forsyth Park, and Leah and I stayed at the Park Avenue Manor just around the corner – and we highly recommend staying there.

The Wedding! The Heat! The Humidity!… and then the Monsoon Rain! The weather participated nicely. It didn’t downpour until after the ceremony and everyone was inside full of food and drinks. Outdoor July wedding in Savannah?! No. Problem.

It. Was. Awesome.

Here are the preview photos. Congratulations Kelsey & Adam!

Atlanta. Savannah. Georgia. Wedding. Photographer.

Check out the Gallery Here.

“SunSilvestri presents Local Love, a summer evening fashion benefit showcasing an amazing all-local cast of emerging designers, musicians, and artists! Featured fashion designers include Sarahlou Designs, Rock Cherry Bomb, So She Sews, and Patina. Music will be provided by native Atlanta DJ, black Sunshine. Additional performances will feature members of the breakdancing group Burn Unit, accompanied by Atlanta-based TSD – all taking place at Kai Lin Art Gallery.

Atlanta’s own LeahAndMark.com will be setting up a Portrait Booth at Local Love and snapping portraits. Attendees can also enjoy complimentary beer from 5 Seasons Brewing.

Proceeds will benefit Hats for Hearts, a local cause for baby Eliavah born with a heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot.”

(from the Hats for Hearts website, by Annie Sun)

Eliavah Maribel Ogir, born to Aree and Karma Ogir is now 2 months old and has Tetralogy of Fallot, a combination of abnormalities of the heart that requires constant attention and open heart surgery.  As I was talking to Aree and listening to his stories of financial and emotional struggles, I knew I had to do something to help my fellow teacher. So after brainstorming ideas with other teachers, Hats for Hearts was started to raise awareness and funds for Eliavah’s surgery and medical bills. Our future goal is for families with the same heart disease to find comfort and support through our organization.

Me + Interns Claire, Mary & Vania photographed this event and you can see my shots from the portrait booth Here – and then you can check out Claire’s photos Here. Mary & Vania’s shots are coming soon on their own Intern Blogs.

These first ten photos are my shots, taken this past Saturday at our latest Intern group photoshoot. These days we try to keep the numbers down to about 5 photographers to 3-4 models. Different from larger group shoots, we want to be able to spend 20-25 minutes per model/setup before rotating – instead of just 2 minutes like what happens when there are 20 photographers and just 3 or 4 models.

It’s not just a factor of spending enough time to photograph a model – but also being in the position to actually get YOUR SHOT. One of our issues with large group shoots is that everyone’s ’settling’ for whatever shot they can get, trying not to get in everyone’s way, but at the same time trying taking good photos. This would be fine for an event – but in a group setting with your photographer friends, you’re not going to turn on your competitive drive and do ‘whatever it takes’ to get the shot. So you end up settling for sub-par positioning, and you get sub-par shots.

What we’re able to do with our Interns is have enough models, and fewer photographers – and then each photographer gets to spend 20-25 minutes with a setup. (Depending on how good I am at keeping track of the time.) Along with everything else that’s good about these shoots – is that the Interns get to spend some time directing the models – and directing subjects is something that most photographers starting out, need more practice with. Directing models is generally easier because if they’re any good at all, they’ll help out with poses – but what do you do when you’re photographing a family of normal people who don’t regularly ‘model’? It’s all on the photographer to help them out. So our Intern group shoots help give more practice and experience with that – nevermind that we’re moving towards having shoots in better locations, and with lighting to use if they’d like.

Another benefit (ha – or hindrance depending on how you look at it) – is that half the time I’m probably shooting as well – and I’m bossy. Well – what I mean is that I’m very ‘directing’ during my photoshoots. Some of our interns just need to observe and see how another photographer directs. Because with me it’s a constant stream of ideas for poses, and using methods to actually find good poses – I’m not saying that they’re all good – and in fact, most of the time I’ll hit a pose and just have to say it out loud that ‘that pose sucks, forget that idea!’ – and move on. Having photographed nearly 100 ’sessions’ over the past year – I’ve learned that in the end, the quality of the photo is dependent upon you as the Photographer – so you better do everything you can to make your subjects look great, and to make a great photo.

Posing people + composition + camera technicals = hopefully a great photo. (hopefully).

Below are photos of the Interns photographing, holding light stands, and standing-in to test the light setup. We have about one more month to go in this three month internship. Now that Leah and I have learned a few things – we see July being even more awesome – and we’re gearing up for the next batch of 10 new interns!

Obviously it’s an unpaid internship – and we don’t force anyone to participate – even once they become interns. But the ones that make the most of their time with us are making visible progress. Three months is a short time and some of our interns have really made the most of their time with us so far. At the very least, they’ll tell you that they’ve photographed more in the last month and a half, than they did over the past year. It’s been a jump start for many of them and we’re really just warmed up at this point.

Some of our Interns have graduated with degrees in photography from SCAD and Georgia State, some are attending or about to attend SCAD – others have full time office jobs, kids, families, and crazy work hours.

What Leah and I try to do, is at the very least – give them enough opportunities to work on photoshoots with us, and then also set up photoshoots for them. We have a group calendar that all Interns can view and they can sign up for whatever events they feel like working/attending.

With the initial requirements of 1 photoshoot and 2 blog entries per week that we put on our Interns – Leah and I really put the burden on us to provide them with enough shoots + support, along with requiring them to schedule photoshoots on their own. Finding work/projects for 10 interns and organizing all of them is quite the task – nevermind also trying to run our own photography business.

It’s been really great so far, and the surprises that come up are part of what has made this so awesome.

We held a photography business/marketing class a few weeks ago because on top of all of the ‘technical’ photography skills our Interns are trying to learn – they’re also with us to learn about getting work, promotion, and marketing. Because obviously, a photographer who doesn’t know how to market themselves, isn’t going to find enough clients to keep the lights on.

While other photography ‘marketing’ and business classes might focus on nuts & bolts advice ‘Do this, Don’t do that’ – we also cover ‘how’ we come up with more effective, and creative marketing ideas. Because saying you’re a ‘photographer’ has replaced saying ‘I’m in a band’ – and these days everyone has a friend that’s a photographer – but everyone doesn’t want to hire that friend. So once your photos are of ‘good’ quality – how do you set yourself apart from all of the other photographers out there? The ones that are hardly charging anything, and will photograph anyone, anywhere, anytime?

Obviously there isn’t a magic bullet solution – it’s a multi-layered effort – but we think that the things we’re doing behind the scenes are worth passing on to our Interns. We want them to grow their client base and build their own businesses.

We have some really big projects coming up over the next few months. If you think you’re interested in working with us, and being one of our Interns – applications for our August/September/October session will be posted on Monday, July 19th and we’ll be accepting applications through that Friday, July 23rd.

Get your portfolio ready.

Photography. Internship. Atlanta.

Check Out the Full Gallery Here.

ABOUT US

Kelsey graduated from The University of Northern Iowa in 2006 with a B.A. in Sociology and again in 2008 with an M.A. in Communication Studies.  She is currently teaching and working on her Ph.D. in Communication at Georgia State University.

Adam graduated from The University of Florida in 2005 with a B.A. in Telecommunication.  He is currently working for Turner Broadcasting as a Senior Coordinator in the Broadcast Operations Center.  Translation: he makes sure that television viewers see what they are supposed to be seeing.

THE PROPOSAL

We had been planning a long weekend in Savannah for a while and were counting down the days left until our getaway.  The night before we left is when Adam popped the question.  He came home from work and after telling her hello asked her to open a package of M&Ms.  He explained that he couldn’t seem to get it open.  Kelsey, secretly wondering why he didn’t just go get the scissors, obliged him and tore a small opening in the package.  As she handed it back to him he held out his hand so she would pour some of the M&Ms out.  Kelsey wasn’t making it very easy for Adam and poured just a few into his hand.  He asked her to pour some more out and as she did she noticed that these M&Ms were unique.

Small background story: We have a silly nickname for each other that has now become public information.  A long time ago Kelsey thought Adam called her by a nickname and, to poke fun at him, started calling him this nickname, too.  But when Adam questioned her about the nickname, he seemed to have no recollection of ever calling her this.  Somehow the nickname has stuck and has turned into a running joke between the two of them.  It most likely began when Adam noticed that Kelsey, despite not having a particularly unique accent, has a very unique way of saying a few particular words.

So what did these very unique M&Ms say?

“Marry me boobs!!”

Kelsey was stunned and amidst lots of smiles and laughter kept asking Adam if he was serious.  When Adam finally insisted that he was serious Kelsey of course said yes and they hugged and kissed.  Then Adam asked her to pour more of the M&Ms out.  Kelsey thought this was odd but once again obliged her now fiance by pouring the rest of the small bag into his hands.  As the M&Ms came spilling out a gorgeous ring landed on top of them.  Adam remembers hearing an audible gasp from Kelsey when she realized the ring was hidden in the package of M&Ms.  The ring was beautiful and fit perfectly but quickly became even more special when Adam explained that this was the engagement ring his father had given to his mother years before.  It was an incredible night and we got to spend the entire weekend in Savannah celebrating the engagement.

Adam went to bed that night thinking that the engagement story was over but Kelsey knew differently.  What Adam didn’t know was that, after months of planning, Kelsey had been planning to propose to him that weekend as well.  On the way to Savannah Kelsey pulled off the road and got something out of the backseat.  She explained to Adam that she had been planning to propose as well and had been looking all over for the perfect engagement present.  She had looked for watches and rings, and even bought a ring, but nothing seemed to be the perfect engagement present that felt perfect for Adam.  After all that shopping though, Kelsey finally found the perfect thing to give to Adam, a gift that symbolized how much she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him by her side, right at home.

Since they first began talking, Kelsey had been writing a book of letters to Adam.  Although she didn’t initially have plans to give this journal to him, the engagement was the perfect time to show him how certain she had always been of their relationship.  So on the side of the road, somewhere between Atlanta and Savannah, Kelsey gave Adam the journal of letters and explained that he hadn’t been the only one with a proposal planned for that weekend… !!!

Check Out the Full Gallery Here.

Atlanta. Wedding. Photography.

Atlanta. Wedding. Photographer.

Click Here for the Photo Gallery:

(From Megan & Josh’s wedding website:)

How They Met:

We met on a blind date in the fall of ‘07, which was set up by two of our friends. We went out twice, realized the timing just wasn’t right and let several months pass by with no contact.  Then, upon a chance (or not so chance) meeting at a local restaurant, we decided to try hanging out again.  From that point forward (with only a few minor speedbumps:) it was love. It became a very long-distance love, but despite this, neither of us would trade the path that led us here for an easier one.

About Megan & Josh

They began dating in the summer of 2008, a few weeks before Megan left to travel to Africa for a month. Once home, they had only a few weeks together before Megan moved to Denver for her first year of grad school. Somehow they made it work with 2 thousand miles between them. They have now decreased those miles to 60, with Josh living in Macon and Megan in Atlanta. As they celebrate their wedding on May 15th, they will also be celebrating the beginning of an exciting time…actually getting to live in the same city for longer than a Christmas break!

Click Here for the Photo Gallery.

Thank you Megan and Josh for having us photograph your wedding.

Atlanta. Georgia. Wedding. Photographer.

We took a break this weekend. Kind of. See, we drove over to Birmingham, Alabama to attend a wedding for Leah’s cousin Allison to her man Ross. Since our friend Renee was photographing the wedding, we decided to ‘video’ a good bit of it (and since we have a hard time only attending weddings these days). The above video is a short, unedited clip (mostly) – and it’s THE REASON why you should consider hiring a GREAT wedding band instead of having only a DJ.  I wish I knew what their name was – but they were honestly so awesome, that I’ll edit this post later and put it up.

We primarily shot our video using a Nikon D90 – which meant manually focusing the lens… but it’s alright because back when I started learning photography, I actually shot events with a manual lens from 1968 – so you either learn how to focus REALLY FAST, or you end up with way too many unusable and blurry photos. We have skillz. Sometimes (or we just get really lucky

The next day, Leah and I had brunch with the Leah’s family on her mother’s side.

And THEN we drove back to Atlanta, had dinner with her new-ish family (Leah found her birth mother) and celebrated her brother and cousin graduating from high school!

I miss my family out west – but it helps that Leah has 34 cousins (she recently counted) – and that means she has even more aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews. I think I’m going to make it my mission to have my picture taken with… EVERYONE.

Hey. This was at the wedding. Free drinks are FREE!

Have an awesome week. We’re gonna be posting like crazy. Weddings, Engagements, NonProfits, Newborns, and You.

Check Out the Gallery Here:

This is Sofi. When her parents hired us to photograph her senior portraits, I knew that my first job was to make sure that she didn’t end up with a batch of studio-like senior photos that would qualify to appear on AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com – but also make sure that she looked relaxed and comfortable in the shots. Fortunately, making the clients feel more comfortable is actually an area we seem to excel. I’d like to say that we’re just so good at talking that everyone immediately feels comfortable with us, but it’s not us that they really need to feel comfortable with – it’s the big camera in their face.

Of course your client needs to have faith in what you’re doing – especially when they really don’t understand what you’re ‘going for’ in a shot – but we also rely on simply shooting long enough so that they feel comfortable just ‘moving’ in front of the camera. If we’re not getting what we want from a static ‘pose’ – we’ll actually have them ‘move into’ that pose, either by taking a step and looking up, or facing away and then turning towards us. Sometimes it’s as simple as having them close their eyes and then opening them on ‘three’.

We primarily shot this session at two locations – a wooded forest area, and an abandoned car dealership. Sofi and her parents probably thought I was a little ‘off’ when we arrived at the empty lot. I mean, it’s not exactly most people’s idea of ’senior portrait’ locations (alright, actually abandoned ‘anything’ probably IS what many seniors hope for, but sadly they end up with ‘local park’.)

… and you know… after I get the ’safe’ shots and I realize I have more than enough that I’m going to deliver – I include shots like this one above, just because I like it.

Check out the Yelp review by Sofi and her Father!

(Me and some of the interns photographed a fashion show last night at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens – pictured above from left to right – Jenna, Brook, Amy, Claire, and Mary. The other five interns were busy doing other intern stuff!)

We just finished our 1st month with our Interns and things are really picking up speed now. They’ve been shooting and blogging and shooting and well – doing all of the normal stuff interns do – except they don’t get me coffee, which I’m not really happy about but Leah says that’s not their job.

When we decided to take on two interns, we figured that hey, it’d be fun. When we decided to take on six interns we figured that hey, it’ll be more fun. When we decided to take on TEN interns – we knew it’d be a lot of work just to organize them, but that it would also really force us to get more organized and basically just DO MORE.

With our demanding intern requirements (1 photoshoot, and 2 blog posts a week) on top of having them assists us, it’s not really a normal internship. That’s mostly because Leah and I didn’t just want ‘assistants’. We ended up having… students. Not that we were looking to really ‘teach’ – but if there were photographers willing to tag along and let us show them a few things, we thought that’d be fun. (Even if all of our interns are probably going to get sick of making photos with lots of lens flare.)

Of course – who am I kidding – we freakin LOVE having interns, and we LOVE being able to show them a few of the things we’ve learned in the past year. Heck – it’s forced both of us to really collect our thoughts and try push them at the same time pushing ourselves. Because they have questions that we have no answers for, and they’re questions that we really should know the answer to – so they really identify holes in our own knowledge and skills.

Oh yeah – I’d like to introduce our newest intern: Amy

She’s late to the party because she was finishing up her 1st year of college in Savannah at SCAD. As is customary – her first shoot with us had to be an event with the other interns, and with the off camera flash setup. I gave her starter settings, let her know how to adjust the flash power (in unit and on camera) and let her go.

Because we can talk about settings, and theory and light – but in the end, the biggest thing that most of the interns need is more time shooting. With us, it’s ‘directed’ shooting – so that they might learn something new and different from how they currently shoot. But again, mostly they all just need to photograph and edit so much more – there is a ‘volume’ of photography that has to happen because you’re just not going to learn as much from 5 photoshoots as you would from 20.

I did some rough counting, and since last August, I’ve averaged six (6) photoshoots a month, so we’ve shot about 60 in the past 10 months. And that’s counting each wedding as only one session (because really, they should count for at least 2 or 3). Also – within those 60 sessions we’ve shot family portraits, engagement sessions, weddings, model sessions, newborns, children, charity events, product photography, etc., etc., etc. Everything we could get our hands on and that people would pay for.

We said it in an earlier post, but another reason we decided to take on so many ‘Interns’ was because we received SO MANY applications – and we realized that there just aren’t that many opportunities for photographers with less experience, to really watch/learn/work with more seasoned ‘professional’ photographers. While I’m not one to say that we’re in fact any of those things – people trusted us, and believed in us enough that they were willing to put themselves out there and say they’d do anything, including just carrying our bags – just for the chance to learn from us. We’re not so naive or arrogant to think that we know everything, and we realized that we would be forced to learn a lot more by trying to teach what we already know to others.

Of course, in the end it’s up to the interns to decide how much they’re going to take from this experience. They’re the ones who have to be shooting on their own, or helping out on the sessions that I invite them on, or just asking the questions that they need to ask. Because it’s a short three months – and the next batch of interns is already lining up.

I haven’t posted one of our weekly newsletters as an actual blog post before – but this one was so much fun (drawing on photos!) and a little informative as far as what’s in our heads when we take photos – so here you go in case you haven’t signed up for our newsletter! (Which you can do Right Here.)

LeahAndMark.com Atlanta photographers Lines, Shapes, and Composition I know. Composition. Again – but look! This time we have drawings  - sort of We both take photos, but Mark is a natural at “seeing” the shot he wants.  Leah – not so much.  But composition can be learned. So once we realized this difference between us, we decided Mark should teach y’all some of his inner workings. This is how Mark sees the world – even when he doesn’t have his camera: Basically – straight lines framing or accenting/contrasting/stressing the shape of curved human bodies. I first started seeing things like this when I took an art history class and saw this painting by Parmigianino: In my current Art History book – it says this about the painting: Parmigianino spent six years working on this painting. The length and slenderness of all the limbs is exaggerated but it is the Madonna’s neck, likened to the ivory-colored column behind her, that gives the picture its expressive power. And yeah, it’s kind of a weird painting – but then I started seeing other paintings differently – like this famous one by Diego Velasquez: Las Meninas Of course – there is more than one way to view any piece of art: Now it’s one thing to compose a shot when you have time – but it’s another thing to be able to do it on-the-fly, during an event, when people keep moving: The thing with lines is that you can’t just depend on them to frame things – you actually have to MOVE into a position where the lines work for you and your shot. If you examine our photos – we like people to be flat-on facing us. Rarely do we take shots that are just ‘off to the side’ or at some weak diagonal angle. We’re very big on getting in position to get THE SHOT. Sometimes it’s just a foot to the left, sometimes we need to move across the room – but we rarely ’settle’ for a shot due to our position. When we enter a room – we see the space, the lines and the available shapes (yes, even Leah can do this now – it just took some more practice for her). They stand out to us. Then we see people and where they’re moving within the space and the lines. If you know where the lines are in a room – then you’ll know when to take your shot as people move about the space. If something is happening across the room – you’re able to size-up and frame the shot without blinking, and then you can focus on the action that’s going on. Because you might not have another chance to get the shot you want so you’d better be quick and know what you’re doing (or at least know what you’re trying to do.) We try to always ‘ground’ our photos of people with strong lines and shapes. That’s the most simple way I can put it. It’s a formula we use – but people aren’t formulaic – so it works. They’re not static, even when our ‘framing’ IS static, and when you combine them, you tend to end up with strong photos that just ‘work’ – even if you don’t really know why, or spend the time to wax poetic and draw red lines all over them. Now, go through your own photos – do you have strong lines that direct the viewer to your subjects? Or framing lines? Are the lines distracting and pulling your eye away from the subject? Do your lines contrast or emphasize what’s going on in your photos? Do you have a lot of diagonal lines showing frenetic excitement or energy? Do you have strong straight lines keeping everything stable and holding it all together? Do you have them both present, balancing out your composition? Knowing your lines and shapes, and using them to effectively direct the viewer and balance out your composition, will help differentiate you from everyone else with an expensive camera. Look at the whole picture. See you next week. Thanks for reading. Sincerely, Leah and Mark Tioxon LeahAndMark.com Forward to a friend | You. Are. Awesome.

Atlanta. Photographer. Children. Family. Portrait. Photography.

This shot above was featured on OffBeat Mama yesterday.

I brought along Intern Paralee on this maternity/family session a few weeks ago. Natasha is actually a very good friend of Megan and Paul – who we photographed a few weeks earlier for their own maternity session (and just last week we photographed their newborn baby Scotty). Megan and Natasha are about a month apart and Megan just gave birth last week. So that means Natasha’s due… today. No, wait. I don’t really know when she’s due – but it’s got to be soon right?

Look at my photographic powers! I can make hyper little dogs stand still and pose for me!

We spent this past weekend in Nashville, TN. – celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary! – so we’ve got lots of photo shoots lined up, and lots of editing. This week is going to be packed.

Check out the rest of Natasha’s set in Photo Gallery – Here.

We knew there was a chance that it was going to rain this past Saturday during Megan & Josh’s wedding. When we arrived it was just cloudy. About an hour before the ceremony, the skies let go and it was raining hard + thunder-storming. So we all waited. And then it rained… less. The photos might look like it was just a cloudy day, but I assure you – it went from a hard rain to sprinkling the entire day – and it almost never stopped coming down. Water was still coming down during all of these outdoor photos. Of course – that wasn’t going to stop Megan and Josh from having an excellent wedding day.

One of the things I enjoy about wedding photography is the pressure to deliver absolutely beautiful photos. I’m not talking about photos that are ‘good enough’ – or that just ‘cover’ the event. I want to make absolutely beautiful photos – because that’s what I want to give to the bride and groom – no matter what – even if I’m unprepared for rain and I don’t have a rain cover for myself or my camera – I’ll make one for my camera and I’ll just have to stand out in the rain (small price to pay for getting the shots I want).

I’m always telling our interns about how ‘restrictions’ force you to be more creative – well, the rain definitely forced that on us – not only in what photos we were going to shoot, but HOW we photographed them. Because you can’t spend forever taking formals if you’re asking people to actually stand in the drizzling sprinkle of rain in their fancy clothes. Heck, you can’t even go at a normal pace. You have to be really quick, know what you shots you’re going to take, take them and then make sure that they’re in focus, people’s eyes are open, direct the whole show AND you need to throw in some amount of creativity into the photos. Hopefully. Because ‘just getting the shot’ isn’t worth it if it’s not a shot worth looking at.

So I dragged everyone out walking into the rain to get to the small old barn at the edge of the property just for some photos, and I stood some people on a plow and had the flower girls pose on the bales of hay. Because I was there earlier and since portrait photography is 98% moving furniture – it might as well include moving farm equipment because that’s what I did beforehand, along with moving planks of wood, and the bales of hay.

It was a beautiful wedding and these are the preview photos. We can’t thank Megan & Josh enough for having us be a part of their wedding day.

Have an awesome week.