There are times when you tell yourself “You can do it” and “you got this” and you know you do and can. Then you have moments where you know you can do it but aren’t sure how well it will turn out.
Creating my wedding magazine filled with pricing and information for engaged couples… was a moment like that. I went to school for graphic design in addition to photography. I know that I know what I am doing most of the time when it comes to things like that. When I saw someone else’s wedding magazine online I told myself I could do it.
My journey started Saturday morning. I went through pictures that I have taken over the years and just a few from some of the other photographers that work with me at times. Once I compiled some of my favorites I started my document in adobe illustrator.
My first thought was to find an image that would really make a great cover. Then I needed to come up with a color theme that would help me tie my entire document together. I thought about pink, and purple but decided pink was just too girly and purple… I didn’t like the look of it. In order to stay cohesive with my website I decided to try teal. I truly loved the look. Got it!! I have my color theme!
I started into the document placing pictures into each spread before coming up with the content that would fill the pages. That is probably backwards but it worked for me. The images gave me a bit of inspiration. I did have an idea of what each spread would represent, just not that actual words that would go on the page.
After a few pages I started to look back on what I had started and thought…. “Wow I can do this!”
I changed my back cover because the look just wasn’t right. I am 8 pages into my design and pretty impressed with my work so far. I started to feel more confidence and more enjoyment in what I was doing.
I believe that I might have been addicted at this point. I could not walk away from my computer for very long. I would get up to get my son a snack (of apples and peanut butter) or to have some lunch, but I would sit right back down. This was my drug for the day and I was going to finish it!
One of the greatest parts about creating this magazine is that it represents who I am and my style of photography. It is most definitely a better representation of me and my work than a slideshow on my website or an album on Facebook. I am very happy to have done this magazine
The other thing that I love about this is that it gave me a chance to look back on some of the images I have taken over the last 10 years. I love being a part of each wedding that I am there for. I love being the one trusted to capture the moments of the very special day.
I spent more than 13 hours, I think it was daylight savings time, working on this project on Saturday. All I had left to do was spell check and proof my document. At this point, I was by no means ready to proof it. I was exhausted and had to force myself to go t bed.
Part way through I started to think that creating magazines for couples about their wedding day could be a lot of fun. It is a really cute alternative to the standard wedding album. I mean, how much fun would it be to take out your own magazine, all about you. There are no models, just you and your friends and family.
Now that I have completed my wedding magazine, I will be creating a template or two so I can create magazines for each couple that I photograph. Maybe, I should get up from my computer for a little while first.
People First Photography 
