Anna + Luke | Paris Wedding

As a photographer, one thing I constantly struggle with is working for friends. There is always an extra layer of stress not to disappoint. You want to give your all and put all of your creative and emotional weight into the images. There is something profound in having an emotional bond with your subject, though. Knowing how they smile, what their real laugh sounds like, what pushes they’re buttons.

You might say Anna and I have this kind of relationship. Anna was my first love, even when I wasn’t quite sure what love was. Like most of the people I care about in this world, Anna taught me things, particularly about commitment and conviction, far after I was willing to hear the message. Most of my professional career so far has been about the balance of creativity and professionalism. Those things aren’t intrinsically opposites, but when you aim to commercialize the thing that you keep closest to your soul, conflicting emotions often bubble to the surface. Anna taught me to move through life and love with conviction. Simply, believe.

When Anna and Luke asked if I would photograph their wedding, I was honoured. I remembered a set of photographs I took of Anna in the snow. Black and white film on my grandfathers 35mm camera. I remembered that it’s the same eloquent gesture: to capture a fragment of time.