What Storytelling Means to Us
Omaha Wedding Photographers
Story.
It’s such a buzzword in the photography industry.
“Tell your story.”
We hear it over and over and over again. Hell, we say it too.
But what does that REALLY mean? Other than it sounding romantic and whimsical...does anyone planning a wedding understand what it means to “have their story told”?
And is the “story” of their wedding day and legacy as a family ACTUALLY being told?
Webster’s Dictionary defines “story” as a report of incidents or events. A short, often amusing tale.
What it doesn’t say is an ongoing log of what someone wore, how expensive or inexpensive things looked, or how much better yours was than someone else’s.
For us, we want every photo we take to act as the cover of a book. Where every time you open up that “cover”, a story pours out.
For us, we understand the reality of life changing quickly without warning. We’re hyper-aware of how quickly kids grow up, how quickly parents age, and how suddenly you can lose people.
We know first hand how unapologetically life molds into the way it’s supposed to, instead of the way you WANT it to.
These are the reasons why we NEED to tell stories, through photos. These are the reasons why the centerpieces or lavish ballrooms aren’t that important to us.
Now, we get how creepy it sounds to say “we want to take photos that will be shown at funerals or in times of stress.” It’s likely not a popular selling point. It’s beyond creepy and likely not normal. But we’re far from normal girls...and it’s true.
We want to make photos that remind you of your mother’s laugh long after she’s gone.
We want to make photos that remind you of how much your nephew loved airplanes when he was little.
We want to make photos that remind you of how your dads hands FELT holding yours before he walked you down the aisle, a few weeks before he passed.
We want to make photos that remind you of how shocked you were to get Kenny Chesney tickets from your bride on your wedding day, right before she was flown overseas on military orders a week after saying “I do”.
We want to make photos that remind you of how madly in love you are with your spouse when you’ve been arguing for weeks, you’ve been thrown up on by all your kids, and your goddamn dog just got out again.
We want to make images that you reflect on regularly, because they remind you of the people you love, WHY you love them, and HOW you love them.
This is why we want to make images that tell stories. Not just pretty photos.
Because at the end of the day, stories are all we’ll have of the people we cherish the most. And we want to work as hard as we can to do that, because WE value it.
That’s why we’ll preach from the mountaintops the importance of documenting your legacy in a moment-driven way.
This is why hanging your wedding dress up in a fancy window doesn’t matter to us. But your mom zipping you into it, does.
This is why taking time on a fancy ring shot doesn’t matter to us. But your best man fumbling to hand it over to you, does.
So when you hear of someone wanting to tell your story, we encourage you to ask what that means to them. Listen. Think about what your life looks like now and what it could in 5, 10, and 20 years from now. Hold it close to your heart. And live in the moment.
Also, we love you.
The J and the M.
