I guess when you know, you know. I don’t think it’s always love at first sight when it comes to the client / photographer relationship… but it can be. It takes a while to build trust with a photographer, but when you have a previous connection – for example and the recommendation of a friend – it can happen more quickly.

That’s exactly how Lynda and Keegan found me – through their friends Shannon and Devin’s who I photographed last winter. We sat and talked over coffee before getting started and I got to hear more about their engagement party this past weekend, how they met working at a Christian camp, their long distance relationship between Canada and Australia, and what it was like to be in a place with snow. Even though we had emailed back and forth to plan the session, sitting to talk allowed us to ease in to the session and build more trust before we started. We continued the conversation as I photographed them, and directed them so I could take the best pictures possible and allow them to be themselves in the process. When we ended, I wanted to ask if we could do it again tomorrow… or if they had any friends getting married.

Having a network of people that believe in your business is probably the best asset of any small business owner. That network often starts with family and friends but grows as you reach out and gain experience. However, that network is not really about you, your business or even how great your product is… it’s about everyone else. You grow more by being interested in other people than just hoping for them to be interested in you.

Thanks for a fun afternoon yesterday Lynda and Keegan… and for the delicious macarons and sweets you baked, Lynda – you have serious talent! To all of my other clients I can’t wait to continue to work with you, build a relationship, and see how that network of people changes and grows. If you haven’t started, I’d love for you to join the daily conversation here, twitter, facebook, or through email (hello at marydougherty dot net). Lastly, to all of the family, friends, soon to be clients, acquaintances, casual blog readers, friends of friends of friends, and blog stalkers… thanks for reading and being a part of what I do.

On this blog I try to keep things centered around my life and the weddings that I photograph, which means I have yet to share these images. It’s time to catch you up on just a fraction of the work that I’ve done for my alma mater, Houghton College over the past few years. While I’ve done a variety of photography documenting events, people, and things… it’s documenting the place that stands out the most to me. It’s a unique location tucked in the rolling hills of western New York just south of Letchworth State Park. It’s secluded, it’s small, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I’ve amassed quite a library of location imagery for them and it is always a pleasure to go out and document the surroundings, take in their beauty and enjoy life. I think the country does that for everyone. Here’s just a small selection of images and I hope you to enjoy!

Collaborating with other professionals in the industry is one of the most fun things to do. I’ve had the pleasure of building a relationship with Maura, the owner of Sassafras Flowers in Rochester, New York and joining forces for a few different styled shoots and weddings. Probably the first bouquet I saw of hers was this one, in Margaret + Luke’s engagement shoot and I was immediately blown away. I love that bouquet, and while it was an extension of her usual work she effortlessly proved to be versatile in all areas of floral design. Her flowers have a sophisticated elegance (which honestly when does that ever go out of style?) and they needed to be showcased, which is why she has been working tirelessly on a new website. It went live a month ago and is equipped with online ordering, easy to find information and of course inspiring flowers.

I had the pleasure of photographing a large portion of the work on the site and tried to do justice to the vibrant colors of the flowers. We set everything up in spaces that emulated the look of arrangements in context and gave viewers and idea of size, space, and versatility. Enjoy these images and make sure to visit Sassafras Flowers to see the images in use with graphics and text – I love to see them in context. Also, if you explore around and find the wedding galleries you can flip through and see more of the work I’ve done with her. Enjoy and congrats to Maura and everyone at Sassafras on the huge accomplishment of their new site!

*So to those family members out there still wondering if this is my “real job”… the answer is yes :)

Since I wasn’t opening a physical space, it was a bit harder to judge the date of my beginning, as is with most people who step out on their own after a slow evolution. However, if there was one way to judge if you are legitimate or not, giving the government money seems about as good a place to start. So, I count the first of 2008 as the start of my business since that was the year I started paying taxes. Of course, plans had been in the works before that time as well as many years of studying photography and art – which you may have already read about here.

Taking the plunge into something new is never easy, the water shocks you as you adjust to the temperature and new surroundings. For me it was a self conscious start, because I felt like everywhere I looked there was another person starting a photography business. I didn’t want to be just one of the masses out there flocking to join the club, thankfully that wasn’t a reason to keep me from doing so. I put blinders on and went to work, which both allowed me to improve and stay focused it also kept me from growing with a community of photographers.

It’s taken a while – perhaps the last four years – to feel comfortable not as a photographer individually, but as a part of the larger community of photographers. It’s time to look up to see those around me and share in the common experiences we have. I realized that in working for myself I could potentially never feel like I’ve “arrived,” although in many ways I have when I consider where I started. I haven’t been the most successful in the least amount of time, made the most money, or traveled to the most exotic places. What I have done is grown immensely as a photographer and person, met wonderful people and shared in their wedding days, and built a small business on doing something that I love. I count that as a success. (Oh, I also moved states twice which as you business owners know is a lot of extra work, just needed to add that in). I will always be working to improve, learn from my mistakes and take on challenges that might come, but before it gets any later I thought I would stop to share. I plan to keep sharing, starting with my experiences starting my business and from there we’ll see where it goes. While I’ll be doing most of the talking it’s more fun when I hear from you too so it doesn’t have to be so one sided. Feel free to leave a question as a comment and I’ll respond so everyone can read. happy Monday + thanks for joining me in my fifth year!

Let’s have this be the year. The year we all write handwritten letters to stay in touch, remember birthdays without facebook reminding us, and finally have enough time for those creative projects we’ve been putting of. Let’s read books, cook delicious food, and exercise as often as we hope to. Let’s go to bed at a reasonable hour and keep work from taking over our lives. Let’s put other people first and be content with what we have. Let’s be vulnerable enough to ask questions and admit mistakes so that we can challenge ourselves to change. Let’s inspire others, dream big and be happy.

All around ambitious and only mildly facetious, I have high hopes for the new year. I love the chance to rethink the future and be open to new possibilities. I always need the challenge of living more simply and finding the balance that comes with working for myself. They are not things that I want to check off a list, but things I want to consider as I plan the year and remember this spring, summer and fall. Things that I hope to do both alone and with others as life is more fun when it’s shared.

Sure I have a list of other projects to accomplish and goals to work toward this year, but most of all I hope to live this year intentionally.

It was a year of adventures, traveling and fun. Of the 26 weddings that I photographed, 8 of them were out of state and I found myself in places as far as Oregon, Boston and Vermont. I enjoyed the travel for each of those weddings as well as the opportunity to stay close to home and work in New York. I grew as I challenged myself with a busy summer and fall schedule and balancing teaching a class. There were times this year that I felt I was doing everything right, and times when I doubted where I was at… and through it all I’ve learned so much. I wouldn’t have made it with out the great support of family and friends, my first intern – Hannah, and those that choose to put their trust in me as their photographer. It was a great year, and each couple that I worked with had their own take on the wedding day and I enjoyed being there for all of them: here’s a look back at each day. I can’t wait to see what 2012 looks like, and wish all of you the best as we jump ship from 2011 and dive in to the new year!

Three years ago Matt and I were amazed at the idea that you could make marshmallows from scratch. So we decided to try it. It turns out they are much more fluffy and melt in your mouth than the store bought kind, and we were hooked. Along the way I got the idea to make them for all of my clients and send them out a Christmas gift. The idea stuck, and this week – for the third year in a row – I spent two days making, packaging and mailing out homemade marshmallows to all of the people I photographed this year.

In the past I tackled this project on my own and often found myself covered in powdered sugar late at night trying to finish up. For the first time, however, I had the help of some great friends and am so thankful to them… I should probably make them marshmallows too! We made approximately 400 marshmallows in both vanilla and peppermint flavors and each box contained a few of each kind. I also put a card in a each box that had a note on one side and a recipe for hot chocolate on the other.

Here’s a little look into the process of this year’s marshmallow making and packaging. I promise it is easier than it seems, but I suggest you don’t look up the recipe and just be impressed. I love to send these out and let all of my 2011 clients know how much I enjoyed working with them, but I want to let my blog readers know as well! That’s why I’m going to send out two more boxes of marshmallows to two lucky people who comment on this post. Comment once a day until Sunday at midnight – and the winners will be announced on this post in a comment on Monday. Merry Christmas!

Elizabeth + Jared’s Winter Engagement Session was part inside/outside at the Conservatory on Belle Isle (Michigan)

I’m going to ignore the fact that it is rainy and wet outside and trust that snow is headed our way soon. It has to be, because there are winter weddings depending on it! Those fabled events that are often dependent on at least a dusting of snow and are rarely sidetracked should they get feet instead of inches. I love having a few winter weddings to shoot each year. They are fewer and farther between from their summer counterparts, but they are so memorable.

This year I have two true winter weddings to get ready for, the first being in Vermont in a few short weeks. Not only is it a winter wedding, it is going to be an outdoor winter wedding. That will be a first for me, but thankfully I’m going to bring my husband Matt who has more experience with snow than I will ever acquire and has helped me manage the challenges of winter weather while shooting before. Plus he brings me hot chocolate.

I love hot chocolate.

Cold weather requires a lot more consideration – the main issues being not getting too cold (notice I didn’t say staying warm? it’s a given you won’t be at some point) and dealing with less daylight. Whether I’m preparing to trek through the snow or helping a couple and bridal party do so, I encourage people to be prepared. It only makes sense to be outside in somewhat appropriate clothing, and coordinating outdoor clothes/boots/scarves/etc into wedding attire can keep the continuity of the wedding design. Tomorrow I’ll share some ideas of winter wedding attire but for today let’s just look at a few memorable snowy moments and start praying that snow is on it’s way.

Mike + Kaity trekked through the feet of snow that arrived days before their wedding (New York)

Tim + Kim choose to do a winter engagement session at the frozen Letchworth State Park (New York)

Joe + Molly are standing in single digits in this image - the coldest wedding I've shot! (New York)

a collaboration with Sassafras Flowers for vibrant jeweled winter wedding

Kyle + Christie were snowed in for their winter wedding in Virginia

fact: the photo above is my most viewed image on flickr, just shy of 3,000 views. crazy!

It’s December first, the sun is shining and over at MDP we have been designing our hearts out. I get to say “we” for a few more weeks since Hannah is interning until the end of the semester – and I don’t want her to go! She’s stepped up to the album design plate and is still swinging. It has been so helpful since it takes a lot of work to put together a carefully crafted story of a wedding day and is nice to work with someone on the process.

There are many ways to design an album, and templates to help you out, but I choose to do everything in house + custom. (Blame it on my graphic design background/perfectionist tendencies.) Books can be are assembled individually and the pages are made up of professional quality photographic paper as you can see from the finished album in this post. This allows for full bleeds (aka. images to the edge) endless variety in design, and the option for dramatic sweeping images that span both pages. The layouts in this post are two pages, so they would be folded down the middle but open up to lay flat as you see them. Starting with anywhere from 700-1300 images – depending on the amount of coverage from the day – they are narrowed down to anywhere from 75-150 for the album. The selection starts with the couple and then moves to me as I make decisions based on story, layout, color and composition to put together the final design in InDesign. Proofs are exported and sent so that everyone gets to view the finished product before printing and make changes if necessary.

The last big step in the wedding photography process, it is also one of the most rewarding. A well designed album contains small moments, well-thought details and life changing events that tell a story. There is something about holding, touching, viewing, and sharing a wedding album – a thing that can be passed across the room or through generations. It’s so much nicer when you have that in your hands a few months after your wedding instead of a few years.

It’s Thanksgiving Eve and our house is enduring a steady stream of cleaning in preparation for the arrival of family this afternoon. Spearheaded by my husband, preparation for anything usually begins with cleaning, and I am happy to let him take the lead on that. I mean, he has a gift people. I try not to interfere… aka he does most of the work while I watch in awe. You should see our house, it’s sparkling and I feel super lucky to have a husband like him.

Now that Thanksgiving is here I think we can all agree that Christmas is upon us and officially start any preparation if we haven’t already. If you’re like me, you do some things last minute, and might not have decided if you are sending out any holiday greetings. Stop right there. This Sunday, 11/27, I’ll be offering a few mini portrait sessions that include either digital files or custom cards. If you’re interested, don’t take too long to think about it as I’m only offering a few sessions and would love to fit you in! Read a little more info here or send me an email : hello @ marydougherty . net and reserve a spot!

happy thanksgiving!