I definitely wanted to make the Best Of Real Weddings feature show more than just the work of the photographer but also show you their personality behind the lens of those awesome photos. I just know you will fall in love with Chelsea! You'll also just love her ability to capture such beautiful moments and stunning poses. :-)
Wedding Pickle: What made you want to be a photographer?
Chelsea Patricia: A thirst for the arts. I hadn’t necessarily grown up saying that I wanted to be a photographer. I actually grew up reading. A lot. I studied Theatre and English in college. I was involved in acting and writing throughout high school and into college. At the time that I started in photography I was a single mom, working as a restaurant manager, transferring over to a full time job as a dental office manager. I loved being on the frontlines of customer service because I love interacting with people, but my passion to create just wasn’t being fulfilled. In my spare time, apart from working long days and raising my son, I became obsessive over some photographic artists on Flickr. I was so inspired that I felt like I would suffocate if I didn’t get an outlet for my pent up creativity. There were so many images in my head that I felt I needed to create. So I applied for a credit card with which I purchased my first DSLR camera. Yeah, yeah. In a perfect world, I would have waited until I had it in cash. But I needed to start photographing THEN, not later. It was an overwhelming desire. I didn’t know anything about shooting manually. Heck, I didn’t even know how to change a lens. I just knew that I needed to learn in order to accomplish what I wanted to. I had no intentions of making a career out of it. Apparently, God had different plans because when I look back and try to trace specifically how it all happened, I really can’t. It’s just one, big, glorious blur, and all I can make out is that God’s hand was in the center of the commotion.
WP:How would you describe your style of photography?
CP: Different. Full of life and energy. Real. Modern. Funky. Fresh. It is everything that I am. I put all of who I am as a lover, a mother, and an artist into each image. Seriously. These aren’t just words for me—this is my life.
WP: What is your favorite part of photographing weddings?
CP: The relationships. Obviously, capturing them—bride and groom, mother and daughter, father and son, college roommates, best friends, sisters, soon-to-be in-laws…they are what I am and understand—lover, mother, friend, daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, etc. I love capturing a moment in which you can plainly see the basic human emotions written across their faces—love, longing, tried-and-true friendship. Aside from photographing the relationships, a huge part of why I love photographing weddings is the relationship that I have with my bride and groom. I am honored, at every single wedding, to be trusted with their most important relationships—they allow me into one of the biggest days of their lives and give me access to their hearts. Wow. That is all I can say to express how that makes me feel. Just, wow.
WP: What one image or moment is a must and/or favorite for you to capture?
CP: Oh gosh. Laughter. Definitely laughter. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some fierce, supermodel posing. I love capturing the details and I love the makeup, the hair, the shoes (seriously, check out my closet and you will see that I love shoes), but there is something about when someone laughs. Anyone, really.
When a bride laughs, genuinely laughs, especially when it is because her hubby is making goofy faces or recounting inside jokes or nuzzling his face into her neck—that is the most gorgeous that a woman can be. Just my opinion, but seriously. Happiness looks good on you. Every feature just lights up and anyone can tell: “This girl is in love!”
WP: What is your favorite moment of your career thus far? The one that had you saying, "I love my job!" or "I'm proud of how far I have come!"
CP: Hahaha, I am so glad that you asked me that. I have been wanting to tell this story without sounding full of myself; it was such a huge moment for me—I will never forget the feeling. At a wedding this October, the bride and groom left through a tunnel of sparklers. These were the super-smokey, burn-a-whole-in-your skin kind of sparklers—and totally the most fun! It was pretty dark aside from the white strand lights in the tree they would be passing under, so to separate from the black background, I had Brock (my hubby, lighting assistant, second shooter, and all around awesome pack mule) light the couple from behind as they exited. When they got to the end of the tunnel, I saw that the sparklers hadn’t burned out yet, so above the hollering and shouting of the guests, I yelled for them to run back into the center of the tunnel (which, at this point, was less of a tunnel and more of a fiery-sparkler-blazing mob) and to kiss. Then I yelled for them to do it again. They got so into the moment that second time that he held her tight and dipped her all the way back—a perfect prince. I showed the groom’s sister the resulting image on the LCD display of my camera. She then grabbed the person next to her to look at it. Before I knew it, every guest still there had gathered in a group for a look at the shot on the back of my camera. Suddenly, the whole crowd was chanting my name! I mean, seriously?! I had no idea how to react, but yeah, definitely career high moment right there :-)
My name is Melina. Welcome to my blog where we get inspired by wedding pretties and moved by the Love of Christ. I write to share things that make me giddy and an outlet for us all to grow in our faith. Happy wedding planning and beyond! Check out my About page for more about me and the purpose for my blog :-)
2 comments:
Chelsea Patricia does some amazing work!! This wedding looks spectacular!!
i think your photos do such a great job of showin the beautiful day. well done.
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