Having a Wedding? Choose this beautiful location! (Cliffs at Glassy, SC)

Choosing a beautiful location
Part of getting extraordinary images on your wedding day is choosing a picturesque place to get married. We find that many churches in the area are neither beautiful inside, nor lit well. These two elements alone can create challenges when shooting your ceremony. And even if the church is beautiful, many times there are rules each church imposes on photographers, limiting the variety and creativity that can be captured. For these reasons, we love shooting at the Cliffs at Glassy Chapel! The chapel not only provides a well lit environment, it has a plethora of available places to capture imagery you would be hard pressed to get at any other venue—and without the rules mentioned above.

Take a look at the images below and notice how the light dances across the floor at sunset, and plays against the faces of the bride and groom. Compare these images, to those you've seen inside many churches and notice how different the light is. Photography IS light; without light, there would be no picture.

desiring your wedding day to be everything you've dreamed,
-TJ

Why You Should Do a First Look (Creative Wedding Photography, Greenville SC)

A Great Idea
A first look is more than seeing each other before the ceremony. The first look is a chance to experience a moment more intimate and satisfying, than you can get from seeing each other walking down the aisle alone. The first look doesn't take away from the moment you first see your love, it enhances what is soon to be two lives with one voice—forever!

As we shot Kevin and Leslie, I coulnd't help but feel emotion pouring over them and onto us, and I knew we were capturing a moment that would not have been possible, had they waited to see each other first when walking down the aisle. We want to bring the best story—YOUR STORY— to your day, and give it to you as a present after your wedding day is over. Capturing moments like this, go beyond documentary and begin the adventure into storytelling.

As you look through these images, see if you can feel the freshness, see the excitement, and notice your heart cheering as they experience the beginning of a beautiful journey!

learning to see wonder,
-TJ

Bride + Groom: A Woodland Adventure (Creative Wedding Photography, Greenville SC)

The emotion you can see in a lover's eye is more telling that any word. And when this is combined within a setting of nature, it enhances emotion into art. A subtle, yet potent element for me in this photograph, is the vertical line of the surrounding trees. To me, the space is given a tranquil feeling, and the trees point upward to hope, growth and an eternal love...

learning to see with wonder,
-TJ

Cliffs at Glassy Wedding Photography (coming soon...)

There's little else that fills me with wonder like that of "God's daily painting".
I may be an artist, but I am not "THE Artist". I can only emulated the beauty I see around me; drawing from the myriad forms of inspiration created for me each day. I love what we do, and I actively strive to "see" something between the obvious that would make an extraordinary photograph. But it's God's wonder that fills my soul to do this; my ultimate muse.

learning to see and awaken in wonder,
-TJ

My Creative Mentors: (those who have helped shape my life)

(Creative Wedding Photography, Greenville, SC)

I have set out with purpose to become a better person, businessman, photographer and friend. I have a burning desire to be a better lover of life, look for inspiration in more places, and to become a positive light in the world in general. 

When I first started thinking of blogging, one of my best friends told me to write about whatever I'm most passionate about; what turns me on… In essence, he was saying if I honor myself and be authentic, then it will come through as that, and people will at least respect it whether they agree with it or not.

There are natural forces that seem to hold us back from living extraordinary lives. These usually come in some form of fear, discouragement, or circumstantial obstacle that try and inhibit exploration and growth. But we can overcome all of this…

Within the last five years, I have met people who have become my mentors, who have encouraged me along my path toward a better life and photographic journey.

The more I learn from them, the more I see a common thread throughout their messages. And sometimes I'm not sure which one of them said what, as I see them as a collective whole saying the same thing: "Live, Create, Inspire!"

I wanted to publicly thanks them today for their encouragement, love, personal time, and wisdom that they have passed and continue to pass onto me. They influence much of my writing and thinking that you see me post on my blog and Facebook. My desire is that if you're a kindred spirit seeking similar things, you might find some resources here that can help you even better than I could help you; going to the source as they say. :)

Jerry Ghionis
Jerry's workshop is highly regarded in my mind as a great place to "see" light and how you can use your camera to capture more amazing images. Jerry's "Ordinary to Extraordinary" Picpockets dispelled one of my greatest myths, that he got all the cool clients with the great locations. What Jerry taught me, is you can create an extraordinary moment from any location, you just have to practice "seeing the possibilities". You can find his pickpocket series here http://www.picpockets.info/artist/jerry-ghionis/  But better yet, I encourage to go and see this man's workshop live! It is worth the investment and time. He can help move you to your next level in photography.

Jerry has several other resources to help you on your journey, and one of my favorite is his I.C.E. Society online classroom. You can check out a free chapter on his site, and for a dollar a day, add a valuable resource to your teaching without every leaving your house.   http://icesociety.com/

 

The What If Conference—Hosted by Jenn & Steve Bebb
Another mind shift began when I attended the first ever What If conference in Cabo, Mexico. This was not a conference to show you the latest shooting techniques, how-to editing classes and get-rich quick seminar. This was a conference about mindset. As the old saying goes, "rather than giving me a fish, to feed me once, they instead taught me how to fish, feeding me for a lifetime."

This is a business conference for artist-preneurs; not just photographers. The teachings I've gleaned from the speakers there, have provided a shift that can impact me every day of my life. If you're looking how to become a better businessman, this is a concentrated workshop full of mind-shifting gems.  You can find more info about their latest workshop and read their blog here: http://whatifconference.com/

Each What If conference has different speakers, even though the desire and mission of the What If network remains the same. The speakers that impacted me on my journey so far are as follows:

Jenn & Steve Bebb
Dan 'O Day
Justin Lyons
Jessie & Whitney from Our Labour of Love
Jesh De Rox
Chris & Sarah from We are the Rhodes

Each one of these deserve recognition for their influence in my life, my writings and how I am pursing life and business more fully.

Jesh De Rox
There is a saying "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear". For me, Jesh was one of these teachers. He calls himself a tour guide, and I believe that's what all of my mentors would call themselves. They can show you around, bring awareness to areas that will help build you up, but it's up to you, to do the work and make the progress.

Jesh is excellent at showing you around and cultivating an environment that encourages greater awareness. I believe his Life-As-An-Art-Form workshop can help anyone, but like anything, you need to be ready and willing to receive what he has to offer. So much in life is about attitude, and mindset. These two staples of life affect how much perseverance, dedication, and creativity you will have in your life's journey. Life is about so much more than work, but there's no denying work will take up a large part of our life. If this is the case, then living inside of this, with the right mindset, can make all the difference. When you're ready, I highly recommend any of Jesh's workshop, starting with his Life-As-An-Art-Form. You can find more information about what he has to offer here: http://enlighten.jeshderox.com/

This is just the beginning of my journey, but already it has been filled with beautiful personalities, rich on life, making extraordinary moments. I want to continue to perpetuate their message to those my life comes into contact with. Not everything I say will be my own. Much of what I say is a blend of influences. And I'm thankful for each one. I hope as you get to know them as I did, your life will be richer for it as well.

Learning to live more fully,
-TJ