My Second Photographer is Getting Married

Public speaking was my least favorite class in college. I would get so nervous before each speech! As a photographer, I do a LOT of talking in my job. However, it is not the same thing as giving a presentation. Talking to a small group of people, or one-on-one, is easy. Giving a presentation is terrifying!

Back in 2017 I was asked to give a talk to a photography class at McGill-Toolen Catholic. I almost said no. In fact, I only said yes because I love my alma mater so much and the photography teacher was a fellow Spring Hill College alum. I spent HOURS preparing for the talk. I am the type to over-prepare. Little did I know how important that talk would be!

That fall day I stood in front of a class of high school seniors and gave my presentation. Afterwards, one of the students approached me and asked about internship opportunities. I gave her a business card and told her to send me an email. A few weeks later I received a note from a student named Regina.

A Providential Meeting

I invited Regina to join me for a magazine shoot to see how serious she was about photography. She showed up promptly and worked hard, asking just the right amount of questions, but not holding up my work. I immediately liked her demeanor and made a note to hire her again in the future.

After that one shoot, I didn’t have any further opportunities arise for assistant work outside of weddings. At that time, my wedding team was solid, with my cousin Allyson working as my primary wedding day assistant and my friend, Jacob, shooting most weddings with me. Time marched on and I lost track of Regina. But I still had her number in my phone.

Fast forward to 2019. I find myself reading an email from the photography teacher at Spring Hill College asking if I would speak to her photography students. I would not be a photographer if it weren’t for SHC. I couldn’t say no even though speaking to college students was far more terrifying than speaking to high school students!

Since I was speaking to older students, I incorporated more Q&A time into the talk. As students asked questions, I noticed one girl in the room looked familiar, but I couldn’t think of her name while I was speaking. Too many thoughts were in my mind! Thankfully, she immediately approached me afterwards and I realized it was Regina! She was two years older than the last time I’d seen her and clearly still passionate about photography! She asked me to keep her in mind for opportunities and I assured her I would.

Positivity in the Pandemic

If it wasn’t for the pandemic, I don’t know that I would have ended up with Regina being a key part of my team. I had been between regular second photographers since Jacob moved out of Mobile. I had a reliable assistant, Alexis, who was working towards second shooting, but no stable second photographer. The pandemic made it even harder to find seconds who wanted to work in such high risk situations (all understandable based on everyone’s unique health situations).

I found myself days before a wedding and realizing it was time to promote Alexis from assistant to second photographer. She was beyond ready. Promoting her meant I needed a new assistant and FAST! I had so many weddings on the calendar once the lockdown was lifted. At the last minute, I realized Regina’s number was in my phone. I sent her a text and asked if she wanted to work a wedding with me that weekend…and she said yes! I was so grateful!

That first wedding was not a typical wedding day for many reasons, but Regina never seemed stressed, or worried. Her calm demeanor was ever present. Alexis agreed she was a great fit. At the end of the night I told her I would love for her to join us again. After a few weddings together, we were a well-oiled machine.

A New Chapter

Regina has been with me on nearly every wedding since her first one in the fall of 2020. I gradually trained her to second shoot, giving her opportunities to hone her skills bonus shooting on weddings. After Alexis moved to India, Regina became my second photographer. Thanks to her, I met Lauren, who is my current assistant. The three of us have so much fun working together on wedding days! They have become dear friends and help me serve my clients well.

When I found out that Ian was going to propose to Regina, I was beyond excited. It was SO HARD to not tell Lauren, but I didn’t want the two of us to slip up on a wedding day and spoil the surprise. I knew Ian was the one for Regina the first time she introduced me to him. A gentleman through and through, Ian has also joined us on a wedding day where I needed an additional assistant. I knew he would sweep Regina off her feet with his proposal and he did! She was totally surprised! After the excitement set in, she FaceTimed me with the happy news.

A Dauphin Island Engagement Session

I have photographed Regina and Ian several times, but always at lush green locations. It was fun to take their engagement session photos at Dauphin Island because it gave us a mix of trees and water. It was a perfectly overcast day. The island wasn’t too crowded either, which meant we didn’t have to dodge too many people in the background on the beach. Narrowing down favorites for this post was hard, but not as hard as condensing the story of how Regina and I met and came to work together. God gave me a great gift that day that Lindsay Koen asked me to speak to McGill’s photography class. Thank goodness I listened to the nudge of the Holy Spirit and said yes!