Q&A | Michelle Myers || Picture Love

Pictures capture words without speaking. Michelle Myers of Shelly Love Photography captures the best moments in your life: wedding, birth, family. I'm so happy to say that Michelle also took time to snap a few pictures for me recently ~wedding planner profile pics. Read below for a fun look of insight with photographers like Michelle who love to capture life.

"Most of my clients end up telling me how much fun they had during their session" - Michelle Myers

1. What made you decide to be a photographer?
I decided to become a photographer when I was a child. I'm not really sure what made me want to do it, I just know that some of my earliest memories include a cheap little film camera and my mom chasing me around trying to take it away from me so I didn't waste her film. I remember being fascinated with the idea of capturing a moment on film that you could look back on and re-live forever.

2. What’s the best moment you’ve captured from a session?
I love capturing emotions - every wedding has wonderful emotion-filled moments that I thrive on capturing. One of my favorites is the first dance - since it's more relaxed than the ceremony, the bride and groom always seem to be more comfortable letting their emotions shine through on their faces and I love being able to catch them on camera.

3. What’s the best way to describe your photo sessions?
I try to make each session as comfortable as possible. I really like to try to get to know a little bit about my clients before photographing a session or event so that I have an understanding of who they are and what their personality is like. I try not to be too restrictive about time, I'm a firm believer that great portraits can't usually be made in 15-20 minutes. All of my portrait sessions are done on location, so typically I spend an hour or more with my clients shooting a variety of posed, semi-posed, and candid images with several different backgrounds. Most of my clients end up telling me how much fun they had during their session - we laugh, joke, and do silly poses which makes my clients comfortable and helps them to look relaxed and natural in their images.

4. How do you make the bride and groom feel comfortable taking many photos during their wedding day?
A big part of making couples feel comfortable on their wedding day is getting to know them a little bit ahead of time. The majority of my clients do an engagement session with me before their wedding, so by the time their wedding day comes around they are already comfortable being around me and being in front of the camera. During most of the wedding, I stay in the background and photograph details and moments as they happen - many couples don't even notice me for a lot of the evening. The formal portraits take a relatively short amount of time, and since the couple has already worked with me for formal portraits during their engagement session usually they are relaxed and may even look forward to the formal portraits on their wedding day.

5. What photography style do you prefer?
I like several styles, but for weddings I like to blend photojournalism with art/fashion photography. For the majority of a wedding I shoot like a photojournalist - in the background, always watching and anticipating, capturing things as they happen. For the necessary posed shots, I'm inspired by fine art and fashion photography - I love bright colors, unusual textures, and edgy non-traditional poses.

6. What do you see through the lens of a great photo?
Photography is a form of visual communication, so a great photo communicates something - not just how a person looks, but a little bit about who they are, what they're all about, and what they're feeling at the moment the shutter opens.

7. What’s your take on the “Trash the Dress” post-wedding trend?
I LOVE the trash the dress trend! Trash the dress sessions are basically fashion shoots with big pretty dresses and unusual circumstances and situations, what's not to love? They're not for everyone, most people who decide to do one of these sessions are people who love to have their picture taken, want to do something different, and who are adventurous. The name can be misleading though - not all dresses end up getting "trashed." A trash the dress session can range from mild to wild, from a fashion-style shoot at a playground or fair where the dress barely gets dirty and can still be cleaned to an all out mess involving mud, splattering food, etc. These types of sessions can be a wonderful wrap-up for a wedding - they can relieve stress while at the same time create some awesome memories.