Bebb Studios

You may have noticed that I’ve been a bad blogger. Let’s get real – I’ve been a really bad blogger. It’s not that we haven’t had anything to share, or that we’ve been trying to ignore you all. We’ve actually been working really, really hard to do more for all of you. And to do that, we needed to not blog for a little while.

There is another reason I’ve been a bad blogger…

I’m a storyteller, whose chosen medium is a mix of making images and writing words. I love to write almost as much as I love to make images. As a result, my blog is often my creative outlet, combining my two loves.

But I’ve had a new lover since the fall. No, not that kind of lover (Steve and I are ALL good, thank you very much). I’ve been writing somewhere else, for someone else. Actually, that’s not totally true – I’ve been writing for all of you, but we haven’t been able to share during the process. I’ve been writing a book. My first book.

Finally, I can share it with you all in a little more detail. And I can urge you to run, not walk, to Amazon.com and buy the book right now. It’s still being offered at the introductory price, but it won’t stay there much longer. Get it now, while you can!

So, what is is all about? Well, the title says it all – it’s about Photo Fusion. Yep, Fusion. It’s about using audio and video to complement your still images. It’s about telling a story that shares the gift of language given to each couple. It’s about blending those three mediums together to create something compelling and beautiful. And it’s about so much more than that. It’s a book that talks about technical stuff without getting too technical. In other words, you don’t need to speak another language to understand our meaning. It’s a book about change, and embracing that change. It’s a book about standing out, doing more, and being better. It’s a book that has the latest in Fusion development (and I mean the latest!).

It’s a pretty cool book. And I wrote it (insert giddy, girly laugh here).

I wrote the book like I write my blog – it’s conversational and instructive. It’s engaging and pleasant. It’s easy to read, but chock-full of information, illustrations and imagery. It’s not about doing it my way, it’s about learning how to do it your way.

The experience was both amazing and humbling at once, as I worked with an incredible group of people (all of who are mentioned in the acknowledgements) finding a new way to express myself.

I wrote a book. That’s been one of my dreams since I started reading as a child. I wrote a book. It’s amazing to see a dream come true in this way, and it’s made sweeter because it’s designed to assist all of you.

I humbly give you Photo Fusion: A Wedding Photographers Guide to Mixing Digital Photography and Video

(the cover is subject to change, but you get the idea!)

Remember the Y2K panic – the worldwide fear that as the clock hit midnight and the year became 2000, everything would change. Financial panic, computer failure…the world as we knew it would never be the same. And what happened? Nothing. Life carried on as normal and the fear of turmoil that had briefly joined us all together, faded as the weeks passed.

Yet for some of us the clock striking twelve and the year changing meant permanent change. For Steve and I, that was certainly the case.

It was ten years ago this week that we made the decision to leave our full-time, real jobs and jump into wedding photography full time. I was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, and we had absolutely no money in the bank. We were like many couples who are just starting out – working hard to financially establish ourselves, build equity in our home, and starting our family. Our journey was just beginning, and we knew that our future was bright.

We were young – in our twenties – and filled with the optimism that youth brings. We believed that we could succeed at anything we tried, believed, in our innocence, that we would be ok, no matter what.

And so, when Steve turned to me, in that week between Christmas and New Years 10 years ago and told me he hated his job and wanted to do this “photography thing” full time, I paused for only a moment before saying “Yes!”.

It was exciting, and scary, and the perfect time to jump in with both feet (except maybe for the baby on the way). We were young enough to know that if we failed, we could fix it. We owned our home, and I was going on maternity leave, so we could pay the mortgage for 6 months. We gave no thought to anything beyond that and we were truly stunned when our parents stared at us with disbelief when we shared our plans.

In hindsight, quitting a good job while you are expecting a baby and starting a new business with no back up plan or money in the bank may not have been the wisest choice. But it was, obviously, the right one for us.

Steve managed to talk us into a Bridal Fair booth for January 8-9, 2000. We had big plans – three large, framed images and three sample albums, from the three weddings we had photographed to that point. We were bringing Steve’s mom, a natural salesperson, with us, and we naively believed that we would book enough weddings that we wouldn’t have to go back to our real jobs.

And then, the morning of January 5th, I woke up at 5:30am realizing my water had broke. It was a scramble to get to the hospital and stop what was coming. It was too soon – only 35 weeks – and I have never been more afraid in my life. Once at the hospital, and being monitored, nothing happened. My water had broken, but there were no contractions, and the baby was fine. But we couldn’t stay like this for the next 5 weeks…the risk of infection was too high. They told us that if labour didn’t start in the next 24 hours, they would induce. One way or another, we were going to have a baby by the weekend.

I sent Steve home – nothing was happening and we still hadn’t completed our bridal show booth. And labour, after all, takes hours and hours. Expect, apparently, for me. The first contraction was around noon and three hours later, on Thursday January 6th, 2000 Logan was born.

Two days later Steve and his mom went to that bridal show and rocked it out. We booked 35 weddings on the strength of that show, and we have never looked back.

10 year ago this week…our lives changed forever.

Yesterday’s post about why YOU matter was meant to stand alone. Yet, the response it received began a process, for me, of thinking further about you and how YOU allow yourself to matter. And so it would appear that Why YOU Matter may become a series of posts over time.

Today: INTENT.

We hear over and over again that there is nothing new under the sun, that everything we can put into a picture we make has been done before, that originality is, in essence, a fallacy.

I disagree.

While it might be true that there are a finite number of compositions we can use, I don’t believe that has any bearing at all on the images we make. Rather, I believe that every time we make an image with intent, we create something unique.

Let’s say that again: if we create images with intent, we are unique every time.

I realize that on some forum somewhere, someone will link to this post and decry everything I am about to say. After all, how can every image we make be unique? How are we not all somehow derivative of someone else? Well, we’re not all unique in our image making, and some people are derivative of others. But we don’t have to be, and that is where INTENT comes into play.

Why you choose to make a particular image, at a particular moment, in a particular way is up to you. No one is telling you when and how to make an image. No one is telling you how to see the light and compose the frame. That is all up to you. And if you choose to look to someone else for inspiration and create a derivative, well, that is also up to you. Your choice was to be the same. Your INTENT was to re-create rather than innovate.

If your intent to is to make images that are not disingenuous, to make images that are reflective of your subject, than your INTENT is to be different every time.

Think about it this way: at a wedding there are expected moments – the kiss, the recessional, the first dance, etc. Yet those moments, although similar from wedding to wedding, are different every single time. Not on the surface per se, but underneath the facade. They have to be different – the people you are photographing are different, the relationships are different, the life experiences are different.

As wedding photographers, the greatest trap we can fall into is to believe all weddings are the same. That is where your INTENT no longer becomes about doing your best for each client, but rather becomes about getting the job done. You choose to see every wedding like the last. But that is your choice and it is something you can change.

Whether we are formulaic photographers, sprayer and prayers, or deliberate shooters, it is the intent behind each frame that becomes the catalyst for mediocrity or ingenuity. An image made by accident, without intent, cannot by its very nature everbe repeated. But that same type of image, that you discovered by accident, can become intentional. Remember the first time you discovered the magic of backlight? It may have been intentional, or it may have been accidental – if you fell in love with it and chose to use backlight frequently, then you are making images with intent.

Certainly, some of the best images I have ever made have been accidents. And I could have left them as accidents, choosing to consider that moment a fluke. Or I could have chosen to learn what it was that made that image compelling, why I felt moved by it, and taken the next step by intentionally incorporating that accident into my next shoot, and my next.

Why do you choose to make the images you make? Are you comfortable with your methods and complacent with your subjects? Are you moved to find something unique about everyone you photograph? Are you content to merely follow the lead of photographer A or B? Or are you willing to step off the well trodden path of those who came before you and to discover your own intent?

You see, every time you choose to make an image, you are in a place you have never been before. How? Simply because the people you are photographing, the environment you are in, and the Intent with which you are shooting will be different every time.

What is your intent?

2009 has been an incredible year so far, and with a little over one month left to go, it doesn’t shoe signs of slowing down! And that is a good thing, but it has meant that there is so much that hasn’t yet been blogged. I love to write, and blogging has been such a wonderful way for me to feed that desire, but now that I’m writing a book, I get to satisfy my need to put words on paper in another way. Not to worry, though, the book will be complete early in the New Year, and I have no doubt that I will be overwhelmed with the need to write here once again.

Earlier this year, we had the incredible good fortune to speak in Brazil – it was an incredible experience in every way, from the initial contact with the people from FHOX, through to the people we met at the convention, to our time on Ihla Bella. The photographers we met were, without exception, some of the most sincere and kind people we have ever talked to, and their enthusiasm for photography was contagious.

It has been so great keeping in touch with many of the people we met in Brazil, and just yesterday, another photographer surprised us with a lovely Thank You. Mauro Stanichesk of Staniarty Photografia sent us a wonderful collage of images from our time on the stage in Brazil…and summed up the experience perfectly for us. I wanted to publicly say Thank You for taking the time to put this together for us – and to share with all of you!

Steve and I wanted to take some time out of our holidays to wish each and everyone of you a Happy Holiday season. In our family, we celebrate Christmas, so from our family to your’s: Merry Christmas.

Once again, we have been blessed with an incredible year of clients. We had the privilege to photograph over 35 weddings and to share an incredible time with each of our couples. Your trust in us is something we appreciate more than you will ever know. Thank you for letting us explore and grow as artists. And Thank You for letting us make art of your wedding day.

To our Portrait clients: thank you for trusting us as well. I know we aren’t a cookie cutter studio and we pushed a number of you beyond what you have had before. Thank you for allowing us to make your art of your family.

Our commercial and editorial clients have been spectacular this year. We are so appreciative of the opportunities you gave us through 2007.

And to the Bebbinar attendees past and future: you have allowed both Steve and I to truly give back to the industry that has given us so much. You push us to be better, both as photographers and as teachers. You humble us by placing your trust in our hands, and you honour us with your continued support and friendship. We are watching all of you as you continue to rise and we know that one day we’ll be able to say we knew you when.

Bebb Studios is closed now until January 11th. We are enjoying a week with our children and then we are off to Tampa where we are speaking, mentoring and shooting at the DWF convention. You’ll also be able to find us over at the PPA trade show where we will be speaking in some of the booths.

We’re looking so forward to what 2008 holds for us. 2007 was so incredible and I have a feeling 2008 is going to be even better. Steve and I will start the year by celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary on January 10th. So, I just want to take a moment and let my husband know how lucky I am that we are on this journey together – I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it without you, babe!

Our best to you all!

Steve and Jen Bebb