I’m so excited to unveil my new logo, a big thanks to Yuling for being its mastermind! You can see the logo in the images in the header of this blog as well as on my main website for my wedding photography. The graphic in the middle is both a star and an ivy leaf – a star to represent the energy that I am all about, and an ivy leaf because I truly value the education and experience I’ve received at Harvard and hope to use it make the world a better place. I also want to take some time to explain a little about what I believe my business currently represents.
My photography can be summed in three words: color, energy, and personality -YOUR personality. I want to be the photographer that the couple trusts me to be a faithful storyteller. That is why I am driven by photojournalism, but also take inspiration from fine art portraiture, and I do love detail shots. My aim is to deliver more than just photos, I deliver an experience.
I was recently nominated as a finalist for an entrepreneurship fellowship at business school, and in my essay I wrote the following for why I decided to get into wedding photography: “I decided that I wanted to be a wedding photographer because I saw how people would often look back on photographs to remember happier times when they were sad. I wanted to create a business that provided in a very genuine way a positive experience for my clients.”
Since I come from a highly analytical business background at a management consulting firm, I’ve witnessed first-hand why some companies may fail and why some succeed, and I am going back to business school this fall for two years to learn even more – while still continuing wedding photography. It’s unusual for a wedding photographer to go to business school, but I am pursuing my dreams, and that’s an incredible blessing! Hopefully I can succeed in making a positive impact on other people’s lives. I think what this economy desperately needs are new businesses, new innovations, and talented people who can lead that way. I want to use my MBA education to further my business and also dream up something even bigger for the small business community. Here are some thoughts I think are important to how I run my business.
- I believe in being fair to all my clients
- I believe in being genuine and engaging in honest communication. I follow through. I believe in giving realistic timelines
- I believe in working hard. I aim high and push myself to be better every single day
- I believe in 360-degree feedback. I believe that we can all learn from peers, people below us, and people above. I take client concerns seriously and incorporate their feedback instantly into what I do next. I am ready to make quick changes to adapt to an ever-changing economy
- I believe in the value of giving and friendship. The people I love to work with either are or will become my friends. I refer a lot of overflow work to photographers who you may consider my competitors, but I consider really talented people I’m honored to be compared against and yet have as my friends
- I believe in meritocracy and in letting my work speak for itself – I don’t believe that success can be bought with money, bribery, or false fronts
- I believe in giving a lot and not expecting to receive in return
- I believe that the words “thank you” cannot be said enough
- I believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. I’m not terribly protective of my ideas or being imitated (just don’t steal!), because if someone can do it better than me, that’s awesome because it will benefit the client in the end. I don’t think that there are a ton of original ideas – only companies that execute ideas well. Google was a better search/indexing engine but remember we had sites like AltaVista, Facebook was a better social network but we had Friendster way back, Apple iPod was a better-designed device for listening to music though companies like Creative have been churning out MP3 players for years. None of those platforms in and of themselves were original, but there are reasons why some companies remain successful and some don’t.
I can’t stop repeating how excited I am to be able to explore what it means to pursue something for which I have a passion. My wish to all of you is that you’ll be able to do the same!
And for now, a preview of Rebecca and Naimish’s engagement session with the new watermark. Love it!
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Portraits like these are so endearing because the couple here is so natural in a candid moment. I typically have them sit together and maybe I’ll say something funny, but it’s mostly unprompted. Actually, I probably wasn’t funny, but I like it when my clients laugh!
Can you tell I’m obsessed with the entrance lobby in building 7? I used to spend some childhood time here because my father used to be a professor in building 5 and this is where I entered to visit him
Sending secret messages with matching iPhones? This was Rebecca’s idea
Playing with light
I thought it would be cool to wrap this garden hose around his neck. Until we realized it was frozen. It was really cold that day!
And THEN… I found this most amazing random assortment of a castaway couch and trash cans. Awesome!
Using a very urban background to complement his outfit
Look at that great smile!
And a special, I have to have a series of Kunle dancing. Click on the photo for a large version!
I juxtaposed his comfort with a little bit of gritty urban background
Played a lot with flares
by Shang
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