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Normally a Monday morning post would be about something personal or a tough photography topic and because yesterday was a holiday I took the time to enjoy myself instead of blog. I felt like I could maybe throw an extra blog post at you guys today though. Yesterday I went to a Rockies baseball game (we won!) and it was easy to remember that Memorial Day isn’t all about BBQs and sleeping in. There were lots of veterans at the baseball game and it was cool to see so many of them out enjoying themselves with their families. I think that’s an important part of Memorial Day. It reminds me of when I’m out with my grandpa and he wears his US Marine Vet hat and people stop him on the street all the time to talk to him and thank him for his service. I think that’s just so cool.
Anyways this post really isn’t about Memorial Day, I just was rambling about what I did yesterday. What I really wanted to talk about was a question I hear all the time from other photographers.
“Do you photograph with your husband?”
Definitely not and here’s why…he is terrible at art.
Okay so that’s not the only reason. I wanted to talk about this topic because I think a lot of photographers see all the big wig photographers out there doing the husband and wife team thing and feel the pressure. While I think we should all have another member to our photography team it doesn’t have to be your husband and it’s totally okay for it to be someone else. There’s no right or wrong way. In case you wanted to know the photo here is a photo of us on our honeymoon 2 years ago.
I love Nick (my husband) a ton and one of the things I love most about us is that we are so different. We lead very separate lives and have very different interests and it’s one of the reasons I value our marriage so much. I think it’s perfect this way and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m sure there would be laughter and fun if we worked together, but I love that he knows nothing about photography and that I know nothing about US Foreign Relations and the Modern Middle East. It means we are never without something to talk about – ever. It also means we can be better cheerleaders for each other. He can tell me I am the best photographer in the world because not only does he not know any better, but in his eyes I am truly the best in the world. I can also tell him the same thing. I love that on our journey through life we’ll be able to watch each other grow, always have things to talk about, and always have our own things to be proud of and work toward. Marriage doesn’t mean everything has to be together all the time. I think it’s great we can both work on our separate paths and goals and be there for each other while we do it. He definitely is my biggest fan, even if he doesn’t spend a lot of time on my Facebook Page. He spends more time than anyone else listening to how my day went and giving me advice. I love having the advice from someone on the ‘outside’ it keeps me from being biased sometimes.
Aside from that he really is a terrible photographer. When I try to give him the camera and show him how it works all I end up with is pictures of my rear end.
What about you? Do you think you have to be a husband and wife photography team? Every couple and every marriage is different and works different. What works for some people might not work for all. Some couples make the best husband and wife photography duos, but it ain’t for me and it’s okay if it isn’t for you too. Nick is definitely a part of the team, but he plays a very different role than photographer. He’s the cheerleader.
Tomorrow’s Photography Coffee Talk video blog will be answering your questions. Leave me a photography question to be answered on the blog tomorrow – I’d love to hear from you.
Hanna Rowland - I can definitely understand being completely different in a marriage. That is how me and my husband are. I also don’t think there should be pressure to have husband & wife teams. I love my husband to death but, like you, I have made attempts at explaining things to my husband (camera-wise) and he looks at me like I’m crazy. While I edit, sometimes he comes in and checks out what I’m working on and I’ll have a “Before & After” for his to see and most the time I get “What’s the difference?”. I do photography and he works on helicopters. (If he was here reading this, he’d be appalled by “works on helicopters” and would probably go into detail about he “doesn’t just work on helicopters”. I love him. He’s a huge part of my photography team. Just not a member behind the camera.