... Next to Godliness

News:
Hi. My name is Aaron. It has been almost 9 months since my last blog.

Hmph. I almost felt like a member of AA writing that. Or a "practicing" Catholic in a confessional. Either way, there is guilt in my heart, so here I am - looking for welcoming arms, organizing my thoughts, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that my next leap, will be the leap home. Well... those last two things might have been from Quantum Leap. Regardless, I am ready to clean up the cob webs around here and breathe some life back into my blog!

This place has always been my area to document what I've been up to (especially while overseas), where I've been shooting, and when to look out for more of my work. I still want to focus on those, but I'd like to add some "whys" and "hows" to the mix. If I can get more behind-the-scene looks into my process, I think it will give people a better view of how I work, and why I do the things I do on my sets. I really think people like to see how things are done sometimes. I know I do.

Also, because of Facebook & Twitter, I've often given my blog the cold shoulder. So, in combination with social networks, I'm going to try to utilize this area in ways that are more befitting. The more info that's out there about me, the better. I'll be actively utilizing more ways for people to find me, engage with me and my work, and share it with others. So keep checking in with me right here!


Photo by Jeff Tolley aka gltchcom


It's been just a little over a year since returning home from Korea and things are going great. I've been working 12-14 hour days, 6-7 days a week, at building my photography business up and it's working... slowly. Trying to sell yourself as a wedding photographer without having ever shot any weddings is a pretty hard thing to do - and pretty ballsy. But that's just what I've done and, from what I've heard, to my success. The thing about wedding photography is that you have one try to get everything you need, and get it looking good. It's a lot of run-and-gun shooting, being in the right place at the right time, and anticipating the moments you want captured. It really helps to know the ins and outs of the venues you're shooting at, too. I really love the spontaneity of it all and overcoming the challenges that present themselves! Plus, I've had the good fortune of booking super-awesome couples. :)









But I don't just do weddings - I do portraits, too. Here, I have the opportunity that hectic weddings don't often allow for - epic themes, grand lighting, and the time to spend hours with my client building up amazing photographs one at a time. (I often get to do this for wedding couples with an engagement session. It helps get us comfortable working together and balance out any wedding day craziness.) You'll find me shooting people on-location at amazing looking but often unconventional places like under bridges, at abandoned buildings, and in rural fields or city streets. The sky is literally the limit, though I think I could pull off an amazing shoot at the International Space Station some day.










To top things off, I shoot live events. Isn't a wedding a live event? Yeah, sure. Aren't all your shoots "live" events? Okay smart guy, here's the difference: what I mean my "live events" is more in line with a combination of my portraiture at an event in similar nature to a wedding. Those include concerts, performances, nightclubs and parties. In live event shooting, I'm able to capture bands on stage, speakers & performers, and DJs, dancers & couples an the middle of action, but also pair that with a controlled area I can set up for portraits. It's the best of both worlds for me, photographically speaking.










In a very short year I've built up an amazing clientele at all three ends of my business! Thanks to my fantastic friends and family, and everyone on Facebook that has supported me, I've had the best marketing team I could ask for, too. I'm excited to share more of my adventures here as the shoots get edited, and as I whip up a few sentences to go with them.

As always, thanks for checking in!
More to come... soon... I promise... again!

Gotta get this place so fresh and so clean, clean.
- ab