@vanessajoy’s journey to becoming a #CanonExplorerOfLight: “I had been photographing professionally for about 17 years, owned my own business for eight of them, and likely shot close to 500 weddings at this point, but this wedding back in 2016 kicked my butt in more ways than one.
It was the first million-dollar (or more? I mean… those are orchids littered everywhere) wedding I booked and I knew I had to do my best photographically and to make a good impression. Well, the wedding planner openly hated my guts for some unknown reason, wouldn’t cooperate with me, and basically insulted me as I left for the night, and my gear list at the time didn’t have a wide enough lens for this massive room so I had to borrow the Canon 15-35mm from the video crew who thankfully shot on Canon as well.
But ultimately, my clients were so happy with their photos and experience with me and they had no clue I was sweating through any of it – and isn’t that the idea? To be able to troubleshoot and navigate any problem that comes your way and still produce a good product for your clients?
I will say the experience humbled me and gave me a much-needed push towards investing in better gear and understanding of seeing the next step above where I was serving in the wedding world at the time. It showed me that goals like booking (and rocking!) million-dollar weddings were possible and gave me the confidence to keep going for my long-time goal of being a Canon Explorer of Light. Just four years later, in 2020, my dream of being an EOL would come true, a goal I worked towards for about 18 years before finally achieving it.
No matter where you are in your photographic journey, always stay open to reaching for goals you don’t think are possible and being humbled by circumstances you may have trouble navigating.”
📸 #Canon EOS-1D X
Lens: EF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM
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