15 years as a wedding photographer
I’m going to try to get all of this out without sounding too meta, or too in my feels, or too - whatever. My goal is always just to sound like me these days. To live in my own skin, confident that whether or not that is “enough” for the situation, it’s what I have to give. I’ve had a wild ride getting to this point, a story that has built brick by brick on a million experiences, a million shutter clicks, a million relationships with people that have come and gone and a pretty unique perspective on the world as a professional storyteller. I was reminded recently by a client that they didn’t feel like they hired my company but that they hired “me” and I was surprised by how uncomfortable that made me. The truth is we are different things. Miles Witt Boyer Photography is a company. Sure, there’s only a few employees, and sure we (I) work in this role with a bunch of different hats on but often what our clients don’t really get exposure to is Miles. Just - Miles. I save a lot of myself for my family, the kids I coach on the soccer field, my own head out on long trail runs through the Ozarks. I have friends who don’t know me by three names, who could order a glass of wine for me at a restaurant or know how much more comfortable I am in a hoodie in the corner of a coffee shop than I am a tuxedo in the middle of a room full of strangers. It’s statements like that that I always feel like should be obvious and yet I’m sometimes reminded that
people don’t always see the obvious.
Brandon started this project nearly a decade ago. I met him as a film student at JBU and an assistant videographer for a good friend of mine Dave Abbot and we instantly connected as friends. He’s a young guy with an old soul and when he asked to come to NYC with me not to film a wedding but to film me - I was floored. Flattered perhaps, but more so fascinated that he felt there was actually a story to tell here. That story it turns out took a long time to capture authentically. There is footage in this documentary from that first trip and dozens of weddings and trips in between then and now all coming together in a story that really does capture my heart for this job.
My heart as Miles.
Not CEO, not sales person, not an asset to your wedding or a vendor or even a friend but as an artist.
We (MWB) are a company. We provide the best possible service and product we can for each and every couple, company, or client that hires us. We aren’t just me and that’s what makes this company so special. It’s a team ethos that is played out in every day decisions that prioritize the people that hire us as a part of that team but this video… This is me. My story, my heart, and my vulnerability all wrapped up into a film that I can really say I am so proud of stripped of sponsors or ads or promotion. Just - Me. So to a lot of y’all who follow along - hi. - I’m Miles.
