"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." – Sam Keen

It's late. I find myself pouring over photos at all hours this time of year trying to keep up with the editing, and the workload but also reliving the stories. I know so many photographers that can check out after a shoot like what just happened doesn't affect them and yet the longer I do this the more affected I am. I walk away feeling so many things after a shoot. About 1/3 of those feelings have to do with the photos : how they turned out, how artistic or beautiful they are etc... BUT what keeps my mind going, and what keeps me up late and get's me up early is the adventure of knowing all of the stories I get to tell.

I'm more of a story teller by the week these days. I notice nuances. Details. Small fragments of people that are caught in a split second but can mean so much and tell so much about how they felt in that moment. I'm humbled by these stories but also so excited to document them and to be so trusted by our couples to help tell them. I know all of this sounds super deep but here's exactly what I mean. Courtney + Phillip are the perfect example of a couple that just trust me to bring out the important stuff. Deep right? Weirdly : and yet I get to live a wildly lighthearted life because my subject matter is simple. love.

I wrapped up a bridal shoot today with a beautiful bride who wanted to chat a bit about the details of her wedding day after the shoot. She could tell in a hurry that I was dancing around the answers to her questions and as tactful as I am I also could read that she noticed. SO : I said exactly what I was thinking which was "trust me". What came out of her mouth next was incredible. Humbling. (maybe just a touch stressful). "Miles, I totally trust you to just catch all the important stuff." We're talking about her wedding here! The "important stuff"??? YIKES : that's a lot. BUT here's all that I've learned after about 300 weddings all over the place : (wait for it....) The "important stuff" is all of the moments, seconds, details, fragments, blinks of time that happen IN BETWEEN all of the "important stuff". (Believe me I know that makes NO sense... read it like two or three times and you'll understand what I mean.) There's so many things about this time in your life that you're supposed to remember. Your walk down the aisle - your engagement photo in the paper - your bouquet - your maid of honor's shoes - all of this clutter that helps make a wedding day beautiful and (don't get me wrong) we LOVE all of those things. BUT the important stuff is the feeling of being young and in love. The way he looks at you - the way he kisses your forehead - the way it feels to be wrapped up in a moment. All of THOSE things will keep you together forever and will be the answer to every argument.

SO : why did I decide to get so deep while I'm blogging Courtney + Phillip's engagement shoot? If you're a friend of these two you're probably wondering why I'm on a rant : and I guess you'd have a great point. The answer though is super simple. Because every moment of this shoot was the "important stuff". It's why every shot in this blog post is the same size. It's why you can feel Courtney's joy when she laughs. It's absolutely why every shot is genuine and real and beautiful. Because in a sea of photos and photographers focused on the next pose, the next idea, and the next prop we can 100% promise you that what we care about, what I care about, is the important stuff.