Photography is such an integral part of a wedding. After all, it’s the only thing you’ll always be able treasure about the big day for years to come.
With this in mind, master photographer Whitney Bower of Whitney Bower Imaging puts her best artistic foot forward with every wedding she’s a part of.
Check out one of her weddings that is featured in the Real Weddings section of Arkansas Bride’s Spring/Summer issue!
The Little Rock-based photographer offers special packages for weddings, as well as graduations and portraits. See her list here.
We were able to chat with master photographer and owner of Whitney Bower Imaging– Bower, herself — and she gave us the lowdown on how she got into the wedding photography business and what she enjoys most about her line of work:
- Her passion for photography started with a background in fashion and being on commercial fashion sets. She said she started shooting weddings years ago because she loves to photograph beautiful things and wedding days are full of them. From the flowers to the dress and the moments — a wedding day is jam-packed full of beautiful moments. “To this day, in every wedding that I photograph, I never take that for granted, ” Bower said. “I truly think that your wedding day is the most beautiful day of your life.”
- For her, fashion is art, so she tries to gear herself toward brides who are inspired by fashion, too, and place a lot of emphasis on that within their wedding.
- She enjoys the creative process — creating beautiful images along with her brides. “I truly believe it’s a collaborative effort (usually the bride, the planner/designer, and myself) and when it all comes together in a beautiful way — to me, that’s a perfect day at the office,” she said.
See how she answered our very special vendor Q&A:
Black-and-white or color? It always depends on the image, but I tend to lean toward black and white with wedding images.
Favorite camera you use? I shoot with a Nikon D4 and I adore all of the things it is capable of for this market (we live in a wedding market where shooting in dark churches with no flash is a weekly occurrence), but I truly believe it’s not all about your equipment. It’s about what you, the artist, can make your equipment do.
Best piece of advice you give brides about wedding photography: You will never regret investing in wedding photography because it’s the only thing you have left after the big day. My biggest piece of advice is to hire a photographer that specializes in weddings. There are just too many nuances about the flow of a wedding day and necessities from a photographer on a wedding day. Hiring a photographer that has faced all of those situations and does it regularly will lend you amazing results and really reduce your wedding day stress, and any pre-wedding stress, for that matter.
Have you ever cried at a wedding you were shooting? Once. I had a bride that had lost her father and she walked down the aisle by herself. I too have lost my dad, so her strength and grace were particularly touching and beautiful to me.
Favorite wedding photo you took this past year: It’s hard to pick one, but I loved this entire session because the bride was just amazing and her dress was by one of my favorite designers, Jenny Packham. The combination of a super sweet, kind, amazing bride and my favorite designer is just divine!
Photography splurge you wish all your brides would add to their package: I think albums are so important. There is just something about the beauty of being able to pick up your wedding photos and look at them any time. Preserving those memories is not just for you – it is for your grandchildren and even their children. I think it’s the most important post-wedding purchase that you make to preserve those amazing memories.