Thanks to the Brooklyn Farmacy for letting us take some snaps and for the freakin’ amazing milkshakes!

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Way back in the early 2000’s I was in college. I was in what I like to call— ”real college”, before my days at Art Center.  I was living on campus, going to fraternity parties (or doing my best to avoid them whenever possible), working at Starbucks, doing darkroom printing for extra cash, and I even interned for a… wait for it— a wedding photographer. I was 19 and life was packed full of unknowns, experiments, $100 1GB CF cards, crappy beer, The Postal Service, darkroom all-nighters, and (how could I forget?), flared jeans. Those were good times indeed.

I was working in my college’s photo equipment room one semester when I met a guy named Gregg who was to be my lab partner. Without much work, a friendship formed. Soon Monday mornings and several afternoons a week consisted of Mexican food, laptops, cameras, and learning how to make stop-motion videos with Gregg. Gregg taught me everything I needed to know about Adobe Premiere and when he wasn’t around, Keay, my digital photo teacher and the photo lab tech, would supplement by teaching me AfterEffects. To this day I am indebted to the both of them for all they taught me. (Side note, you might remember Gregg from his freakin’ awesome Palm Springs wedding I shot last year.)

Being that it was early 2004 and I was shooting digital, at least in my personal life, I was shooting far more frames than I would with film. I figured, what better way to look back on hundreds of digital files than to string them together with a little music? So for no other reason than to document my life I started making little stop actions of my own.

A couple years later, after ditching real college for Art Center I made a few more stop-action videos. This time using a scanner in place of a camera and old sequential frames shot on chrome from the 80’s. Thank you dad ;) The work was classic 22-year-old stuff and yes, it’s still scary to show, but here you go if you’re interested. (I’ll just close my eyes and plug my ears while you watch it.)

Fast forward to 2013— enter Dan and Eric. When I met with them over the phone, (they live in LA), they told me all about their day and what they had planned. They told me about their AirBNB rental in Williamsburg, (aka my home and favorite ‘hood), and how they were planning to take the East River Ferry to Wall Street, then cab it to City Hall and from there walk around and eventually end up at the Library Hotel for lunch. The day they described seemed so organic and Eric and Dan had an attitude of “…and then we’ll just see what happens”. Needless to say I was stoked when they decided to book me as their photographer.

When Dan and Eric got into NYC a few days before the wedding I wanted to meet them in real life, so we met up for some beers. It was then that I told them about my idea to shoot a few scenes for a potential stop-action movie. Nothing too crazy, but I wanted see how a wedding day would translate through a quirky stop-action sequence. They were down and better yet, they totally trusted me.

So why all of a sudden did I want to try this out after so long? I’ll tell you— I’ve been shooting weddings since 2006, the last 3 years of which have been full-time. When it all started I thought I had to take ‘wedding style’ photographs. What does even that mean?! At the time, to me, it meant I had to shoot brides and grooms dip kissing each other and couples arbitrarily walking through a park in clothes that were way too fancy for the occasion. In short, I felt like there was my ‘wedding work’ which was mildly fake and contrived and then this other stuff I did. I’ll save the story on my creative trials and tribulations of the last couple years for another post, so for now I’ll just say this…

I’m at a place in my career where I love what I am doing and for the first time I am seeing that there is no such thing as wedding photography. There is good photography and not good photography. There are those who create new ideas and those that follow in their footsteps and imitate. There are photographers and there are people who have cameras. Who am I? I’m a photographer, I’m a creative, and I shoot weddings. I don’t shoot one way for a wedding and another for a commercial job. I don’t change the way I shoot; the only thing that changes is what I’m shooting and perhaps, who I’m shooting for. Whether I’m shooting portraits for myself, a client, or shooting a wedding, the images I make take a great amount of thought and skill and technology to create. At the end of the day I want to give my clients something that’s special and entirely personalized. I want to give them a product that is not only easy to share with their friends and family but that’s fun too. I want to give them an experience.

What I get to do for a living is a gift and an incredible honor. It’s not lost on me how insanely lucky I am to live the life I do. Creating something that allows people to relive their happiest day over and over again in a way that will not only remind them what it looked but also of what they felt isn’t easy, but when I succeed at doing that, there is no greater feeling of satisfaction and joy. There’s nothing quite like creating images that mean so much to a single person. As cheesy as this sounds, it’s so rewarding because in that I find my purpose. What could be better?

For Dan and Eric— the two of you are far more than a couple who got married, you’re a little sign to everyone that love, is love, is love. Congratulations to you both. I’m so glad to know you and call you my new friends. <3

One last thing, the video you’ll find below is simple. It’s not technically perfect but that wasn’t so much the intent here. Hopefully it’ll throw a little more light on Dan and Eric’s wedding day than the images alone and hopefully it’s fun to watch too.

Video music ~ The Light by The Album Leaf 

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In my best effort to embrace my “I’m on vacation” attitude I decided not to shoot anything digital for the duration of my trip, (Instagram doesn’t count does it?).  For me, shooting digital means, lugging a laptop, downloading, importing, exporting, and my favorite time waster— tweaking images in all sorts of ways out of pure creative curiosity only to leave them just as they were shot. So on a mission to give my Lightroom loving-ass (or should I say eyes?) a break, I ditched my MK III and toted my EOS 3 instead.

I got the images back today from Richard’s Photo Lab.  I had forgotten how it felt after weeks of waiting to finally get photos back from a lab. It’s was like Christmas! As I went through the images of family and friends from my two week visit I came across the 12 frames I shot of my good friend Zack and his girlfriend Baia.

Baia had just gotten home from work and it was time for me to join the masses in rush hour traffic but as I was packing up my things I caught a glimpse of these two in the kitchen, they were having a moment. You know that kind of moment that only happens when no one else is around? It was so sweet. It struck me, I had a roll of film that needed finishing and what better opportunity to test shooting film with a couple?! I asked if I could take a few shots of them, or maybe I just started shooting like a creeper, hope not :-/

Altogether I shot 12 frames, including a few cat photos. The ones below are just a few of those because sometimes less is more. Also, if you’re into large format social landscape photography, Zack is your guy.

Thanks Zack for being the guy with a counter perspective and giving me a kick in the ass when I need it. I love you man!

I think I’m gonna shoot more film this year :)

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In all seriousness though, this year has been one of the best in recent memory. I’ve met a crap ton of super cool people, some of whom I’m lucky to call good friends, I got a dog (Henri, he’s awesome), I sang Call Me Maybe at least 20 times while shooting a wedding, (major highlight, don’t even act like you don’t love it), I joined the cult of iPad owners, I started Instagramming, I made my apartment look more like a home than a dorm room, I had my logo redesigned, and of course I shot weddings— over 30 of them. I think that might be the best thing of all. Why? Because this is not just my job, it’s my life and I’m so incredibly grateful to all the wonderful couples who I have gotten to know and who have trusted me with the task of capturing one of the few turning points in their lives. You all are the reason I am able to do what I love everyday. THANK YOU! It really has been a year to remember.

So here’s to buying fewer files on iTunes and to all of us always being better than we were yesterday!

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham

Here’s to 2013!

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These photos were all taken in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

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Learning to work for myself, and by myself, has not been as easy as one would think.  Like I said, in early 2010 I quit my full-time job and started shooting full-time. I’d shot weddings through college but never had enough work to sustain myself and a growing business but finally after taking a leap of faith, there I was facing the major challenges of running a business and managing a tremendous workload. In the midst of this, I struggled to find a new healthy routine for myself. For some this might come easy, but I was thrown for a seriously unexpected loop. For the first time, there was no boss, no teacher, no class to go to, just total self-discipline, my calendar and me. I was calling the shots— when to wake-up, when to work, when to take it easy, when to go to the gym, even when to eat. Any normal schedule I’ve ever known was thrown out the window. At first I liked it, but soon, I started to feel like I was riding an untamed bull. Until now, that’s pretty much how I’ve felt until early 2012. These days, I’m doing a little less bull riding and enjoying what feels more like a ferris wheel. I’m a little scared to look down at times, but I’m going around and around, the rhythm is calm but quick and I can see the horizon. For now the weather looks good and I’m excited to see what the future has in store. Finally, I’ve found my equilibrium and my routine and I’m feeling happier, healthier, and more productive than ever.

Like all self discovery, my journey has been about realizing my options and finally making decisions, some of them long overdue. First, I’m no longer working 100% on my own;  I’ve enlisted help at the office.  Nothing too wild (I’m still answering my own emails), but someone to work on all those little projects that get shelved when there’s just too much editing to do. Second, I’ve decided to shoot more for myself, (thanks to a little pushing and inspiration from Brooke), even if that means just shooting with my iPhone. To ensure this happens, I’ve resurrected my once dormant Instagram account and promised myself to post at least one photo a day. Yay for small goals, right?!

Third, I’ve relocated the studio (for the 3rd time) back to my home office, this time into my new apartment!  It’s a place I can actually stand to work and live in day in and day out, unlike my last place which was the size of a closet, among other undesirable characteristics. I’ve only moved about 10 blocks but it feels like a new universe. I can hear birds chirping, I have sunlight, and best of all, I can have a dog here!  So, of course, I got a dog! Which, by far, has been the single best thing I have ever done for myself! I could go on and on about it but I’ll leave that as a topic you can ask me about in person, or… just wait for the Henri blog post, no doubt, coming soon ;)

All rough edges and small triumphs aside, I couldn’t be more grateful to my wonderful clients, my supportive friends and family, this totally amazing city, and of course, my little pup Henri. Wrap all that up and you can see why I’m one very happy girl lately. I know there will be more obstacles to hurdle in the future, but for now I’m running around this track of life one lap at a time.

 Below are a few shots from my life this year so far. Want to see more? Just follow me on Instagram @katieosgood

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The above lovely couple is Anna + Morgan. You can see their full engagement blog post here.

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Happy New Year!!

…on to 2012!

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I spent this past weekend at Full Moon Resort up in the Catskills mountains in upstate New York with Mike + Julie and all of their ridiculously talented, kind, and welcoming friends and family. From the rehearsal dinner to the after party it was solid awesomeness.  So much so, that as I drove the 3-hour trip back to Brooklyn I was overcome with the strongest feelings of graditude for my life, the people within it, and for the wonderful job I have in this world. Somedays it’s hard to believe that this is my life. I have met so many amazing people this year. From my clients and their amazing wedding guests, to the people I have met on the road of life. There have been many faces I hope to get to know better and many more who I will never forget.  I have been so honnored to be a part of so many happy days this year and I am so grateful.

With that, I’ll leave you with just a few photos that have plastered an uncontrollable smile on my face as I edit. Congrats Mike and Julie! I am bursting with joy for the both of you! 

Taken at Full Moon Resort

Wedding Planning by Along Came Stephanie

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