This was hard to go-by of course: did I do well? did they come out ok? I repeatedly
asked my friend about them, only to hear they were great. But I was still totally
bummed.
Jim was there to bring it all together, he didn't give up on me...
I still remember Jim handing me a tiny piece of paper; it was a newspaper classified
clipping from the local penny saver. It said something along the lines of: "Will pay $250
to amateur photographer to capture our wedding day. College students or little
experience needed."
Hesitant and ready to rethink the idea, I still called the listing. Later that week I met
with the couple and showed my photography portfolio. Ironically the deal was to give
the 35mm film rolls to them at the end of the day. This time, I got back the results:
Now we are busier than ever and growing every day...
I have my past brides and grooms to thank and hopefully they know how much I
appreciate their trust in me. This is now my full-time job and Jim's part-time second
job. He used to cover the videography (but with equipment expenses we stopped the
videos) so now he is sometimes my assistant or second photographer at weddings, my
digital camera/computer fixer and does all the album ordering and maintenance. He
has great ideas for photos and is better at explaining things in a simple way. (And
during my busy season, he helps me with all my emails & phone calls, so don't be
surprised if you hear from him instead of me!) We are working on building a studio
when we build a garage, hopefully by end of 2010.
You'll also be seeing an assistant photographer, Nicole Egan, at some of weddings.
She started her own photography business and is job shadowing with me in the
meantime. You may have seen her wedding I captured in 2007. She is a fun-loving
person with a creative flair that you will adore. Her style is much like mine but she also
has her own style and an eye for creative shots. I hope you enjoy her company at
weddings as much as I do. You will see her work through out some of my weddings and
it will be listed with a byline on the photo.
I would also like to thank my family in Pennsylvania, whom I love and miss very much.
They all support me no matter what I choose to do. And to Jim, my husband, who
believes that there is no end to my creativity.
~Holly and Jim :)
















And to think it started with a newspaper clipping...
Jim & I met in 2002 while working at our last job together.
I did photography and graphic design internally for an insurance company using my degree from
Sage Collage of Albany. Primarily covering event and publication/media photography, as well as
employee studio photos and designed their in-house publication. Jim's job at the time was
setting up the sound system for the events, so when I went for test shots, we'd see each other.
Time past and we started seeing each other beyond work. Like many big companies, within a
year, both our job titles changed and it became "just another paycheck."
It wasn't long before I decided to venture out beyond my work to do more with my creativity.
The first wedding I covered was for free. My friend needed a photographer for a family member's
wedding and I decided to try it out. With barely any experience as a wedding photographer,
besides being a guest at one, I said yes. At the time I only did 35mm and gave all 10 rolls of film to
the bride and groom at the end of their day.
I still to this day, never saw the first wedding I captured.