Our Interview | By Elizabeth Ann Events

Elizabeth: Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Nancy and Edwin, a married couple who own the photography company, Edwin & Nancy Photography. The couple has been married for three years, and they are charming and fun. We agreed to meet at my home on Balboa Island and they were so sweet to my new dog, Sadie. They even took pictures of her! Edwin and Nancy give off a warm and welcoming vibe from the start, I can tell they always want to make things comfortable for their clients. To see more of their images and learn about their approach to wedding photography, I invite you to read on.

How did you two get started in photography?

Edwin: I shot my first event at age 18, for a quinceañera. It was really fun, but life took me away from the photography business. It was not until about 3-4 years ago that I took it up again. I am happy to say I have reunited with photography.

Nancy: I always liked art, and studied it in college. I had my first gallery opening at age 25. At first, it was hard to accept photography as an art form, but after meeting Edwin, he re-inspired me to the craft and now I love it.
Who inspires you?



Edwin: Joe Buissink, a local photographer based out of Beverly Hills and Wil Jax, out of Mississippi.


Nancy: I was an artist before before starting my journey into the art of photography. I am inspired by artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

How did you meet?

Edwin: We met on MySpace, where I ran across images of Nancy's artwork. I sent her a message expressing interest in her work, and a few months later we met up.
Tell me about your wedding and honeymoon.


Nancy: We had a Hawaiian themed wedding at a garden in Los Angeles.

Edwin: The biggest mistake we made was that we did not hire a professional photographer. If we could redo it, we would have hired a great photographer. In fact, we want to have a vow renewal for our five year anniversary, and want to fly in one of our favorite photographers.

What is the hardest thing about shooting weddings?

Edwin: The most difficult thing is the unpredictability of weddings, and sticking to a schedule. Sometimes things just happen, and its important to trust your photographer so he or she can guide you through it and make the best of it.

What is something many clients don't think about or ask about when looking for a photographer, but as an insider, you feel they should?

Edwin: It's been said before, but we'll say it again: it is critical for you connect with your photographer. That is how we experience it at the end of the day, that connection. Make sure you are working with someone you like.



Nancy: Lots of photographers have awesome portfolios, but they may not be what you are looking for in terms of personality. Keep searching for someone with the right personality fit and a great portfolio, and you cannot go wrong.

What is your style? Who is your ideal client?


Nancy: We focus on lifestyle photography. We want to share in your moment, be it a quinceañera, a wedding, or your first baby. As photographers, our mission is to be able to grasp that moment and snap it before its gone. Our ideal client is someone who trusts us and says, "Let's do something different" or "Let's just go for it!"

Tell me about your engagement sessions, why are they important?

Edwin: We want to get you in front of the camera before the actual wedding. During the engagement session, we are learning about you, what works for you, what does not. We try to make it fun--we bring a snack bag and have some laughs, so it's not all stiff poses.

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About Us

Edwin:

I was born and raised in LA, and for the first 12 years of my life I was raised by a single mom.  I lived a good portion of my youth in gang infested neighborhoods of LA and when it came time to go to high school my mom and my stepdad made it their mission to give me a shot at life.  Afterall living in Highland Park in the early 90's meant that statistically you were destined to fail.  They moved me from our 2 bedroom apartment to a one bedroom whole in the wall in Glendale.  I went from sleeping in my own room to sleeping on the living room floor.  This was the best thing that could happened to me, because along with my loss of a bed I gained the opportunity to discover my love for an art form, my love for photography.  With a pentax in hand and a roll of 400 B&W film I was ready to capture the world.  For the next 6 years I would be imersed behind the lens of a camera or in a darkroom developing my new found passion. I photographed my first Quinceanera at the age of 18 and kept moving forward from that point on.  Being able to capture moments in peoples lives is a gift tht I know now that God has given me.  In 2004 I crashed and burned, as the world transitioned from film to digital I just couldn't keep up with the work load.  I made a young and dumb mistake of walking away from my passion, instead of walking away from the partying.  In 2006 my life stated to turn upside down, or I should say right side up, and it first started with me walking away from the partying.

On November 5 2006 I came to Christ in a small church in Rosarito Mexico and that is probably the best decision I ever made.  The second best decision I ever made came in December 2006  I proposed to my girlfriend.  2007 picked up right where 2006 left off we got married in August, and in September I started working at a place that sparked a flash in my life and brought back the itch to pick up my camera again.  In  October 2008 my wife and I shot our first wedding as a team and well here we are today, telling you about us and sharing the gift God has given us with the rest of you.  We understand that we have been given a gift and that is to see the beauty in life, a split second in eternity that we are privlidged to capture so that you can charish for an eternity.



Nancy:

One of the hardest things for me to do is to write about who I am. I sometimes think that at age 30 I should have it packed down to the last sentence, but I don't. I realize that I grow and grow spiritually and mentally every day, there is always something new about me that I never knew! Sometimes there is a new hobby that I JUST HAVE TO learn, and I feel for my husband.  Supporting me every time I come up with a new talent, or a new desire in life!
There is one thing I can definitely say with out a shadow of doubt, I am an Artist. I learned this very late in life, and if I would have been true to myself since the beginning I would have not wasted my time trying to force my self to want a degree in psychology. It was something I was fascinated with and wanted, but not who I was. It crossed my mind to have a career in art, and I had a desire to have my own gallery opening, paint phenomenal works of art. But I took the safe route. Coming from a hard working Mexican family, I wanted to follow my mother’s steps and have a worthy degree. So, I set aside my desires and dreams as a child, to find out that I hated long hours studying people. I wanted to be outside painting and having fun!  

As long as I can remember I have always been creative and artistic. Anything that was creative I loved, and through out elementary and  high school, I was a drama kid. I LOVED singing and dancing. At the age of 25 I met my husband, and we clicked right away when we saw each others art. He was a photographer, I was an artist. At the time I was painting Mayan hieroglyphics, he was shooting the real thing (The Mayan temples) He loved my work, and was so into what I did, I fell in love in an instant! Ever since we met he has supported me and challenged me to pursue what I love. He helped me find my old self, and explored and new desire and passion I never knew I would fall in love with..... Photography.

I hope my husband doesn't get mad for sharing this. I caught my eye on it on one of his forums he loves to post. It was back when I redesigned our new logo...

 

"So for the past year of re-establishing my business my wife has become an important part of the business. That being said we are preparing to do a new site with name that is more personal than W.C. Photography. Its something that will reflect our personalities much more. She has come up with a couple of logos and I need your votes and suggestions as to what would work. If you have one you like but think it should be tweaked in a certain way please let us know. Oh yeah designing logos is one of her many talents. She can pick up a paintbrush and instantly have a gallery opening, pick up a make-up brush and get published, sit in front of photoshop and come up with these, or pick up a camera and produce really good work, oh yeah and she sings and can play a piano by ear. Lucky for me I know what to do with a camera cause I definitely cant do any of the other things listed." --The Hubby

 I Love you Sweetie! ! Thank you for always believing in my dreams, and letting me chase them when ever I want.