The night before working our first wedding together, I was in tears. Big, fat tears.

At that time, we had been married three and a half year and had figured out how to work well together in other aspects. But photography was my baby. And I couldn’t figure out how to give up any control to him, even to have him by my side helping me.

I had started out shooting alone, doing entire wedding days by myself. It wasn’t until I had the chance to second-shoot for another photographer that I realized how much better I could be if I had an assistant, even if it was just someone to schlep my bags for me. So in my second year of business, I hired an high schooler as my assistant. It ran smoothly enough, but on the few occasions when I hired a professional photographer as my second-shooter/assistant, I was even more enamored with having that support behind me. Having all of the additional angles I could preset later to my wedding couples were great!

But here I was in my living room sobbing because I didn’t know how it would work to shoot a wedding with my husband. He had supported my dream from the get-go, yet I was nervous to have him on board. I didn’t know why I was nervous, but there was something about going into it with my husband as my assistant rather than someone I had hired. Maybe it was because he can read me between the lines. Maybe it was because he would know what I was thinking without saying it out loud. Maybe it was because I was afraid to hurt his feelings by giving him orders. Maybe I was afraid of trying something new.

Maybe it was a multitude of things. But in the end, I should never have been so worried.

He became my greatest asset.

That was our beginning earlier this year. I have come to not just enjoy, but love working with him. I’ve come to rely on his steadiness in the wake of my wedding day nerves. I’ve come to appreciate how he always has my back. Mostly, I have come to learn that I underestimated him.

All the love in the world to my second shooter, my backup, my right-hand man, my husband, the guy I am lucky enough to share life with.

 (One of the images he captured this past fall–a personal favorite of mine.)