Peter: With us today is Lin from Photography by Lin & Associates. Lin, hello.
Lin: Hi, Peter. How are you?
Peter: I’m great. So great to see you. It was such a pleasure working with you at Katie and Joe’s wedding. And it’s great–it was great seeing you again at theWit, too.
Lin: Yeah, yeah, that was fun. So, it was nice to just talk to other vendors and then go. Yeah, it’s good seeing you.
Peter: And now that spring is here, it’s just nice to get out a little bit more.
Lin: Yeah, well, I don’t know. Spring is playing tricks on us. So–.
Peter: –Yeah, this is true. We had a great day for Katie and Joe, though.
Lin: That was a nice day. Yeah, it was really pleasant. So, looking forward to some more days like that.
Peter: I was looking at some of the pictures that you took. And I saw that you guys had gone down to the lake and a couple different locations. And it’s nice to get around the city no matter what the weather is. But, when you have a nice day like that, it’s so much fun.
Lin: Yeah, and she was great. She allowed plenty of time to be able to do that. They saw each other before the ceremony. So, that was really beneficial for both of us to get some great shots and not be rushed. So, that was fun.
Peter: So, you liked that? Tell me about that. Do you prefer–you get more opportunities when they see each other before?
Lin: Yeah, I mean, I definitely–for me, it’s–it usually works out better because we don’t have the rush, the stress of being rushed and being hurried to get over to the ceremony.
In most cases, there’s not a lot of time between ceremony and reception. So, this definitely gives us more time. But, it’s traditional for them to see each other for the first time when she’s coming down the aisle.
So, I never push that. When they’re up to doing that and they’re okay with breaking that tradition, I always try to set it up so that at least they have something meaningful. So, I’ll hide here behind a door or something and let them have their moment.
But, yeah, when they’re willing to do that and see each other somewhere beside the–her walking down the aisle, that always works out because then we’re able to kind of decide how many hours we want to be running around and how many different locations without the limitations of a 30-minute gap between you.
So, it works great for me. And I think it, in the end, works great for them. But, again, I never push it. I only suggest it and just feel out the clients and see what their preferences are in terms of that tradition.
Peter: When you do that, when you have the opportunity to be there for that first look, what’s that like for you? I’ve seen pictures of it and video as well. It can be such an interesting moment. What have you seen, and what do you like about taking shots around that moment?
Lin: For the first look, luckily, I get a chance to talk extensively with the couples leading up to the wedding, and we’re discussing that.
So, when that’s in play, when that’s going to be part of the schedule, the first look, we always talk. And everybody’s different. So, sometimes, there’s different ideas. Like, they want to maybe hide behind, like, the same wall on different sides of the wall and maybe touch hands and talk to each other before actually visually seeing one another.
Some people like for the bride to walk up behind the groom and kind of tap him on the shoulder, and he turns around and sees her. There’s always the–it’s not always the same thing.
A first look doesn’t mean it’s going to be a canned shot that we already have predetermined.
So, it depends on their style. And for me, I always–I love it because it’s a very intimate moment. And I–to be the only other person that’s a part of it, so it’s–I really like doing that and seeing their excitement.
And a lot of times at the church, when the groom is seeing the bride for the first time, he’s seeing the bride at the same time that hundreds of other people are seeing her.
So, there’s a lot of reaction and emotion in that. But, then when it’s so private and intimate that it’s just the two of them, I just feel honored to be a part of that.
And I always, like, take my pictures, document that moment, and then run out and give them a few minutes to take that in and absorb that time.
Peter: That’s great. That’s so cool. So, tell me a little bit about yourself? How long have you been doing this, and how did you become a photographer? And how did Photography by Lin & Associates come about?
Lin: Well, I’ve been a professional photographer for 15 years now. About 20 years ago, I started out working postproduction for another photo studio in Lincoln Square.
I worked with couples after their weddings designing their albums.
I instantly fell in love with photography. I was particularly fascinated with wedding photography.
At that time, the industry of wedding photographers was a fairly male-dominated arena.
So, when I decided that I wanted to get behind the camera, I was pretty intimidated at first. And I had no formal training. I just kind of jumped in with nothing but a borrowed camera and some passion.
So, fortunately, I was given the opportunity by that studio to be able to go out and shadow professional photographers and accompany them at several different weddings.
I think I shot about a dozen weddings or so for free just to gain that experience, absorb the environment and just kind of tag along. But, since I wasn’t the lead photographer at these weddings, the images that I was capturing were more behind the scenes. They were unscripted. There’s real moments as they were unfolding throughout the day.
There was a certain truth to my images. I wasn’t posing anything. I wasn’t really directing anything. And then the response from our clients was incredible. And couples just started requesting me specifically to photograph their weddings.
And that’s kind of where I discovered that this was my true passion. And I don’t know. Many years later, that passion is still strong as ever. I absolutely love my job.
Peter: It’s great. I could tell when we worked together and looking at the shots afterwards, they’re just gorgeous. So, what a great way to get started. Sounds like you had a good start.
Lin: Yeah, yeah, that’s awesome.
Peter: And then, so, weddings are probably one of your biggest areas to work in. Do you do any other photography, or is it, where does most of your work come from?
Lin: Well, definitely weddings would make up most of my business, our studio is a full-service studio. And I’ve done a fair amount of corporate work, studio portraits, headshots, fashion shoots, performing arts, really a little bit of everything, but definitely, weddings would make up most of my business.
Peter: And so, tell me a little bit about–Katie and Joe, there were so many nice things about them. I think they really moved through their day well. They seemed to be in great spirits. They really enjoyed everything about what they had planned for the day.
What comes to mind when you think about people like them that you’ve worked with? Are there any other couples like that that, if you were to put them up as your ideal wedding client, how would you describe them? And can you think of someone specific? And it could be Katie and Joe because that was where you and I worked together or somewhere else. So, who comes to mind?
Lin: Gosh, I have fabulous clients. I think I have the best clients in the world. God, I’ve had so many wonderful weddings. And I think my clients tend to give me a lot of creative freedom.
So, when I’m working with them, they–we have a lot of interaction because, as an independent photographer, I take a lot of time. My work is not just the eight to 10 hours on their wedding day.
We’re working together throughout the month leading up to their wedding. So, we’re learning a lot about each other. And I’m getting a lot of information about what their visions are.
And I get a lot of clients that give me that creative freedom that they’re not–they’re looking for something original. And they give me a lot of trust.
And then that trust is going to result in a collection of images that reflect their personalities and portray the unique flavor of their wedding day.
So, I can name off names. But, I’ll be on here doing this for 20 hours talking about my fabulous clients. Every wedding is different.
And I’ve just been lucky enough that I have clients who trust me that way. And they give me the creative freedom to kind of portray that and give them the images that they expect from me.
Katie and Joe, they were fabulous, like I said. We talked on the phone, and we e-mailed back and forth. And she sent me Pinterest, her Pinterest board.
So, I kind of saw the things that she was envisioning for her wedding day. And that just made for a much smoother day on the wedding to–I already knew what she–what aspired her. I already knew where she found her inspiration. I’d seen a lot of the work that she liked.
And even though I don’t take–I don’t normally take like a list of photographs and try to duplicate them. I get an idea. I always encourage them to send me stuff that moves them, to send me images that evoked something from them.
So, I did have a really good idea. So, I was armed with that when I showed up to the wedding.
Peter: And it’s nice to get those sort of stepping stones or indicators beforehand. I know that, when I do an event, I have a wedding coming up where you look at the game plan as far as the entertainment goes and the things they’ve chosen to draw their guests into the experience, the things that they want to do that are unique to them, and you get excited about that.
So, it’s–I love the fact that you have that connection with them and that you kind of know where they’re going. It’s just such a better thing that just showing up and shooting, you know?
Lin: Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I don’t just–they send me a list of the shots that you want, and I’m not there to just show up and shoot a few hours and burn your images to a disk. I like to understand the vision that my couples have for their wedding and then try to produce something great out of it.
Peter: Beautiful. So, along those lines then, we’ve talked about who you work best with or the kind of vision that you have for making that connection, just like you do with Katie and Joe and the great work you did there.
So, who’s not going to benefit from your approach to shooting their wedding?
Lin: I may not be the right photographer for somebody who’s looking for a very traditional scripted style of coverage. What–we always incorporate the must-haves, formal family photos.
But, I really prefer that most of the day be captured in more of an organic editorial style. So, probably somebody who’s looking for something very traditional would not feel that I’m a right fit for them.
Peter: Looking at the pictures from Katie and Joe’s wedding, what you see are, of course, all the really wonderful moments from before the ceremony. There’s this interesting shot of them as reflected in someone’s sunglasses.
Lin: Yeah, those are things that just happen. They just happened to be–she wasn’t a member of the bridal party. She was a family member who came along with us on the bus.
And they were just having fun. They were just celebrating with their bridal party, their family, their parents. And that woman was just kind of standing on the sidelines watching us.
And then when I looked at her, I saw my own reflection in her glasses. And I thought, “Hey, that’d be kind of cool,” so just grabbed her and did it. And it worked out great.
Peter: Really worked out great. And then all the other moments, you were capturing all the different people that were there, the expressions on their faces, Katie and Joe’s expression when something fun happened or was going on, just great work, so really thrilled to have made the connection with you and enjoyed working with you.
Is there anything else you’d like to add to this communication that we’re doing that we’re going to put up on the blog and on the Website?
Lin: Well, I can–one thing that I can say is that my clients are my–they’re my lifeblood. Every interaction that I have with them, be it on the phone or via e-mail or in person, is paramount in defining their experience with me and my company.
Next to their spouse, they’re probably going to spend more time with their photographer on their wedding day than anyone else. So, it’s really important to have a relationship prior to that day.
All of my couples are unique. Everybody’s unique in their own styles, their own personalities, their needs. I don’t just sell a package of pictures. My goal is to produce a visual story, like you said, capturing those emotions. And so, I want to do that in a very emotional and artistic way.
And over 90 percent of my clientele are word-of-mouth referrals. At one point, it was 100 percent. I didn’t advertise for many years. And all of my clientele were just referrals.
So, I really care about my clients. And I care about their weddings. I cater to their individual needs. I’m not a high-volume big-change studio. So, my couples are not just names on a file folder.
I strive to create images that are authentic and as unique as they are.
Peter: Beautiful. I’m going to include all your contact information in the blog post and post up the audio as well and your Website linphotos.com.
But, what’s the first step when people are interested in your service in contacting you? What would be the–what would you recommend them to do?
Lin: The first thing I would recommend that they do is to pay a visit to my Website and take a look at my portfolio. If the photos look like something that is a good fit for them, if the images move them, they could either fill out the contact form right there, find out it’s a–if their wedding date is available, or they could e-mail directly or call me.
Peter: Beautiful. Well, Lin, thanks so much for the chat. I look forward to connecting with you more. And it’s just been great hearing about how you approach weddings. Thank you so much.
Lin: Oh, thank you very much.
VENDORS
CEREMONY & RECEPTION SITE
Reza’s Restaurant in Andersonville
OFFICIANT Todd Katter, Willow Creek Community Church
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography by Lin & Associates
BRIDE’S GOWN
Pronovias tulle & lace overlay
JEWELRY
Earrings from TJ Maxx
HAIR
Ethan James Salon
MAKEUP
Ethan James Salon
BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESSES
J Crew
FLOWERS
Fleur de lis
FORMALWEAR
Men’s Wearhouse – grey Vera Wang
MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT
Chicago Wedding DJs
WEDDING CAKE
Cupcakes by Swedish Bakery
TRANSPORTATION
Master Transportation – Jim Venn
GUEST ACCOMMODATIONS
Blackstone Hotel