Photographing Love In All It's Forms
It baffles me that some wedding vendors refuse to work with a couple because they're part of the LGBTQ+ community. One of my friends recently posted a very tasteful boudoir photo of a gay couple, and she lost so many followers. Why is this?! I just don't get it! I understand there's hate in the world and that people fear what they don't know, but that's still not an acceptable excuse to me.
I attended a WeddingPro conference towards the end of last year and one of the key note speakers talked about the importance of putting the phrase "LGBTQ+ Friendly" on your site and socials. I thought this was weird. I know that I believe in equality. I believe that Love is Love. So why did I need to put that on there? Seemed kind of like overcompensating to me.
But then I listened...
I listened to her story (which I'm sure is similar to many others) when her and her wife were looking for their wedding vendors. They had been denied by many vendors they'd reached out to, simply because they weren't straight. As her and her fiancé continued their search, they chose to look specifically for verbiage confirming that these vendors were LGBTQ+ friendly.
This really changed my perspective and made me think about my portfolio as a whole. I've always just taken clients that have come to me, I never really paid attention to WHO I was photographing. I looked back at my portfolio and realized that I had very little diversity in my content.
When someone comes to my website and social media pages, I want them to feel represented. See someone they relate to. I want them to feel comfortable and like they belong.
This opened my eyes to a whole new world. I'm now choosing to be more intentional in the things I post and how I post. I want there to be diversity and representation of all people on my sites. Bottom line, I'm honored whenever anyone hires me to photograph their engagement, wedding, maternity, boudoir, or any other kind of session. I'm truly honored.
I want everyone to know that I believe in equality.
There is no right way to love someone and everyone's love story is different and it's beautiful.
At JeLau Photography...ALL LOVE IS WELCOME!
Ok now enjoy these adorable photos of Gary and Xavier at the Vineyard House and Vineyards of Folktale Winery in Carmel, California. We had access to this beautiful classic cherry-red Ford truck and it just added that extra bit of pizazz to our day. Those TIES were a nice touch, and can we just take a minute and admire these GORGEOUS rings from Weber Goldsmith Gallery 😍
