Digital Wedding Forum - Wedding photography's home on the web.

Location - Rochester, NY & Charlotte, NC
Business Name - Make Love Real
Years in Business - 4
Number of Posts - 360
Website - www.neilcowley.com
Blog - www.makelovereal.net
PM - Contact Neil

DWF - Let's start off with a little bio, tell us a little bit about yourself.

NEIL -Just Google Jedi Master Photographer and you'll find all you need to know. You can also view Neil's special video response to this question here.

DWF - How did you become a wedding photographer?

NEIL- See Neil's video answer to this question here.

So where the video leaves off I met some people online asking questions and ended up in Jason Hudson's forum back in 03, talking with Brooks, Huy, David, Allegra, JVS and others as I researched how I could market and execute weddings. In the spring of 03 I attended Huy's first unofficial foundation workshop - and from there launched a full-time season of wedding photography. Mentored by the likes of those, Weddings took off pretty fast, and so I had a completely full 04 season and haven't slowed down since. I was still assisting commercial photographers and shooting weddings on the side. Soon weddings took over but I thought that I'd move on to more commercial work. 2006 ended that mindset with an even weaker economy in Rochester and some consultation with Selina Maitreya.

DWF- Who or what inspires you as an artist?

NEIL - I don't suppose that I can answer this in a few paragraphs. I've been inspired directly as an artist by different things at different periods in my journey. At first, nature inspired me the most - a friend got me 'into' the possibility of being an artist - and now there are so many . Motion and intensity inspire me and muse me. If anyone wants to ask me a more direct question about this via a YouTube video I'll give a more thorough answer.

DWF- If we were getting married why would we book you? What makes you unique?

NEIL - Not being unique, being a voice for my client's voice, being good at many different aspects of our craft.

DWF- If you had to pick a favorite "Tool of the Trade" what would it be? and why?

NEIL - Well, on the wedding day, my favorite tool is light - cause it can shape and transform our perceptions and moods.

DWF - Care to share your favorite photograph? and tell us a bit about it?

NEIL -I shot this in a fairly normal, somewhat drab reception hall and it had so much energy and style that it blew me away. The couple was the greatest element but what set it apart for me was the light - so I've been on a quest to repeat that success ever since.

This set of images is from the most satisfying contest result I've had - it was a category called 5 from 1 - and to me it meant more because it was validation of what I work so hard for, to connect my images to my clients by illustrating their story.

I'm realizing that I'm going back pretty far, to when I was still fresh. So let me grab some from this year...

In 2007 I gave up pursuing jobs in the advertising and corporate markets so I focused some of that energy on engagement portraits and it has been very satisfying and fresh.

DWF - How about some final words to live by?

NEIL - Boy, who thinks up these questions? Make light real like you make love to your wife :-p

Don't live by words spoken to you, live by your spirit. Don't view by what you've seen before, see what is before you.