Photography | Kyle Hepp

April 24, 2012

I’ve had this idea in my head forever! We finally got around to shooting it in February and it took me until just now to even open up the folder and look at the pictures, let alone edit them. Since this was a just-for-me, just-for-fun shoot I couldn’t justify the editing time while I had other client sessions and weddings sitting in my queue. Then the other day I finally double clicked on the little “Brenna and Pancho” icon in my “Unfinished Work” file and I got SO EXCITED.

I’m freaking in love with this session!

Rodrigo, best hair and makeup artist in all of Santiago Chile, made Brenna look like a sexy 80′s video vixen. Her wardrobe is 100% mine, right down to my favoritest shoes in the whole wide world! Pancho’s wardrobe is all his, so is the attitude. I couldn’t have picked a better couple to model for me. Only a man like Pancho has the confidence to pull this sort of thing off.

GAAAAAH, Rodrigo is SO GOOD!!!!!!

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April 23, 2012

Before I get into the post, this reminds me to announce on my blog — we’re doing a third group of the workshop because a few people have asked. It will run if at least 6 people sign up, and the limit is 12 participants. Info here.

Antes de empezar el post, este me acuerda que tengo que hacer el anuncio en mi blog — estamos haciendo un Grupo 3 del workshop porque varias personas nos han pedido. Corre si por lo menos 6 personas se inscriben y el limite son 12 participantes. Mas informaciones aqui.

After an exhausting Workshop Day 1, Seba and I went home and immediately tweaked a few things because of feedback from the first group. I was so tired all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for 24 hours without stopping but I was also determined to make the experience as amazing as possible for everybody involved. So I went over my notes again, changed what needed to be changed and then finally fell asleep for 6 hours before getting up to do it all over again the next day.

Despues de un dia agotador del Grupo 1 del Workshop, Seba y yo nos fuimos para la casa a hacer un par de cambios al tiro a la presentacion, gracias al feedback del primer grupo. Estaba muerta de cansada, lo unico que queria era llegar a meterme en la cama y dormir 24 horas sin parar, pero estaba determinada a hacer la experiencia del workshop increible para todos involucrados. Asi que fui a revisar mis apuntes de nuevo, cambiar lo que tenia que cambiar y de ahi dormi unas 6 horitas para poder levantarme y hacerlo todo de nuevo el proximo dia.

For Day 2 I was teaching the exact same material to a different group. Because of that, I thought that I’d feel more relaxed. That was certainly not the case. The pressure was on. Group 1 had told Group 2 that Day 1 was awesome so I wanted to live up to their expectations, which I think were even higher since they knew that I’d be more experienced a second time around. So I still felt like I might throw up, I still lost my Spanish for the first five minutes or so – the only difference was that the nervousness wore off quicker as the day went on.

Para el Dia 2, estaba ensenando exactamente el misma material pero a otro grupo. Por eso pense que me iba a sentir mas relajada. Definitivamente no era el caso. Yo senti la presion. El grupo 1 ya les habia contado al grupo 2 que el workshop habia sido bueno asi que yo queria cumplir con sus expectativas. Y senti que las expectativas eran mas altas todavia porque todos sabian que yo ya tenia 1 dia mas de experiencia. Asi que todavia tenia ganas de vomitar, igual se me fue todo el espanol los primeros 5 minutos – la unica diferencia era que se me paso un poco mas rapido.

Day 2 was a totally different vibe from Day 1. Day 2 people were more interested in asking lots of questions, debating topics and sharing their own stories – which is totally valid, I enjoyed that too! But, like I said, it was completely unique, and that really surprised me since I would’ve thought teaching the exact same material to another group of photographers would’ve been an extremely similar experience.

El dia 2 tenia una onda totalmente distinta a la del dia 1. Los del Dia 2 les interesaba mas hacer muchas preguntas, debatir entre ellos y compartir sus propias historias – que es totalmente valido y tambien lo difrute mucho! Pero como les dije, era totalmente diferente y eso me dejo soprendida porque yo hubiera pensado que como iba a ensenar la misma presentacion a otro grupo de fotografos que la experiencia hubiera sido mas pareceda.

I will say that it really made me laugh how so many of the questions were like absolute worst case scenario questions! These guys kept me on my toes asking about how to handle things at would-be nightmare weddings J

Debo decir que me hizo reir que tantas de las preguntas eran preguntas del “en el absolutamente peor caso de…que harias?” Estos chicos me dejaban bien alerta mientras me preguntaban que haria yo si es que pasara esto en una boda ficticia de pesadillas J

In the end though, I ended up feeling really good about how things went on Day 2 as well. The people in that group were just as kind and eager to learn as those from Day 1, but they showed it in a different way.

Al final, termine el dia y me senti super bien de como nos fue en el Dia 2 tambien. La gente de ese grupo eran igual de simpaticos y igual de ansiosos de aprender como los del Dia 1, pero lo mostraban de una manera diferente.

I felt like I learned a ton from both days.

Y aprendi un monton en los dos dias.

I always knew that we did things differently from a lot of other photographers that I know. I have plenty of friends in the industry and we often talk shop. But I don’t think I’d ever really analyzed just how differently we run our business. I also realized that a lot of the things I worry about, are not necessarily the same things other wedding photographers in Chile worry about, and vice versa. Some of the questions asked caught me completely off-guard and my answers started with, “I’ve honestly never once even thought about that.” But from there it was a backwards process where I tried to figure out and explain in depth why that particular preoccupation had never been a concern for us.

Siempre supe que haciamos las cosas diferente que muchos otros fotografos que conozco. Tengo hartos amigos en la industria y muchas veces hablamos del trabajo. Pero nunca habia analizado que tan diferente manejamos nuestros negocios. Tambien me di cuenta que muchas de las cosas que me preocupan no son las mismas cosas que les preocupan a otros fotografos de matrimonio en Chile y visa versa. Algunas preguntas me pillaron totalmente desprevenida y mis respuestas comenzaban asi como, “Honestamente, nunca lo habia pensado.” Y de ahi fue un proceso de pensamiento al revez mientras yo intentaba a cachar y explicar bien en detalle porque esa preocupacion nunca se me ha tenido que ocurrir.

We also talked about a lot of different business models. There are a ton of successful weddings photographers out there in Chile and they all do things differently from me…and that’s great. I have nothing but respect for my peers and it makes me happy that we can all do things in a way that fits our diverse styles and personality.

Tambien hablamos de distintos modelos de negocio. Hay un monton de fotografos de boda muy exitosos en Chile y todos hacen cosas diferente que yo – y eso es genial. Les respeto mucho a mis colegas y me hace feliz que podemos hacer las cosas de diferentes maneras que nos encajen con nuestros diversos estilos y personalidades.

I try really hard not to compare myself to other people. I try really hard not to measure my successes by other people’s successes and failures. Someone asked me what I felt about my “position” in the Chilean industry and that was one of the questions that caught me very off-guard. I don’t think about it. If I really get down to tit for tat, there are other photographers out there that charge more, there are other photographers out there who do twice as many weddings in one year as we do, there are other photographers out there that shoot all the rich and famous people weddings.

En verdad, intento nunca compararme con otras personas. Intento a no medir mis exitos y fracasos por los exitos y fracasos de los otros. Alguien me pregunto como me siento con respeto a mi “posicion” en la industria Chilena y eso efectivamente fue una de las preguntas que me pillaron muy off-guard. No lo pienso. Si realmente queria compararme, hay otros fotografos que cobran mucho mas que yo, hay otros fotografos que hacen doble la cantidad de matrimonios en un año de lo que hacemos nosotros. Hay otros fotografos que fotografian las bodas de todos los ricos y famosos.

But you know why I don’t care? Because I love my clients and I love the work I do for them. And my clients love me and love the work I do for them. I LOVE the life I’ve created for myself I’m proud of it.

Pero sabes porque no me importa? Porque amo mis clientes y amo el trabajo que hago por ellos. Y mis clientes me aman y el trabajo que hago por ellos. AMO la vida que yo mismo he creado y estoy orgullosa de ella.

I’ve never thought “My way or the highway” or that I know the only “right” way to do things. Truth be told, there is no right. There is no wrong. There’s only trial and error and figuring out exactly what works best for you.

Jamas he pensando “Hay que hacerlo a mi manera, o chao, para la casa!” Nunca he pensado que yo se cual es la manera “correcta” de hacer las cosas. Siendo honesta no hay una manera correcta. No hay una manera incorrecta. Solo hay la manera de ir probando y equivocandote y dandote cuenta de lo que te funciona a ti.

I felt such a spark of possibility that night. Fitting, because The Hunger Games just came out, but fire really is catching. Just think of it

Realmente senti la chispa de posibilidad esa noche. Va bien con que Los Juegos del Hambre justo habian salido, pero el fuego en verdad esta prendiendo. Piensenlo

After Day 2 ended, I was just as spent as I was at the end of Day 1, but there were celebrations to be had…

What? Did you really think I’d do a workshop involving zero champagne? That just can’t be.

Despues del Dia 2 estaba igual de gastada como estaba al fin del Dia 1 pero habia que celebrarlo….

Que? En serio pensaste que yo haria un workshop que no involucraba champagne? No puede ser!

So we gathered up the Day 2 participants, brought lots of the Day 1 participants back, even added in some other photographer friends from around the city, and went out to a nearby bar that has a good list of champagnes by the bottle.

Asi que nos juntamos los participantes del Dia 2, trajimos de vuelta mucho de los participantes del Dia 1, incluso agregamos a los amigos fotografos de otros lados, y salimos a un bar que quedaba cerca con un buen listado de champagnes que se venden por botella.

I drank ‘til I was silly, possibly erasing all credibility I may have gained by doing this workshop, and reveled in the fact that there we were — 20+ photographers sitting around, toasting with their “competition.” I could barely believe how excited people were, how motivated people were, to take what they had learned and go home and better themselves, their business and this entire industry.

Tome y tome y mas tome, posiblamente borrando toda la credibilidad que me acababan de dar despues del workshop, celebre el hecho que ahi estabamos – mas que 20 fotografos sentados brindando con “la competencia.” No podia creer que tan emocionados estaban la gente, para ir a sus casas, tomar lo que habian aprendido y mejorarse a si mismo y a la industria entera.

24 photographers, are going back to run their respective business all over Chile, respecting themselves and their clients more. Taking photos that not only make their couples happy but also leave them creatively fulfilled. Playing nice and ethically with their “competition” because they’ve realized nobody has to fight for brides, we all have different ideal couples. Charging fairly and earning well for the hard work that they do at weddings.

24 fotografos van a volver a hacer sus negocios por todo Chile, no solo respetandose mas a si mismo sino tambien a sus clientes. Van a sacar fotos que no solo hacen feliz a sus clientes, pero que tambien les dejan sentir bien creativamente. Van a jugar limpio y eticamente con su “competencia” porque se han dado cuenta que nadie tiene que pelear las novias, todos tenemos parejas ideales distintas. Van a cobrar lo que es justo y ganar bien por el trabajo duro que hacen en los matrimonios.

Change is in the air and it’s starting! These 24 photographers have the power to move this industry forward, right now. Out with the old and in with the new! I absolutely cannot wait to see where we’ll all be in a year. I’m proud of myself for doing this workshop but mostly I’m proud of these photographers for coming in with an open mind and taking what they’ve learned to go out and make a change.

Hay cambios en el aire y esta empezando ahora! Estos 24 fotografos tienen el poder de llevar esta industria para adelante ahora mismo. Afuera con lo viejo y bienvenido lo nuevo. Estoy demasiado ansiosa para ver donde estaremos todos en un año. Estoy orgullosa de mi misma por haber hecho este workshop pero mas que nada estoy orgullsa de estos fotografos por haber venido con las mentes abiertas y por tomar lo que aprendieron para salir y cambiar las cosas.

Fuck yeah. FUCK YEAH.

Fuck yeah. FUCK YEAH.

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Remember how I mentioned a big announcement on my Twitter? I’m excited that I can finally share the news! Our little business is growing! My friend and colleague Pia has joined us here at Kyle Hepp Photography! from here on out will be accepting bookings for this upcoming season exclusively as our associate photographer! I’ve been dying to tell the world, but we wanted to wait until she had shot her first wedding for us before making it public. Well, last weekend, she headed to Casablanca to photographer Monica and Alvaro’s gorgeous wedding at Casas del Bosque Vineyard…I’ve just finished editing them…and I’m happy to say that Pia did an absolutely amazing job.

This is a step I’ve been wanting to take for a while now but I hadn’t found anybody I thought would be a good fit my business. Pia and I have known each other for a while now — she reached out to me and asked if I ever needed an assistant. I told her no, not usually, since I work with my husband, but to stay in touch and if I ever did, I’d let her know. Let it be known — I have this email exchange with other photographers on a regular basis. None of them every stay in touch. But Pia did. She commented on my blog, we talked via Facebook and lo and behold, when I actually did need an extra person at a photo shoot, I asked if she wanted to come along. Since that day I’ve been watching her grow as a photographer. We also participate in a photography forum together and one of the other things I liked so much about her was that I’ve never seen her bad mouth anybody, she never complains about her clients, never has anything mean to say about other photographers. Pia always behaves with class. I’ve come to realize how rare that is. Just seeing the common decency she treated people in this online environment made me realize that I’d be able to trust her with my couples in real life.

The most important thing for me with this whole associate photographer was that the experience be a good one three-fold — good for the couples we work with, good for the photographer who worked with us, and good for us.

So I reached out to Pia, hoping she’d say yes…and she did! Shortly after, Monica and Alvaro wrote me to say that they’d found my website and were sad to see we were booked…but one thing led to another and the next thing you know they became our first Pia/Kyle joint clients! We are eternally grateful to them for this trust that they put in our new project. I think Pia not only lived up to every expectation, but exceeded them. I’m so proud of her!

I hope that Monica and Alvaro feel like their leap of faith was paid back a thousand times over with these photos.

All photos in this post were taken by Pia for Kyle Hepp Photography.

Click on the first photo to see a full slideshow.

Pincha la primera foto para ver un slideshow completo.