Happy Friday, Photobug readers! To start your weekend off right, I have an interview with Aga and Marcin, the photographers and partners of Philadelphia’s wedding photography team, Storytellers & Co. Their photos have a unique glow about them; Aga and Marcin’s fresh spontaneity perfectly blend romance and reality. Let’s just say, Storytellers & Co. sees the world differently and I’m so happy that they do!
Can you tell us a bit about what is it like working together as a family? We are together 24/7 almost all of the time and always shoot together, so right now it’s just automatic, organic and just so natural to us. We know what the other one is after; we know how to complement each other and celebrate the fact that each one of us has different strengths. We allow each others strengths to shine and know when we can take risks. Business/office wise; we don’t always agree on things; we are very different people {hey, they do say opposites attract right?} but have realized a long time ago the advantage of recognizing two distinct points of view and coming into one amazing solution, idea, and path.
Where/what is home? In the woods, on a little mountain in Pennsylvania. We share it with two rescued pit mixes and they make us smile every day. We are surrounded by tranquility and nature. While we love to travel and do travel for weddings; we, just as much, love coming back here to our little place in the woods.
What gives you ideas or inspiration? People, our clients – their love and connection; their family and friends. Little things in life. Life itself. Beauty is everywhere and we love capturing the little things, simple moments and genuine emotions.
So why photography? What draws you to it and what brought you to it? As mundane as it might sound, it just happened. We used to shoot only black&white film and mostly fine art back in school; as a form of an expression…seeing the world around us. That changed with weddings. The storytelling aspect came into play and we fell in love with documentary photography. Our style is still deeply rooted in the fine arts with documentary/photojournalism photography really fine-tuning the aspect of what true, meaningful moments are.
Besides weddings, what/who/where would you love to be able to photograph? We do photograph various things beside weddings; life in general, series of day in life of people or animals; be it in the animal shelter or on a farm… when Aga has time she does a bit of fine art portraiture as well.
Do you have a quieter season? How does your work change during that time? How do you end up spending your time? Winters are quieter; we spend that time with family and friends, crafting, art projects, skiing and just relaxing and refueling for the next season. Work wise, we update our portfolio, collateral, think up new offerings and most importantly chat with potential clients and book up for the new season.
What is your creative vision? What do you desire to express with your photos? Beauty of the simple things in life. We want our viewers to connect, to feel, to smile…we want them to say “wow, this is what life is all about”.
Describe your workspace/studio? We have a little office at home, it’s a typical home office, with desks, computers, printers and all our gear. Marcin’s side is really organized and neat…Aga’s side is always a mess with thousand notes, art journals, books, jewelry, lipsticks & hair pins laying around. We each do have another room as our creative work room; for Marcin it’s typical; the garage {currently waiting for life revival; old metal chairs & 500 pound train safe} and for Aga, one room is made into her “art” workroom; filled with wood, paint, fabrics, glue and glitter. Oh, and shoes!
How do you prepare for a shoot or a wedding? We really try not to prepare {except the mandatory equipment check and having a wedding timeline/info sheet}. Not strategizing, overthinking or developing preconceived notions of what the wedding day should be about, helps us come into it with a clear heart; we try not to imagine how amazing, fun, unique the day will be {although that’s hard, just like any other wedding photographer, we love our clients and are so happy for their big day}, we try not to think of what and how we will shoot…we just come in and “feel” the energy, see the people, listen, then start shooting from the heart.
Do you have a favorite camera or lens? It’s the 35mm lens for both of us. If we could have one lens only for the rest of our life, it would be it. It’s a workhorse, it’s versatile; perfect for capturing moments and documenting {it’s actually great for portraits too!}. It’s gold.
Do you offer albums? What kind? What do you feel is important about wedding photo albums? Oh, we could write an essay about the importance of an album or a book; since in this digital age, people tend to be satisfied with only digital files, forgetting about the beauty of the tangible. We offer two simple products, albums and books. The albums have thick flush mount pages and beautiful silk covers with blind embossed names; we design them few photos per page. Books have thinner pages with one photo per page, they are big and have lots of photos for the ultimate fine art documentary feel to them.
Any advice for couples who are looking for their perfect wedding photographer? The most important thing is for the couple to connect with the photos; truly and utterly “see themselves” in the photos on the photographer’s page, slide-show and full galleries. The best thing you can do for yourself, as a couple, is to completely trust your photographer and share their artistic aesthetic…thus allowing yourselves to be in every single moment of the day; enabling us to capture it perfectly and beautifully.
Any advice for couples on how to look amazing and feel comfortable in their photographs? Don’t be afraid to show emotions; let go and really embrace being yourself, being in love, being in the moment.
One thing you’d like every bride and groom to know before their wedding? Plan everything to your heart’s desire; but when the day comes just let it all go, enjoy it and each other. If and when the little things don’t go as perfectly as planned; the most beautiful thing you can give yourself and each other is to let go and be in every second of the day and celebrate.
Something that has inspired you recently? We both took a workshop with Mary Ellen Mark; she is amazing, she does not teach you how to be her; or try to be like her…she allows your own uniqueness and artistry be your guide and determine the direction of your photography and projects. We both found that extremely refreshing and inspiring.
Thank you so much Aga and Marcin!
