Snapping up a photographer - Part II

The following week, after the disappointing meeting with the Lady Photographer, I was excited to meet with Michael Simon. I was glad that G. weighed in and checked my impatience, that we shouldn't hire an expensive photographer we didn't love just because she went to Vassar and was super organized.

We went to Michael's studio, and had a nice talk with him. He was super relaxed, and called us "man," throughout the meeting. Not in a disrespectful way, it was just a habit of his to punctuate his conversation with "man." Man, I can totally get down with that.

We both loved his vibe. He was totally on the ball, but totally relaxed. I need relaxed people around me. I am anxious at heart, and absorb the nervous energy of anyone around me. I like someone who can manage to seem both perfectly capable but also like he might also at any moment offer you a beer or something. Do you know what I mean?

But it wasn't just his remarkably awesome/laid back demeanor that hooked us (can you see where this is going?). His photographs were totally awesome. No joke. I loved all of them. I have very particular ideas of the kinds of photographs I do and don't want, and especially on the "don't" side, he was totally on board. (Photographer #1 had been like "Are you sure!?" like I was a crazy person when I told her not to bother taking pictures of my shoes.)

He also passed this totally arbitrary test that G. threw out. Recently, we went to visit his grandfather, and we saw a family reunion picture from 1986 (my man had the cutest bowl cut evah!). G. wanted our photographer to recreate this kind of huge group shot on our wedding day, with all the guests. We asked photographer #1 whether she could do this, and she seemed hesitant, doubtful, but then was like "Suuuure...." Not that convincing.

We asked Michael, and he was like "Sure, I'll just have Carlos bring up a ladder." Because he already knows the people who work at the Metropolitan Building. Because he is awesome!

We left the meeting feeling like we would probably end up inviting him to the after party. We acted all cagey, and like, "Oh, well, we'll have to go home and think about this," when really what we did was go out in the street and high-five and wait like 20 seconds after we were home to email him and tell him he was hired.


This was a guy I totally wanted around on our wedding day.

(I was a tiny bit reluctant to post this story because even though I didn't name her, part of me is afraid photog #1 will find this post, know it is about her, and feel bad. I don't want her to feel bad, because she was lovely, totally capable, and a great photographer. She just wasn't a great match for us. Telling the story with the compare-and-contrast is the only way I know how to express how we found the right match for us.)