Brea and Alec's Wedding Photography at Longan's Place
Brea and Alec had a wedding full of authentic emotion and love and I was privileged to be their wedding photographer. Their creative portraits were a great match with the beautiful wedding venue Longan’s Place in Homestead Florida.
Brea and Alec enjoyed a lovely wedding at Longan’s Place in Homestead Florida, and I was honored to be their wedding photographer. We hit it off right away, having only met online and over the phone. I teared up a bit when I heard their choice for walking down the isle, an instrumental rendition of Under The Bridge by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Photographing their wedding felt just like we were lifelong friends, which having actually shot the wedding of two of my closest friends just weeks ago, I was surprised to have that feeling again.
So many moments stood out to me that I wanted to share a few extra candids from this wedding gallery.
You can find more about the venue at: www.longansplace.com/
Why My Company Is No Longer Called Anchors Collective
For two years my photography work has gone by the name Anchors Collective. As of late 2019 I will be advertising and signing my work using my first and middle name Gabriel Luis Photography. If you want to know why the change, what I was thinking in the first place, and what difference this makes read further, I am an open book.
On my way home from a wedding in Atlanta, Georgia, with a few hours sleep and around 30 hours driving under my belt I came up with the name Anchors Collective. I was an associate photographer, videographer and DJ for my good friend who encouraged me to to start my own brand with my own style and approach. My first thought was to start with a name that could grow into the kind of company I wanted to have in 20 years, a collective of artists and friends who produced great work at high volume for down to earth people on a budget.
Soon I found out there was a wedding studio going by Anchor Collective also in South Florida, to make matters worse they were building themselves a bad reputation. There was also a band going by the name The Anchor Collective, who have a great reputation and better sense of humor than the aforementioned wedding company. My business partner hated the name, he said it sounded like I was selling boat parts.
There was success in my first few years in business. Weddings came in, reviews & happy customers, and I got to grow with my customers under a brand that had a personality separate from my own. Some weddings even had my “logo” plastered all over their decorations, since nautical themed weddings are popular in South Florida.
Unaware of naming trends in the wedding photography community, I once read a comment online making fun of the word collective as though it was used all the time. I followed more and more photographers with names that blend two seemingly unrelated items with an ampersand, think “This & That Photography”.
As I explored my own style I realized that I love editing photos myself, I love creating single stand-out signature edits that may take hours for a single image, and that attention to detail was creating beautiful concise galleries with high quality work. Less is more became a mantra when editing collections. Photographers I admire were giving me feedback that delivery was overwhelming, and clients were happy with their work… but the more I delivered personalized collections that reflected their priorities in a few dozen or hundred photos instead of hundreds and thousands the more impact it had on their emotion and pride in the photos we produced together. The collective started including my clients.
With all of these concerns floating around in my head for months I made the difficult decision to rebrand. Gabriel Luis Photography attaches my name to my work. I am now giving my word and reputation as a photographer and artist that I will stake my personal reputation on the images we produce together. We are still a team, my best friend Jonathan, on occasion my busy and career oriented fiancé, the friends I have made in photographer and business are still my collective. In the background nothing has changed, but my work is now personal, my logo is now a signature instead of a symbol, and my clients can build a personal relationship with their photographer.
I still plan to get small anchor tattoo on my forefinger, under where my wedding ring will go. Why that unformed my decision to name my company after a marine product in a tropical climate I will never know.
