Weekend Wisdom with Denis Reggie

To the public, Denis Reggie’s best-known image was the iconic shot of  Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr. It ran in just about every magazine in the world. In fact, Denis recently shared the grab-shot on the right on his Facebook page.

He wrote:

“I was a bit surprised to see a very familiar photograph in the window display at a bridal gown boutique in Rome today and I innately reached for my camera. Nearly 20 years after I captured that wedding photograph, it’s gratifying to know that people around the world still have such a reaction to that moment. And that’s precisely why I do what I do.”

But in the professional photography arena, Denis’ focus has been on far more than his clients. In the early 90’s Denis became known as the Father of Wedding Photojournalism.  He also fought hard to help photographers realize the true value of what they were providing. He was the first photographer I ever heard speak about what a wedding album really represented as he’d ask:

“Why are photographers the last one’s to get paid, when we provide the longest lasting element of the wedding?”

Seriously, I used to be able to lip-sync Denis’ complete presentation on the subject. He helped to change the way wedding photographers thought about their work; their interaction with their clients and even the way they captured the images of the wedding day.

I was ecstatic to catch up to Denis for this Weekend Wisdom podcast and once again, he’s sharing a lot of insight into things photographers today need to think about. He starts early on talking about the importance of the wedding album, the History, Volume I for a young couple and the important role it might play in the future.

Denis as always presents a lot to think about in the way you position your work, the value of your creativity and the importance of understanding your clients. While I normally wouldn’t share a second component on a Weekend Wisdom post, I wanted to share a clip from an Australian television news show which recently interviewed Denis. It will give you a little more insight into his dedication to being the very best photographer he can be.

As always, a big thanks to Bryan Caporicci and Rob Nowell, the founders of SproutingPhotographer.com and SproutStudio. I consider them very good friends and there’s nothing more fun than watching them carve out their own piece of history helping photographers grow their business skills.

And last but not least, as you can tell from the beginning of the podcast, Denis I go back a long way. I’ve watched him change the path for so many photographers.  He’s raised the bar on their thought process, their marketing, the way they value their work and the services they provide. A big thanks to Denis for taking the time to join me on Weekend Wisdom!