Behind The Scenes – Photographing in 2022

This is my TENTH annual “behind the scenes” blog post.
.. I’m pausing to let that sink in.
TEN.
I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry at that statement. (Am I really that old? Have I really been doing this that long? How did I ever get so lucky to do wedding photography as my job?)
(For further context: I shot my first engagement session in 2008 and my first wedding in 2009, but I didn’t have enough footage for a “behind the scenes” post until the 2013 wedding season.)

Whew. It’s crazy to think of all the “things” we’ve “done” in the last 10 years – a pandemic, masks (do you have any idea how hard it is to shoot in a mask?!), growing my bangs out, having super long hair and perfecting the “sock bun”, being pregnant through TWO wedding seasons, actively nursing and having to pump through TWO wedding seasons, that one wedding season where I wore the same shirt to almost every wedding – so many good times.

I learn a lot about myself looking back at these behind the scenes photos.
When I look at the early years, I can see the insecurity in my face and eyes and body movements. (I still get crazy anxiety before every wedding, but the difference between then and now is that I KNOW that I KNOW what I’m doing, whereas back in the day, I was just throwing stuff against the wall and hoping that it would stick – and thankfully, most of the time it did. I knew more than I gave myself credit for.)
I can see the exhaustion in my eyes and face from being VERY pregnant and being on my feet running a wedding.
And then I can see the exhaustion in my eyes and face (and the tiny bit of sadness) at leaving my tiny babies at home to shoot a wedding.
I can see the wedding seasons where I was insecure about my body and didn’t know what to wear (and thus wore the same thing to almost every wedding).

But mostly, from beginning to end, I can see my JOY – my happiness at capturing wedding day memories for my precious clients. I truly, honestly LOVE photographing wedding days. Sure, they’re crazy and come with their struggles, but I love it. It’s what I was made to do.

If you can’t get enough behind-the-scenes, check out:
2021’s version, 2020’s version, 2019’s version, 2018’s version, 2017’s version, 2016’s version, 2015’s version, 2014’s version, and 2013’s version!

Before we begin: I just have to give a HUGE shout-out to the two amazing photographers who came along with me as second-shooters in 2022!!
— Derrick came along with me to a few weddings – some as a second-photographer and some as the videographer for the day!
— Christina came along with me to one wedding (and she took the BEST behind-the-scenes photos for me – I owe half of the images of me working weddings in this post to her!)
— I did get to do ONE shoot with my sister Ellen – we used to shoot together all the time, but she doesn’t really shoot weddings anymore, so that means we never shoot together anymore either. (BOO.) But, one of our younger sisters eloped this summer, and together, Ellen and I took Emma and Luis’s elopement photos! It was SO FUN shooting with my partner-in-crime again! (In case you aren’t familiar, I have 4 younger sisters and a younger brother.)
Almost all of the photos in this post of me (unless they are mirror-selfies) were taken by one of these 3 amazing photographers!! (With two minor exceptions that I’ll explain later on.)

So, here we go! A tiny peek into what 2022 looked like as a wedding photographer!

I kicked off 2022 with an elopement portrait session in downtown Pittsburgh – where it was not only crazy cold (temps were in the teens/low-20’s), but there were signs that there were “Hazardous Conditions” (it was INSANELY icy!)

I promise, this isn’t what I wear on wedding days – this was those elopement photos Ellen and I did for Emma and Luis. Ellen wore this super cute dress and looked oh-so-pretty, but I missed the “cute” memo and showed up like this!

You’ve heard of people with eyes in the back of their head – well sometimes I blindly shoot backwards.
(Not really.)

My sweet new nephew Leon was born on Derrick and I’s anniversary (the stinker had the audacity to come early and be born while we were on our way to Florida!) We did newborn photos as soon as I got back though. Isn’t he so sweet?!
(I know you’re going to ask, so I’ll just tell you up front: I don’t shoot newborn sessions unless we’re related.)

Demonstrating the Cha-Cha Slide.

While I had a second shooter with me at a handful of weddings this year, I shot most of my wedding days solo (which is completely fine with me!)
That simply means I got really good at taking mirror selfies so I had proof that I was actually there.

I also figured out how to steal frames off of Derrick’s video at Caleb and Juliana’s wedding!
So, here is a rare sighting of both me AND Derrick – with me as the photographer and him as the videographer!

Me taking very deep breaths and prepping for the absolute FRENZY that are sparkler exits (and telling myself over and over that “I will not catch on fire, I will not catch on fire, I will not catch on fire.”)

Kayla & Tom’s DJ actually snagged a photo of me (unknowingly!) He took this photo of them doing a private last dance and caught me – mid-flash – in the background!
ALSO, I photographed a wedding at the church I grew up attending! It was such a fun experience!

Honestly: I probably had to pee.

See? I told you, I got really clever with mirrors this year.

I also took multiple, random frames of my legs and feet. Not sure if that’s a new trend I’m ahead of or what.

Okay, I KNEW it was going to appear strange that in most of my wedding behind the scenes images – I’m wearing the same dress. Spoiler alert: I did wear the same dress to a lot of my weddings this year. It was just so darn comfortable and wonderful!
The bad news is: I think I wore it out. The lace along the top really started to show some serious wear and tare by the end of the season – which makes me SO SAD.

Every year, my sister Ellen and I swap family photos. She takes our photos and I take hers. While I was taking some photos of Ellen and Jonathan, Alethea (my blonde niece) stole my phone out of my pocket and began taking photos of ME! What a great little camera-woman she is (and she gets extra points for the funky camera angles).

Speaking of Ellen – here she is when we did Emma and Luis’s elopement portraits!

Now can you see why I miss her on wedding days so much?

It’s US. I miss shooting with you Ell – come shoot a wedding with me this year, please?

Christina was my other amazing second shooter for the year! She was fabulous and we had such a wonderful day together!

And last but not least is Derrick. He gets an F because he didn’t take a single behind-the-scenes photo of me this year. (But I guess I’ll still pass him on to the next grade because, you know, we’re married.)

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But wait, there’s more!

Yes, I am a full-time wedding photographer, but I’m also a roller coaster photographer!! You all know that Derrick runs a growing YouTube channel centered around roller coasters – and well, I’ve been taking roller coaster photos for him since we met in 2008.
When we travel and go to parks, he shoots video, and I take photos. It’s a winning combination if I do say so myself. (I’ll further add that Derrick hit the JACKPOT when he married me – I’ll just leave it at that!)

In 2022 (and 2021), I began to really help Derrick more and more with the behind-the-scenes workings of his brand. Not to brag, but I’ve become an integral member of the XscreamThrills team (which consists of the two of us).

So, here are a few photos of us looking completely different than we do on wedding days – shooting completely different subjects – ones we don’t have to pose or direct, but ones we are constantly striving for a “different” “more creative” photo of.

We went to Universal (without our children) back at the beginning of 2022 – and this was the one photo I bribed Derrick into taking of me.

And THIS is one of my favorite “behind the scenes” photos of Derrick EVER. Ahhh Silver Dollar City – why must you be so far away?

But, back to the beginning of the year – after being in Florida by ourselves in February – we went back down to Florida in April – this time we brought the kids and we went to Disney (cue all the emotions). Braelynn got a camera for her birthday last year, so she brought it along.

We were at Sea World Orlando on our anniversary, so Braelynn told us we had to kiss (12 years of marriage!)

Our resident photographer (Braelynn) became very obsessed with cutting our heads off. Oof. Someone needs to give that kid a lesson in composition.

At the beginning of the summer, we attended a Media Event at Hersheypark! It was our second year in a row to be invited as “media” for a ride opening (we’re looking to go 3/3 in 2023 Hershey!) We met up with a bunch of coaster enthusiast friends while there – which just makes everything more fun!

We also parked in “employee parking” – which meant we were able to snag a few quick shots from angles people don’t usually see!

Apparently, Derrick does this same “hand thing” every time he’s vlogging.

Derrick did a lot of videography with his Go-Pro this year! It was definitely a fun new element to add to his videography arsenal!

Oh hey! Remember that time we were invited as “media presence” at a go-karting place?! Talk about completely different but SO MUCH FUN!

Derrick and I also started our own “show” on his YouTube channel at the end of 2022! It’s called “ERT with Derrick and Kara” and we’ve filmed and published 7 episodes already! It’s been a HUGE learning experience, and the show gets better with each new episode, so if you haven’t, go check it out!

There’s even an episode where Braelynn hops in as a special guest (it’s the cutest little segment ever!)

Thank you all so much for your support & love for me & my little business!! I am living the dream and it’s because of you all! Cheers to an amazing 2023!

And if you can’t get enough behind-the-scenes, check out:
2021’s version || 2020’s version \ 2019’s version \ 2018’s version \ 2017’s version \ 2016’s version \ 2015’s version \ 2014’s version \ 2013’s version