Every once in a while, something moves me deeply and causes me to pause and re-evaluate my motivation as a photographer. We all have our different inspirations, and without them, it’s easy to get burnt out, distracted, and simply lose track of why we’re doing what we are doing.
My good friend, Jay Cassario, recently shot an incredible promo video for the new Leica SL2. This video made me pause and remember what drives me. In the video, Jay shares in a beautiful and incredibly personal way what it is that motivates him to be a photographer and what it is to interpret and celebrate a legacy.
Grab some tissues and take a look at this incredibly beautiful video shot and edited by Matt Mahoney:
“A legacy is something that I truly never thought about until after the sudden passing of my mom, on New Years Day of 2012, while on a family vacation to celebrate the holiday. She was a wedding photographer throughout my entire childhood and had a passion for photography for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until after she passed that I purchased my first camera. Until then I had only borrowed hers. I had an artistic background and was raised in a creative home, but photography was always her thing. In an attempt to keep her legacy alive and the memory of her close to me, I took a leap of faith and dove into photography with everything I had. That decision ultimately changed my life, and in a number of ways… I would even say that it saved it.”
The decision that he made to follow in her footsteps through photography quickly evolved into so much more than he could have ever imagined. While it was her legacy that got Jay into photography, overtime, it slowly became his own. It makes you reflect and wonder what your legacy will be and how your photographs will help tell that story for you. Check out some of the images from Jay’s shoot using the Leica SL2. You can see more of Jay’s beautiful images on his Website and Instagram.
Learn From Jay at his Next Workshop!
The Twisted Workshop is three full days of learning in one of the most beautiful places on the East Coast to photograph a wedding, Savannah, GA, in one of the best months to attend a workshop. January is the month where we start to plan the year ahead, make changes, and prepare for “engagement season”. After Jay hosted a workshop in Savannah earlier this year he couldn’t wait to go back, only this time with his wife Sandi. Together, the two of them will be covering the entire process that goes into being a successful wedding photography studio by teaching the techniques that got them to where they are today in an extremely over-saturated industry. Each day will include time spent in the typical lecture-style workshop environment as well as plenty of shooting with a focus on storytelling and posing. Learn more here!
You can also catch Jay in our Facebook Groups as he offers his expertise and advice in both our Business and Wedding Photography communities. He is one of the incredible SLR Lounge Educational Ambassadors that community members can learn from at any time on Facebook.
