of Wedding Photography Rising Stars
d
wPDN’s
Hugh Forte
Age: 26
Resides: Dana Point, California
Best lesson leARned: “I’ve learned how important
the element of collaboration is [between the couple
and the photographer]. It just opens up so many more
opportunities if a client is comfortable with you and
they’re willing to let you into the intimacy of what’s going
on with them in that moment on that day. That makes such a big difference in
what you’re able to capture.”
Hugh Forte’s goal as a photographer is to “make neat images” that surprise his clients and himself. He wants to see things that others
might not see. But above all, he wants to make sure the couple whose wedding
he is shooting “are having an amazing wedding day,” and he recognizes that his
clients’ enthusiasm for his work and for having him around are key elements in
making sure all of those goals are met. “As important as it is for them to like my
work and be excited about the pictures I take, it’s equally important for there to be a
collaboration,” he says, adding that the bride and groom may spend just as much or
more time with the photographer on their wedding day as they do with their spouse.
Forte got into shooting weddings after assisting a friend of a friend while
studying advertising at San Diego State University. Though he wasn’t immediately
drawn to wedding photography, he was asked to assist more and more, and came
to enjoy the work simply for the opportunity to take photographs. “I got to go
shoot all sorts of stuff that I wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to shoot. It was
portraiture, it was documentary, it was still life and details; it was a great creative
outlet for me to explore,” he says.
As he began to develop his business, Forte relied for advice on a small group
of wedding
photographers he
had assisted or
who were friends
of his. He’s found
that a wedding
photographer has
to “sacrifice some of
the creative freedom
for keeping an eye
on your watch and
keeping an eye on
the shot list,” he says.
However, he says,
choosing clients
that really like his
work allows him
more freedom to go
after the surprising
photographs he
strives to make.
When a couple gives
you the chance to
be creative, “There’s
more responsibility
on you to deliver
what they want,”
Forte says, but that
opportunity is what
makes the work
fulfilling.
—Conor Risch
Corbin Gurkin
Age: 28
Resides: Charleston, South Carolina
Best lessons leARned: “Presentation is everything.
Invest in a good marketing strategy and sample albums
that will showcase the quality of your photography. I
learned early on that while I have a strong visual style and
design sense, I was wise to work with a graphic designer
who knew how to put my vision into a solid brand.”
Corbin Gurkin launched her career shooting destination weddings while on a study-abroad program in Florence when she was a junior at NYU.
A student of photography as well as of Italian, she contacted wedding planners
in Florence and wound up shooting three ceremonies her first summer there. The
following year, she shot 10,
and when she did 25 the next
year, it was clear she was on
her way. “Suddenly, I had a
reputation as the American
wedding photographer in Italy,
and ultimately it opened things
up for me internationally,” she
recalls. “Weddings in France
shortly followed, and it was
only a matter of time before I
was contacted by brides from
Australia, Asia and all around
the States.”
Gurkin’s Web site,
recently redesigned, cleverly
showcases the many locations
where she’s photographed
weddings via a custom
map. Clients can click on a
destination to view her work
in, for example, Camden,
Maine, Paris or Lake Como,
Italy. “Rather than sharing a
sampling of random images
from different weddings in
my portfolio, I showcase
each destination as its own
individual story, with an
editorial feel to the design. As
visitors navigate around the
map of destinations, I give
the impression of how I might
approach a wedding from
start to finish.”
Gurkin does not confine
her travel to weddings,
however. She has shot personal
projects—usually inspired by a
humanitarian cause—in Eastern
Europe, among other locales,
and she links to them on her
site. “I think it’s important that
clients can see how a love
of travel and the experience
of photographing around
the world gave my wedding
photography a unique edge to
it,” she says.
—Kristina Feliciano
