Agnes Lopez Photography is based in Jacksonville, FL but is available for wedding photography throughout Northeast Florida and worldwide. To contact Agnes Lopez visit her website or call 904.477.8516.
Weddings Unveiled: Tell us a little bit about Agnes Lopez Photography.
Agnes Lopez: I have been photographing weddings for six years. I run a home-based studio in an eclectic, urban and historic neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. Most of my weddings are around Northwest Florida in Ponte Vedra Beach, Amelia Island, and St. Augustine. I also shoot quite a bit in Southeast Georgia, in places like Jekyll Island and the surrounding areas.
WU: How did you become a wedding photographer?
AL: I worked as a freelance make-up artist and wardrobe stylist for photographers doing stock and commercial photography starting back in 1998. Assisting on those shoots really got me interested in photography so I got a Minolta Maxxum 9000 from a pawn shop and started taking the tips that I got from photographers I worked with and used them in test shoots I did on my own with models that I knew.
From there I started shooting models for their comp cards and headshots for actors, which I still do today. It was in 2003, about the time that I got married, that I became interested in weddings. At that time there weren't many photographers offering a more modern, fashion-inspired style and I saw a niche I could fill in Northeast Florida.
WU: Digital or film or both? Why?
AL: When I started I would actually carry two 35mm film cameras (including my trusty Minolta) and one digital camera. For the past few years I've been completely digital and really like what I can get out of my Nikon D3 and D700.
WU: Describe your wedding photography style.
AL: I would describe my style as a mixture of editorial and fashion. My goal when I shoot a wedding is to produce beautiful images that capture the emotion of moments and are timeless, yet creative and unique to the couple and their wedding.
WU: Show us your favorite wedding image and tell us why it represents who you are as as wedding photographer.
WU: What inspires you? What inspires your photography?
AL: I'm inspired by so much: great design, films, fashion and architecture. My photography is inspired by my desire to produce better and more creative pictures every time I shoot a wedding. I want to have my new favorite image come from my latest work.
WU: How do you keep your wedding photography fresh?
AL: I am a very competitive person, though not with other photographers; I am very competitive with myself. I am very critical of my work and even though I have pictures that I love, I am constantly thinking of ways to execute the shot better the next time.
Collaborating with other incredibly talented professionals, like designers, make-up artists and hairstylists for concept shoots, personal projects and magazine shoots is another way that I'm able to push myself creatively.
WU: Do you do non-wedding photography work? If so, how does it influence your wedding photography?
AL: Yes, I have another website dedicated to my commercial work: Pose Well Studios. I shoot for companies, work with models and do headshots for actors and professionals.
Doing work other than wedding photography gives me the ability to utilize my studio for different lighting techniques and do more conceptual work. I bring some of the lighting setups and ideas from my commercial shoots back to my wedding work.
WU: What makes you different from other wedding photographers?
AL: I think some photographers try to sell themselves as a part of the day as an "experience." I ultimately want to be as unobtrusive as possible and still get great portraits of the couple, but without making the event about me as a photographer. I have built my business with the credo: "It's not about me, it's about the couple."
WU: What would be your ideal wedding assignment?
AL: My ideal wedding assignment is one with an affectionate couple that is truly in love, an afternoon ceremony in a cathedral-style church, perfect weather, a grand ballroom reception (with reception lighting) and a send-off involving as many guests as possible.
WU: Tell us three things you can't live without.
AL: Since we're talking about things, not people. I'd have to say my iPhone, my Mac, and my AMEX card.
WU: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
AL: To focus on my own business and not worry about what others are doing.
