Vendor Series Interview No. 11, Sharyn Peavey

I met Sharyn years ago at a photo shoot at Joya beauty in Dover, NH.... Joanne was working on some crazy makeup techniques and I was donating my face for the afternoon! Now I've reconnected with Sharyn and she's joined the MY KPW family!! We're so excited to have her and her incredible talents, so make sure you visit her website and enjoy the interview!

Sharyn Peavey Photography



Her fabulous images!









Vendor Interview Questions:

KP: What is your favorite part of the wedding process?

SP: I enjoy creating and giving to the bride fantastic images of herself. When shooting the bride all dressed and ready to go, nothing else really matters for those few moments, and there is nothing else like feeling absolutely beautiful and looking your best. I get very excited about sharing that experience with the bride.
I extend this out to all whom I shoot on a wedding day, but the bride is my highlight, my main focus.


KP: What do you love most about your job in the wedding industry?

SP: My job brings me into a very personal space of a couples family and friend dynamics. I feel privileged to be part of a quintessential day for each family, each couple. I am often touched by what the wedding means to each couple. I love that I am going to be giving them a product that will allow them to relive the feelings and memories.


KP: What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

SP: I think a big misconception about wedding photographers is that we just take pictures. Pictures are an experience, from the act of shooting to the act of viewing and having the images. It is easy to be misunderstood because unless someone has had the experience of being on an incredible shoot or sitting with an amazing set of prints that go beyond just the surface, how will they know what they are missing out on. Unlike a dress, that you can try on a dozen times, photography is something that you will experience (mostly) post wedding. It has the ability to be just a picture to look and say, yes there I was in my wedding dress, or it can be an experience.


KP: How did you get into the wedding industry?
SP: My first wedding came to me in 1991 when I was working in the photo lab of my school, the Maryland Institute College of Art. The bride wanted, candid b/w which at that time, was not popular. I secretly enjoyed it and Martha Stewart came out with a gorgeous wedding issue. I was inspired. I staged a wedding by renting a dress, and assimilated flowers and a cake like in the Martha issue. We went all over Baltimore and had a fantastic shoot. The cake was fantastic too! When jobs came in for weddings, I took them because I liked the challenge and because no other art student would bow so low as to take a "wedding job". I began assisting Baltimore wedding photographers as well to gain more knowledge.


KP: Tell me one wedding vendor other than in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

SP: I think there are alot of great wedding photographers in the area, but I do highly recommend Michelle Turner because I know she delivers quality and style. I personally worked with Michelle at a wedding and I can say that any couple would feel confident booking her, she knows what shots she is looking for. I have also had Michelle photograph me.


KP: Tell me one wedding vendor in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

SP: I like to see couples well taken care of and attended too. But because looking one's best is high on my visual priority list, I recommend both Joya beauty out of Dover NH, and Head Games Salon out of Portland for hair and make-up.


KP: Favorite wedding story- funny or serious

SP: Last fall I was shooting an outdoor ceremony, it was really lovely. As the bride was walking down the lawn the grooms great aunt (Mildred I believe) got up and stood directly in front of the groom and hunkered down like a linebacker to get the shoot of the bride coming down the aisle. Eventually she had to move so the bride could greet the groom. Moments later this same aunt screamed as her chair suddenly flipped backwards and her legs went up the in the air, exposing girdle and all. Everyone was frozen for a few moments not to sure what to do. I almost went over to help her, but another family member straightened her out. I DID NOT photograph this moment, out of respect to dear aunt Mildred. I feared this would would be the image that would get emailed around 100 times.


KP: What other part of the industry would you not want to work in? Why?

SP: I would not want to be a dj. It is probably the industry that interest me the least, as I love good cake, flowers and food, and there is much room for making horrendous "live" mistakes. Plus I am not one to remember the name of a song. I think that is key for a dj.


KP: What differentiates you from the rest of your industry peers?

SP: Photographers have such potential for creative freedom in their work. I believe we all bring to our images a part of our personalities. I feel one of the things that separates me from my peers is my use of strong colors and sense of energy. I think I think there is a sincerity to the shots, where one can feel present in the image.