Today we’d like to introduce you to Eden Scharer
Hi Eden, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was in high school I signed up for photography classes because my friends and I would always do photography of each other and nature on the weekends for fun. During my senior year my mom saw a Craigslist ad for a wedding photographer who needed an assistant in Toledo. The ad said I could borrow her gear and didn’t need experience, just a willingness to learn and enthusiasm for photography, so I applied and got the job! The photographer’s company was called Blue Martini Photography, and the photographer Christine was amazing! She taught me so much about photography and weddings and lighting, and I owe a lot to her!
I went to college to be a dietitian but after graduating had friends that were getting married and asked me to be their photographer, so I got back into it then and went full time with photography in 2020.
In late 2023 I opened my rentable photography studio with my friend and fellow photographer Janell and we’ve loved getting to create a space for other photographers to shoot in and use for their own projects!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel very blessed to have so many great people who have trusted me, referred me, and spoken highly of me. For the most part my journey has been a pretty smooth road!
The pandemic in 2020 created a lot of uncertainty in the wedding and event industry, but 2021 was really the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life. People book wedding vendors pretty far in advance so by early 2020 I already had a mostly full calendar of weddings booked for 2021, and then when the pandemic hit, most of my couples who were supposed to get married in 2020 pushed their weddings back a year, so I ended up having a year of double the work in 2021! I shot 60 or so weddings that year, 9 of them were destination weddings, my life was just a whirlwind but it was amazing to have all of those experiences!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I think for the first couple years of my career, I was learning how to be able to get really great images in any lighting scenario, in any time crunch, and in any weather. I was also learning the flow of wedding days and making sure I completed the expected shot list of a wedding!
In the past couple years though as those things have become more second nature to me, I’ve gotten to have more fun with the art aspect of wedding photography. I forget who said it but I saw someone call weddings “a feast of humanity” and I think that sums it up so well. Honing in on capturing the emotions and love and reverence of weddings has really changed my work. I’ve also gotten really into film photography, shooting on different cameras that are 30+ years old, and seeing how they capture the light and mood of a scene is so captivating to me and something that is starting to set me apart in the industry!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I love keeping up with magazines, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue specifically. The editorial photography is so inspiring. I also love Vogue weddings and the Anti-Bride blogs for photography inspiration as well! I listen to a lot of love songs from any time period and a lot of classical music while I edit to set the dreamy, romantic tone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Edenphoto.org
- Instagram: Instagram.com_edenphoto
