This one’s going to be tough but I’m going to dive right into it and save nothing for the swim back. Three years ago my buddy CJ needed help on Sarah and Yoni’s NESSAH SYNAGOGUE WEDDING. By help I mean he needed a second shooter. When I’m not booked on certain weekends I contract out to help my friends and vice versa, it’s a great way to learn more and helps put trust at ease instead of hiring out people you don’t know. So I jumped in and we rocked it.

It was an incredible NESSAH SYNAGOGUE WEDDING. When we wrapped up I dumped my files in my storage and gave him my cards. Afterwards I went through and kept a few bangers for myself and then deleted everything once he confirmed he had everything backed up. A few weeks later I learned CJ took his life up at his cabin. I won’t go into the reasons or what transpired after because simply put, only he truly knew what he was feeling. That aside though, it fuckin sucked and still does. CJ was good people and those that knew him can 100% attest to that. If you have issues get help, no matter how strong you are…emotion is stronger and can over power will any time it wants.

A little while after that I linked up with Sarah and her planner and was able to send them the small amount of shots I had kept. It was nothing that told the story of the day in a complete form but they were at least bangers they could have. The other clients he had weren’t so lucky though and because his family shut everyone out I’ll never know how that side of the story was handled. I have a plan for my clients in case of my death but I’m pretty sure he didn’t.

Then not too long ago Sarah and Yoni reached out to me for their maternity session. It was awesome to hear from them, talk about their travels and just catch up. We scheduled the session for RINCON BEACH and that was that. Well, leading up to the date I was trying to find some old family pictures on one of my discarded SD cards and wouldn’t you know it it was corrupted. So I loaded up the recovery software and spent 12hrs on deep recovery.

The crazy thing to know is that when you do this you will get the weirdest results. File names 50digits long, random folders of gibberish and a bunch of corrupted files mixed with recovered files. It’s crazy. I had to go through about 100 folders with 999 files that don’t register previews….a lot of clicking. Short of it, I found what I was looking for. I also found the files I shot for Sarah and Yoni’s NESSAH SYNAGOGUE WEDDING. It was amazing. Out of the 3000+ shots a little over 500 were still usable. The rest defeated by overwriting. I was able to edit and put together a more complete story for them, the only thing missing were the parts CJ was doing as the lead  ( bridal portraits, bridesmaids pictures and some family formals ).

This blog is a recap on what I was able to recover, edit and deliver for them. I would like it also to serve as a reminder to never be too proud to talk to someone if you need to. Wake up every morning and tell yourself it’s going to be a kick ass day, even if it isn’t. Also always make sure there’s a contingency plan. Sarah and Yoni lucked out big time but it could have easily went the other way too.

So without further ado here’s a small sample of what I salvaged as a second for them.

 

While you’re here feel free to check out some of the other incredible weddings I’ve been a part of  as well as advice you’ll need when debating that First Look!

May + Mike | FCC Los Angeles Wedding

First Looks. Traditional VS Modern and why you should always choose the latter.

Leslie + Vlad | El Encanto Santa Barbara Wedding

Ryan + Trent | El Matador Malibu Engagement

 Emily + Joseph | Hacienda Heights Country Club Wedding

Gail + Brian | Figueroa Mountain Wedding

I want to tell YOUR story and be you’re PASADENA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER! Chat with me today to see if your date is still available!