Keeping It Local: Photography

How can choosing your photographer be part of your “green wedding” plan? Just find one right in your own backyard. 

“We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.”

-T.S. Eliot

Photo Courtesy: Abigail Seymour

In recent years, it has seemed as though the further your photographer had to travel to be at a wedding, the more exclusive he or she -- and in turn, the bride -- was. It’s become a custom to “fly in” many aspects of a wedding: the band, the makeup artist, and very often, the photographer. As glamorous as this might sound, the resources used by anyone who has to travel to your wedding, including your photographer, might very well cancel out many of the other green choices you are making.

I am humbled to have been that photographer “flown in” on occasion over the years, but as much as I have loved the families I worked with, the travel took its toll on me and on my efforts to have minimal impact on the environment. I have recently made a commitment to only book weddings within a 60-mile radius of my home in central North Carolina. I want to “bloom where I am planted,” and that means truly being part of the local community by sticking around more, and it also means referring my colleagues for non-local weddings.

Photo Courtesy: Abigail Seymour

Travel is inherent to any wedding, since all of our lives and families are so spread out – we rarely live in the same town anymore, let alone the same state. While one would never imagine planning a wedding and not including loved ones who live far away, it’s not absolutely necessary for your service providers to pack their bags and their 3oz carry-on containers for your Big Day! If your photographer lives in California and needs to fly to your wedding in Louisiana, for example, he or she will end up using one ton of CO2 emissions, or 62 times that an average day in an American household. According to onetonco2.com, it takes 40 years for one tree to offset one ton of CO2. There are lots of sites you can peruse to calculate the projected footprint of your wedding and then consider purchasing carbon offsets (Terrapass.org, carbonfund.org).

If you are interested in expressing your green wedding philosophy throughout your choices, then consider keeping everything local, including your photographer and other service providers. Here’s how:

WHERE’S WALDO?

It is not uncommon for a photographer’s physical location to be downplayed on his or her website -- the contact number might be toll-free and the words “available for travel worldwide” be prominently displayed. Be sure to find out exactly where he or she is located -- even if travel is not an obstacle for them, it could de-green your wedding in an instant.

SEARCH GLOBALLY TO FIND LOCALLY

You can search for local photographers in a number of excellent online resources, and my two favorites are Greenerphotography.org and ISPWP. Both are prestigious associations wherein the photographers must apply and be approved by a panel of peers. In both cases you are able to sort by state and city. Do keep in mind, though, that even if a photographer is listed under South Carolina, for example, he or she might actually be based in Oregon. Not only might there be a hefty increase in the price for travel (sometimes even twice the price of the top package), but any efforts you are making in other areas to plan a green wedding will be completely negated by that person’s cross-country flight or four-hour drive to your wedding.

Photo Courtesy: Abigail Seymour

WORD OF MOUTH

If you are working with vendors who are in sync with your green efforts, they will be able to refer you to similar-minded photographers in your area.

READ THE SMALL PRINT

Instead of noticing who might have the largest ad in your local wedding publication, take a look at the photo credit beneath the photos -- chances are that the “photo by” person is someone local, who is obviously sought after by the editors and worthy of checking out.

In my opinion, the nicest thing about choosing a hometown/local photographer for your wedding is that one of your neighbors will have photographed your wedding, and will be there to document the rest of your lives as a family.

Further reading:

http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/04/flying-airplane-carbon-footprint

Written By: Abigail Seymour,  Abigail Seymour Photography

Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, Abigail Seymour is a wedding photographer focused on attracting and working with local couples who want to minimize their wedding's carbon footprint. While she misses the excitement of traveling, her self-imposed 60-mile radius for weddings has given her more time to spend with her husband, two kids, two dogs and five chickens. Read about Abigail's Thoughts on Being Green