Vendor Spotlight | Claire Watson Photography
/A lawyer by day and creative soul off the clock, Claire Watson began teaching herself photography with a personal food blog. A publicist friend noticed Claire’s work as she improved, and invited her to shoot some business images for a local baker. After styling and shooting the baker’s products, Claire decided to throw in some headshots. She lent the baker her curling iron and mascara, and the realization began setting in: she liked working with people even more than with objects. She began shooting more and more portraits, loving the opportunity to give encouragement during a shoot and to witness the joy in her clients viewing their images for the first time.
Encouragement informs every aspect of a client’s experience with Claire. Engagement sessions are built into wedding packages, allowing couples not just to get comfortable in front of the camera, but to share their stories with Claire, and they receive a surprise in the mail following their sessions. Claire also specializes in timeline construction, helping her couples maximize the various locations, groups of family and friends, and desired shots that make up their wedding days. Her blog brims with wedding planning tips, and Claire loves texting with her brides to answer questions and to see when they purchase their gowns, and loves seeing the fruits of their marriages down the road.
All these investments in Claire’s client experience go far deeper than business decisions. Scroll through her blog and Instagram feed, and alongside her gorgeously airy, naturally lit portraits, journalistic images wherein a wedding day unfolds, and detail shots that nod to her start as a still-life photographer, you’ll find yourself starting to feel like you know Claire’s brides and grooms. That sense is rooted in her storytelling: how a couple met, what their personalities are like, anecdotes from their wedding day or engagement session, and boundless compliments on their choices in dress, decor, and traditions. Her stories bring a distinctively personal touch to her brand, rooted in true connection and an investment in the heart.
From Claire: Carefully watching for unfolding moments between cousin flower girls or a silently capturing that tear running down a daddy's face is what motivates me to become a better photographer. Those images only get more valuable as time marches on and I feel incredibly flattered when someone trusts me with documenting the first day of their marriage.
God looks on us with such a loving gaze, but often we don't see the loveliness He's built in us. If I can help people see a small fraction of that beauty, I feel like I'm doing good work.
