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Creativity From the Heart:
Adrienne Maples Adds a Romantic Touch to Her Wedding Imagery
By Margaret Lane
What artistic child has not been reprimanded for drawing on the walls? Fortunately, Kansas City-based
photographer Adrienne Maples continued a creative path despite the scolding. While in school, she tried
various artistic outlets, and eventually a pinhole camera crafted from a cardboard box led her to
discover a love of photography. Maples went on to study photography and fine art in college, obtaining
a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design
before edging her career towards fine art portraiture. An early employer, an architectural photographer
in business for himself 20 years, provided sage advice: “The only way to create and live is to work
for yourself.”
Soon thereafter in 2002, Adrienne opened her own photography studio, but she quickly realized she
lacked some essential skills and knowledge about business. “I struggled with this,” admits Adrienne.
“I received a wonderful education at the Savannah College. I learned to see and develop my artist’s
eye. But there was only one class offered in the business of photography. I’ve had to learn these
skills firsthand.”
With determined support from her husband and business partner, Scott, Adrienne soldiered on
and steadily began attracting clients. In the beginning, aside from networking, her sole
marketing relied on an Internet presence. “I was fortunate to learn graphic design skills
in school and have made the most of them by building and designing my own website. But I’ve
spent many long hours in front of the computer learning new software,” she says.
Expanding beyond marketing on the Internet, Adrienne next explored new promotional paths
when she began sending her wedding images to magazines a year ago. She comments that a
photographer should always look for opportunities to submit their images. One of her photos
landed on the cover of Southern Bride magazine in 2005; it was her first submission
to any magazine. She’s achieved other recent acclaim, winning a Professional Photographer
of the Year award at the
International Photography Awards
(aka the Lucie awards), plus a first place for her photograph “Sisters” in the
WPPI 8x10 print competition
last year. In August 2006, the Kansas City Star Magazine wrote a
feature piece
about her work, which led to overwhelming positive response and a flurry of new clients.
Customer Service Is Tops
But publicity alone does not build a clientele. Adrienne maintains consistently high standards
of customer service, and she works hard to produce the best images possible. Elaborating on a
recent wedding, she says, “I woke up to the first dreary day of the rainy season here in Kansas
City. At 10 a.m. I called my bride to set her at ease about the weather. I said, ‘This is a
wonderful opportunity to be extremely creative with your images.’ My goal was to calm her nerves
and set the tone for the day. I wanted her to understand that we would have a wonderful time and
create some stunning photos, regardless of the weather.”
Adrienne knows that a rainy day can provide spectacular lighting and backdrops. “Used to
advantage, sky and clouds truly add drama and depth. But these elements can also add panic
to a bride’s nerves,” she says. She understands the importance of having the client trust
her experience, knowledge, and intuition, so making a call like this is nothing out of the
norm for Adrienne. After hanging up the phone, she dialed her assistant and advised her to
bring extra shoes, pants and umbrellas. Adrienne called in some backup too, knowing that extra
assistance would be necessary to keep the equipment dry while she shot. After packing the gear,
she looked over her past work, examining rainy day shots to recall what had worked and what
had not. She refreshed her memory on angles and lighting, backgrounds and techniques.
A passionate photographer who defines her wedding imagery as a blend of fine art presented
with a highly romantic and feminine touch, Adrienne frames to advantage. Arriving at the
site early, she scouted for a setting to stage the private moment between bride and groom.
“There was an amazing, vibrant, golden tree off to the side of the church. Its brilliance
contrasted with the gray of the day, so I knew this was a location I had to use.” With
bride and groom in place, she used a reflector to warm the scene, added a slight touch
of fill flash, and encouraged the couple to keep each other warm.
Finding Her Silver Lining
As she worked with her Kansas City bride that afternoon, Adrienne’s mind flashed back to
how she had captured “Silver Lining,” an award-winning image. The day’s dark skies reminded
her of the time spent with a Minolta film camera preparing for an outdoor wedding in Forsyth
Park in Savannah a few years earlier. “I remember that as the ceremony began, the skies
opened, and it began to sprinkle; within moments it was pouring. My assistant protected the
gear, and I circled the ceremony—getting soaked.
“Moisture began to cloud my lens, but I kept shooting. The image was taken from a distance
of 15 feet using an 85mm fixed lens. I pushed the exposure and hoped for the best,” she adds.
“The setting was a perfect balance of umbrellas and wedding party; the rain provided a dreamy
reflection on the concrete. The steady stream of rain and fog misted the lens, which gave the
photograph the appearance of a painting.” About the only edit work done later was minor
burning and dodging. “My bride was ecstatic when she saw the photo. She couldn’t believe
that was what the scene looked like.”
Adrienne prefers to work light and now uses the Canon 5D (having made the switch to digital in
March 2006). Her assistant carries a range of lenses (including a 70–200mm), a giant 40x20 reflector
and a second flash. Adrienne employs very little non-natural lighting, but will add subdued flash
to fill backgrounds or increase luminosity where required. A second recent purchase, a Wolverine
CF drive, lets her hand off cards to an assistant for download while she shoots. Adrienne takes
a minimum of 1500 images at her weddings.
When working, she is quiet and unobtrusive—observing and capturing as moments unfold. She
searches for innate beauty and explores personalities and relationships. “As a woman, I
understand the importance each bride places on looking and feeling her best on her wedding
day. I show this through her eyes, her laugh, the curve of an arm.” Adrienne believes that
a feminine touch and sensibility are perfect attributes for a wedding photographer.
She also feels that a good photographer works in unison with her subjects and surroundings.
Adrienne, whose romantic documentary style is popular among a set of clients with artistic
sensibilities and opinions in sync with her own, is sensitive to all that goes into the
planning of a wedding. “Many of my brides and grooms come from design, graphic and photography
professions. As a result, capturing the finest creative details of their artistic wedding i
paramount: the location, the table, the colors, the food—all have been painstakingly chosen.”
WPPI Membership
“I joined WPPI in 2005 after seeing the winning images from a recent
photography competition,” Adrienne explains. “I read about the advantages of obtaining membership
and talked to colleagues. Each advised me that it would be a good idea to involve myself with a
professional organization that took care of its members.”
A film stalwart, it took Adrienne a while to make a digital switch, but she was able to query
fellow WPPI members about their experiences. “Coming from a fine art background, I was under
the impression that digital was not good enough. I was taught that fine art equals film plus
long hours in the darkroom. Having a set of peers to talk with about this was very helpful.
“Perhaps the manual/digital tipping point was fatigue with a film workload that was getting
more unbearable as business got busier,” she notes. “Digital has made my workload easier, but
in the same breath it’s made things much harder. I spend a lot more time editing in front of
the computer. I had to relearn everything I already knew about how the camera sees light.
Shooting digital is similar to shooting with slide film, but the big advantage is that you
have a histogram that instantly tells you everything about the scene.”
Adrienne is looking forward to increasing her involvement as a member and attending more
education sessions to help master the digital difference. “I know this is the best way to
keep up to date with the constant changes and challenges a digital world brings.”
Readers may contact Adrienne Maples at Adrienne Maples Photography, Inc., through her
website amaples.com and blog
amaples.blogspot.com.
Margaret Lane is a freelance writer and amateur photographer. She has more than 15 years
experience as a corporate communications professional for non-profit, photography and
technology clients.
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