A couple of months ago, my longtime assistant and photo-editor, Michael and I were photographing Nicky Cruz. We were driving to grab a quick Starbucks when he told me a story. And it went something like this:
So the other day I was tagging along with my friend who was taking her roommate to the airport. We were making small talk and I told the roommate I (Michael) was a photographer. The roommate got really excited and said, “Have you ever heard of René Tate? She’s amazing and I follow her blog all the time.” I laughed and told her, “Uh yeah, I actually work for her.”
That was one story.
A month later, a past bride and friend, Aubrey texted me and said, “So I have this friend from Georgia who starting going to school at UCCS and guess who her favorite Colorado Springs photographer is?”
Fast forward another month later and I get this call from Jesie: “Tater, you’ll never believe what just happened to me. I was getting a burger with Brandon and the waitress came up me, beet red, and asked, ‘Are you Jesie? You’re René Tate’s associate photographer, aren’t you?”
Aubrey and I talked and we put all these stories together and realized the common thread through all these stories was Alex. :-) It was then that Aubrey had the great idea of organizing a surprise lunch with me and Alex followed by a short portrait shoot to follow. I was totally on board and knew I had to meet this famous Alex.
Alex is such a sweetheart. She’s formerly a USAFA cadet and has switched gears to pursue nursing. She looks like she’s from California, but she’s a southern girl that lets “y’all” roll off her tongue beautifully. She’s a doll and I could photographer her until the cows come home.
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With all that say, once a month, we want to take one avid-blog reader out to lunch, do a mini-shoot, and feature him or her right here on the blog as a thank you for supporting us and our business! :-D
Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce to you one avid RTP follower and lover, Miss Alex.
René: Alex, how did you first hear about RTP and what kept you coming back to our blog?
Alex: I first saw RTP through Aubrey’s enagagement session. I thought her pictures were beautiful, so I looked up her photographer, came across your blog, and just fell in love with it. I think what has kept me coming back is how all of your pictures are just so filled with love. Anyone who looks at your photos can just feel the love oozing out of them. I think that can sometimes be a difficult thing to capture, and y’all do it beautifully. I love reading your blogs too. They’re always so positive and endearing, whether they’re about your couples or about your own personal travels and experiences.
R: In 3 words, how would describe RTP’s style?
A: Ahh, this is so hard. Effortlessly beautiful. Classic. Casual, yet elegant at the same time. Very detail oriented, which I think is one of my favorite things about your pictures. So that’s a little more than 3 words… Sorry!
R: Be honest, how often do you check in with us on either the blog or Facebook?
A: Oh dear, probably way too much sometimes. But on average, probably 2 or 3 times a week. But if I see something posted on Facebook, then I definitely go check the blog.
R: Favorite blog post?
A: I just spent about 20 minutes going back through your blog trying to figure out which one is my favorite and that was just pointless… I couldn’t decide on just one! I love them all! However, one that really stuck out to me was one of your posts when you were in Scotland and blogged about being out walking or running one morning and coming upon this cliff and having this wonderful, powerful moment with God. It just sounded like such a beautiful moment, and the way you described it has always made me remember that. One of my favorite weddings that you’ve photographed happens to be Aubrey’s sister-in-law Lauren’s wedding. I love beach weddings and the pictures that you took of his reaction to his bride walking down the isle were some of my favorite wedding pictures I’ve ever seen.
R: Anything you’ve always wanted to know about me and/or Jesie?
A: At what point did y’all realize that photography was more than just a hobby and that it was something that y’all were really passionate about? Like when did it just click and you realized you wanted to do this for the rest of your lives?
R: I think Jesie and I both have had hearts for marriage since before we picked up cameras. I started in college by shooting some images on my Kodak Easy Share at friend’s wedding and from there things just snowballed. I got a call to do my first wedding, did two to prep for it, and ending up loving photographing weddings. I’ve always been a creative. I’ve always loved design and color. I’ve always loved working with people. And I’ve always been amazed at marriage. It’s only fitting that all those loves should meet and thus René Tate Photography was born.
R: What’s your favorite part about your pal Aubrey who set this up?
A: She’s just so darn sweet! And thoughtful. I love that quality in people. Like who else would have gone through the trouble of setting something like this up? I just can’t thank her enough.
Alex, thank you for joining us in our journey! We love you and can’t wait to get to know you better!
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Know an avid blog reader who’s never been photographed by us? Or maybe it’s yourself?
Either way, nominate our next RTP Fan Highlight for lunch, a shoot, and their own blog post by clicking here!
