Today we’re so thrilled to introduce you to one our favorite photographers, Corbin Gurkin Photography. Her work has graced the covers of numerous magazines, and she’s traveled hundreds of miles to capture couples all over the world. Her work is simply breathtaking. She also has a brand spanking new site to boot!
What is or has been your favorite wedding moment?
Clients have told me before that they can tell when I get excited about a photo I’ve just taken. My voice gets more animated, my heart races to capture the image in just the right way, I snap away, taking it all in. So often this has more to do with the way light is falling on a subject, or something in a subtle gesture that I find so inherently beautiful. It’s not the big, what my fiancé calls “meat and potato” wedding shot that you know you need to capture for any wedding narrative to be complete, but rather it’s the image that completely embodies the emotion and demeanor of the couple. It’s the photo that seems to be illustrative of the connection between the artist and her subject – and in this moment, I think I really get to know my clients best.
Favorite wedding trend of the moment? Wedding trend you’d love to see disappear forever?
I admit it – I love ombre. Maybe it’s the painter in me (I started off as a painter before transitioning to photography), but I truly don’t tire of the soft, ethereal look of this current wedding trend. Ombre is perfect for weddings, when done in the subtle way that it should be used. The watercolor palette just allows colors to swirl around a dinner table and I particularly love the way that palette looks in detail photos. Ethereal, subtle ombré, in wedding decor, is hard to beat
I’d love to see the vintage filters and washed out yellow-hued photo processing leave forever – I’m drawn to an ephemeral look and I think it would be so wonderful if our images could just age naturally over time. I take the authenticity of my photos and the images I capture quite seriously and I would never advise a client to follow a trend that has more to do with what’s hip than what is meaningful.
Do you have a favorite song/band/style of music? Does it define or help shape your work?
I love Aimee Mann, Brandi Carlile, Adele – beautiful female vocals with strong emotion in their lyrics and melodies. I want my images to have that same sort of raw, true feeling, but In a pretty sense, not an overly gritty one.
Is there an artist/designer/generally creative person in a totally different field who inspires you?
Gosh, so many people! I am really inspired by Vera Wang’s color palette right now – soft nude, flushed pink, ivory – these tones seem to appear in my work naturally and I really love how Vera is always one step ahead. In general, I find myself always referring back to Vermeer’s work as an inspiration for dynamic window light, the movement and femininity in Degas’s paintings, and Jane Austen reminds me that a strong independent minded woman can still be one to fall in love.
If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be?
Had I not become a photographer, I’d be a painter or perhaps I would own a curiosities shop in France. Or maybe I would be a designer or illustrator. I have always been a highly visual person and if I had not chosen photography, I know I would have picked another creative field and I know it would be something visual.
Favorite winter food? (we love food).
Cooking is one of those talents that I truly wish I had, but I’ll happily settle for being able to take pretty photographs of delicious food made by others. I have been pinning the most delectable looking mini desserts on pinterest.
When it’s cold out, a yummy soup on a cold day is hard to top-Curried butternut squash soup with candied walnuts is a current favorite.
Thanks, Corbin. Stay tuned because next we’ll be sharing some painterly inspiration Corbin shot in Paris.
