MONTRÉAL / JESSE DANIEL SMITH
ENFR

PHILOSOPHY / JESSE DANIEL SMITH

Let the day
happen.

The outlook behind the way I photograph.

For the people still to come.

100, 200, 500 years.

I take photos and video with people 100, 200, 500 years in the future in mind. I leave in the things I know cousins will bring up for the rest of their lives. I like to show people how perfect they are, just as they are.

A lifelong curiosity.

I’ve been existential and spiritual for as long as I can remember. I identified as a Buddhist as a kid. For the last ten years, I’ve been learning everything I can about Zen, Taoism, Buddhism and theology.

That curiosity, and fifteen years of photographing weddings, keep pointing me toward the same thing: let the day happen.

What I keep seeing is that people get married, and the thing that looked like trouble can become the punchline to a great story. I don’t need you to perform a perfect day for the camera. I want to photograph the one you’re actually having.

Yin-yang symbol

THE APPROACH / LET IT HAPPEN

The moment is already whole.

“Don’t try.”

Charles Bukowski’s epitaph. Read the story at LAist

I take those two words as a reminder to pay attention rather than force a moment. The people are already there. The feeling is already there. You don’t need to perform your wedding for the camera.

A SMALL MOMENT / SORRY, FATHER

A priest once asked if I needed to stop the ceremony for video. I could never imagine doing that, so I laughed. Then I immediately said “sorry, Father” and took my hat off.

That’s more or less the idea: let the ceremony be a ceremony. I’ll find the picture.

Charles Bukowski, photographed by Artgal73
Photo: Artgal73 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 · edited

A LITTLE ROOM / QUINCY JONES

Leave room for the unexpected.

“Let’s always leave some space for God to walk through the room.”

Quincy Jones, from Q on Producing, with Bill Gibson. Read the authorized excerpt.

For me, that’s an invitation to leave room for the unplanned. Prepare, pay attention, and leave a little space for something you couldn’t have arranged. That’s where a little of the magic lives.

Quincy Jones smiling in Venice in 1989, photographed by Gorup de Besanez
Quincy Jones, 1989. Photo: Gorup de Besanez / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · background removed
CONTACT / WRITE TO ME

Something coming up? Write to me.

Write to me

I’m happy to chat or offer help, even if you don’t end up booking me.

Let’s start with an email. A date, a place, and a little about you and your event, how I can help you. A few sentences is plenty to get going.

Montreal Island, easily accessible locations are the best fit.

Call or email me directly, in English or French.


You’ll be writing directly to me. We’ll agree on the details together before confirming a date.