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Cherie Steinberg Coté: Capturing the Wedding Vibe

© Cherie Steinberg Coté Loading...

© Cherie Steinberg Coté

Nikon D700, Manual, Shutter Speed 1/250 sec., f/2.8, Focal Length 85mm, ISO 800

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A wedding photographer's job isn't just about lining up the bridal party for a few pictures and being there when the groom stuffs that first piece of wedding cake into his bride's mouth. Ask Cherie Steinberg Coté.

Oh, it is all that, or it can be. "I almost feel like we're psychiatrists and comedians and fashion consultants and photographers and directors, too," said Cherie , a Los Angeles photographer who has been capturing weddings in all their details for the last dozen years or so.

Cherie takes what she calls an organic approach to wedding photography. "I'm sensitive to the couple's vibe," she said. "I guess that's what I mean by organic. I feel the couple and the moment and instinctively move there. If the couple is low-key, I do a romantic approach. If they are more adventurous, I go there with them. One bride I had was willing to actually run in her Christian Louboutin 6-inch heels for me, so I said, ‘OK, let's go.'"

Back in the 1990s Cherie was living in Denver and had given up professional photography for several years. Then one day she was paging through a New Yorker magazine supplement and had a revelation.

"In this magazine were these amazing fabulous black-and-white photos of weddings. I thought, ‘Wow. This isn't what I thought wedding photos were.' I had never dreamed of doing wedding photography, but the pictures were just brilliant."

She took her portfolio and went to talk to a couple of Denver wedding photographers. "One of them looked at my black-and-white portfolio and said, ‘If you can translate this into wedding photography, you're going to be amazing.' I ended up going to a few weddings with him, and that was it. It was like I decided to do it one day and the next day I was doing it."

In 2002 Cherie moved to Los Angeles, where she now photographs about 25 weddings a year with her partner, Hedley Jones, and assistants. "I think I quickly grew a following because my pictures were very different," Coté said. "I think I'm known for a more artistic approach to weddings. I like to be a little bit more cutting edge. I don't do the same thing at every wedding."