Art & Life with Rebecca Langford

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Langford.

Rebecca, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in Houston, TX and first became interested in photography when I was in my early teens. I got a point and shoot camera for Christmas one year and I would take pictures of literally everything. Unknowingly, I had stumbled upon my passion.

Like everyone, I was “artsy” at first because I didn’t know any better. I had a generic photo editing program on my computer where I would play with all the filters adding moody contrasts and occasionally putting some deep song lyrics in a bad font over the photo. Over time, I upgraded to a DSLR and professional editing software and began taking portraits. While I didn’t know what I was doing technically, I loved figuring it out. I’d spend hours looking up Photoshop tutorials and just playing with my camera, teaching myself everything from shooting on manual to basic photo retouching.

When it came time to decide what I wanted to do for college, I had no doubt that I wanted to study photography. I attended Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated in 2013 with a BFA degree in photography and a minor in graphic design. When I graduated, I was honestly a little unsure of what I wanted to do. I had a strong technical skill set, but I knew that I didn’t want to move to NYC/ LA and be a photo assistant for years before being able to do my own work, and the idea of running my photo business full time at 22 slightly overwhelmed me. Honestly, I just wanted a steady job for a while so I could figure things out. I ended up getting a job as a graphic designer and videographer at the Perot Museum here in Dallas. I’ve been working at the Perot for almost four years now and I’ve learned so much from it as a designer and working professional. I still love design, but I’ve come to realize what I knew all along—photography satisfies me creatively in ways that nothing else can. This realization gave me the push to jump back into this crazy wedding photography industry and I haven’t looked back. During the weekdays I design exhibition graphics, and on weeknights and weekends I work on my photo business. It has been nonstop, but the hard work is all starting to come to fruition through connections with great people in the wedding industry and opportunities to work with great clients.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a wedding and portrait photographer. I occasionally shoot with film for personal projects, but I mainly shoot digital and edit with a little bit of a film aesthetic.

When a client looks back at their wedding photos, I want them to see a story. I capture the wide range of emotions—from the intimate moments and fragile details of getting ready, to the nervous love manifest in the faces of a couple when they see each other for the first time, to the bliss of getting down on the dance floor with best friends. I document it all and weave it into a narrative of memories. As a photographer, my goal is to simply capture beautiful moments and preserve the happiness and emotion of this unforgettable time in the lives of my clients.

Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
My advice for anyone that is starting out in photography is that editing trends shouldn’t define your work. I’m not saying that editing presets are bad- I love and use presets all the time! But I think a lot of photographers gravitate to a trendy editing style without really grounding themselves in the basic technical aspects of photography first. When you really know what your camera is doing, what it actually means when you shoot in RAW vs jpeg, when you can see how light falls on someone’s face, then the editing and stylistic aspects fall into place much easier. Find a photo that you like and really study it. Look at where the light source is coming from, look at how the photographer uses depth of field and study the composition of the subjects. The photo isn’t standing out solely because of a nice color preset that has been added. It’s a combination of so many important elements that make photography an art.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My portfolio can be found at www.rebeccalangfordphotography.com, and I regularly post on Instagram @rebeccalangfordphoto

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rebeccalangfordphotography.com
• Phone: 281-755-5198
• Email: rebeccalangfordphoto@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccalangfordphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalangfordphoto\

Image Credit:
RebeccaLangford.jpg: Photo by Katie Langford
Voyage_01web.jpg: Rebecca Langford Photography, Mon’Amie Collective, Shelly Sarver Designs, Modern Dress, Styles by Vero
Voyage_02web.jpg: Rebecca Langford Photography, Mon’Amie Collective
Voyage_03web.jpg: Rebecca Langford Photography, The Wonder Workshop, Meagan Bechtel, Lovely Bride, Venus and Co FLowers
Voyage_04web.jpg: Rebecca Langford Photography, Mon’Amie Collective, Shelly Sarver Designs,
Voyage_05web.jpg: Rebecca Langford Photography, Meagan Bechtel, Lovely Bride
Voyage_06web.jpg: Rebecca Langford Photography

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.