At Rembrandt Yard, we have the pleasure of working with any number of vendors to create the incredible events that we host. Often, we get the opportunity to work with people that truly bring something special to the table, and that is a large part of how we curate our vendor list. So, we decided we want the chance for you to get to know the amazing teams and people we get to work and recommend, personally and professionally.
For our first vendor feature, we met with an unbelievable photographer, adventurer extraordinaire, and all around wonderful human, Alex Medvick.
Alex shares, “I’m learning to talk about myself. I’ve spent years learning how to talk to other people and learn stuff about them. This is a new thing for me, weirdly.” However, after nearly an hour of conversation, often veering of course, we had a clearer picture of who Alex Medvick is.
When asked for a synopsis of himself, he let us know that he loves roadtrips, adventures, and hiking. “My favorite thing to do is travel the country, hang out in the back of my car, and have conversations with people. Though not typically simultaneously, it’s cool when that happens though!” He has a deep fondness for Asian and Latin American cuisines, and somehow doesn’t drink caffeine.
So how does one get started as a wedding photographer? For Alex, it was the journey of finding his “thing”; that one item that he was good at. Starting at a young age, he felt he wasn’t good at anything, and was on the search for what he WAS good at. Photography started as a childhood hobby to help Alex find value, then was a job that was kind of fun, and moved into something with a much more emotional & spiritual weight. He expressed that photography was his way to take the parts of life that were beautiful and isolate and amplify them. Life can be difficult at times, and this provided a positive escape for Alex and those around him.
He started with film photography, sending out Kodak cameras he filled as a kid, to developing film as a teenager in his parent’s bathroom. From there, he just kind of fell into weddings, helping a friend that needed behind the scenes photography as a wedding DJ. He fell in love with Wedding Photography and the rest is history. “It became much more emotional. I get to be really involved in these people’s stories and I get to know them and serve them.”
Alex now looks to book more intentional experiences, where he can help couples figure out what looks like “them”. “It can look like anything. People who have said ‘hey, this is who we are, and we want to do things that reflect that. Rather than just going x, y, z this is how you have a wedding.” He finds that by taking the time to really get to know his clients, and encourage them in their experience truly being theirs. He even shared with us the story of inspiring a couple so fully to have the day and celebration they had envisioned, that they ended up cancelling the big wedding they didn’t want, and had hired him for. (Don’t worry, they had the intimate wedding of their dreams, with Alex’s support later on.)
Having been in photography for a number of years, we asked Alex what his favorite shoot was, and it was impossible to answer. Each shoot is so different and has their own thing going on that makes them unique and special; his wildest shoot experience, though, was a circus themed wedding. “They were teachers at the Philadelphia Circus School. Their first dance was on stilts in the air and the ceremony was a bunch of interpretive performances by their friends, there was a fire twirler, a contortionist, we got published in The Knot, a local news channel was there. It was truly a once in a lifetime kind of thing.”
So, what tips would a seasoned photographer give to those getting ready to get married? “Y’all matter more than your photographs”. Weddings should happen and the photos will come, and that is what will make the photos actually mean something. If you turn your wedding into a photoshoot, then it will be just that, and no longer a wedding.
Finally, taking a departure from wedding and photography, we asked what he would do if he was not a photographer: “Travel Influencer! I mean everybody wants to be a travel influencer. Or a National Parks Ranger.” He just wants to show people around the crazy world that we live in, and maybe capture some of it too.
Interested in seeing more of Alex’s work or chatting with him about photographing your next adventure? You can find him at https://alexmedvick.com/ or visit him on Instagram @alexmedvick.
