About Us
Who we are… as people.
Born and raised in Lexington, we, like all true Lexingtonians, bleed blue! GO CATS! Very recently our photography has allowed us to travel the world but each time we come home we realize that the bluegrass is the only place we want to be. We want to raise our children here, make our life here, watch it snow on our famous bluegrass and sip our mint juleps on Derby Day. We love our little town and cannot imagine being anywhere else. We LOVE to visit everywhere else, but are always happy to come home. Kentucky is and always will be home.
First off… how to SAY our name. It’s German and if we resided in Germany saying our last name would be like saying “Smith”. But we are in the good old US of A and John Jacob Jingleheimer is long since forgotten. So… it’s pretty simple:
ShMit- one single syllable. The “d” is silent and most of the time people think our name is spelled with two “t”‘s at the end (trust me we watch our google stats)… but it is a SCH and an MIDT… ShMit
Think of Jack Nicholson in the movie, About Schmidt… yes… that’s us!
Troy and I call ourselves “After High School” sweethearts. When we first met in school, we were not fans of each other, but after Troy graduated and I was a senior, we met again and something just clicked. We love each other like crazy and irritate each other like crazy. But like the old saying goes, you should not marry the one you CAN live with, you must marry that one you CANNOT live WITHOUT.
We were married in August of 2000, at a quaint little chapel named Cardome, in Georgetown. Even back then, we each valued photography so highly that we spent MORE on their wedding photos than they did on the rest of their wedding combined. So WHO photographed our wedding? The fabulous Forish’s, who, sadly enough, have since retired from the industry. We were sad to see them go, but after 6 years of photographing (and approaching our 30′s! GASP!) we realize what a toll this job takes on one’s body. We have joints that pop in crack in ways we never knew possible. After seeing us operate at a wedding, you will understand why. We are full tilt from start to finish!
For almost 12 years now we have been living our dreams together, shaking hands and making babies… oh wait… that is supposed to shaking hands and kissing babies… but either way it works!
To help you become a little better acquainted with each of us go here:
Together we form a photography team that can be matched by very few. We approach our photography as we do our life, with a sense of humor and laid back nature. There are very few things that stress us out. We have found, in life, that sometimes you just have to laugh and move on. Even being laid back, we are still “go-to” people. Each of us, having graduated in the tops of our classes, are habitual over achievers. We have been known to pull over-nighters to get images finish for a short deadline or wash our clients “decorated” cars at midnight after their reception just to make sure they would be safe on their journey to their honeymoon.
Our main goal on the wedding day, is to make sure that the day goes as smoothly as possible, and to have FUN making that happen. I have been found in many a dressing room, pinning bridesmaid dresses, stitching hems into crinolines and repairing bouquets with bobby pins. Troy has become a master at pinning boutonnieres and folding pocket squares.
You will, most often, find us running through the streets (yes! literally) with a bridal party, finding the perfect sunset with a bride and groom, up to our waist in the Cumberland river getting just the right shot, freezing our butts off in a snowstorm or dancing the night away with a wedding party. (Yes, occasionally we do kick off our shoes at the end of a long day and finish out the evening just the way they live, having fun.) And eating CAKE! Isn’t that why EVERY photographer shoots weddings?
The Schmidt’s currently reside in Lexington with their three beautiful children:
and their adopted fur baby Emersin Bear:
Yeah so he eats garbage, barks at everything that moves, chews the arms off Barbie dolls and gets yelled at a million times a day but darnit he’s cute!
Who we are …. as photographers.
Amber : ” As a photographer, my style is distinctively, full of depth and color, life and breath. I honestly feel that images should pop off the page and grab you by the heart. It has always been my goal to create images that touch your heart and tell YOUR story.” While the signature “SS&G style” is what brings many of our clients into the SS&G Fam, they quickly realize that our photography is LESS about “us” and more about them.
As the great Annie Leibovitz said “A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”.
There could be no truer statement when describing me as a photographer. At any given wedding I will cry multiple times and I don’t think I have EVER held it together during a Father / Daughter dance… ever. Early in my career I sought advice from anyone and everyone who would ever talk to me about photography. Some of that advice I kept and some of it I have let fall by the wayside as I have matured into the business. I found myself and my style somewhere along the way and with that came a certain confidence.
One thing that I will never forget is a wise photographer that once told me that as long as I would “Find the light” I would always be succesful. He was very right but I did not understand the depth of his statement when he first made it. Now, years later, I get it. You MUST find the light. The physical light. Light and shadow are the building blocks of creating any impactful photo. Without those two things the photo is dead. Find the LIGHT in yourself, as a photographer. Find the inspiration, the creativity and the drive. Lastly and most importantly, find the LIGHT in your subject. Find the things in life that make them who they are. The things that make them smile and cry. Make SURE that in every photo you can SEE them because for one single moment, during the camera shutter, I have the unique opportunity to capture life. I have stopped time and that moment, which can never be had again. That is what I do as a photographer. I allow my clients to hang onto those beautiful minutes and hours of their life that they will never be able to live again.
Troy : “As a photographer my goal is help each client become comfortable enough to create FUN images. Without fun, is life really worth living? I am not afraid to take chances and try new things. One cannot FAIL or SUCCEED unless they TRY. I am an adventurous soul who is usually willing to try anything. At weddings you will find me over pews, lying on the floor, standing on the top of a car or ladder to get that PERFECT shot. Its truly amazing to me that what I SEE through the camera lens can come alive forever in the portrait. Those moments that our couples may not even remember, are forever theirs to KEEP. That is why photography is so important. You only get ONE chance at life. Live it to the fullest, enjoy the ride and capture as many moments as you in your heart and through a camera. That is my goal as a photographer.”
Amber is the heart and soul of the business and Troy is the mechanics. Amber dreams it up and Troy makes it all work. From cameras to computers Troy is the one who makes Amber’s visions come to life. They are truly, in every sense of the word, a team. Partners in life and business… what could be better than to work with your best friend every single day?