Creating Relationships That Last A Lifetime: Photographer Nanci Kerby

by Paula Philipps

Talking with Nanci Kerby is like talking with a good friend…only this good friend is an international model-turned-photographer with more than 20 years of experience. Kerby has graced the pages of Seventeen and Elle magazines, sold chili for Hormel and grooming products for Gillette. She knows what works in front of a camera.

“When the models I worked with asked me to photograph their engagement portraits, I treated them as magazine layouts, beauty shots,” Kerby said. “I started with my dad's 35-millimeter camera, progressed through slides, then went to digital.”

Nanci Kerby has the unique quality of transforming her own experience behind the camera into wedding portraits that tell the story of a couple's personal connection. Through her background in commercial photography, she developed her own style that has made her a sought-after wedding photographer throughout the Napa Valley . Capturing the ebullient features of a newly-married bride as she and her husband take their first steps together as man and wife, or the endearing look of sweetness as the bride and groom embrace under a moonlit sky are moments that Kerby transforms into digital images through her expert directing and sense of timing. “I inspire trust in people,” Kerby says. “They know I have a creative eye for beauty. I work with them to show their soul and their happiness.”

Kerby takes the time to find out about a couple's personality, first as individuals, then as a couple. While she is shooting their portraits, she is watching to determine how they will photograph best. “I always feel a part of the couple's experience,” Kerby comments. “When they contact me and we by begin taking a few portraits of the two of them together, I am creating a relationship.”

During an engagement photo session, Kerby looks for special qualities that tell a couple's story. By watching their behavior and listening to how they interact with one another, she shows a couple's personality through digital images. “I tell them to have fun. This is where I capture what they were like before they were married,” Kerby adds. “I ask them to go on a picnic together, to kiss, to be playful. I capture the way they look into each other's eyes.”

Because of Nanci's experience as a photographer for the Napa Valley Wine Auction and her familiarity with Napa and surrounding areas, Kerby is familiar with outdoor locations throughout this region that provide beautiful backdrops for “environmental” photo shoots. This is one reason some couples choose to use her services over those of photographers from outside the area.

Kerby accommodates all size weddings, from intimate to elaborate. She takes an unobtrusive approach toward capturing cherished moments between couples and their guests. “I'm watching for the sparkling, private moments,” she adds. “That may mean watching a bride having a heart-to-heart talk with her dad, or a groom asking grandma to dance. I try to see a bit more and photograph those moments of happiness.”

Throughout the wedding day events, guests who have watched her say they are impressed with her professionalism. “It's my job to solve difficulties that may come up by putting people at ease, by not creating more stress for everyone involved,” Kerby says. Couples and guests alike have commented that although they know she is there, they forget about being photographed. “The photographer never interrupted the flow of our wedding or reception,” commented one couple. “She treated us with grace and elegance.”

Starting with Simple Love to The Grande , Nanci Kerby's wedding packages range between $2,450 and $8,800, depending upon the number of images and the time spent during the photography sessions. All packages include a CD of edited, retouched images and a wedding album. Couples can choose an outdoor Napa Valley or studio location for their pre-wedding portraits.

 

For more information about Nanci Kerby's wedding photography services, contact nanci@nancikerby.com or visit www.nancikerby.com.