Lenses, Lessons & 2020 Recapped with a Look at 2021

January 1, 2021

We are excited to be welcome in a New Year! Cheers to you all. If ever there was a year that was like a pair of uncomfortable jeans you couldn’t wait to swap for sweatpants it was 2020. We are sure this idea has been echoed everywhere.

With all the challenges and difficulties we decided to look back at not only 2020 but at some of our achievements, fondest memories and things we are proud of as your friendly neighborhood photographers.

If you’ve been reading our blog you may remember there was a slight shift in blog topics as well as writing style. In our 5 Floral Trends We Can Get Behind for This Fall post we introduced the newest member of the Terry Richards Photography Team, our staff writer Maggie who has been taking care of our blog for the past 6 months. (Hi! That’s me!)

We’ve also begun exploring a new form of social media, Pinterest! If you have Pinterest then we invite you to check out Terry Richards Photography and give us a follow as we are constantly saving new ideas and the latest trends in all things wedding, engagement and maternity.

We are not just looking back at 2020, but also our history since the inception of Terry Richards Photography. We decided to ask Terry & Elisha a few questions that we bet you couldn’t guess the answers to!

Total amount of weddings shot: Closing in on 150 (would have been over if not of Covid-19!)

Total amount of engagement shoots: Just around 200

Total amount of maternity shoots: Almost 30

New cameras: 12 cameras so far!

Number of Photos in your collection: approximately 750 000. We still have at least 2 copies of every wedding photo we’ve ever taken and have over 30 terabytes worth of hard drives.

Furthest drive: Albany, NY (6h and 25 min)

Closest drive: Elmhurst Inn (6 min)

One thing that made you smile: Can’t think of just one thing, there are many things at every wedding that make you smile, being part of the happiest day of every couples’ life always leaves you smiling!  

One thing that made you laugh: Again there has been lots of laughs… groomsmen and bridesmaids speeches are often great for a good laugh

We asked Terry about one memorable thing Elisha did:  When we were doing a nighttime “sparkler photo” and Elisha was running around with the sparkler and she twisted her ankle and fell, and was more concerned about the couple not moving so that they got their photo! 

We asked Elisha about one memorable thing that Terry did: Terry will do just about anything to get the shot. He once jumped into cow “droppings” because he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, “just trying to get the best angle”. Once he even fell on ice for the same reason and the camera did not survive to even see 2020 (thank goodness for all our backups!).

It’s not uncommon for him to be covered in dirt/mud/snow from trying to get that perfect angle (we make sure to always have back up clothes on wedding days so that he has at least one clean outfit!)

Thoughts on Covid-19: As much as 2020 sucked, and had its fair share of challenges, its given us a good opportunity to take a step back and re-evaluate many aspects of life and business, so it’s been good in that way, but we are more excited than ever for things to get back to “normal!” *aren’t we all!*

Any new ideas to try: I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve 😉

Will weddings ever go back to how they were: Absolutely! I think that just as soon as it is safe to do so, many couples will be jumping at the chance to celebrate and party with all their friends and family!  I know that we are excited for that! 


We are thankful our many wonderful clients in 2020, those we had worked with before and many new faces for whom this year was taxing and saw a completely altered version of their plans. But you did it! And you looked great while doing it. We are always extremely delighted to be a part of anyone’s special day, that’s why we love our jobs.

We also wanted to thank everyone who follows us on both Facebook and Instagram, anyone who referred us to friends and family and all those that spread positive reviews!

Of course what would our photography blog be without our photography? Here is a glimpse at some of the moments we’ve captured this past year!


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