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Tyler Wirken

Tyler doesn’t consider himself a wedding photographer. He’s simply a family historian who documents weddings. Starting out as a newspaper photographer, he discovered a passion for documentary photography early in his career and never looked back. After almost ten years in the wedding business, he found himself questioning a lot of conventional ideas about weddings. That’s when he asked himself– why am I doing this? He believes those why questions help him create more meaningful photographs. And that’s why he's on a mission to help other photographers ask those same tough questions. Teaching photographers – pushing them to answer their own “why” questions – is a passion that started years ago at The Foundation Workshop and led Tyler to teach at various workshops worldwide. Voted one of the “Top Ten Wedding Photographers in the World” by American Photo in 2013, Tyler’s best “accolades” are actually his wife and two boys, who have his heart and remind him why he’s dedicated to documenting family history. That’s why he’s often overheard saying to friends and family, “At my funeral, if you all say I was a good photographer, then I’ve failed miserably at life.” You can check out Tyler’s approach to weddings at wirkenphoto.com and see his most recent work at wirkenphoto.com/wirkenblog. If you’d like to learn how to make pictures, not just take pictures, check out Tyler’s “Wirkshops” www.wirkenphoto.com/workshops