The way couple Odile and Martin came to hire photographer Kyle Wilson of Hinterland Stills to shoot their wedding in Cuernavaca, Mexico, is, Wilson says, a “really bittersweet story. Years back when I first started coming up in my wedding photography career, Mexican photographer Victor de la Cueva was the first one to reach out to me and tell me I was an inspiration to him. This was so humbling to begin with since Victor’s work was absolutely stunning, and he was truly a humble and wonderful human that I was stoked to have a  friendship with online. We had spoken a few times of working together or teaching a workshop together but sadly, things never lined up and we just kept up a mutual adoration for each other’s work from afar.”

Fast forward to last year, when Wilson received word of his friend’s sudden and tragic passing. “I took that time to do a little writeup of how Victor had affected me in a positive way early in my career and how it was a true loss,” Wilson explains. “Shortly thereafter, one of Victor’s clients reached out to me asking if I would shoot their wedding in his place, as I was one of Victor’s inspirations and they thought it would be a really tactful and respectful way to maintain their relationship to him that they had forged before his death. This entire experience was one of the most emotionally rewarding opportunities of my career. I was so honored to be paying respect to someone who looked up to me so early on, and to work with a client who had been so connected to him and his work as well.”

Wilson says that despite all the emotional components surrounding the circumstances of being hired by the couple, the day actually ran quite smoothly and was without too many challenges. “Both the bride and groom poured so much of themselves into making sure everything was perfect, which made the whole day a breeze,” Wilson says.

Wilson sums up the day with this final thought: “For me, this was a really great story of the relationship between both the couple and their photographer, and how it expanded into a photographer-to-photographer relationship through the community. ‘Community over competition’ and ‘friends over clients’ are phrases that get thrown around a lot at various workshops and educational pieces, but this one really felt like the real deal for me.”

GEAR OF THE DAY

Camera: Nikon D750

Lenses: Nikon 24mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 45mm TS f/2.8, 58mm f/1.4

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