We at The Shoppe are happy to bring Featured Photographer Fridays to The Shoppe Blog. One Friday a month, we’d like to take some time to not only get to know our photographers better, but to give others a chance to know them too. We’re launching the feature today by sharing our recent conversation with Nashville area wedding photographer Myrick Cowart. We hope that you enjoy his work and charming sense of humor as much as we do!
How long have you been doing photography?
I have been doing photography full time for 7 years here in the Nashville area.
Where is your business located?
My business is located in Nashville,TN but since I focus primarily on shooting weddings, I shoot many weddings out of state. At this point in my career, I shoot about 40% of my weddings outside of Tennessee.
What type of photography do you do? (weddings, portraits, sports…etc)
I shoot all kinds of stuff but mostly weddings and here’s why… Well my story is probably a little bit different than most photographers… I was married for 11 years and have been divorced now for 7 years. One day, I was trying to find some images from my own wedding to show my two kids and I could only find one picture of me and their mom. It was a photo of both of us just looking at the camera. There were no sweet, beautiful moments captured from our wedding day. It was just a bunch of posed pictures. And to be honest, it kind of made me sad because I wanted to show my kids that yes, me and their mom were once very much in love a long time ago. So as I began to shoot weddings, that was my main goal, my focus – to capture those beautiful moments.
I wanted to make SURE that I was capturing the bride and groom’s love and adoration that they had for one another. The day of the wedding flies by so fast and one day this couple, once newlyweds, is going to wake up 10 years down the road. They will go through all kinds of storms with one another but hopefully through all those years, they will be able to look back at their wedding day photos and remember… the moments, the laughs, the tears, the love, the total joy that they had for one another. And I truly believe that these memories will help give them the strength to not give up but to do whatever it takes to make their marriage last a lifetime.
What was the thing that attracted you to photography the most?
I had been a musician all of my life. I had the opportunity to tour playing guitar, piano, & singing all over Europe, Latin America and the US! But as my kids began to get older and with busier schedules, I knew that I couldn’t be on the road doing music forever so I knew that I needed some sort of career change. This was about the time that my little brother, Jeremy Cowart, started dabbling in photography. Needless to say, his career totally took off and seeing him create these beautiful images with his camera really inspired me to go buy one and just start shooting my family & friends!
What kind of cameras do you shoot with?
I shoot with all Canon Gear. I have the Canon 5D, 5D MII, & the 5D MIII. My lens bag has the 70-200 f2.8, 85mm f1.2, 50mm f1.4, 24-105mm f4.0, 100mm f2.8, and the Tokina 16-24mm f2.8
What is your favorite lens to shoot with and why?
My favorite lens at this point is the 85mm f1.2. It’s just so stinkin’ sharp and the bokeh that it creates is so rich and just absolutely gorgeous. I would say that my next purchase will definitely be the 50mm f1.2!
What is your favorite part of running your business?
Being a single dad, I do it all, from the shooting, editing, accounting, calling, meeting, & more editing! I would have to say that my favorite part is just being around my clients. In all honesty, it begins to really wear on me having to sit hours & hours staring at a computer screen, ya know! So any chance that I get to get out and just shoot, I am thrilled!
What do you feel is the biggest challenge of running your business?
Like I said in the above statement, I’m totally envious of these photography “couples”. I just think that’s awesome! I think it would be absolutely amazing to have a 2nd hand/eye in all of this! My biggest challenge by far is just running this business by myself. I shoot about 35-42 weddings per year and while it’s a blast and I love EVERY moment of it. It really is challenging to stay on top of everything!
What do you think your clients like most about your work?
I have some pretty awesome clients and they’ve said some pretty nice stuff about me. (I of course paid them on the side) 
Well, they tell me that they love the way I use off-camera lighting, or the way that I’m able to just make them totally relax and to enjoy whatever moment that they are in. I think one of the coolest compliments that someone has ever given me is… they called me a “mover of people’s hearts”. I just love that…and that just says it all… no matter if it’s the music or an image that I create, I love moving people’s hearts.
How has The Shoppe helped your business?
The Shoppe has been a huge blessing to me because like I said, having a crazy wedding schedule, it’s hard for me to take the time to design things… whether that’s a marketing piece, a wedding album or just a simple texture on a photo. Well, The Shoppe makes all these things incredible easy and FAST for me to accomplish!
What is your favorite section or item in The Shoppe?
My favorite section with The Shoppe is definitely the marketing section! I have used quite a few pieces from them and they are so easy and quick to customize! These guys have definitely helped give me some of my life back!
MYRICK AND HIS ADORABLE CHILDREN:
About Myrick Studios:
Company Name: Myrick Studios
Main Contact: Myrick Cowart
Phone Number: 615-586-2642
Email Address: myrick {at} myrickstudios {dot} com
Website/Blog: www.myrickcowart.com
Twitter: @myrickstudios
Facebook fan page: facebook.com/myrickstudios