Ogle County photographer stepping up her game

HOLCOMB – Grace Druien of Holcomb is stepping up her photography game.

For the past 4 years, Druien, a Mount Morris native and a 2010 graduate of Oregon High School, has owned and operated My Saving Grace Photography. She has focused on family portraits, birthday parties and graduations while working out of the home she shares with her husband of 3 years, Austin, and their 18-month-old son, Warren.

Business has been good, but it always can be better, and she was looking for a different challenge.

“Last year, surprisingly, even with COVID and everything that was going on, October was the busiest month that I’ve ever had,” Druien said. “That was without weddings. I was booked as much as I could be booked, as much as my schedule would allow. I decided over the winter it was time, and I was going to open up to weddings.

“In October, I sent a message to a couple of wedding photographers, ‘Hey, can we meet up for coffee on a day when you’re not busy and chat’. That’s been really great, and it’s opened up a lot of opportunities.”

Druien does have some experience in this specific field, having worked about 10 weddings since opening her business. It wasn’t something she was seeking. Rather, it was a few clients she knew especially well who talked her into shooting a wedding.

To prepare for more weddings, she will be tagging along with some of her wedding photographer friends to shoots this summer, about 12 of them as of early May. It’s called second shooting, in wedding photography parlance. She may take some pictures at some weddings, while at others, it will be carrying an equipment bag, observing and learning.

Equipment-wise, Druien has the basics covered, but may have to rent some additional equipment for some shoots.

“I have my standard set of equipment, and then if I have a venue like a Catholic church and the aisle is a million miles long, I can rent equipment that I need for that,” she said. “That’s a good thing to be able to do, because that equipment’s not cheap.”

When asked what the main difference between shooting the family-oriented pictures, such as a birthday party, that she did before and a big wedding, Druien noted there is more pressure on the photographer to perform at a wedding.

“With a kid’s first birthday party, no, they’re not going to have another first birthday party, but if you miss them smashing cake in their face, there’s 10 more shots after that where you can get cake on their face,” Druien said. “It’s not something that you’re never going to be able to repeat. If you miss the kiss at the end of the ceremony, you’ve missed it. It’s done. There is no other chance to get that.

“Hiring an actual professional is important because they know how to prepare for those situations and get that done.”

The idea of getting pictures of adults is also appealing to Druien, especially since she’s around her own son so much.

“I chase one at home now,” Druien said with a smile. “Before, it was kind of a novelty, to work with families with little kids. To have one at home now, it’s not as exciting as it used to be to spend 2 hours chasing toddlers around. Moving more toward adults is more my speed.”

That is another reason why shooting weddings will be, in Druien’s words, a thrill. It’s a couple’s big day, and the photographer has a big responsibility.

“I truly love photographing people,” Druien said. “It doesn’t thrill me to take photos of landscapes. I find that boring. I don’t like taking photos of still-life situations. That bores me. Photographing people, and especially people at really important milestones, that thrills me. That gets me going.

“It’s not just showing up and taking the pictures. It’s all the preparation that leads up to it, and then afterward, making sure your couples have their photos and albums so they can adequately remember that day. It takes a lot of time and attention, and now that I have the time to devote to couples, I’m really excited to be able to do this.”

Find My Saving Grace Photography on Facebook, go to www.mysavinggracephotography.com or call Druien at 815-973-9947 to learn more.