Polo photographer has the perfect frame of mind

STERLING — While the wedding couple is focused on two words, a Polo photographer is focused on a thousand — and that’s just in one picture.

Lana Scholl of Polo is the person behind the lens at Photography by Lana in Sterling, and she loves to tell stories worth a thousand words with every click of the shutter, especially on that special day when two people say “I do.”

It’s a passion that developed over time, and one that she’s grown to love.

Like most people her age, she enjoyed taking photos with her phone growing up, but when she was gifted a basic digital single-lens reflex camera as a Christmas present, that’s when things began to click. She loved exploring the world of photography, and the more picture she took, the bigger her world became.

She attended Augustana College in Rock Island to study graphic design, but after taking some elective photo classes she shifted her major to photography. It was a combination that turned out to be a good marriage, bringing together her skill for graphic design with her eye for taking photos. Eventually, her friends took notice and began asking her to take photos for them.

“I feel like photography chose me,” Scholl said. “I never, in a million years, dreamed of owning my own business or picking up a camera and getting paid for it. More people were asking, and, like brick by brick, it went to one thing after another. Everything fell in place and I realized just how much I love it.”

Today, she’s sharing her love with couples sharing their love, capturing special moments from the engagement to the wedding to the start of a family. Scholl, of Polo, owns a small private studio in downtown Sterling that she uses for photo work and various shoots.

Hiring a photographer can be one of the most important decisions a couple makes. The wedding day may come and go, but pictures last a lifetime, and with each passing year those photos become more and more precious, pulling people back in time to a special day and magical moments. That’s why Scholl wants to do her best to make sure a couple’s wedding photos keep couples and their families smiling for years to come.

Framing and focus, lighting, a good eye for those unplanned special moments — a lot goes into capturing memorable wedding photos, and that includes being able to blend in and not make the couple feel self-conscious.

“You have to be paying attention, but you don’t want to be forcible to the point where they go, ‘Do I look okay?’ I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable,” Scholl said. “Sometimes I’ll start out with them holding hands and walking, and then it turns into something else, and that’s what my goal is. Some people need that direction.”

Sometimes it takes a little encouragement to get people in the mood, but eventually Scholl can get them feeling comfortable like she’s not even there – like a fly on a wall.

“I’m looking at interaction, and I want them to be close together and touching,” Scholl said. “I’ll usually start them off with easy poses, and then understanding what looks good with them, or what they may be insecure about. Some people are more touchy than others. I’ll try to get them comfortable and tell them, ‘Hey, I like what you did just there, can you do that again?’ If you feel like going in for a kiss, go in for the kiss, or going in for a hug, then hug. I want them to get comfortable enough to get them to be themselves and not seem super-posed.”

Scholl works with the couples, wedding planners and venues to understand the needs of each wedding and where she’ll be shooting. Each location and each wedding is different. Couples have their preferences, members of the wedding party have their schedule, and each venue is unique, so Scholl likes to be prepared.

“I can work with the planner or the venue to help build a timeline that makes sense,” Scholl said. “Hopefully we can make it not too crunched together to help everyone enjoy their day. When you don’t leave enough time, and it’s rushed and the day flies by, I feel like they may not take a breath and just enjoy it.”

While staged photos are one part of a wedding photo shoot — the perfect pose, holding hands and loving looks, wedding parties full of smiles — there are always those ‘A-ha!’ moments that come and go in an instant. That’s where having a professional photographer helps: having someone who can see those moments coming and know when to capture them.

Paying extra close attention is important for photographers, especially in a ceremony’s most iconic moments. “You do not want to miss that moment, not at all,” Scholl said.

Early in her photography career, Scholl did a lot of second shooting — an assistant to the primary photographer at an event — but eventually moved up to primary shooting.

Scholl offers couples 8-, 9- and 10-hour packages with photo timelines, digital galleries and sneak peeks before photos are revealed. Each of Scholl’s packages also comes with engagement sessions, something she started offering after a couple years of going pro. The sessions are a way to not only capture another special moment in a couple’s relationship, but also to get to know them better, which helps later on during the wedding shoots.

Meeting new people and shooting pictures at all kinds of places has been a thrill for Scholl.

“I feel like every year I grow more and I love to see my photos progress and see how I’ve evolved as a photographer in four years,” Scholl said. “I like when I figure out something new in my abilities, or finding something else to try, or finding a different way to get kids to laugh at the camera.”

Most of Scholl’s wedding clients are from within a four-hour area, but travel’s not a problem for her. In fact, she’d like to get more into destination weddings, she said; she’s already been at a few places all over the United States, including one session in Virginia Beach last year.

Her photography work isn’t limited to weddings: She also does family and business photography, as well as newborn photo shoots. She’s had couples who have commissioned her for multiple steps in the family building process.

“When they get married and come back to me to do maternity or birth photos, I can get to build these bonds with these couples that I never imagined,” Scholl said. “I have families and couples that I still talk to and reach out to me, and it’s just so touching.”

Weddings, though, are what she gets the most business from, and while they can be challenging, it’s a challenge she enjoys.

“On their wedding day, just getting to know how they interact with each other, and with their family and friends, and to just see the overwhelming love and support they have around them,” Scholl said. “As much as I love the ceremony and it being beautiful, getting to the speeches and hearing people talk about them, and how they grew to love each other, I as a photographer can feel connected to them and it’s really special and I feel so lucky that I get to capture that.”

Find Photography by Lana on Facebook and Instagram (@photographyby.lana), email hello@photographybylana.com or go to photographybylana.com to schedule a session or for more information.