Cherished keepsakes: Michael Leonhard Photography makes special memories

by Sarah Barr

Staff Writer

On certain days certain times of the year, we pause and reflect. A memory. A moment. A milestone. Often, a photo is all that we have, a cherished keepsake.

Songs have been written about these times. Photographers live through them and for them. Michael Leonhard of Michael Leonhard Photography in Old Wethersfield is one such artist.

“Photography has been a part of me my entire life,” is how his personal photo album unfolds.

“My mother passed away when I was 5 years old. I grew up knowing a lot about her. At about 15, I went to the back of a closet where we kept our jackets and found a small camera case that had a Nikon [camera] that my mother had bought,” Leonhard said of his youth in Ardsley, N.Y., a village in Westchester County.

Michael Leonhard is shown with two of his children, Liam and Theo. (submitted)

He quickly put two and two together as to why his mother wasn’t in many family photographs. She was taking them.

“I naturally gravitated to photography,” he said. “I carried on a bit of her memory.”

Back then, the craft was all film, not digital.

“I fell in love with it at an early age. I’m a pretty nostalgic person. There’s something about photography that captures a moment and you can always have that moment with you,” he said of those thousand-word moments.

But he left behind his love affair with the lens and graduated from Marist College with a psychology degree.

“I didn’t use it, per se. I got a finance job in Manhattan. A few years later it sucked the life out of me,” he said of an early fork in the road of life.

“I quit on a whim. I went to a photography studio [in New Jersey]. Just walked in. Introduced myself,” he said of his daring – almost romantic – next move.

“I wouldn’t say I was a trained photographer, but to shoot on film, you need to understand lighting,” comparing the complexity to today’s convenient digital technology.

Leonard learned the tricks of the trade and eventually started shooting events such as weddings. Working with three or four large portrait studios, he carved out a niche and made living.

“I was living the dream for a long period of time,” he recalled. “It didn’t feel like work. It wasn’t nine to five.”

Then came 2009, a year of change. He teamed up with friends and started a high-end fashion company. Leonhard provided the expert eye when it came to photography and lighting. He went from stills to moving pictures and advertising.

“It was a big transition. More than full-time work. It was every waking minute. But it was great,” he said of learning every aspect of the hands-on boutique business.

Family commitments eventually led him to Connecticut, first to Farmington and then to Wethersfield.

“It was a nice goodbye. I had a great run,” he said.

However, the stay-at-home dad never completely let go of the lifestyle. He maintained a “weekend warrior” type of photography schedule that is picture perfect for Old Wethersfield.

“I looked around and found no portrait studio here. I found a small space [behind the Main Street Creamery]. It was the perfect size to do what I needed to do. I have a backdrop. I do the lighting. Then we leave the studio and have Old Wethersfield as a great background,” he said of his set-up and half-day shoots.

The offering came with a differentiating factor that was his selling point. He did the studio shots with his clients and then they would take a walk. He called Old Wethersfield a Hollywood backdrop — and still does, even though he recently closed his shop due to another fork in the road of life. But the core commitment does not waiver.

“I do love the work,” he said, despite the uncertainty of the moment and the changes in technology.

He looks to capitalize on a niche market – maternity shoots.

“This becomes more artistic,” he said, leaning in to all of his training and expertise.

“The art comes out with the soft lighting. The gentle shadows. Silhouettes on the backdrop. I found a love for it. It’s a little harder to pull off. You have to be comfortable with the photographer, to be vulnerable.

“What I like about my work is that beautiful photos capture people in their natural essence,” he added about the importance of making people feel comfortable, especially children.

“When I book a session, I do only two a day. I don’t take a picture right away. What I pride myself in is taking the time to get a candid – for lack of a better word – them naturally smiling because they’re happy. Not because they’re told to smile,” he said.

“It’s kids and parents just being together, not even feeling like they’re having their picture taken. That’s how I differentiate myself. I allow the time for that beautiful image to be created. For the right person, the right family, allowing space and time is what I’m working to achieve.”

Leonard said people gravitate towards those natural poses. They choose a look. A connection. They choose that moment in time, captured in a photograph. Forever. WL

For more information call 914-393-0834, visit michaelleonhardphotography.com or follow him on Instagram @michaelleonardphotography.