Q&A with Taylor Yardley

On November 18, the final day of the Cedar City LDS Temple Open House, photographer Taylor Yardley met with residents at the city’s Deseret Book. The 22-year-old was one of many artists exhibiting work and meeting with fans.

Yardley took some time out of his schedule to talk with Thunderground about photography. Below are three questions from the conversation.

When did you start to take an interest in photography?

“I started when I was about 15. I got into it when I realized I was terrible at sports. Everyone in my family was really artistic, and I wanted to express myself artistically, so I picked up photography. I really enjoyed it, and that developed into all the photos you see here.”

What do you enjoy most about taking temple photos?

“The thing I enjoy most is watching expressions on people’s faces when they see it and realizing these images bring a lot of peace to people. Oftentimes, people have experiences at a temple that mean so much to them that I will never understand or ever feel, and I like that I can create an image and help them remember a good time in their life or a time they’ve overcome a trial. That’s what brings me the most joy. It’s not necessarily taking the photos or working on them — that does bring me joy personally — but to know that I’m doing service for other people is what helps the most.”

What would you say to people who don’t think they can afford to take up photography?

“I used to work at a camera store and people would come in and say ‘I want to buy a good camera that takes good pictures.’ Oftentimes, people think they need $6,000 to get started and be professional, but you don’t go to a music store and say ‘I want a good guitar that plays good music.’ It all comes from you. If you can’t take a good photo with a camera that’s $200, the $6,000 camera isn’t going to do anything for you. Take your time, be patient — you’re going to learn on your own level — and take as much time as you need. When you’re ready, you’re going to know when you need to update your equipment. I started out really cheap; I had a camera that was a hand-me-down that is probably worth $30 today, and that’s how I started. It wasn’t until I realized I needed a camera that could print large that I got a better camera. Just take it slow, you don’t need fancy stuff.”

Photo courtesy Taylor Yardley