About
Traven Stout
My name's Traven and I'm a New Orleans wedding photographer. I've been shooting photos ever since I was old enough to grab my mother's old film camera, one I still shoot with today. As a small child I used to watch her document the world around her, from Jazzfest to crawfish boils, and I always knew I wanted to do the same.
While we all love a beautiful portrait to memorialize our friends and family being together, I find the real beauty in a wedding is the sense of celebration. Capturing you and your loved ones having a great time drinking, laughing, and twerking are my favorite things to capture. I have, much like my mom's old pictures, always had a very documentary style to all of my work, professional and personal. The look of joy when your partner sees you walk down the aisle, your aunt cracking up on her fifth martini, your friends having a dance contest on the dance floor, these are the moments you'll never want to forget, and the ones I love to memorialize for you.
GRIS GRIS?
New Orleans has always possessed a dark romanticism. The crescent city has attracted poets, musician, artist, and novelists since its conception. All of its beauty, danger, history, and diversity has made it a haven for those who create. Gris Gris, pronounced GREE-GREE, is a term that stems from a spiritual rituals. Traditionally it's an amulet made of herbs and roots that are wrapped into a small satchel. By mainstream standards its thought to be evil, however much like New Orleans it is misunderstood. Gris Gris is neither good or evil. It's about intention, what you plan to put into it and take out of it. It can be beautiful, dangerous, sometimes both.
More about Traven and Gris Gris
Traven Stout and
Gris Gris Photography
In 2015 I graduated from the University of New Orleans with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Fine Art. I hit the ground running and started a photography business and I have been working solely as a photographer ever since.
I have always been interested in how societies come together and how people interact with one and other. This is where my sociology background merges with photography. In my People of Mardi Gras series, I take portraits and candid shots of strangers during the carnival season. The Idea is to tell a collective story of Mardi Gras through individual portraits and candids of people during Carnival. This same style of shooting translates over into my wedding work.
I have a heavy background in analog photography. The first photos I took were with my mom’s 35mm Nikon FM2 (a camera I still use today) I inherited it from her after she passed away, and it was with that camera in the darkroom of UNO where my passion with film photography was re-lit. This is where I feel I really perfected my craft. When shooting with film you only have 36 images per roll(or 12 with medium format, or 1 with sheet film) so you have to slow down and shoot correctly. You also must get it right in camera because you can’t rely on photoshop editing. Most of my personal work is still done on film.
Why Gris Gris (pronounced GRI-GRI) Photography?
For the first five years I operated my photography business under Traven Stout Photography shooting weddings, portraits, and events. Through the years I realized that my weddings were starting to take on a little bit of a different style. I shoot and edit them a little differently than my commercial work. A business headshot is different from a wedding portrait, and I wanted a website that was specifically for my weddings. So, I decided to split it up and create Gris Gris Photography. While trying to come up with a name for my new wedding photography brand, I was listening to a Dr. John’s Album GRIS GRIS. The name Gris Gris photography just got stuck in my head. (Check out this Album if you have not already) Dr. John is the man! I grew up listening to him. As a kid my father would take me out of school for local Thursdays at JazzFest and we would catch The Night Tripper live. Dr. John is quintessential New Orleans, and I love my home city, so the name Gris Gris Photography just kind of made sense.
You can see more of my work on my instagram handles @neworleansphotographer @travenstoutphotography @peopleofmardigras
Got a wedding coming up? Contact me lets get the ball rolling
