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i know i say it often, but i'm going to say it again.....
i LOVE my job and i LOVE being a wedding photographer!!
i'm sorry if you are getting tired of hearing that statement, but it's true, and i am blessed.
yesterday, i met with a wonderful couple about the possibility of documenting their super awesome wedding next year. i sincerely hope that they book me because they were wonderfully sweet and i'd love to work with them, and get to know them even better!
ok, that's not the point here....
what i am trying to get to, is that something came up in our meeting, that was the catalyst to me writing this blog post this morning.
it's about ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS (if you didn't get that from the post title already).
inevitably, the topic of engagement sessions comes up during my initial meetings, because they are included in most of my wedding collections and i frequently get asked "do i need an engagement session and why?"
i do have to say that it's normally the guys that are puzzled about e-sessions, but most brides are pretty pumped about the thought of having one done.
what i want to do here, is explain my take on e-sessions, and give potential clients some insight into how my brain works and why i LOVE doing them.
first and foremost, e-sessions are a great way to get to know your wedding photographer, and for me to get to know my clients on a more personal level.
when a client books me to be their wedding photographer, i want to make sure that i get to know them on a more personal level, so that on their wedding day i am just like an old friend coming to document their wedding. i put all of myself into every job and every client that i book, and i want your wedding day to just be a continuation of the awesome client/photographer relationship that we will have already built.
during an engagement session, i ask my clients to think of a way that i can document them doing something that is uniquely THEM. when i say this, i mean something like, if you aren't a pretty-park person, then posing in front of a bunch of tulips or flower beds and saying 'cheese' for the camera, is NOT a brilliant plan. if as a couple, you LOVE to go bowling with friends, then lets take some photos at the bowling alley! if you love to stay in on weekends, cook cool meals, and watch old movies, then i can come to your home and take some e-session photos of you cooking up a storm!
i think you get my drift with this stuff.
by following you on a 'date' and documenting what makes you 'special' as a couple, then i get a glimpse into your love, and into your lives, which will in turn help me to be able to better understand what i can do on your wedding day to make sure that your images reflect YOU !
the second reason that i feel that engagement sessions are important, is because most couples don't have any professional photos of themselves, and i want to change the world (one couple at a time).
sure, most couples have about 1,000 self-portraits, taken at arm's reach, with their iPhones or compact cameras. the other photos that most couples have, are one's from the last party or holiday dinner they attended. you know the type of photos i'm talking about, all out of focus and full of standard red-eye, maybe with a bit of their heads chopped off.
ok, so maybe you don't NEED an engagement session, but i'm sure that now that you've read my blog post, you WANT an engagement session!!
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what the heck do i need an engagement session for?
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hi all :)
when i embarked on the roller coaster journey of being a wedding photographer, i sat down an evaluated a few core beliefs and plans for my business.
the first thing i decided, was that i wanted to be able to give my clients the best possible experience !
how does a photographer give their clients a great experience ?
well, there are two things that i came up with.
first off, i would need to provide photos that capture the emotion and feeling of each and every client and their wedding day.
recently, while reading entries on a photography forum, a wedding photographer named David Murray posted a response to a discussion about wedding photojournalism.
"It is not so much that I want to focus on just the good things during the course of the day as much as I want to find and touch upon the things that we can all recognize as being part of a sublime testament to our shared human experience. Some times these moments are happy, sometimes they are quite or somber, sometimes funny, and sometimes they are filled with joy. But the common thread is that in an aesthetic way, they dig right to the root of what is best in all of us. That is what I strive for when I pick up a camera "
everything David says in this post, is exactly how i feel about what i do.
the second thing that i wanted to do for my clients, is provide them with great customer service. i want to be able to present my work to each and every couple, within a few weeks of their wedding, not months and months afterwards. there is no reason why anyone should be getting their wedding album a year or two AFTER their wedding!
to be able to be the best photographer, wife and mother that i can possibly be, i am only taking on about 20 wedding commissions per year.
i have almost reached that number, and i will not be going over it.
it is because each and every client is so important to me, that i'm limiting my number of commissions to 20.
the wedding season in Windsor is pretty darn short, and my summer is pretty much booked full (except for 1 or 2 weekends), and my fall has a couple of more weekends that i'm currently available.
if you are planning a wedding in 2010, and you're still looking for a wedding photographer, please contact me for more details about my availability.
i am currently taking bookings for 2011 and i'd love to hear from you as well.
my wedding season starts in 2 weeks, with Rob & Leslie's wedding at Willistead Manor, and i'm really excited about it. my biggest fear for the day, would be that we get some freakishly weird blizzard or something. Rob & Leslie are from Arizona, so i don't think that they would be too excited about sharing their wedding day with slushy snow.
here's a photo of Rob & Leslie, from their snowy engagement session i did for them this past Christmas
Brandon- Portland Wedding Photographer:
Congrats on filling up your season! That's always a great feeling. Very nice shot too.
(03.24.10)
Newport Wedding Photographer | Mark Andrew:
Beautiful image. I like your take on commissions. David is an awesome photographer and probably one of the best wedding photojournalists out there.
(03.25.10)
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135
last week, i was really wanting a surprise.
i didn't really care what kind of surprise, but it had to be a nice one.
a big fat check in the mail would have been nice, maybe a box of Milk Duds, the loss of a few pounds, another wonderful client book me, even a cool catalogue in the mail! i wasn't picky, but i was just wanting something fun and different to happen.
i lead a pretty predictable life, which is awesome, but i like adventure and fun, and i LOVE surprises!!! i just needed a little somethin' somethin' to spice up my week.
well, Friday came and went, and nothin'
no gifts, no cheques, no chocolates, no fancy catalogue, no pounds lost, and no firm commitments from the few potential clients that i'm waiting on to book me.
nothing.
it was very sad indeed.
i didn't lose sleep over it or anything, because i figured that i have enough on my mind and a surprise wasn't really that important anyways.
well, i finally got a great surprise on Monday!
it was the end to an already pretty fantastic day.
ok, so i'll tell you about my great day and then i'll get to the surprise.
yesterday was Family Day in Canada, which is a pretty new holiday here. It's a full fledged holiday and i do have to say it's pretty great.
my son Josh is home this week for Reading week, and we all headed out for some good time family fun. it was also an early celebration of my birthday (which is Thursday).
we went bowling, which we usually do about once or twice a year around here (but usually in the summer) , we came home and played some cards (which i won) and then Darryl cooked up a great meal of steak and twice baked potatoes! after dinner i helped my daughter with some chemistry homework (i am a wiz at chemistry and actually took a course at the university just for fun a few years ago) and then we played some canasta.
great times.
so, in the midst of all this family fun, i checked my email.
SURPRISE!!!!
i have been invited by the WPJA to be a member of their association!
i applied to become a member , a few weeks ago, and then i put it out of my mind. i wasn't sure if they would think i had what it takes, especially since they showcase and allow membership to only the best wedding photojournalists in the world! well, i guess i made the cut and i'm tickled pink!!!
i realize that the best compliment to my work is booking great clients and documenting amazing weddings, but being recognized by an international association and by my peers, is something pretty new to me. i have to say that it has been good for my ego, and i've had a perma smile since yesterday afternoon!
now, this type of news might now give another photographer the perma-smile that i'm experiencing, but that's because i have been working at finding my hill.
i think i'm home.
when i first got started in wedding photography, i researched branding and marketing like crazy. there is a wedding photography forum , called OSP that i frequented for a while. a member of the forum, Kevin Swan, is not only a wedding photographer, but he's a marketing guru. one of the things that i took away from his writing, is the fact that to be a successful wedding photographer, you need to find your niche and stick with it. i decided right then and there that i'd be true to myself and find my way. i didn't want to be anyone but the person that God created. i needed to find my hill.
well, my hill is now Wedding Photojournalist and photographer in Windsor and Essex County.
i am the only wedding photographer in Windsor Ontario and surrounding area that is listed with the WPJA.
here is what the WPJA has to say about their organization ~
"The Wedding Photojournalist Association grants membership to the most talented professional wedding photographers in the industry--photographers who focus solely on using their photography skills in documenting weddings."
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finding my hill
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there are days, that i sit down and just surf the web. since i can't surf on a wave, i might as well surf the web , right?
what i love about the internet, is how you can enjoy the art of some of the best photographers in the world, and be inspired by their work.
i love the interwebs!
slight off topic comment...
in about 1996, Darryl came home one day and announced that we were we going to be getting something called 'the internet'. i was appalled that he was silly enough to spend money we didn't have (he was a full-time student and we had 3 kids under 4) on something as stupid as the internet! yep, we were pioneers in my circle of friends, and the first ones with INTERNET!!!
ok, back to the topic.
when i first decided to follow my dreams of becoming a full-time photographer, i thought i was meant to be a family and child photographer.
then i discovered weddings.
then i discovered the awesomeness of what some call, wedding photojournalism.
according to Wikipedia, this is the definition of a "wedding photojournalist"
"A wedding photojournalist is a person who takes photographs during a wedding using an alternative approach where images are captured spontaneously to emphasize moments and emotion. Much like photojournalists
for the media, wedding photojournalists present the story of the day
through their photographs. A wedding photojournalist typically shoots
images quickly using available light or on-camera flash rather than
using traditional, formal posing techniques and studio lights. The
phrase wedding photojournalist has been in vogue for at least 10 years
and has now become almost synonymous with normal wedding photography."
There are so many wonderful photographers online, that are purists when it comes to covering a wedding in a photojournalistic style. they stand in a corner, and just take photographs as the day unfolds.
i have some BIGTIME heroes in the world of wedding photojournalism, and i am hopeful that one day i will get to meet some of them and even take a workshop from a few!
i am not a purist, will probably never be a purist, and i'm not sure if Windsor is ready for a PURE wedding photojournalist!
there are some photo opportunities that have to be taken , and some of them involve asking the couple and the wedding party, to stand a certain way or in a certain light. as soon as i start choreographing any photos, then i am no longer a 'pure' photojournalist.
that's ok, since i need to make sure that i not only capture the moments and the emotions of the wedding day, but i also need to make sure that i get some of the photos that i know the bride and groom want. when a bride get her hair and make-up done beautifully, then i need to make sure i get some great bridal portraits!
of course, if you ask me to be unobtrusive and act solely as a photojournalist for your wedding day, i will be more than happy to oblige. oh, and if you ask me to only shoot your photos in black and white as well, then i might have to make you a pan of cinnamon buns!
here are a few examples of the types of photos that i'm talking about.
it's all raw emotion, nothing is staged, and i just stood back and let things unfold.
i love my job.
i am thankful to my friends and fellow photographers, Arica Ingratta and
John Lyons, for asking me to help them out with some weddings last year. it was a blast!
on a personal note.....
my oldest son is coming home today, and he's home from university for a week! it's his reading week next week, and i get a whole 8 days with the best Josh in the whole world!
as i've mentioned before, i adore my kids and and i relish every minute i get to spend with them. Josh hasn't been home since Christmas, and i've missed him terribly!
MARTIN ROE:
Beautiful job, I paticularly like the crying shot, lovely processing too.
Martin Roe.
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i like flowers.
i like flowers A LOT.
as a wedding photographer, i am blessed to be a part of a couple's special day. i am hired to document the moments, the tears, the family, and the details.
i love me some nice details!
part of what i find intriguing about being the wedding photographer, is the way that each couple interprets their wedding day dreams.
flowers are a great way for a bride to show a little of her personality!
i know that sometimes, it's difficult to justify the purchase of real flowers, especially when there are so many expensive purchases to think about. sometimes the call of silk flowers, as the cheaper alternative, is a call too hard to resist.
if you have the strength, please resist that call and hang up promptly!
real flowers don't need to be expensive, and they are just too lovely to turn your back on!
find a florist that can work within your budget, and maybe even splurge on just a few stems of the expensive flowers to mix in with a few less expensive flowers. it's the colours in the bouquet that make a statement.
i know that there are some awesome florists in the Windsor/Essex area, that do some great work. go through bridal magazines, check out budget friendly wedding planning websites, and print off the photos of the flowers that you love. if you find a florist that you trust, then i'm sure they will do their very best to help you achieve the look you're going for.
i wanted to post a few photos of some of the lovely bouquets i photographed in 2009.
there were so many beautiful flowers, and here is a sampling for you to enjoy.
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bring on the flowers {windsor ontario wedding photographer}
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