I have lots of fun sessions to post about-it's busy season for photographers right now!
But I've been wanting to do this post for a while.
I specialize in wedding photography. I shoot 2-3 weddings a month and I love it! The funny thing is, I rarely do engagement sessions. Like I've done maybe 3 this whole year. I've been so puzzled by this. I do lots of bridal sessions and lots of wedding day sessions. But never engagement sessions. So I started asking wedding clients about it. Of course this isn't always the case, but the overwhelming majority of clients I asked gave me a response similar to this:
'Client' sees my images on my blog. They love them. They show them to 'Friend'-you know the one. The one who just got a nice camera and is starting a photography business. 'Friend' says no problem, I can give you pictures like that. Easy enough. They go to the engagement session. A few days (or hours) later, 'Client' gets their pictures back. And sad news. They aren't very great. They are blurry, dark, unflattering. Maybe have a little crazy photoshop editing. 'Client' is disappointed and ends up hiring me right after that to do their Bridals and Wedding sessions.
I'm not trying to toot my own horn. I'm not the best photographer in the world. Far from it. But I know what I'm doing. I don't just have a nice camera and Photoshop. I know how my camera works inside and out. I shoot it in manual and manually edit every single shot you'll receive. I understand lighting. I know posing. I've read books, taken classes, belong to forums and subscribe to magazines.
Every photographer has to start somewhere. But it shouldn't be on your wedding. You deserve better memories of the biggest day of your life.
On a related note, I am more than happy to let up-and-coming photographers 'second shoot' a wedding with me, if they want to get some experience. Call me!
My style is very natural. Clean. Classic. Those are the kinds of images that speak to me. I think 'Clients' and their 'Friends' see my work and think it's easy to mimic because they might not see obvious photoshopping. Here are some examples of SOOC (straight out of the camera) shots next to the edited, finished version.
You tell me if you can see the difference.
(You can click on the images to see them larger)
My editing goes beyond getting the proper exposure, sharpening, clearing skin, etc. Check out this next shot:
And one of my biggest pet-peeves is when a photographer does an icky black and white conversion. It's so obvious when they just desaturate the image (see the before shot coming up). I love true whites and blacks. Not lots of muddy greys. See:
Was this post helpful? I would love to hear your thoughts!
