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Photographer Wake up Call

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MagicalMomentsP... Posts : 742 Registered: 3/6/06
Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 18, 2010 3:05 PM

I'd like to hear your thought on this blog post I found.

What to look for in a photographer

Howard Kier, Certified Professional Wedding Photographer

Magical Moments Photography


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PharmToxGirl Posts : 5,462 Registered: 8/30/07
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 18, 2010 3:58 PM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

Howard,

I didn't think about it when I picked a photographer but it may have had an effect without me being aware - I'll explain.

My friend/acquaintance is a photographer and he's very good. It's not what he does full time, but it is what he loves to do. I LOVED his pictures. I loved the energy and everything about them. I knew I wanted to use him - my DH thought I was nuts until he saw his portfolio. DH was sold.

I'm overweight. His portfolio had couples of different and mixed ethnicities, skinny, overweight you name it.

And my pics came out great - the posed ones and the none posed ones. He was AWESOME at our reception. I had so many compliments regarding him from the guests.

But would I have been as sold on him if I hadn't seen the full breadth of his work and not just one of anything - whether it be size, one ethnicity, aspect.... I don't know.

 

 

 

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CatStandish Posts : 2,767 Registered: 6/20/08
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 18, 2010 7:37 PM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

wow... that was a raw post, and in a good way.

My photographer did her first solo wedding gig with me. But the guy who trained her...I love his work. (I can also spot the two photos he personally took in all of my photos. They scream his name. I didn't ask him to do my wedding because I wanted him to be my GUEST...and not my photographer. He took the photos because he just could not stand to be that near a camera and not do something with it--and she was his trainee :) )

I never thought of looking at the various weddings and budgets. But looking at their blogs, they post them, regardless. They post their weddings, their engagements, their individuals...whatever they shot, they post.

Now, my area, while ethnically VERY diverse, is also rather segregated ...by choice... if that makes sense. Not that clients of different races would be ignored--they just would not choose a photographer of a different race by instinct (it's kind of like how churces are somewhat unintentionally segregated). But he had skinny brides and fluffy brides and all of them looked amazing.

The weddings they do tend to be more 'upscale' because of their price point. I got a serious discount as I was her first wedding as a solo gig. She got to take off her training wheels with us, and we got a deep discount because of it. But I feel our wedding looked great.

So it is something that I would not have thought about...but I got "Lucky" (used Lucky Photography)

Misty

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PharmToxGirl Posts : 5,462 Registered: 8/30/07
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 18, 2010 10:25 PM Go to message in response to: CatStandish

So it is something that I would not have thought about...but I got "Lucky"

LOL Cat. But that's sort of how I feel. I think that my photographer (who is actually a different ethnicity then me) had all of what they were talking about in that post - and while I wasn't looking for it, I think it appealed to me on some level that I wasn't even aware of at that point.

 

 

 

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2dBride Posts : 158 Registered: 3/16/09
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 19, 2010 5:08 AM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

When we picked our photographer, he didn't yet have a lot of weddings in his portfolio. However, the ones he had were diverse. One was a military family, in which the couple had been married for quite some time (and had a young child), but had been unable to have their dream "wedding" until the husband came home from where he was serving. Another involved a bride who was probably in her 50s, who had a large tattoo over one breast, clearly visible in her strapless gown.

We were, of course, pretty "diverse" all by ourselves. Ours was a same-sex wedding. My bride was 41 when we got married. I was 56 and plus-sized. So it really gave us confidence that he was able to depict couples who were not necessarily young and beautiful, and show their joy and love for each other.

Our wedding Web site and items for sale

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CapeTownBride Posts : 37 Registered: 4/16/10
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 19, 2010 5:46 AM Go to message in response to: 2dBride

Wow. Thanks for this post.

I'm newly engaged and looking for a photographer. I don't want pictures that are too posed and formal looking - I want natural and spontaneous pictures that capture our moods on the day.

Problem is, it's going to be difficult enough finding a photographer who is skilled at shooting interracial couples and mixed race families. I wonder how any photographer will be able to capture my brown skinned, mixed race mother, my Caucasian father and me in one picture without somehow making one of us disappear into lightness or darkness. If it is possible, I've never seen it.

And seeing as I was raised by my dad and my stepmom, I have no pictures of myself with both biological parents. Not a single one. My wedding would be the only time this shot could be taken...

I guess I'd better start looking now to find the perfect photographer!

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Agape14 Posts : 201 Registered: 12/31/08
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 19, 2010 12:18 PM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

What an interesting post Howard! Thanks for sharing it. I totally agree with the position of the article, and it’s something I’ve vocalized many times, probably because the lack of racial diversity is something that affects me personally.

I initially picked my photographer based on the sheer beauty of the pictures from two weddings of acquaintances. But then I really got sold reading her blog and looking at her website. The final deciding factor was meeting her in person.

First, the pictures from the weddings were simply beautiful. Two completely different weddings (one a DW, one a traditional church wedding), two totally different wedding parties, but both took my breath away. And the couples and their wedding parties weren’t necessarily model-types either, but they all looked beautiful.

And her blog was great. Very personal (every post included particular details about the event, the couple, and her impressions of things), wasn’t just about weddings (newborns, lifestyle, boudoir, engagement, her personal travel etc also included), and very diverse. No great diversity in the racial makeup (but that’s a product of the area we’re in), but the range types of events (big budget, backyard, destination) and the types of people made it really interesting.

And our photographer’s personality and energy really jived with us, something which was really important to me. I couldn’t imagine spending an entire day with someone who I didn’t relate to on some sort of personal level.

And now that we’ve done our engagement shoot (finally!) and seen the shots…I bow to her genius. The shots were almost all posed, but you wouldn’t know it. She really captured an afternoon of love.

Sigh…now I’m getting all mushy! Hahaha.

 

 

~~Life's tough, wear a cup~~

Daisypath Anniversary tickers

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MagicalMomentsP... Posts : 742 Registered: 3/6/06
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Aug 19, 2010 2:26 PM Go to message in response to: Agape14

I want to thank-you ladies who have taken the time to respond. I have to admit, I've been a bit naive. As you know I inhabit a couple of photographer forums and attend photographers' workshops. Despite being photographers sometimes I think it is a case of the blind leading the blind. You gals keep it real for me.

The blog entry, your commentary, and my wife (gotta give her some credit too) have made me rethink the images I show in my on-line portfolio. Fortunately, I'm in the process of updating my images. I've gone back to reevaluate some images and question WHY I didn't select them. Some of those have been added back.

As for my blog, I really don't do a good job of blogging my weddings. It is something I've got to make a better effort to take care of. But rest assured, I will blog all weddings.

Howard Kier, Certified Professional Wedding Photographer

Magical Moments Photography


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JennaDanellePho... Posts : 1 Registered: 9/25/10
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Sep 25, 2010 9:18 PM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

I was a plus size bride and the first thing I looked for was indeed a photographer that featured such on their blog to shoot my wedding. Style and price came after that! (and as a side note, we are an interracial couple and all of our pictures are gorgeous!)

Since my wedding I've been working on starting my own photography business and have started a blog - and I blog every single thing I shoot, everything! I may pick the best of the best of that session - but every session I do, I blog. It never crossed my mind to ever exclude anyone - I think if you do your job well, you can portray the budget wedding just as beautifully as the upscale events, and frankly, I think everyone is beautiful! A good photographer captures that beauty, they don't hide it!

Jenna Danelle
Photographer

Jenna Danelle Photographer Jennadanelle.blogspot.com

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WellWisher Posts : 175 Registered: 1/2/10
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Sep 25, 2010 9:51 PM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

I was actually kind of annoyed by the post. Not because of what the author (or blogger, or whatever she wants to be called)said, but in the way she said it. I detest swearing, especially in written form. It's annoying and unnecessary. I think it shows poor taste. If a swear word pops out in a moment of intense pain, that's one thing, but to be able to actually write it out, post it, be able to edit it, and choose not to? Not very classy.

I do believe that love, regardless of what a couple looks like, is beautiful and that a photographer should not label someone according to "hollywood" standards (and more and more non-"cookie cutter" people are becoming very popular and successful there too). But in choosing another way to represent her image, this person has left a bad impression on me.

Edited by: WellWisher on Sep 25, 2010 9:52 PM

Edited by: WellWisher on Sep 25, 2010 9:53 PM

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WellWisher Posts : 175 Registered: 1/2/10
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Sep 25, 2010 9:56 PM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

P.S. Notice what I did when I decided to fix a mistake or change my wording: I EDITED it. Hopefully "A Los Angeles Love" will do the same.

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auntofthebride Posts : 9,357 Registered: 4/2/06
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Sep 25, 2010 10:35 PM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

Dear Howard,

I guess I missed this one the first time around.

I don't go out looking at photographers' blogs, but I can't help but notice the models on the Brides.com home pages and in the ads.

They never look "real".

I've mentioned a few times in the past how they seem to pick models suffering from PMS. Here they are in wedding dresses on what is supposed to be a super-happy day in a woman's life, and they look brooding and moody.

Take the last group of photos. These were supposed to be "breath-taking" dresses. (I forget the exact verbiage.)

Breath-taking? One woman was in a giant hat that Dr Seuss could have used in a book. One dress looked like she forgot to fluff everything back down after coming out of the ladies' room.

None of the models cracked a smile.

I think it's good for you to re-evaluate the sample shots on your website. I have not looked at your website, mind you, but in general it's alwasy good to re-think. Look for what's real. Start with smiling, happy brides, not those who look like this is all a big bother to them.

Further thoughts: Here's a wild idea. Pitch or toss.

Ask your clients to pick THEIR favorite photo of their wedding, then put THAT photo on your website. Thus, you would have a selection of photos that a real life bride and groom think best represents their wedding.

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dodgercpkl Posts : 130 Registered: 9/27/09
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Sep 26, 2010 8:03 AM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

I couldn't agree more with that article. I'll admit that I really didn't look specifically for someone that featured plus vs skinny or black vs white, but what I DID look for was a photographer that could capture MOMENTS. I wanted to FEEL emotion from the photographs and not just see beautiful things and posed pictures.

After picking places to talk to based on the moments that I saw captured, the deciding factor was how well we got along with the person that would be involved in so much of our day. Deals and initial perceived wants aside, when it came right down to it, it was more important to us to find someone that we felt comfortable with and meshed well with! In my humble opinion, our engagement pics tell me that we made the right decision. Two things stood out to us both after the engagement shoot: 1) my husband doesn't like taken photos and was very much dreading this. He walked away from the shoot thinking "That was actually FUN!" 2) While a lot of shots were posed, what struck me when we saw the photo proofs was not the perfectly posed shots, but the ones that truely captured those fleeting emotions. I loved all of my engagement photos, but those ones truely capturing emotions are my stand-out favorites!

Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder and in my lifetime I've been on both sides of the weight fence. Because of that I tend to see people for their personality rather then what the world considers to be conventional beauty. I've known a lot of "beautiful" people in my life that were ugly on the inside and vice versus.

I kept reading the comments on that post from the anonymous people trying to defend putting only the perceived perfect beautiful people on there because it's good marketing, and all I could think of was that anyone could take a beautiful picture if everything is already gorgeous. True talent is to capture those fleeting emotions, to find beauty where others don't immediately see it.


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wzq103 Posts : 2,771 Registered: 9/11/12
Re: Photographer Wake up Call
Posted: Sep 13, 2012 1:12 AM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...

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