Wedding and Portrait Photography

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. For the last 15 or so years I been a wedding photographer, mainly. Recently though I've decided to branch out and work with Seniors and aspiring models.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. When you are looking to hire a photographer for your event, remember, you are entrusting an individual with capturing moments in time that will never happen again. I think you should not only trust them to do a good job at this, but you should also have a connection with them so you can just act natural when they are there.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. All photographers like receiving compliments on their work. We all have a big ego and always try harder when we think our work is admired and appreciated.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Date, time and location, of course, but also the type of images you're looking to have. Photographers are people and they all have a style of their own, which is reflected in their work. Are you really looking for just "candid" shots, or do you want a combination of styles? The vast majority of photos you see in magazines and on web sites of weddings and big events are, in fact, posed images. A great, carefully posed image, takes time.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I have never thought of the images I capture as being a form of product. They are never just something I have to do in order to fulfill a contract. I look at every, single image as something which should stand alone and tell a story all on it's own.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. When I am asked to capture the moments of someones special event, it give me a rush of emotion inside. Fir that short period of time I have been asked to be a part of someone else's life, capturing and preserving little snippets of time, moments that will never happen again. I find that quite inspiring.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. How many pictures will you take and do I get them on a CD? My answer is always, "As many as I want to take" and "Yes, you'll receive a CD with the images on it." You always need to remember that the more people present at your event, the more images there are to take. The more fun they are and the more they do, will greatly increase the number of shots.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. Once, many years ago, while photographing a very small wedding in the North Georgia mountains, the two young ushers forgot to come back into the chapel after they'd escorted the mothers of the brides out following the ceremony. The crowd waited for a few minutes for the young men to return and when they didn't, I put down my camera and took the duty to myself. Everyone smiled at that and I had a great time.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I would wish each client understood that my job does not end with the press of the shutter button. There are a lot of hours put into processing the images afterwards. Good photographers put in many, many hours of post production effort, as a labor of love, into the finished product.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I've been taking pictures for over thirty years. Initially this was in a Law enforcement capacity until one day I was asked by my Father, who was a minister at weddings in a small mountain chapel, to photograph a ceremony for a couple who had little money to spend. I agreed and was hooked from that moment on.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Every time I pick up a camera, it is a form of education. I'm always trying new concepts and exploring new ideas. Some work out and others don't. It's always a learning experience, every time.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. While I believe there will always be a desire for the "still" photograph, I also think we are going to see the incorporation of video into many events. Video cameras are becoming very inexpensive and easy to use, though there is still a huge investment required in equipment and software to produce a quality, fully edited, movie that you can be proud to show friends and family.

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. My pricing is quite simple, actually. I have a starting figure for each type of event, wedding are the most expensive as they require the largest investment of my time and money. Think about your own job, the one you do every day to make a living. You get paid for that, most of the time at an hourly rate. Now think about 80 hours going into the average wedding, from the time you first meet with the bride at the consultation to the delivery of the finished product. Isn't it fair to be paid, something, for the time you give? How many hours a week do you put in at your own job, for free? Exactly.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Be prepared to spend a great deal more time than you'd anticipated, both before and after the event itself. You're also going to be shocked at the cost involved. Good photo gear is very, very expensive, much more so than you think.