Wedding Photojournalist, Photographer

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

A. Obviously, I shoot a lot of weddings, but I also shoot portraits on location. This can be newborn babies in their homes, boudoir photos in someone's bedroom, seniors at a park or school, families out and about, photos for business that want to update their employee photos or have photos on the web showcasing themselves or their products. I also shoot events like bar mitzvahs, engagement surprises and corporate events that want something more casual and personalized. And yes, every once in a while, I'll still actually shoot for newspapers which was my bread and butter for fifteen years!

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

A. It's become easier for clients to look at photographer quickly because they can see work online, but it's hard sometimes to get a feel for the photographer's continuity wedding in, wedding out. It can also be challenging to get a sense of who that person is, so read all those review sites, you'll quickly start to get a sense of the good, the bad and the ugly. Most importantly is finding out if you like not only their work, but who they are as person and that's hard to do online. So meet with them, or talk to them. Sadly, you'll end up spending more time on your wedding day with the photographer than you will with your spouse, so if the photographer is an uptight bossy boots, move on. There are plenty of upbeat, helpful and calming photographers out there who have YOUR best interests in mind rather than their own!

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

A. Many photographers do not publish their prices online because they want you to meet with them, fall in love with them and then they will try to "upsell" you until you've exhausted your photo budget. The actual shoot may not cost too much, but you'll get gouged six ways to Sunday when you try to order prints, an album, rights, travel, number of locations, etc., etc. Find out the bottom line up front... if they won't tell you, find someone who will! Find a photographer that lays all the cards on the table so you can understand exactly what you're getting for exactly how much so you can pick and choose and set your budget accordingly.

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

A. I've always shot weddings in an unobtrusive manner and the rest of the field has finally caught on that capturing the wedding day as it is is so much more interesting that some photographer's version of what your day should be. Not too many other photographer's out there have 20 years experience shooting in this style and still create fresh, unique images that tell one couple's wedding day story. My couples LOVE me and I've never gotten a complaint in a very complaint prone field! I'm also very willing to try new things... that's the way I can best reflect the needs of my clients and the way I can give the very best customer service. Besides, learning only helps my observational skills!

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love that every wedding day is different. The couples are unique, their dynamics are unique, so their stories are unique. Even though weddings do have a certain flow to them, I love that every wedding day story will be different visually and I get to be front and center and tell that story. I love that my couples are so appreciative of my work. Their complete openness to the process and forgetting I'm there is my best kept secret... that allows me to do my job and I love them for it! It's also a great way for me to listen to wedding vows weekly and think about my own fabulous hubby!

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

A. I've always given away the rights to my images and while more and more photographers are doing that these days, I still have lots of questions about that. I think it's hard for everybody to compare apples to apples when they're looking for photographers and the lingo can get confusing. So I still get a lot of questions about my high resolution, ready to print versus other photographers offering watermarked proof ownership!
There are also lots of questions about the necessity of second shooters since so many photographer offer them. My ability to completely disappear is because there is only one of me, so I've always shot alone. I'm everywhere I need to be!