Photography

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

A. In checking out wedding photographers, do make sure they have liability insurance to cover you and your guests in the event there is an accident. Many wedding & reception venues require photographers to submit a copy of their liability insurance. Some venues even require a copy of their business license.

Also do look at least one or more full weddings the photographer has photographed. You do want to see properly exposed photographs, great composition and artistically created images. Check the quality of their albums and portraits. I highly recommend reading several of their testimonies and consider contacting some of their referrals or even seeking recommendations from other vendors.

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

A. I would want to know about the quality of the albums being sold, what warranties are included and also the quality of any portraits being printed for me. Is the quality high or average and how long will the paper or canvas last. Does the wall portrait have a protective coating over it to prevent scratches and fingerprint damage?
Lastly, what guarantee, can the photographer provide in case their photographs fail to please and how long will it be before I receive my photographs and album. Be careful if the time span is unusually long in receiving your photographs. If the time seems excessive, do ask for referrals and chat with them about their experience.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. It is so important to make sure the photographer you are considering has liability insurance to cover you and all of your guest in case there is an accident.

Does the photographer have any formal training in photography and art? Do they bring back up equipment in case a camera or lens or flash stops working? Do they have an equally qualified and skilled person to fill in their place in the event they become sick and unable to attend your wedding?

Lastly, I would hope the photographer you are considering is legal, meaning they have a business license and do pay state and federal taxes on the monies you give them.

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

A. Before I meet with a potential bride, I would hope she has seen my work either on the internet or at other vendors for a good style match. A budget for photography should already be in mind but not necessarily in stone. Does the bride want an album, a disc or both? Think about how much time you want the photographer at your wedding and do you want them on the rehearsal night too.

An important question to ask is how the photographer works with your family and guests at a wedding, one of the more stressful events in one's life. Do ask the photographer who can work in their place in the event they are sick and cannot make your wedding.

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

A. My work is very unique in that I apply a blending of styles including fashion, romance, classic, photojournalism, and a contemporary edge to give you the very best in wedding photography.

Most photographers have no formal training in photography nor art. This really separates me and my vision from their work. My formal training in architecture truly does give me an edge over others in how I approach a scene and capture it with the bride and groom.

My training is also ongoing. I continue my education every year by studying art and photography in museums, seminars and classes. I even share my knowledge with new photographers in seminars and classes that I teach.

My photography and my beautifully designed albums have been awarded the highest marks in international competition, having won numerous Kodak and Fuji Masterpiece awards for excellence.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love photographing weddings. Every wedding and every client is different and I love meeting and working with them all.

My destination weddings are truly a blessing. I love traveling and photographing unique locations around the world and destination weddings provide me with this wonderful opportunity to work with my favorite clients in beautiful and different places that we might not otherwise visit.

With my deep sense of art and architecture, my destination wedding work is truly spectacular and noteworthy. I freely give of my time on unique trips to provide my clients with a distinct flavor of their location through breathtaking imagery. What a storybook these images portray and capture.

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

A. You know the thing I forget to mention to brides is the behind the scenes work that I do with their photographs that most photographers will not attempt through either inexperience or the time it requires. I do fine art retouching of all the photographs and albums ordered. I hate distractions in the backgrounds like water bottles, exit signs, trash, power lines etc. I so dislike glass glare on peoples glasses, and everyone can stand a little retouching of the eyes, skin and hair. I kid brides that I even clean dresses in their portraits so they will not have to pay the dry cleaners their due.

I design my albums not for me but for my clients, their tastes and their wishes!

Q. What is your greatest strength?

A. My keen artistic eye. I love art and I love photography. My work is high fashion, it is old Hollywood and it is contemporary, a true blending of styles and tastes.

My people skills may be my strongest suite, I am told by every bride I work with how much I put them at ease the moment I walk into their dressing room and began working with them to create a lifetime of masterpieces. Few photographers can do this, I am a master at calming stressed brides.

Most brides fear how they will feel and look in their portraits or wedding photographs. My demeanor and knowledge of working with people in front of the camera puts them at ease and that is how I create such stunning and natural looking wedding portraits.