FAQs
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I actually was asked by a fellow student senior year if I would photograph her small wedding. It was 1975 and I shot one roll of film on an old Rollei camera and got 12 pictures. I had each one enlarged to 8x10 and placed in an album for her. I charged $50.00 for the costs. A year later her friend had seen those photos and asked me to do her wedding. I shot around 35 photos this time and she bought around $150.00 worth of photos. I was in college studying chemistry and journalism. Not planning to be a photographer but just enjoying it as a hobby and making a little extra money. Within the next year I photographed weddings for sisters of both those brides. When I delivered the photos the father of one of them said John you should think about doing this for a living. I did, I have, and no regrets.
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Check out previous work. You should see some that you do not like as well as some that look like they are out of a magazine. If every thiing you see is perfect you are not seeing the photographers actual work. A good retoucher can correct anything but often retouching is an additional expense. A great photographer does not need very much retouch work except in extreeme circumstances. A great photographer knows when to retouch and how much is needed.
- What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
anyone can take a picture but only a professional photographer can artistically capture the moment under any condition at any given moment