So we made a bit of a splash marketing wise, ended up on a couple of mags, and been swamped with requests. We screen clients quite carefully to make sure that the kind of images we take are the kind of images that they want. Inevitably one or two slip through and we end up shooting in a style that isn’t ours and produce images that we aren’t happy with, so in true Dror style I have come up with a five important reasons NOT to hire me post.

You don’t want someone to capture real moments:

I occasionally get clients who hand over a double A4 typed page of group photos that they want taken, leaving very little time to actually shoot anything but the group shots. I’ve been the second shooter at two weddings where the couple has had so many group shots listed that they only had ten minutes or so to get photos of the two of them together. It’s really the photographers fault in that case, they should have told the clients how long to budget for each group shot in their timelines (HINT: about 3 minutes).

I shoot in a photojourn style capturing real moments, those that have the two printed pages of groups, or want a lot of photos of them and their mom, them and their dad, them and their aunt, want a traditionalist. Someone whose main focus is posing large groups of people in a variety of styles, someone who has a shot list that reads: bride with mom, check, bride with aunt, check, bride with dad and mom, check, an old school wedding photographer. I do shoot groups, we try keep them to around 10, we do a couple of the groomsmen a couple of the bridesmaids, that sort of thing, but that isn’t the main focus of what I do.

If you are after a large number of photos and it is important to you that there is a photo of you an every single other person at the wedding. You are looking for another photographer.

You don’t want someone who has a unique style:

There’s no such thing as a “good” photo per se; everyone has their own aesthetic taste and opinion. There is such a thing as a style. I have a fairly distinctive style, it is my brand and its what I bring to each photograph. Expect me to shoot in my style.

You think kickass images in cool location are dangerous, and would rather stick to the same old, same old:

I often get inspired by a venue and try new things. It is part of the reason that I mostly get hired by artists, other photographers, architects, art directors, cinematographers and accountants; People who are used to the creative process and know that they will get something unique and amazing.

Just getting along with the familiar images that your parents had is easy and comfortable. Nailing those amazing images like you see on my blog or in my portfolio is something that happens at the venue. It is something that occurs when your style and choice of venue meets my style of photography. It is that kind of magic that we look for. It’s not always easy but you have to go with the fact that you have hired a professional, let them do what they do best and you will get incredible images.

You want to play it safe:

Some people start with a shot list of the images that they are after, making sure that they don’t skip anything, we don’t do that. After we take the usual safe shots, we take a few chances. Experiment, try something different. We’ll use the sky as a background if its cloudy and we’ll use massive amounts of flare if its midday and the sun is up. We’ll use off camera flash and on camera lighting, we’ll use silhouettes and we’ll be as unobtrusive as possible. You’ll have images that reflect your day and your event rather than 300 images that a different bride was put through the previous day.

I’d rather have a totally unique album of incredible images and moments that capture your day and your personality rather than a safe boring album of people standing in front of buildings, posing next to statues or gazing at the sky.

If you have a list of shots that you must have, groom looking at bride, dad looking at bride, dad shaking hands with whoever, then you’re looking for someone else.

You want your wedding to turn into a fashion shoot:

There are all kinds of people in the world, there are those that want to pose in the usual locations for three hours and there are those that want to have a blast at their wedding and have cool images of them having a great time with their friends, a document of their two families coming together, and something a bit more than just who was there and what they were wearing. For the former I have a list of photographers I am happy to refer them to.

What can I do for you?

I take photographs that capture the day, the mood and the moments that you often don’t see at the time. These are photos that you will look back on and remember the moment, not just the photographer telling you to say cheese. They are a unique set of photos that reflect your unique day and event. You will also get someone who is genuinely interested in the photography aspect of the day and in producing images that rock and are filled with emotion.

Have a look through the blog, where we have images from the latest weddings, notice how each wedding has its own feel, or have a look through the online portfolio. Drop me an email to get the latest packages and pricelists (add your date to the subject line to check for availability), and you’ll get an email with our our latest packages and prices as well as a link to a full wedding and other sneak peeks that are not on the site.

Ok, I’m going to end off with a quote, and while I know its kind of cheesy, I really like Elliot Erwitt, he has this ability to make anything look interesting.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt

This entry was posted Sunday, February 17th, 2008 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Info.