Despite numerous awards, magazine write-ups, keys to the city and an international photographer of the year (iPOTY) award nothing can take the place of a comment on the blog from a happy bride/groom/couple/client. Here are some of our favorites from the last while.

I go this one from Angela, a Portuguese fashion designer living in Germany, after her wedding to Michael at Oakfield Farm. Angela was described to me by many people along the way as the most difficult person they have had to deal with. My experience was that she knew what she wanted. I love that in a client, it makes my job so much easier, to know what someone is after means that I know what I need to capture. I will always capture it in my style or add my spin to things but to know, for example, that the decor is very important or that they want as their centerpiece an image of them walking down the carpet of red petals really sets the scene. She was also witty, fun to be around, considerate and had a great time on the day.

I know I have already written so much thanking you and Vicky for making our wedding photos into memories that are indeed more PERFECT than the real day was ( and you know that the day was pretty PERFECT already). I just wanted to make public my thank you and to without exaggeration to say that you and Vicky were the BEST possible choice for our wedding within all SA ( you know what I am talking about, as I have seen people from all over SA).

This BEST was a total of a extraordinary TALENT, SKILLS CAPABILITY and last but not least HUMAN CHARACTER, I mean in the end of the day I want to say to all the brides out there, it doesn’t matter just to get the best skilled/ famous photographer out there but equally important you WILL WANT to have around someone who is kind, funny and can understand during every minute of the day how much this day and these photos will mean to you. Dror and Vicky have these unpayable qualities, and because of that you can be assured they will take a active part in making your wedding day a VERY happy one.

To all non-cheesy MODERN BRIDES out there who are struggling to get a photographer who will cover their wedding in the way they want (even to an ELLE stylish high standard level), with self experience I can recommend you without any shade of doubt Dror, as a professional who can DELIVER, SURPRISE and most importantly LISTEN to what you want.

Finally Dror, i want to say what a great job you are doing with your website. During almost a year of regular anxious visits to see always something new you add (a new comment, a new wedding), after concluding my own wedding, I am sure I will give in often to the temptation of coming in to see and read how you will make other couples weddings days unique and beautiful. I personally find most wedding photographs boring as they tend always to be the same, making weddings generally to look like a cliche, boring and already expected event. Dror, you have really the qualities to make each of your weddings unique, and this is why you keep all your pre and post brides like myself popping in your website even after their wedding has passed.

Can’t thank you enough,
Angela

I really appreciate the fact that she took the time to write a thoughtful reply on the blog. I don’t know about all that other stuff about being kind and funny. In real life I am grouchy and short tempered.

I got these next two from Eva, a Scandinavian living in London, who got married to Matt at The Cradle of Humankind. A really amazing place to get married at btw. Eva and I had a bit of a comedy of errors, trying to pull this off. I originally agreed to shoot the wedding, Matt was going to fly to SA and meet me. We somehow missed each other at the coffee shop we were supposed to meet at, I had lost my phone. I really don’t have much luck with phones. We were going to meet the day he was supposed to fly back, we missed each other again. We then rescheduled for a couple of months later, but I was made an offer to move to Texas and Andrea was going to take over the wedding. Hey, I told you it was a long and complicated story. Anyway, eventually, the day arrived and both Andrea and I were there.

Well, Dror, I managed to bag you in the end for my big day and what a result!!!!! Thank you so much for being part of our day, it was an honor, we both had such a blast and my cheeks still hurt 3 weeks on from smiling so much )
Needless to say I started stalking your and Andrea’s sites for sneaks as soon as and I was simply blown away by the sky and the light in these non-edited pics. I now know why you two both kept going on about it at the time. I think you described it as almost disgustingly perfect at one point. A bride can’t ask for more than that on her big day. We are simply thrilled with what we have seen so far, you really are the master!
Eva&Sparky Watson

Oh, and as for Minki, eat your heart out girl ;o)

I didn’t really get to know Eva very well, as I spent most of the time with Matt and the guys, but that’s a very sweet comment and throughout the entire process leading up to the wedding she was kind and good humored. As for those skies, yes, they did look like someone had photoshopped them in.

Then there is Anne Nigel. Anne is the self styled stalkerazzi of my blog. Her wedding is on August 16th 2008 in Kenya. She probably knows more about wedding photography, the wedding photography scene around the world and photography in general than most of the photographers currently marketing themselves as wedding photographers. If you need advice on wedding photographers, Anne is the one.

Anne on Angela and Michael’s wedding photographs:

Dror this is the best wedding I have ever seen. I literally I’m speechless (which is a very difficult thing for me) about how you shot this wedding. Just amazing!!!!!!!! You are the best !

Anne on Eva and Matt’s wedding photographs:

WOW!!!!! Amazing! Again WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You never ever cease to completely entertain and wow me!!! I totally heart your work!

Anne on Mari and Elmer’s wedding photographs – Mari and Elmer are from the Netherlands and were probably two of the most laid back good hearted people we’ve had the pleasure of photographing:

It’s just me the usual stalkerazzi coming to see what’s new and again I am speechless. You are the only photographer whose work is so versatile and creative that is able to shoot every wedding differently! I love these pics too, they have the classic romantic almost vintage feel to them. By the way welcome back!

There is more, but I just wanted to say its always a pleasure to get a comment from Anne, I dread the day she comments, these are nice. Just checking out what other blogs she stalks, and which photographers she knows, she really knows her photography and I know her wedding album will be killer bee.

Ok – one more, because Maryanne was one of the nicest people we met last year. She got married to Scott at Koyama, and really wanted a photojourn approach to her wedding.

Wow, what can I say. I am so in love with our photos! What makes them so lovely is that none are posed and when you look at them it takes you straight back to how you were feeling at that very moment. I just want to thank you and Vicky for making my memories of my wedding so alive and real. You are both wonderful people and so talented
x x x Maryanne

One of the reasons I love this comment because it articulates for me what wedding photos should do. They should take you back to how you were feeling at that very moment.

We get a lot of comments on the blog and we’ve been blessed to meet and photograph really cool people, some of whom have become friends and some whom I expect to call in the next year or two to have their kids photographed. I just wanted to say thank you to all our couples in 2007, oh and Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuube.

btw just in case it needs to be clarified. We have never received the keys to any city, an iPOTY (is there such a thing?) and we don’t enter photography competitions.

The Fuji Photographic Awards came out this week, and several of my circle of photographers won deserved awards and recognition. On Friday, I was speaking to one of the students that I mentor and he asked me why I don’t enter these competitions.

The answer is fairly simple. A while back when I left varsity I decided that I was going to shoot for clients not for other photographers or judges. I’m fortunate to have a style that is very personal, and is based on real moments, those moments are what’s important to my clients. These are the people that I am trying to impress, not on technical excellence, but on the actual image itself and what it represents to them about their wedding day.

Many of the images that win awards, are technically perfect, beautifully set-up and executed. I often find them quite bankrupt when it comes to the emotional content. Its just an opinion, there’s nothing wrong with having a fashion spread as your wedding album. It just isn’t what I’m after or my clients are after, I do think its what most judges are after.

I don’t know how many of you who read this blog regularly pay attention to the comments that run on the right hand side of the page (Never noticed them before huh), but I received a very sweet one today from Janice Holmes. Janice is Nadine’s mom, those of you who have been following the blog for a while might remember her as the woman who was carried to the car under stormy skies – it was one of the featured weddings on the old site, and its the photo that is most often mention in consultations.
It has been more than a year since their wedding, the album has been delivered, the photos done, and children have been born. I think I’ve even blogged about their album being delivered. Today, the comment arrived from Janice. All I can say is thank you, I’m flattered, and I love photographing children.

amanzingwe lodge weddings, amanzingwe wedding photography, janice holmes, wedding photos with elephants, 

I’m probably going to be very unpopular because of this, but I recently had the worst experience with a venue that I could imagine happening to a couple. I won’t name the venue, but if you suspect it might be yours, drop me a line.

Firstly, this venue, which is a very popular venue in the Fourways area, booked the first wedding to start at 16h30 on a balcony, while booking a second wedding in the hall which that balcony belonged to i.e. there was one wall seperating both weddings. Every bride wants to feel special on her wedding day, like she is the only bride in the world, it is her day. You don’t really want to meet another bride adjusting her makeup in the bathroom. But hey, they could have pulled it off, their guests may not have bumped into each other or gone to the wrong wedding, the brides may not have seen each other and the people being seated in the hall may not have heard the tail end of the ceremony of the bride on the balcony. Unfortunately in our story, the bride on the balcony was late at the salon, and in which bridal story is the bride ever on time? No one is going to start without her, right?

In our story, the bride on the balcony arrived, went to the bridal suite to change and was promptly told that she had to clear the balcony by 17h30, this was at around 17h10, whether the ceremony had happened or not. She was also told that since the florist had been late they hadn’t been allowed to put up the flowers because the guests in the hall were already in place. Now, if someone had been as rude to my mother-in-law as this venue co-ordinator had been to the mother of the bride there would have been some consternation and the manager would have been called. As it was there were a bunch of men in kilts who were not looking pleased.

I don’t understand why they booked two weddings so close together, both physically and time wise. Then of course this being a scottish wedding, the lads in kilts were keen on a bit of the old bagpipes. Up runs Miss venue co-ordinator, no bagpipes, they will disturb the wedding next door.

I could carry on about the terrible service, the fact that getting cutlery seemed to challenge the staff, probably due to the wedding next door, and the inability to produce a clean plate. Lastly, lets just say that in general when the bride and groom decide not to seat the photographers, the venue provides a space for the vendors to put equipment down, sit, and a vendor meal of some description. This place did not, the first one in four years of shooting weddings. To say I would not recommend this place, would be an understatement.

Lastly, always ask whether there is going to be another wedding happening at the same time and what kind of time restrictions are going to be placed on your getting ready, your florist/decor arriving, when will you have to clear out the venue. You don’t want that kind of stuff being sprung on you on your day.

We delivered a draft version of Maryanne and Scott’s album a couple of days ago and received this email in reply.

“…Hi Dror

I love love love the album… I dont mind at all if you want to use it as a sample album. I have nothing to change, at first I thought of adding a few, but then looked at the album again and realised that it is just perfect because it makes me remember the whole day from beginning to end… “

We really appreciate getting these kinds of emails, it means that we managed to capture the day as the couple want to remember it and present the album in such a way that it tells the story.

As humans our first thought is almost always to try and add more images to an album, it is an instinctual thing, probably something to do with a stone age ancestor and the scarcity of food. Sometimes however in order for an image to stand out and be given full justice it needs some whitespace, or as my father always use to say when I cropped too tightly, it needs to breath. My father is still taking photographs of exotic places, we still don’t see eye to eye on aesthetic issues, but I have learned the value of whitespace and letting images breath.

Anyway, I bet you want to see the album. You can have a look at the preview here. As always you’re welcome to leave a comment.

Edited: I’m a big fan of Kathy Sierra and one of this blog’s readers pointed me to an article by Kathy on the space between notes, where she has a killer explanation for why you need to leave space for the viewer to reflect, process, and co-create the meaning. In my head I still think of it as giving them room to breathe. Thanks for the link Roseanne.

One of my friends recently got married in Middleburg. I know what you’re thinking and I didn’t know where it was either. When he got back after his honeymoon, I naturally did what any wedding photographer would do, I asked to see the photos.

Long story short he pointed me at the relevant photographer’s site and I went to have a look. While we were looking through the photos, which were nice in a traditional-gazing-at-the-sky-kind-of-way, I pointed at one where he was squinting into the camera and he laughed and said “Its hard work posing for photos … its like, look at <name deleted in the interest of being invited over ever again>, smile, look serious and then they reflect light into your face … so you end up squinting.”

I can’t imagine many things worse then spending an hour being told to smile, stare at the sky, touch the tree. If you read this blog regularly then you have heard me mention many times that looking natural and relaxed in the photos comes from being natural and relaxed. However, my bias against stiff posed wedding photos aside, your wedding day shouldn’t be hard work.

We are gearing up for the new season here at the studio. Wrapping up the new sample albums, making sure that we have our act together and thinking of maybe, doing a site redesign. Maybe taking away the portfolio section and replacing it with a more extensive recent weddings section.

I firmly believe that you need to see at least one full wedding from the photographer you plan on hiring. It is nice to have a portfolio section on a site, the photographer’s favourites or greatest hits or something that indicates what the photographer likes. Where his vision lies. At the end of the day however anyone can get lucky once or twice at a wedding. Shoot more than 15 weddings and you can have a portfolio of amazing images. The question which is left out of most of the how-to-choose-your-wedding-photographer articles is … is he or she consistant? Does your photographer shoot consistantly well over the entire day or do they get one or two amazing shots and the rest are in a different league. It is six to ten hours worth of shooting, you need someone who can shoot consistantly over an entire day.

It is also one thing to sell yourself as a wedding photojournalist, but do you shoot hundreds of posed images and snapshots over a single event. Is your photographer able to be creative and technically proficient the whole time? Beware of someone who only has posed images in their portfolio, unless of course that’s what you want, there is more to a wedding than the posed moments. You need to be comfortable that the photographer can deliver all day and not just enough for website samples.