Jeff Newsom went from being a young artist, to a competitive gamer, to a travelling musician, to aspiring physicist. Today, in his thirteenth year as a wedding photographer, his photographs are an unending video game, with the play of visuality much like an improvised musical performance, his work, seeking to understand the physicality of the various atoms that come together, to form a story. Read more
Many of us have had the doubtful pleasure of shooting alongside a video team using hot halogen lamps at an Indian wedding. Gladly, this trend is quickly fading away as both photographers and videographers adopt the usage of the more advanced, and easy to use lights. Some photographers find flash, be it on-camera or off-camera, to be the best light solution, while others find them a bit intimidating. I am not a technical writer, but I’ve been using both flash, as well as LED lights, and although I love working with off-camera-flash, I think LED lights are under appreciated. I believe that young photographers, but not only, can extract an incredible value from LED lights as an alternative option for flash.
Photographers continue to find themselves in this predicament… It is not the lack of ideas or the passion fueling these ideas. They are in abundance. But it is the process involved in realizing them, turning these ideas into reality. It requires resources. Expensive ones. That’s where a lot of photographers falter, at least those who are in the initial phase of their photography careers. And eventually, even when there is a steady flow of money, it somehow always feels like there is a dearth of it. It’s unfortunate that most photographers don’t usually make for good businessmen. It’s a skill, no doubt, to be able to manage the creative and the business side of the art form. But a handful have managed to do well in both. One of them is Zack Arias, an established and well-known name in the industry. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that he always had it all figured out. There were lessons, distressing and harrowing ones, that taught him how to navigate the complex and sometimes, the cut-throat world of commercial photography. Read more
“I did not enjoy my own wedding, but I really loved the pictures taken by my wedding photographer” says 32 years old Priya. The pictures were “successful in hiding the disappointment” she had of her orthodox traditional Indian wedding. She loved dressing up the way she always wanted to, and was happy to get married, but she strongly feels that the rituals were inconvenient and demeaning. “A group of women literally groped me, poured oil on my head and asked my husband to put sindoor (vermilion) starting from my nose. I was also expected to not wash my head for a day so that the sindooor sticks to my head”. While this could be culture to some, Priya feels that people should be more mindful of such customs, especially if it is an inter-community marriage. “No wonder I am frowning in some of my pictures taken at the mandap”. In hindsight, she would rather have had a court marriage, followed by gala party with close friends and family. Read more
Recently, when I had spoken to L.A.-based wedding photographer, Brian Callaway, he mentioned how he and his wife Allison are extremely involved with their clients, to a point where they end up becoming a part of their wedding photographs. This approach has given them access to a wonderful variety of moments and the ability to create scenes that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. However, when it comes to Juyá Gentil, a Colombian-based wedding photographer, he has a slightly different belief when it comes to the idea of ‘seizing the moment’. His approach involves donning the cloak of invisibility. “I tell my clients to pretend like I am not here… as if they don’t know me at all,” he said. According to him, there’s nothing worse than having the bride and groom smile for his camera. Or to have the guests strike over-the-top poses, every time that they stumble upon him. In other words, making his presence felt is akin to compromising the moment. “Not everyone is used to being photographed. Some people get quite conscious of the camera. And when this happens, they’re far from being themselves,” he said. Read more
“I want people to remember us,” says Brian Callaway. He and his wife Allison run the popular Callaway Gable wedding photographers Studio in Los Angeles, known for producing award-winning wedding photographs. It wasn’t just enough for Brian and Allison to create wonderful memories for their clients. Read more
Andrea Corsi gushes about Tuscany. It’s the first thing he mentioned during our rather long, but engaging conversation about how he got around to wedding photography. “Have you ever been to Tuscany?” he asks me, and goes on to provide incredible detail of the region’s picturesque landscapes. Home to some of the most acclaimed and illustrious artists the world has known (Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci), Tuscany’s richness and vibrancy is also a result of its ability to still hold on to its rustic roots. So it is not surprising that over the years, the area has become one of the most popular wedding destinations, with people flocking from all over the world to get a slice of its beauty in their wedding photographs. Read more
Dr. Seuss had once said, “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.” I was reminded of his words as soon as I chanced upon Sergey Ivanov’s fantastical wedding photography. His visuals have all the ingredients or rather qualities that encompass a wedding. There’s love, there’s drama, there’s action… Yet, the final image is not what you’d expect from a wedding picture. At first, you are left stunned… Is the photograph in front of you a work of fiction or reality?
Very often people forget that wedding photography involves much more than showing up on the day of the event to document it. In fact, making photographs is the easy part… It is the one thing that comes naturally to you, the photographer. But it’s unfortunate that for most wedding photographers, being creative with the camera does not necessarily mean that they’re as adept at the business side of things. At the end of the day, wedding photography is a service that requires efficient planning and management. So even if you’re great at what you do, if you cannot market yourself, your talent will not quite have the opportunity to show itself. But that’s not the case with Arjun Kartha, who has successfully located the fine thread separating business and photography, and staying firmly put on that line. Read more
I am often asked by wedding photographers about my pricing strategy. Recently a photographer wanted to know how he should explain to his clients that he wants to get paid fully in advance for his services. After all, not every client is happy with paying in full up front, and many try to come up with other payment terms that will give them what they feel is a secure business model. This is an issue of trust as the two parties wish to be assured the other will deliver. Basically a power struggle. So how should a photographer explain, and convince his client to pay in full before the work is done, and why is it so important?
“See in this world there are two kinds of people my friend; those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig!”
– Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly [After the stand-off, where in Angel Eyes is killed and Tuco finds out that there’re no bullets in his gun]