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I think they're nice too. But I'd want to meet with him and see an entire album for one whole wedding. Not just the best shots from several different weddings. That way you'll have a better idea of what kind of product you'll get. Because anyone can take 1,000 pictures and have 30 really great ones, ya know?
OK, warning: I'm a photographer myself, so I probably am a lot more analytical and pickier than you, so the most important thing, and the thing I tell all my clients is to go with the one whose photos speak to your heart, even if that's not me!
Ok, disclaimer done!
A few things I noticed, were some inconsistencies in the editing of the work. I.e Some seemed color corrected and more heavily edited while some seemed right out of the camera.
It also seemed to be the same 4 brides over and over and over but jumbled together. Does he have a blog? Anywhere you can see and hear what he's up too? See all his latest work?
I'm personally not a HUGE fan of his site, just having the slide show and pricing seems a bit lazy personally ;-) Believe it or not, the artistic nature and layout and feel of the site I think actually says a lot about the artist you're hiring, and his site seems cold.
The knot badge only means he paid a TON of money to advertise with them... not that they sanction his work or business.
I've never heard of "toned 4×6 proofs." Color Corrected, edited, fully edited, artistic edits, but never "toned." All the terms I named btw all mean different things... so the adjective to describe the kind of photos you receive is important.
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He DOES have some great shots... and some I have no idea why he had in there. He seems like a great deal price wise for Cali.
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Questions you may want to ask him in a consult:(these can be asked of ANY photog)
- How many weddings have you done?
- Are you a full time or part time WEDDING photographer. As per my 2nd post below he may only do a few on the side...
- what are "toned" prints?
- What kind of album do you offer? Is it flushmount? Matted? Press Printed? What kind of cover is it? LOOK AT A FEW! Not just one, see a few albums!
- Ask to see links to the online galleries of multiple of his latest weddings. Are the online proofs the files you'll receive on the DVD? Is there any color correction to them?
- What is your heart telling you? Do his photos make your heart get excited? Do you WANT to be in his photos? He's a photojournalist... does his photos tell you an entire story when you look at the one shot? Check out the WPJA for other photojournalists in your area as well.
OK, that was longer than I expected, lol. Hope it helps.
OK, JUST KIDDING! I'm torn!
I just noticed the link you sent was an offshoot of his site, not THE main site of his work. I say go meet with him, because he's done some great portrait work, but I feel like his wedding work doesn't speak like his portrait and other PJ work.
That being said, he also doesn't seem to speak about his wedding stuff on his blog.. so that tells me it's not his main focus. I.e. it's not his specially honed craft and what he spends all his time working on. He had recent things in his blog already inserted into the website gallery and all the other galleries are part of his site. All he gives weddings is a slideshow?
Ugh, go meet with him. I'm torn. He's a great PJ photographer, but it IS actually possible to be a great PJ photog and not wedding photog.... unfortunately. It's a beast to shoot weddings, and it's not for everyone.
@KLP2010: Wow, thanks for all the insights!
I'm really having a hard time deciding. I do feel excited and happy when I see some of the pictures, but I'm also worried that all the details I'm putting into the wedding might go unphotographed. I don't get the feeling he really tries to capture the *feel* of the wedding -- it's more about the people. Which IS the most important part!! But I also want to capture the atmosphere I'm trying to create.
I totally agree with you about the rest of his work! I think he's really talented, his photographs are striking, and he captures people beautifully!! But does he capture weddings beautifully?
That said, FI loves him! He said when he looked at the slideshow on the website it was the first time he could really envision and felt excited about our wedding (as opposed to our marriage haha). That's what makes it so tough!!
Main question: Do you guys think the wedding pics are "pretty" ??
I'm a wedding photographer as well and I'm highly critical... I have absolutely nothing against this photographer, I'm only going to point out things I see as if I were evaluating the photographer for my own wedding.
I agree with most of KLP2010's points. Given that this photog has a strong photojournalistic background coming from a newspaper, I can see where his strengths lie - he captures emotions, he captures things as they happen... but I wouldn't say that his photographs are pretty in the artistic sense. Also, it seems that the MAJORITY of his work is through the newspaper... His portfolio only consists of ~2 - 3 weddings. His blog is mostly not focused on weddings. He's not focusing on weddings perse for his career. In my experience, as you become an experienced photog you want to narrow down, not do everything at once. You can only really be good in one or two categories of photography. I'd prefer to hire someone who only does weddings and lifestyle portraits.
I think he does really good conceptual editorial work (like his "Singles" and "Portraits" on the main website), but I wouldn't see him as a top notch wedding photog. His work in his non-wedding portfolio is strong, but many of those photos are extremely deliberate and perhaps planned or posed - nothing wrong with that, but I'm merely saying this because you don't have a lot of flexibility to pose and plan during a wedding.
If you ask whether his wedding photos are pretty, I'd say "no" - not because he isn't good, but because my eye has seen the best of the best. His photos are not highly edited, the color correction isn't always spot on. You want to see pretty wedding photos, the standards against whom I measure people include Jose Villa, Jessica Claire, Jasmine Star, and Scott Robert. If you ask me if he's very photojournalistic, I'd say "yes". He does capture a feel of the wedding, but he doesn't do well in the posed portraits department, and he doesn't focus on the itty bitty details like ring shots or shots of bouquets or your table numbers - if those things are important to you, then you want to look for those kinds of shots. I believe there are more photogs within his price range who can offer better wedding photos.
I'm going to have to agree with the 2 photographers who commented above. His other work is really great, but his wedding photos are just so-so. For the most part they aren't photos I'd care to have displayed on my wall or run and show to everyone I know.
It seems like you're not really feeling his work either so I think you should keep looking. It's important that both you and your FI are happy! I'm sure if you keep looking you can find someone that you both like. I don't know what your budget is, but most photographers are willing to travel so you could try broadening your search if you don't find anyone local who takes your breath away.
Here's a wedding photographer we were considering for our destination wedding! This photographer is actually in your area!! Check out his work!
http://fcwong.bigfolioblog.com/
They photographer your Fi likes is just ok. I'm into photojournalistic styles too, so maybe you'd like the blog I just posted above. In the end the Fi and I just went with a local VA photographer instead!
I have to say that photography is very important and I feel like the work is so-so...almost seemed like most of them could have been taken by guests...a good photographer (being an artist) will definitely have to capture the details of the wedding...which are always important
Your right to be worried about the details! Your spending hours and hours deciding upon them... and even more hours here on WB to get everything just right! :-)
to ME: Wedding photography is a combination of every kind of photography. You should know how to be a PJ and tell a story, you should know how to take detail shots as if your were doing a product campaign. You need to know how to do POSED family shots because no matter how PJ you want it to be, your parents and family EXPECT their family photos :-) You need to know what to do in full sun or candle light... and when the bride walks in with full sun behind her into that candle lit room... you STILL have to know how to flip your settings in a second to get the picture as it actually looks to the eye. On top of all that, you have to compose a pretty picture too :-)
There's nothing wrong with being unsure and going to meet with him. There's nothing wrong with doing that and looking at others. If it's PJ your going for, go to the WPJA and look around.... And don't be afraid to look outside your area. If budget is a concern there's some amazing photogs out in the midwest and in smaller towns that have lower rates due to their local economy. For some, even paying their travel would be worth if ($) in the long run :-) We (wedding photogs) love to get out of our local areas and photograph something new and exciting :-) It's not uncommon at all these days to travel your photographer... just like jingle did.
ETA: Jeff Ascough is truly the "best" and "master" of PJ wedding photographers. He gets it and 20+ years later is still doing it full time. His post linked below says it best :-)
http://jeffascough.typepad.com/jeff_ascough_blog/wedding-portfolio.html
I like the pictures, if you like them at all I think you should give him this.
My fiance only wanted control/say of two things in our wedding, the photography and the alcohol.
If he is letting you have/do all of the things you want and is only being picky about this one thing.. you may want to concede a little and let him have what he wants.
My FI picked a photojournalistic photographer as well.
I was going to write the same things that KLP2010 wrote above, een before I read what she wrote. My gut feeling is that is these are the photos he feels represent his BEST work...then look elsewhere. He seems to still be developing his own style as the ones on the site are all over the place style-wise. This could look a bit odd if you do an album with him. Also I will disagree with some of the commentors who say that he captures emotion. In my opinion he is not a master of capturing emotion. I would keep looking, unless he is the best you can afford. In which case I would work with him on describing a consistant style you want him to use all day.
I have to throw my two cents in here and agree with those who are saying that the photographer your FI chose isn't my cup of tea. I think he's good, but not good enough to capture your wedding day.
Just keep in mind that if you continue your search, most wedding photographers these days will shoot with a photojournalistic approach, so you don't have to specifically seek out only photojournalists who have turned to wedding photography. Every photographer we looked into all shot with a photojournalistic perspective in addition to the posed, more creative pictures. Usually photogs will come with a second shooter, so while one is focusing more on portraits, the second shooter will get some of the more candid/documentary shots, and vice versa.
With any respectable wedding photog these days, if they keep up with trends, and what clients want, will know to shoot with a photojournalistic eye. So you should have many more options out there! :)
Wow all these comments are so helpful, thank you!! This photographer does represent the absolute outer limit of our photography budget. In shopping around, I have noticed that the photographers at this budget-level and below tend to be much more posey/traditional wedding photography. Although great for people who like that, it's not what either of us are looking for.
We are planning to do very minimal portrait work and we don't intend for it to be artsy. Probably very straightforward, standing together looking at camera. I am soooo not photogenic, awkward in front of camera, and when I'm posing it just gets worse. I see everyone's lovely wedding pictures and I don't think I could pull it off.
Anyway, for what we can afford, his photography seems to be the least contrived, and that was the most important thing we were looking for in a photographer. I feel like he nails that side of it, but it lacks in other ways (like making the day look gorgeous!)...
My FI loves his candid work, and I like it a lot. I'm inclined to agree with Stassney, that I should give him this. That was a nice way of putting it. He is letting me choose everything else!!
Consider that a photographer from somewhere else may cost less, even with travel... but if you're willing to give in, I'd say that's good too! Planning is stressful and you just want to get things done sometimes!
Try http:jenharrisblog.com !!
She did our wedding in Sep and I think she covers most of CA.
We paid around 2k for full day coverage, 2 photographers ( she will bring another photographer as an assistant), E-session!! Isn't it very reasonable?!
She takes many different types of pics and they r all beautiful.
there good but only good...there are some masters of photojournalism on the west coast...keep looking
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My fiance is not picky about most wedding-related issues, so when he does want something specific, I tend to go with it. He really wants a photojournalist-style photographer... what do you think of this one? He loves him, but I can't make up my mind... help me decide!
http://davidzentz.com/weddings/