Shawn and Derek's Engagement Session

Derek and Shawn had a wonderful engagement session this past Monday.  We even made the rain work for us!!

Justin and Chanell's Engagement Session

I had a great time working with Chanell and Justin's engagement session this past weekend. Their wedding is June 28th and I'm sure it will be excellent!

PROS VS JOES 4. Customer Service

This week I added up the time I spend on my average couple and the number came to 22.5 hours. I included the phone inquires, a 10-hour wedding day, the time it takes me to process proofs, create a wedding album etc....   This is important because I take customer service very seriously. I know some photographers that have gotten caught up in the repetition of this business meaning they look at every wedding and every couple as the same; its become monotonous to them.  For me, every couple is unique and I treat them as such.  This means designing every album that caters to the couple's personalities.  Its almost like you have to "fall in love" with your clients. There are just so many things that change, that have to be covered, and have to be discussed when a couple is planning a wedding that great customer service is a must.

ROMANTIC ENGAGEMENT SESSION

I talked earlier about the importance of engagement sessions, and I think the main point I forgot to add is the importance of the engagement session to the bride and groom.  A lot of couples choose to have their engagement sessions at places they've had their first date at, their first kiss at or maybe just a nice scenic location that has a good vibe to it.  This particular engagement session had meaning because it took place where the groom proposed.  I took the photos at the The Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn, Michigan.  This was the first time I had been there and I was surprised to see a waterfall!  Charles (the groom) said it took him 3 months to find a place to propose but he feels The Henry Ford Estate was the perfect place. 

PROS VS JOES 3.- PEOPLE PERSON

Technical skill and a fancy camera don't mean anything if you have poor communication skills. I meet a lot of new wedding photographers who haven't learned that there is a level of personality, patience and communication that's needed for this gig.  During a weeding day you may encounter a pushy bride's mother, a bossy wedding coordinator, a pastor with rules, a groom with no clue, nosey bride's maids,  a uncle with a camera better than yours and a nervous bride that you have to keep calming down.  This career is not for quiet people, introverts or flat out jerks.

When I was growing up, I noticed how my grandfather seemed to get along with everybody.  He even got along with folks nobody else liked.  As I grew older I understood his mind-set:  he didn't hold judgement against anyone for any reason.  If the guy next door was mean to everyone in the neighborhood than my grandfather understood that the guy was not being mean to him because it was personal; it was just how he was.   That's what my grandfather did throughout his life, accept people for who they were; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This is a trait that you can't teach, you just have to mature into it.  As a wedding photographer you have to know how to charm the wedding coordinator into giving you 15 more minutes for pictures even though the reception will start late.  You have to build a quick nod of trust with the bridal party because if they don't respect you or your work, than they won't listen to you.

When I interview assistants, I never look for the ones who are experienced with the camera, I look for the ones who love people.  You can teach a person how to use a camera, but you can't teach a person how to be considerate, how to communicate, how to learn and accept people.

LET ME TELL YOUR STORY

A story can be anything.  A pictorial story does not have to be just a wedding.  I had the pleasure of photographing a Sweet 16 B-Day.  I'm not going to discuss it because I would rather you guys follow the story in the album pages posted.

PROS VS JOES 2 -MAKING RAINBOWS OUT OF SPILLED PAINT

MAKING RAINBOWS OUT OF SPILLED PAINT

An old mentor of mine told me many years ago that wedding photographers always have good days.  Why, do you ask?  Because we can't afford to have bad days!  What he was trying to say was that you have to have a good outlook on everything no matter what it is.  If it rains: you can get a good reflection shot of the bride in groom in a puddle.  If you're running out of time for formals:  move faster and concentrate harder because when proofing time comes, the bride and groom don't want to hear, "Well I didn't get any good formals of you guys because I just didn't have enough time."  This is what separates the Pros from the Joes - being able to see something where there is nothing or make a positive out of a negative.  And to be honest: it all has to do with focus and attitude.  The situation is only screwed up if you say and think it is!

This was one of the toughest situations I've been put under as a wedding photographer.  The wedding started late, the receiving line ran longer than expected and we just had a hard time exiting the church to go to the designated spot to take pictures.  

The bride and groom pulled me to the side and said there was no way we could get downtown to take pictures and back in time for the reception. They basically said, "Kahn, we need somewhere to take pictures thats close to the reception."  Now I didn't tell them this, but I couldn't think of nowhere, however I just told them to follow me and I felt I could "wing" it.  

They got in their limo, I got in my car, I called my wife and she gave me directions to a park with gazebo near their reception hall, but when we got there there was another wedding going on!  I got back in the car, starting driving and biting my nails (it felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders), the limo driver pulled to the side of me and told me to pull over.  He got out the car and told me that the couple only had the limo for 15 more minutes so something had to be done!  So I looked over and saw an office building full of different kinds of stone work and told him to follow me straight over there, and here is the result.

I found the section in the building that didn't have any windows and had the best light, posed and photographed the couple non-stop for 10 minutes.  That left 10 minutes exactly for them to get to the reception.  Everybody was happy.  Rainbows were made out of spilled paint.

We did most of the formals inside the church, but I took about 30 more seconds to get a few outdoor pictures.  The best light was came from the direction of the church which meant I had to place the couple's backs to the street.  Instead of showing the unattractive residential street, I decided to focus on the couple close up.

PROS VS JOES 1.- COMPOSITION

With the revolution of the digital camera, professional photography has become assessable to anyone who wishes to invest a couple of thousand in a camera.  This has lead to lot of amateurs venturing into the world of wedding photography charge low prices for very low end work. What clients and photographers alike must understand is that the camera is the “least” important thing in photography.  Yes I said; the least!  If your grand ma makes you a very delicious cake, you wouldn’t say, “Grand ma, this cake taste great, you must have a wonderful oven!”  The same applies in photography.  So when someone says, “That’s a great picture, you must have a great camera,” they are actually insulting me. LOL   So in this series we’re going to look at the things that separates the Pros from the Joes.

Number 1 is COMPOSITION:

Composition is how all the factors of the image are positioned.  Its about how the light, background, and subject are placed together to make a complete image.  Here are a few examples.

This is one of my favorite bride and grooms: Shona and Bill.  Shona is a few inches taller than Bill so I had Bill dip her backwards slightly and lean forward to even the height out.  This was taken in front of the Belle Isle fountain and I saw no need to try and capture the background. This photo is all about the bride and groom. 

This is album artwork shot for a local jazz artist.  Here we see how the artist is up close in the left side of the photograph and the "Bakers" sign on the club is slightly blurred but still visible.  This photography was shot at dusk which is why the lighting is slightly golden and dim.

Here the bride is placed in the left corner of the photograph so the bubbles can extend throughout the the rest of the frame.

Here the camera is tilted so we can see the "FOX" marquee next to the couple.

During the wedding consultation the bride requested that she wanted a lot of fall color during her pictures.  So I made is a point to capture the green in the grass, trees and water and some of the orange and brown in the bushes.

Overall I hope you all see how important composition is when choosing your photographer.  Every photographer has their own style, but its not a matter of right and wrong - its just about preference.

 

 

PHOTOJOURNALISM VS TRADITONAL

PHOTOJOURNALISM 

Wedding photojournalism has been the big buzzword in wedding photography for the last 5 to 7 years but I just wanted to take a little time to explain my approach on it and why its still important to do traditional portraits.

Now, a really straightforward photojournalism approach to a wedding would mean that there would be no formal photos at all.  This means that there would be only pictures of moments, and emotions that were not staged or planned at all; whereas an extreme traditional wedding would mean that all the photographs were planned and staged.

I do about 75 percent P.J. (photojournalism) and the rest is staged but one is not more important than the other.

This is one of my favorites.  I remember arriving at Michelle's apartment the morning of her wedding.  She was so energetic and full of life.  As I walked in her room, I saw her dress laying on the bed and I decided to hang it up.  Once her make-up was complete, she walked in her room, I asked her about the stuffed dog on her dresser and she said it was gift from one of her best-friends when she was 10 years-old.  I sat her on the bed, opened the window and told her to give me the same smile she gave her best-friend when she was ten years-old.  Although the photograph was staged, the energy and sincerity was not.  The result was a wonderful portrait that captured Michelle's personality. I would like to think that this is traditional portraiture mixed with a litte P.J.

A lot of photographers require the bride, bride's maids and groom's men to pause for a moment for the photograph to be taken when walking down the isle, but I just let them walk down, I don't like to interrupt the energy or the flow of events.  This is a standard P.J. photograph.

This is the epitome of a P.J. shot, Rhonda was getting ready and didn't notice her father peaking at her smiling.  I just happen to be ready with the camera.  Maybe because I have a daughter I love this photograph just that much more. 

Rhonda also has a lot of siblings and held back tears as she admired this photograph and told me, "for once, on that day, I felt like the I was the favorite."

IMPORTANCE OF RETOUCHING

In today's wedding photography era a photographer not only earns his money (or reputation) on what he can do with the camera but what he does after.  Meaning: most photographers have their own set of techniques they use with the computer to bring out the best in their clients. Personally, I keep my formula simple: Great Color + Great Skin = a great photograph.  I also do teeth whitening and some techniques to bring out the eyes but for the most part I try to make sure that every photograph that goes into a client's album is rich in color and skin tones are free of blemishes, scars, etc..  Because lets face it here; by the time a bride walks down the isle (crying), says "I do" (while crying), gets a million hugs from family and friends (still crying) - her make-up is all but gone.  Which means by the time I start to photograph the formals, the bride looks like she did when she woke up in the morning -lol  Unlike some photographers I don't charge for this service nor do I put a limit on it.  I just make sure every single photograph that goes into the bride's flush mount wedding album is as beautiful and perfect as it can be.  I feel thats what my clients deserve.

This is the photograph before retouching.

This is after retouching.

TIME WON'T GIVE ME TIME

Time is the most valuable thing anyone has.  So its not surprising that most photographers have time based packages (so $ much for 5 hours, so much $ for 8 hours, etc……)  while this works for some, it doesn’t work for me.

             I was reminded how inconveniencing this can be as I attended an old coworker’s (who somehow forgot I was a professional photographer) wedding last weekend.  Apparently she had paid $1800.00 for 5 hours of time.  She wanted,  “before the wedding,” "the ceremony” and the first “hour” of the reception covered.  However they started over an hour late so instead of the photographer going to the reception with them; he took a few formal pictures and went home.

            I felt bad for them.  If I would have had my camera, I would have done the reception for next to nothing for them.  And this is the reason I don’t do “time based packages.”  It can be bad for everybody.  If a photographer leaves before the cake is cut at a reception, the guest won’t think “they must have only paid him for a few hours.” No, they will think “Wow, their photographer just left!  I wouldn’t want to use him!”  And I would not feel good about leaving a couple on their wedding day when there are so many other moments that need to be captured.  This is just my opinion.   

Now don’t get me wrong, I rarely stay at a wedding alllll day.  Receptions are like most parties; they come full circle:  there’s the quite beginning, the rocking middle and somewhere in that rocking middle 10 percent of the guests leave, then another 40 percent leave about an half hour later.  That’s when I leave.  I always check with the bride and groom to make sure all family portraits have been covered and to let them know I’m leaving.

  Now; I have the utmost respect for all wedding photographrs and how they price their services but when somebody books Kahn Santori Photography, they get Kahn Santori photography all day.  

The Importance of Engagement Sessions

I make it a point to schedule an engagement session with every couple I photograph a wedding for. This is the only thing they "can't" not do.  For them:  they get images that can be used for saving the date cards, invitations, programs or reception slide shows.  But for me: I get an opportunity tp work with the couple months/weeks before the wedding.  I get to get a feel for how they interact, how they react towards me, how they feel in front of the camera, and most importantly; a chance to just talk to them.  90 percent of the images I do are photo-journalism shots.  I just tell them to to talk amongst themselves about anything that makes them laugh, kiss, touch or smile (I do take just 3 or 4 posed shots just in case they prefer such).  But all this builds up valuable trust.  It makes my interaction with the bride and groom flow easier at the wedding.  The more a person trust the person behind the camera, the more comfortable they are and the better the pictures will be.  There are moments before the wedding when the bride is getting ready that I want her to forget I'm there - this will require trust.  There will be moments during formals when I will need the bride's full attention for posing to get the image I want- this requires trust.

Below are images from an engagement session taken this weekend