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Joe's work is about as far away from the typical, standardized wedding coverage as can be imagined, even
avoiding the formal group shots if possible. He showed some beautiful images, but my overall impression of his slide show was "unusual." It obviously is his main selling point. Joe said he had been a photographer
for just four years, and this was his third occupation.
As photographers know very well, wedding photography comes with intense pressure
for you must capture the events of the day quickly and without fail. To accomplish this, Joe uses four Nikon cameras with primarily two lenses, a 17-35mm zoom (not yet released to the market) and an 80-200mm zoom.
He carries three Nikon F5 bodies, one with B&W, one with color negative film and one with color infrared.
Joe said he uses and rates Kodak's infrared color film at different speeds, depending on the
filter he is using and the contrast of the light, etc. Asked if he uses the infrared focus adjustment marked on the lens, Joe said no, he shoots all infrared at f8 in aperture preferred function, so everything is
very sharp.
The fourth Nikon is a new D1 digital. He expects to use the D-1 more and more, but doesn't think it will replace film cameras completely. He said the quality is perfectly suitable for his type of
photography. He had one bad experience using it - he managed to erase the memory card and lost all his images the first time he used it. He explained that all the shots were backed up on the film cameras, so he
didn't lose any images, but it was a sobering experience. He now takes a laptop computer on the shoot and downloads the images from the memory cards to a CD-ROM at the reception. He also mentioned the possibility of
showing a slide show of the digital images right at the reception, saying that should be very popular.
In describing what he is looking for in his wedding coverage, he mentioned odd angles, both high and low,
and makes use of long lenses. Some of his slides were photos of the ceremony taken from the side and slightly to the rear of the principals. They consisted of just head and shoulders views of the bride, groom and
clergy (using the 200mm focal length). In discussing photos during the ceremony he said, "Yes, I get permission. But, I don't use a tripod and I try to be as unobtrusive as possible. I depend on using anything handy
to steady my camera - walls, pillars, etc. Of course, some churches forbid photographers in the church during the wedding. In that case, I will photograph through the window in the door from the narthex."
Joe
prefers natural light, and will use high-speed film if necessary, but also uses flash when necessary, often with slow shutter speeds to get a sharp-with-motion blur for greater interest. He asks the customer what
percentage of black and white to color shots they would prefer. He usually shoots 50-60% black and white, but sometimes they will ask for 100%.
He shoots 1,000 images on most weddings, and shows the images
in 4x6 size in proof books. Because he is paid for the photography and materials up front, he doesn't worry if clients keep their proof books out. He said the average album order comes in 18 months after the
wedding, and almost all come in eventually.
In discussing how he delivers his images, Joe said celebrity clients generally purchase 11x14 prints, which are mounted and placed in a box (or boxes). Other
clients usually get 8x10 albums. He does not sell his negatives because he wants to maintain control of how they are printed. He emphasized that he will not sell images of celebrity clients to the press without the
client's specific permission.
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