Wedding info
Congratulations on your engagement! Here’s some information about my work, in Q/A style.
We just got engaged, and I don’t know where to start. Help!
Simple: Hire me! Just kidding.
My serious advice: look at a lot of people’s work, talk with a few photographers whose work you like, and see how the vibe is. Trust your gut.
Great. What’s your vibe?
My vibe leans toward under-selling, and focusing more on my approach and the intangibles that make for a great client experience, and trusting that clients will find the best photographer for them.
How is your work or approach different from other photographers?
I’m a proud generalist. While I think I have a strong portfolio with rave reviews, I don’t market myself as a wedding specialist. My work also includes architecture, archeology, lots of professional event work, family portraits and fine art sculpture work. I have been commissioned to shoot close to 200 weddings, and I’m one of the few pro photographers my age who started shooting professionally on film. I bring a ton of experience to my work, and I can walk into a setting and know what works and what doesn’t quickly. In that sense, being a generalist is a huge plus.
What else?
I make an effort to use names with the immediate family and the wedding party. It’s a small touch. The service aspect of my work is important. I also tend to be very guest oriented and less of the “bride and groom show”. If you have 300 guests at your wedding, most of them will show up in the final cut.
Aren’t you supposed to market yourself as some kind of “haute couture” photographer or something like that, and have a super exclusive attitude?
Maybe. I just want to hope that my work speaks for itself. I don’t brainstorm a different ouevre for my work based on the fact that it is a wedding.
Ouevre! That’s a fancy, haute couture word!
Ha! Well, I promise I won’t use it again.
But seriously…I actually think that being a generalist is a requirement for a wedding photographer. Having experience with architectural photography teaches you how to read light and predict how it will change light in spaces. A background in macro work helps you know how to light a photo of a wedding ring. Shooting professional events in a room of 600 people means you can work efficiently, deliver great results, handle whatever people-factor is thrown your way, and do it all with lots of octane and energy.
Octane? Energy?
Yup. You need to bring a lot of both.
It sounds like you are just trying to sell me a subscription to your online yoga classes.
By energy and octane, I mean this:
So energy means working hard and keeping up with the action?
Sure, and to me, it also means being in tune and seeing and sensing what is going on particularly for quiet or tender or intense moments:
This all sounds like a sales pitch.
I suppose so. Great wedding photography, more than anything else, demands that the photographer be a great generalist and someone who focuses on great client experience. It’s not good enough to be lucky - luck will run out. A working event photographer needs to be consistently very good, and I think that I tick that box.
For more practical matter. Do you travel for weddings?
Most of my work has been in the NY-to-DC area of the United States, but I have traveled to Anguilla, India, Iowa, Seattle and Austin for weddings.
How far ahead of time do clients book? Are you available on _____ date?
Lead times can be all over the map, from nearly two years to “Hey, we just made a crazy decision, what are you doing this Saturday?”. Anything in the 6-12 month range is typical.
As for any particular date, contact me, and I’m happy to talk more.
Do you have rate information?
Yup. Wedding coverage starts at $2,450, and I’m happy to share my Client Guide here.
If we are interested in your services, what’s next?
Great. Let’s get in touch, and we can find a time to talk more.
A more personal issue: Crazy Uncle Jim is coming to our wedding, and he and Aunt Alda don’t get along very well. It all goes back to the family trip to Walt Disney World in 1998, etc. So, can you help us smooth over any family drama?
Absolutely. A fair number of my clients have something like this happening. Part of my job is to make sure everyone is comfortable and that the day runs smoothly.
Do you have other photographers shoot in your place or “cover” for you?
No. I personally shoot everything.
I have lots of creative juices, and love to scrapbook, and I don’t want a traditional wedding album. Can we work with you?
I always provide the high resolution wedding images to the couple, to keep, forever. There’s no obligation to buy products/albums/prints from me.
How long does it take to get the wedding photos back from you?
Turnaround time can be anywhere from 4-10 weeks, depending my post-processing schedule.
This all sounds great. So, what’s the craziest thing you have ever seen at a wedding?
I actually don’t have the nutty stories that people expect. The only crazy thing is people who are committed to each other, and their communities gathering to support them in really touching and profound ways.
C’mon. I was hoping for something really bonkers.
Not really. I have been remarkably lucky with my clients. Occasionally people drink a bit too much and a speech goes a bit overtime.
Once, a cousin spilled a bit of red wine on bride’s dress. It wasn’t visible and no one really noticed.
No big deal.
Here’s a question: what do you enjoy about your work? How is work more than just showing up and pressing a button?
I’ll say that I really enjoy my work about 95% of the time. That’s a pretty good number. I’m a people person, and I respond well in high pressure situations, so it’s a good match for my personality. A lot of the behind-the-scenes is - of course - at a computer, which is fine, but it’s not what really turns my crank.
Say more.
For just one day, I am invited to document someone’s journey with their family and their close friends. That can be intense, in a completely positive way. The “work memories” that I have are of some really touching and unforgettable moments.
Hmmm…it sounds like some faux emotional sales pitch.
Trust me, it isn’t - this comes from a deep place in my heart. My work has shown me some of the darker sides of humanity, in the emergency department here at home, and also during some time spent in troubled places overseas. The world needs better people, and on the very best days, I get to see deep, and people being the best version of themselves, and these deep, nurturing connections between people and their community.
Of course, it’s not all feelings. My work has a technical side that needs to be done properly: excellent use of flash, f-stops, ISOs, and all of that.
Um, what’s an f-stop and an ISO? Aren’t those the villains in the new Star Wars movie?
An f-stop refers to the amount of light being transmitted through an opening, and it’s just the ratio of the surface area of a opening (also called the aperture) to its diameter. Because we are talking about circles, the f-stops increment by factor of the square root of two. Beginning at 1, we have 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4, 5.6, etc…
Sorry, is that the sound of your eyes glazing over?
I’m sorry….yes, I really regret asking that question now. Can I have my ten seconds back?
So sorry. Let’s skip the technical stuff. Thanks for the conversation, and if you like my work and like what my clients say, I would be happy to talk more.
Thanks again for your interest.
Conrad
Conrad Erb Photography
215-821-7161
conrad@conraderb.com