anton frid photography

What are you showing us, or the couple? plastic glasses? is this an attempt for abstract art? You better come up with something better before you face them!

af

I attended a wedding about a year ago where a videographer was

wearing nothing but a AC/DC shirt, jeans, and a hiking boots. That

made me think about the appropriate attire or appearance that one

must have while services a wedding.

In the past i always wear a nice dress shirt with black suite pants.

Recently i started to shoot for a premier studio in the City, and

they required even higher formal attire, black tie dress code

mandatory.

When i now show up for weddings, every bride really notes how well i

am dressed and how surprised she is that i made an effort to look

good for her wedding. I know that in the end, no close will help you

if you bombed her formal picture, or didn?t capture some sentimental

broach that her grandmother gave her, but do we as service people

have an obligation to our clients to dress our best? I know in the

end its all about the photographs you produce.

One of my friends suggested that i buy a Tux, and really impress and

really make a distinction between an amateur and a pro. I know that

there are a lot of photographers who simply don?t feel or want to

dress up for weddings. Its all about comfortable shoes, loose un-

tucked shirt, and a hair that will frighten little children. You

must understand that i too shoot weddings and so i understand how

important comfortable shoes are, but still think for the money they

pay, don?t we owe them our BEST!

How many of your do wear tuxedo's or used to wear one? Why did you

stop or started to wear one?

Anton

Mr. Peter... Its better to give then to receive :) If it works for you, good job. I know that it works for me, and i don?t charge anything for given my clients a full burned CD with there digital negs. (i shoot only digital) I know photographers who charge $150-$500 for digital negs, and $50 to burn a second CD with all the negs. I don?t provide albums with my packages (add-on option), and i don?t sell negs, so that makes me concentrate on the photography then on selling aspect of things. I think in today?s world, couples are so sophisticated and there are a lot of photographers who do offer free negs, so if you want to compete, i believe its a good market strategy.

Anton

Peter... I am very glad that u came away from this realizing how much it really takes to stay and be good in this business. I am also glad that you realy picked up on some key points through out your wedding, that hopefully will be shot better next time.

When shooting film, always count how many frames you have left in a role. This will prevent you to miss key moments. You could have stoped your half exposed role before the couple first kiss, and thus you would have a fresh role for the walk down the asle and the father and daughter kiss/huge.

Beach is always hard to shoot. Sometimes you just have to suggest a better location despite of couples wishes for better lighting.

I just shot a ceremony at 7pm (east cost) in the park in complete darkness because the party bus was late for half an hour. Although i have done weddings before, its still doesnt get a lot easier dealing with light. :)

Keep shooting, and lets see how your shots came out!

anton

I will be honest, I have enjoyed many cusines starting from far and away Greece, to burger central in the Bronx, but by far the most beautiful decor, service, and food was at the Central Park Boathouse as i enjoyed a nice breakfast (granola bar with yogart and fresh fruites) after a small morning wedding of about 20 people.

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<a href="http://antonfridphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/243018/1">See wedding photos</a><br><bl>Password - M&M Wedding

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Anton

Erik - u got to be quick in this business :) Hehehe. I think that business cards are generaly good for the MarketS. I hardly give them out at weddings, because its jut not my style, nor do i have them stationed somewhere where people can take them. I only give them when people request them from me, that shows me who is really interested in my work, or how i work.

Just to point this out, i never gotten a call from people who have taken a business card from me, but that doesnt mean that they wont in the future :) Optimize is a big up sell!

af

I would say no matter who or how you get your customers, build relationship, understand your clients, attend to there needs or wishes. Smile; treat them how you want to be treated. Word of mouth goes a long way.

Word of mouth wins!

AF

Steven - props for your answer. Ashley....ur posting has a bit of a smirk on the whole wedding "shooting" gig. Its a very very serious job, and so if you are somewhat interested, read some of the posting on photo.net. U can find tons of people who, such as yourself, started to do it. Ask them how they feel now, do they still shoot weddings, and so on. I would say a lot of them tried, but only few actually have been succesful. That is a reason for that. If you think and trit it as a side job, u will def get into trouble. Its like any other business. U need to understand it, learn about it, understand customers/clients, know how to deal with situations and stress.

Assisting is a great start.

Good luck to you

af

Peter....wedding photography is about feeling, not a check list. I dont think you can be really successful with breaking down every shot on a check list. Its one thing to be prepair for a wedding you are shooting (mental, technical, equipment), but its another thing going by a list. Surcamstances may arise where you cannot follow "your" list, then what? Just feel the couple, mood, and just shoot. I guess this is why candids are so in demand, is because photographer understands all of these elements.

anton

I think PJ is more desirable for wedding/event work, but traditional sells more and better. Although couples hire me for my candid/pj work, they always love and appriciate traditional shots that are sometimes are extremely staged and boring. I guess when you will be showing your grandchildren how beautiful you looked, its always good to have a picture where you are not actually look normal, as supposed to photographer using 10mm lens and you head looks like a ball. :)

anton

beach01.jpg - i cant even see what you are photographing...sun is in your eyes...

beach02.jpg - same problem

beach03.jpg - nice is she was your gf...not sure if it works for a bride

beach05.jpg - great way to NOT show a person....well done...next time try a subject in front of a fance

beach08.jpg - almost a decent shot...head is a bit to high for my taste...she is JUST to happy with knowing you are photographing her wedding :)

beach09.jpg - great travel shot....again, for your GF

beach10.jpg - What the Hell is that?

beach11.jpg - mmmm not bad...she is covering her eye a bit, but she will never do this during wedding...so why bother?

beach12.jpg - cell phone, flash, and other distractions are to watch out for...

I must say, u have one willing bride my friend who is willing to go with you and shoot this for what i see now 2 days straight. U better not F up her wedding. She probably things that since you are doing this before hand, u will nail this during the wedding...

better post some pics

AF

How many brides does it take to take your camera and brake it when you rich for the bride in order to help her with her gown :) ... it would have been funner if your hand was helping :) Now thats a wedding!

Anton Frid

Matt ---

I use all Digital equipment and a very light PS work. During this particular day, i used mostly the available light, bouncing only when need to. Photographing children was a particular challenge because u really don?t have any authority over them (sometimes neither do parents) and thus its a very difficult situation where u have to get candid shots while being invisible among 10 people. Pretty hard to do :) Also, since it was a picnic, this was around noon when the sun this past weekend was extremely harsh...and thus i was searching for any shade i could find. In any case, keep shooting...ull get there....

my best

Anton

ps. thank you all for your comments...

Yesterday I met and shot the warmest family I have ever met. They

hired me to shoot some candid and posted shots of their family as a

present for grandma. As i was taking pictures, i really felt

wonderful that my craft of photography will bring them joy for many

years. It felt so great to share my gift with them.

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Question...during what event did you feel so great that money didn't

matter? when did your job (being photographer) brought you the most

joy in life....? At what point!!!!

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You can take a look at some of the pics <a

href="http://antonfridphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/241789">HERE</a

><BR> Password = 1234

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Anton Frid

Steve..its a bit out of focus. That was a shot that i had to fight videophotographer and a RR driver for as video guy was standing and shooting her and dad at the same place i was. Nobody said it was easy. It actually prints nicely 5x7. Cant even tell its out of focus. Although its out of focus, i think the mome speaks for itself, and thus i am happy to have captured it. Daddy brought RR all the way from Texas. Dont ask me why....i think i seen few that he could have rented in NYC :)

Anything for his little girl :)

AF

BTW you can see a smaple of my latest wedding

<a href="http://antonfridphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/213944"> here </a>

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This was all done with normal res.

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Use 1234 as a password

My entire work on my page is digital, and yes, its all normal res.

anton

Adam...

I bought a CF Ultra II 2gig card about a week ago for $168 from ERWINCOMP.COM.

I used to use microdrive cards, but one seemed to fail when i used to upload. That meant that i had to upload manually (drag and drop) to my local hard drive. I stopped using it, and only use it for family occasions. Having bad microdrive that stalls on me during download meant i head to buy something else. That something else was Sandisk 1gig Ultra II and now i bought 2gigs. So in total i carry with me 4 gigs to a wedding. Some will advice you to not using a big memory card for weddings Gig or higher.(all eggs in one basket)

I dont know, but i works for me. I shoot normal res, sometimes switch to High res. I never head a problem printing 8x10 shooting even under 1600 ISO with my res. Camera i use is Fuji S2Pro, so normal res is 3200x2200 sometimes i will go to 4200x3000. I know people who shoot raw, so u better have about 6 gigs worth of cars for about 400 or so RAW shots. I would say leave RAW to Studio portraiture and use high res for weddings.

my best

Anton Frid

ps. arent you glad you asked this questions :)

I know that buy.com was selling Ultra 2gig for $150 about 2 weeks ago. I used to rent cards, but now they are so cheap that its better to buy then to rent.

David - i thought for a second you are going to be playing "Highlander" song during one of your picture media player wedding story book. Nice work on your wedding shots....some are very very nice....

cheers

Anton Frid

Katie

my focus assistant is always on. I actually use it a lot and so far i havent heard any complains. MY S2Pro does have a switch for turning it off, but i choose not to :)

It comes up in the low light situation of lets say, bride getting ready....taxi ride to the church....I always have my flesh on during the asle walk up, first dance...and so on. Again...nobody will mind as long as they know you take great photo's :)

may your light be always on :)

Anton Frid

I almot had a tear in my eye from reading this. Alan.....buddy....photo.netter....Just Do it!!!

Do it my man....go into wedding photography. We all did it, why not you. Pic up a wedding couple who are willing to "experiment". Do your best, and then you will know if you want to continue this or not. If you want to do something, just DO it!

:)

my best

Anton

Marc....my fav are " Latin Dancing" | "Groom at the Buffet" | "Bride Visits With Friend"

great job!

Follow my rules and you will be fine

Rule 1) Eat a lot...free food

Rule 2) It?s ok to flirt with brides made. They too want to get married :) Everyone loves a "Photographer"

Rule 3) Dress to impress...suite with a nice expensive tie. Nothing like showing them you are confident, and it will also help with you getting digits.

Rule 4) Don?t fuss over cameras or lenses. If you didn?t capture something, it?s ok. They will understand. It's only $500 dollars :)

Rule 5) If someone approaches you and asks you "If you do this for a living" Say no and reply with "I do nude photography for a living". A great way to break the ice. Trust me!!!

Rule 6) Try remember the couples names...it?s a mess when you start calling them by a totally different name.

Rule 7) Don?t ever check out location before the wedding. What?s the difference, its not going to help! It?s all very different during the wedding. Much faster then you realize. Instead take that day and read up on photo.net of all the wonderful perks of being a wedding photographer.

For more rules or advices please follow email me personally

Anton