Some must see photography!

Since I look at wedding photography all day long, I thought I ask some of my all time favorite photographers if I could feature them here.   I gave them all the same list with 20 questions and asked them to answer 5 out of 20 questions and send me 5 of their favorite images.   I asked three female photographers and three male photographers.    The girls were much faster at getting the interview questions and images back to me.   Since I am still waiting on the guys, I figured I would split them up!   Why let those guys slow us down!    

• Tina Carter

One of the first people I thought to ask was Kristina Carter.   Tina recently launched her new website, which if you have some free time, I highly suggest checking out.   One question I think I wished I had asked Tina was about her name, Vrai.   Maybe she will leave us a comment and tell us where the name comes from!

Here are the pictures and interview from Tina: 

1. What are 3 words you would use to describe yourself?   True Energetic Adventurous

2. When did you become interested in photography?  I became interested in photography in high school. I was always in love with art and artistic expression but no other medium was quite working for me until I found photography. I knew right away this would become a way for me to see the world and share what I see with others.

3. What is your biggest selling point?  My biggest selling point is my unique way of seeing that gives my clients a way to see their wedding from a witness perspective that they can enjoy for years to come. More than likely through the chaos of the day, they won’t be able to see or remember all the reactions, expressions and details of the day they had been planning for months or years and it is my job to make sure they have those storytelling moments that will take them back to that feeling every time. My background in behavior has trained me well in being a keen observer and to document reactions, emotions, and the nuances that make up a wedding story.


4. Is there an inspiration for you, past or present when taking your pictures?  When I shoot a wedding, the couple is my inspiration. I really enjoy getting to know them through the initial meeting, the engagement session, and times in between. I really try to be aware and tuned in to who the important people are, what little details can say about them, and where the mini stories are within the larger story of the wedding itself. Their love and excitement inspires me and reminds me how special and unique each wedding really is.

5. If there is one thing I can say to aspiring photographers, that would be to trust yourself and be yourself and you will end up shooting weddings for people who are like you and appreciate you and what you can do for them. That is the most rewarding thing in this job, showing the couples their photographs and seeing their reaction or hearing their testimony and knowing you captured the day the way they want to remember it and they couldn’t be happier. One of the ways to ensure this result is by having clients who understand and trust what you do. So if you stay true to yourself and believe in yourself, they will believe and trust you as well and the result will be amazing.

• Justine Ungaro. 

Justine Ungaro, who writes multiple blogs such as,  Justine Ungaro Photography Blog and The Unbride,  recently started a new blog, unveiled society, which links wedding-related blogs.  I stalk her website and her blogs because I love her work and style.   (ok there might be days I secretly wished I was her!)   So you can imagine, when she wrote back about the unveiled society, I couldn’t believe her email was in my inbox! So of course I wasted no time in asking her if she would mind being interviewed here!  

So here is what Justine had to share with us:

Q: What made you decide to become a professional wedding photographer and how long have you been in the industry?

A: I am the daughter of a wedding photographer so I have been around the business for a long time. I started working with my mother a little bit in high school and then about a year and a half out of college, I absolutely hated my corporate job and I wanted out. Luckily I had started assisting my mother part time on the side and I absolutely fell in love with shooting weddings. I felt like there was so much excitement and emotion happening all around me that I never had to really orchestrate anything, I just had to have an instinct about where to be and what to look for and it just felt very natural. Soon after that my mother decided to retire from weddings so I just stepped right in to fill her shoes. That was at the end of 2002 so it’s been 5 1/2 years that I’ve been doing this as a full time career.

Q:  What kind of wedding photography do you offer?

A;  I try not to classify myself into a specific genre because I really just photograph a wedding the way that I would want my own to be photographed. I give direction if my clients need it in order to create some fun, interesting portraiture and I look for moments that are happening all around me. More than anything I want to create images that have impact and that are timeless. I try to stay away from anything that is too trendy but at the same time I also try to stay very current and modern. I think that clean and classic is usually the best way to go.

Q:  When shooting a wedding, what provides your inspiration for that unique event?

A;  I get my inspiration a lot from the venue. You can see in my work that I use a lot of architecture as backgrounds in my portraiture. I think that the venue is one of the most important aspects of a wedding because it really expresses the taste of the couple and they have chosen that particular place for a reason. Plus it’s always fun to explore little nooks and crannys to find interesting places to shoot…even in locations that might not be considered traditionally beautiful.

Q:  Would you ever turn down a job, and if so, for what reasons?
A:  Absolutely! If I felt like I couldn’t deliver what a bride was hoping for or if I thought our personalities were a mis-match, I would rather refer her to another photographer than have an unhappy bride on my hands. The style of work that I do is not for everyone and that’s great because there are plenty of different types of photographers for all of the various types of brides who are out there.

Q: What was the funniest thing that happened to you while shooting a wedding ?

A:  My funniest wedding experience was actually as a guest at one of my friend’s weddings. Her wedding was a few years ago at a place in Virginia called Locksley Manor. It is an old historic mansion and it’s a little sparse in terms of restroom facilities. Anyway, at the end of the cocktail hour I was looking for a restroom. There was a long line for the one near the dining room so one of the caterers told me that I should go to the other one in the pool house out back. It had been raining all day and it was a little bit soggy and very dark out but I was okay with that. So I walked through the backyard towards the pool house and I stepped into the deepest puddle of water ever, all the way up to my shins. I thought to myself, “great, I’ve just ruined my cute heels” and I looked down. I was standing right smack in the middle of the pool that was covered with a plastic tarp. I didn’t start to sink until I actually got out to the middle. I freaked and I ran back to the side as quickly as I could. But then I realized that my shoes were still out in the middle of the pool submerged in 3 or 4 inches of water that was now settled on top of the pool cover. So there I was running around the backyard barefoot and alone and freezing cold trying to figure out what to do next. Then 2 guys came wandering down looking for the bathroom also. Luckily one of them was a close friend of mine. I pointed to my shoes out in the middle of the pool and he asked why had I gone and thrown my shoes out there? I told them the story and they laughed and laughed, they could not believe that I had gotten all the way out there without falling completely in. Then we tried to figure out how to get my shoes back. The guys playfully suggested that if I had walked out there once, I could probably do it again. There was no way I was falling for that. Eventually, we found one of those floaty noodle things in the pool house and managed to scrape my shoes back to the safety of dry land. Within 5 minutes, everyone at the wedding knew that I was the girl who had fallen into the pool…until 3 other people did the same thing later in the evening.

-     A Note from Me   -    Justine,   That is a really funny story!     Hysterical in fact!  
  

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• Lauren Killian   - Person and Killian Photography

Being  in Boston there is no way you could not have heard of  the amazing work from Person and Killian Photography  I saw the photography they did for the Veronique Love Story  when I was planning my own wedding.   Really Amazing!   Since I met Lauren a few weeks back,  I felt brave enough to send her an email to see if she would let me interview her.

How did you become interested in photography?
* I took a photography class when I lived in Florence, Italy & Fell in love!
 

What made you decide to become a professional wedding photographer
and how long have you been in the industry?

* I have been a professional photographer for the past 5 years. I was drawn to the idea that I could provide people with lasting memories. It feels good to be able to do this for others.

Do you have any advice for those who want to someday become a
professional wedding photographer?

*Follow your dreams!! I always try to encourage others to shoot as much as they can and to work with & assist as many different photographers as possible. I think experience in this industry gives you confidence. As well as a true sense of your style.

Describe yourself in three words.
*Ambitious, creative & loyal.

What kind of wedding photography do you offer?
* The main goal of Person + Killian photography is to capture the emotion of the day! We also pride are selves on being as unobtrusive as possible. It’s not about us; it’s about the client and capturing moments.