Looking for a photographer in Ottawa

Hello everyone,

We're looking for a photographer in Ottawa to shoot a wedding in
August 2005. Ideally, we're looking for someone who would take
primarily photojournalistic/candid photographs of the ceremony and
reception, with obviously a few formals thrown in.

Because of our tight budget, we'd be happy to take on a student,
recent graduate, or freelancer, who might be looking to get experience
and build a portfolio, while allowing us to stay within our budget.

Photography experience would obviously be required, but not
necessarily in the field of wedding photography. Importantly, we would
like to keep the negatives, and take care of our own prints. We could
also provide the film and care of the photo finishing if that would
make it easier. Of course, the photographer would be free to use any
in their portfolio, website, etc.

Essentially, if you have a cool style you'd like to show us, please
contact us at and we can discuss availability,
price, and all the other details.

(Fratello25) wrote in message . com...
Hello everyone,

We're looking for a photographer in Ottawa to shoot a wedding in
August 2005. Ideally, we're looking for someone who would take
primarily photojournalistic/candid photographs of the ceremony and
reception, with obviously a few formals thrown in.

Because of our tight budget, we'd be happy to take on a student,
recent graduate, or freelancer, who might be looking to get experience
and build a portfolio, while allowing us to stay within our budget.



I realize you have a tight budget, but please reconsider your plan.
This is supposed to be one of the biggest events of your life. You
don't want it tainted by hiring somebody that thinks that they can do
a good job but cannot.


Photography experience would obviously be required, but not
necessarily in the field of wedding photography. Importantly, we would
like to keep the negatives, and take care of our own prints.

Any photographer willing to agree to these terms is not worth hiring.
You are asking for somebody who doesn't care about his work and is
willing to sell out cheap rather than produce quality prints. It may
be easier and seem better to give up the negatives and let somebody
else do the work. But that means they can take it to a crappy lab and
then tell all their friends that I was the photographer. That does me
no good in the long run.

Just remember, you get what you pay for.

I was asked once to photograph my brother's wedding. After some
research, I told him to hire a wedding photographer. I may be a
professional photographer, but part of that is knowing when I am not
the best photographer for the job.

Should be interesting: getting married and starting off looking for a
'deal.'


Suppose you find a good batch (cheap, too) of APS film for your
photographer to shoot -- then discover he or she needs 35mm film. A
real savings for your wedding day....

(Any chance you would treat your dentist the same way: if you bring
along a drill bit or two, will you give me a discount on the dental
bill?)

= = =
(Fratello25) wrote in message . com...
Hello everyone,

We're looking for a photographer in Ottawa to shoot a wedding in
August 2005. Ideally, we're looking for someone who would take
primarily photojournalistic/candid photographs of the ceremony and
reception, with obviously a few formals thrown in.

Because of our tight budget, we'd be happy to take on a student,
recent graduate, or freelancer, who might be looking to get experience
and build a portfolio, while allowing us to stay within our budget.

Photography experience would obviously be required, but not
necessarily in the field of wedding photography. Importantly, we would
like to keep the negatives, and take care of our own prints. We could
also provide the film and care of the photo finishing if that would
make it easier. Of course, the photographer would be free to use any
in their portfolio, website, etc.

Essentially, if you have a cool style you'd like to show us, please
contact us at and we can discuss availability,
price, and all the other details.

(Jerry L.) wrote in message m...
Should be interesting: getting married and starting off looking for a
'deal.'


Suppose you find a good batch (cheap, too) of APS film for your
photographer to shoot -- then discover he or she needs 35mm film. A
real savings for your wedding day....

(Any chance you would treat your dentist the same way: if you bring
along a drill bit or two, will you give me a discount on the dental
bill?)

= = =
(Fratello25) wrote in message . com...
Hello everyone,

We're looking for a photographer in Ottawa to shoot a wedding in
August 2005. Ideally, we're looking for someone who would take
primarily photojournalistic/candid photographs of the ceremony and
reception, with obviously a few formals thrown in.

Because of our tight budget, we'd be happy to take on a student,
recent graduate, or freelancer, who might be looking to get experience
and build a portfolio, while allowing us to stay within our budget.

Photography experience would obviously be required, but not
necessarily in the field of wedding photography. Importantly, we would
like to keep the negatives, and take care of our own prints. We could
also provide the film and care of the photo finishing if that would
make it easier. Of course, the photographer would be free to use any
in their portfolio, website, etc.

Essentially, if you have a cool style you'd like to show us, please
contact us at and we can discuss availability,
price, and all the other details.

Don't worry... we'll make sure that we buy the right film!

As to the comment above, I understand what you're both saying, and I
agree that photographs are one of the most important aspects of the
wedding, since it's often the only tangible aspect that we can take
with us into the future. But from my experience, there's risk no
matter who you deal with. For example, I've been to 2 weddings this
summer, and both were shot by a "professional", established
photographers. In one wedding, she forgot to attend the rehearsal, and
arrived at the ceremony mere minutes before it started. At the other,
the photographer ran out of colour film 30 minutes into the formal
shots. Another colleague from work said that her photographer, whose
work she absolutely loved, had half his shots lost by the processing
lab. Not his fault, I realize, but nevertheless, the end result is
that the client doesn't have the photos. This is by no means intended
to say that photographers are incompetent, far from that, but simply
that hiring a professional photographer doesn't guarantee success
either.

The plan was to certainly to get to know the photographer and ensure,
as much as possible, that he/she is responsible enough to attend, be
properly prepared, etc.

More importantly, while not in the photography business, I've gotten
to where I am because someone gave me, when I was still in school, a
chance to do some fantastic work (unpaid). The experience and contacts
I have gained through that, and the following experiences, cannot be
measured in terms of money. I stronly believe in giving an opportunity
to young people, especially if it helps them grow and learn.

I also believe that someone who is looking to build a career will be
more diligent since he will be relying on the shots and
recommendations to advance him. An established photographer, with an
extensive body of wok behind him, may not have the same incentives.

P.S. I really hope this doesn't become a pro vs. amateur debate. It's
just that we're dealing with a very limited budget, and can't afford
everything we'd like to have. I hope you can understand that.

This is by no means intended
to say that photographers are incompetent, far from that, but simply
that hiring a professional photographer doesn't guarantee success
either.


True, but a professional photographer is less likely to make this
mistakes, more likely to use a better lab, and also willing to stand
by their work or give a refund.


I also believe that someone who is looking to build a career will be
more diligent since he will be relying on the shots and
recommendations to advance him. An established photographer, with an
extensive body of wok behind him, may not have the same incentives.


I understand your idea, but I also see this from my perspective. I
photograph horse shows. You wouldn't believe the mistakes I used to
make. Thank God I didn't promote myself until after shooting several
shows for practice.

I went to one show thinking I had plenty of film. There were many more
horses than I had planned for, so I had to dip into my slower speed
film on a cloudy, rainy day. I thought I could push the film, but used
a regular lab. They said no problem, but they didn't push the film.
Seven rolls of film were trash. I know carry twice the film I expect
to use, and I only carry fast film, so I am prepared for all lighting
situations.

I have had 4 camera failures. The first was at a practice event. I
shot one roll of film, and had trouble rewinding the film. The take-up
spool was cracked, and caused it to go out of alignment. I only had
one camera body, so I was out of luck til it was fixed. If that had
been a hired event, I would have been screwed.

Next failure was when I bought two more bodies while waiting for the
first one to be repaired. I did a quick test around the house, but
didn't test well enough to catch a light leak. Fortunately, I did the
next event with both cameras, so while some photos were lost, I still
have a nice selection.

Another time, the mount was loose on one camera body, causing all
photos to be blurry. Again, I used both cameras, so only some of the
photos were lost.

And finally, I went to one show, and the camera wouldn't fire. It had
worked fine only 3 days earlier. I missed the first two riders as I
struggled to get the camera working. Then switched bodies and shot the
rest of the show. Turned out my shutter was dead and had to be
replaced.

So, as you can see, having two bodies is necessary when doing this as
a business. I shoot almost every show with two bodies, back and forth,
to make sure that I have every participant even if one camera fails.
Your beginner may not have learned that lesson yet.

I have also learned a ton of other things, and I am thankful that I
made most of my mistakes at shows where people didn't know I was
anything more than a happy spectator.


P.S. I really hope this doesn't become a pro vs. amateur debate. It's
just that we're dealing with a very limited budget, and can't afford
everything we'd like to have. I hope you can understand that.


I understand the limited budget, but I would hate to see you
disappointed because the photographer was not prepared, didn't know
what they were doing, etc. As I said, I turned down my brother's
wedding even though I am a professional photographer. I initially
planned to do it, but I found a really good guide to wedding
photography and found that there was no way I could memorize all that
and do a good job. There are just too many traditional poses and
expected photos, and missing just one of them means they will be angry
with you. Not something I wanted to risk. There are just too many
things that can go wrong. I would much rather leave that to somebody
experienced in that field.

(Fratello25) wrote in
om:

Hello everyone,

We're looking for a photographer in Ottawa to shoot a wedding in
August 2005. Ideally, we're looking for someone who would take
primarily photojournalistic/candid photographs of the ceremony and
reception, with obviously a few formals thrown in.

Because of our tight budget, we'd be happy to take on a student,
recent graduate, or freelancer, who might be looking to get experience
and build a portfolio, while allowing us to stay within our budget.

Photography experience would obviously be required, but not
necessarily in the field of wedding photography. Importantly, we would
like to keep the negatives, and take care of our own prints. We could
also provide the film and care of the photo finishing if that would
make it easier. Of course, the photographer would be free to use any
in their portfolio, website, etc.

Essentially, if you have a cool style you'd like to show us, please
contact us at and we can discuss availability,
price, and all the other details.


You've gotten some advice from others, so I'll throw in a couple of
comments... ;-)

Roughly half of wedding photography has nothing whatsoever to do with
the camera, but deals instead with handling people and knowing how the flow
should go. So if you go with someone who has no experience with wedding
photography at all, you're liable to find that the formals may get very
drawn out and confused. Bear in mind what affect this might have on your
guests - you want *them* to have good memories of the event, too. So in a
case like that, be prepared to have someone else acting as a coordinator.
For speed and convenience, the next set of guests should be "in the
bullpen", so to speak, and ready to take their places immediately upon
finishing the previous set of shots.

Nobody else has to tell you the value you yourself can place on the
photos - if you feel you'd be happy with just a few good images, go for it
and use who you want. You've already made it known that your expectations
are probably not unreasonable. I would suggest planning another day before
or after the wedding when you can do a few formals without the pressures of
the ceremony - this will greatly increase the chances of getting some
excellent album shots. Might mean renting the tux for another day, but it
will better than double the quality of your photos, in all likelihood.

I know you're placing emphasis on candids, which require less people-
management skills, but they also require more accuracy, foresight, and
film. If you're looking at B&W, get someone who knows B&W well, it'll make
a huge difference.

Let your photographer know what the locales will be like - a visit in
the same lighting conditions, and/or a few test rolls, is well worth it.

Then once you've chosen, put photography out of your mind entirely
and enjoy the day. Treat the images you get afterwards as a bonus. It'll
make it all go much smoother.

Go luck, and congratulations,


- Al.

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