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Looking for a solid wedding fotog
Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 3:32 PM on 04.20.10 |
| ->> I'm getting married this summer and I'm trying to find a solid wedding photographer available to Boise. Anyone know someone really solid? I'm looking for something in the $5k+ range... Just drop me an e-mail or post on thread (no phone calls). Thanks! |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 3:37 PM on 04.20.10 |
| ->> (Grammar bad what is happen when u look too many cheep website!) |
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Delane B. Rouse, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | US | Posted: 4:13 PM on 04.20.10 |
->> Duuuude...look no further than Craig Mitchelldyer...the man that shot our wedding in August '08
http://www.craigmitchelldyer.com/
Solid doesn't even come close to describing Craig! I'll be honest...I didn't want anyone other that *myself* to shoot the wedding so I was as critical as any man could be but I remember the word my wife used to descrive his work.
"Wow"
We were looking for a "wow" photographer and Craig exceeded our expectations by miles.
2 years later...I'm still showing off pictures on my iPhone and we get compliments all the time on the quality of his work and the way he did his job that day.
Hiring Craig was easily the best wedding vendor decision we made.
Give him a buzz at 503-513-0550 or 503-998-1625 or email him craig@craigmitchelldyer.com
Delane
Delane |
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Darren Whitley, Photographer
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Northwest Missouri | MO | USA | Posted: 4:22 PM on 04.20.10 |
| ->> And if Craig isn't available, take a look at Robin Loznak or Karl Masdaam. Both guys worked in Astoria before my brief stint there so they're always on my radar. |
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Jon Currier, Photographer
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Portland/Vancouver | OR/WA | US | Posted: 5:17 PM on 04.20.10 |
| ->> Craig does some great work I have saw him in action in person some amazing skills very solid on what he does. Great choice. |
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Nic Coury, Photographer
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Monterey | CA | | Posted: 5:27 PM on 04.20.10 |
->> I assisted Craig in a wedding in town.
Great guy to work with who makes great photos. |
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Brian Blanco, Photographer
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Tampa / Sarasota | FL | USA | Posted: 6:50 PM on 04.20.10 |
->> Chip Litherland www.11weddings.com
My wife was crying before Photomechanic finished ingesting the files and both of our families still ask about Chip... they loved him before they saw a single image... they adored him when they saw his final take. |
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Brian Blanco, Photographer
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Tampa / Sarasota | FL | USA | Posted: 6:51 PM on 04.20.10 |
| ->> Oh, I know Craig is pretty amazing too! |
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Joseph Zimmerman, Photographer
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Howard | Pa | USA | Posted: 7:26 PM on 04.20.10 |
->> http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/48
Tony Hoffer, Sam Hassas,Evan Baines are just a few there that are amazing shooters and I believe they all travel.
Good Luck. |
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David Royal, Photographer, Assistant
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Chris Jordan, Photographer
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Bay Area | CA | United States | Posted: 8:09 PM on 04.20.10 |
| ->> Congrats on your wedding! The Wedding Photojournalist Association - http://www.wpja.com - is a great resource for finding a wedding photographer. |
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Lane Hickenbottom, Photographer
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Omaha | NE | usa | Posted: 10:59 PM on 04.20.10 |
->> I have family up there, so I'd throw up the second shameless self-promotion.
Congrats!
http://laneweddings.com |
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Wes Hope, Photographer
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Maryville | TN | USA | Posted: 11:03 PM on 04.20.10 |
->> Shameless plug from me too... http://www.hope-photo.com.
We can travel and $5k is right in the middle of our price range. |
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David Manning, Photographer
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John Strohsacker, Photographer
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 9:53 PM on 04.21.10 |
->> www.thiakonig.com
She is located in Sun Valley Idaho
Mention my name
David |
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Heidi Huber, Photographer
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Richard Uhlhorn, Photographer
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Chelan Falls | WA | USA | Posted: 11:43 PM on 04.21.10 |
->> Congratulations
Craig is an excellent wedding photographer. I have watched his work evolve for a long time and it just gets better and better.
I'm located in Chelan, Washington and would love to check out Boise.
You can check out my wedding photographer at:
www.photoshelter.com/user/richarduhlhorn |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 12:46 AM on 04.22.10 |
->> So many e-mails!
The first, I have to say, was too fast. I'm honestly creeped out - and I won't name names - but how someone managed a customized e-mail to me within about 1 minute of my first post just makes me wonder if someone discovered time travel :)
Right now I'm leaning towards Kirk Mastin (also an SS member) - he's got a way of taking incredible photos in really boring or ugly places, and you can see that he's thinking through every shot beforehand - but I've only looked through the first... oh... half of the names I've been given!
I think stylistically, I like PJ work (obviously), but after looking through a lot of peoples' work, the thing that's really made a few people stand out is their ability to convey people in their best light, along with strong portraiture skills and the ability to help a stressed B+G relax and smile.
(and Kirk's special bonus points - he's the ONLY person to ever be nice enough to say he'd already found someone when looking for a second shooter!)
Anyway, thanks to everyone who has dropped me a note; if you haven't had a chance yet, I'm still open to look! |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 12:48 AM on 04.22.10 |
->> Joseph Z-
Do you have their web sites? |
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David Stluka, Photographer
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 3:29 PM on 04.22.10 |
->> I'll do it for free. I shoot weddings as a hobby. My real full time job is a sanitation worker but I own some top notch perfessional equipment. my canon rebel with a 5mm-600mm f8 lens is very impressive looking. besides that I have crazy mad skills at photoshop. Party too hard the night before the ceremony? No worries, I'll clone your head in from the day before you partied. Don't like how the bride looks? No worries there either. Hey you won't even have to show up if you let me have 15 minutes with you in a tux against a neutral background. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. 8)
Calm down folks. I'm joking. |
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Jason Hirschfeld, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Norfolk | VA | U.S. | Posted: 5:23 PM on 04.22.10 |
->> Here you go: www.mcweddingphotography.com It's headed by Chris Tyree, an award winning shooter, formerly of The Virginian-Pilot, a highly regarded photo paper. He's been named Virginia's photographer of the year four times since 2001 as well as an NPPA POY winner.
It's also done with Pulitzer prize winning Roger Richards...and Roger needs no introduction. He's a Platypus faculty member with PF Bentley as well as the former AP bureau chief in Bogota, Columbia. Even if you don't use these guys, I highly recommend inviting them just for their stories. ;)
Good luck and congrats! |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 9:56 AM on 04.23.10 |
->> Chuck-
My standards are much more exacting than that. I expect AT LEAST a garbage truck *DRIVER*. Unless that 5-600 f8 is a mirror lens. In which case we will do whatever you want us to just in case it's a mind control device. Showering is also optional however since because - "you can't see it in the pictures so it doesn't matter" |
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Paul Calhoun, Photographer
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Hillsborough | NC | U.S. | Posted: 2:37 PM on 06.03.10 |
->> More shameless self-promotion www.PaulCalhounPhotography.com
I used to do weddings full time and still do a few when I'm not doing this -- www.PhotoActiveInc.com |
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Marc F. Henning, Photographer
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Bentonville | AR | USA | Posted: 4:28 PM on 06.03.10 |
->> +2 for Ben Chrisman. Coolest Cat on the planet. http://www.benchrisman.com/
marc |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 2:41 AM on 06.04.10 |
->> Thanks for the info everyone! We did end up deciding on Kirk Mastin - his style and the diversity in his portfolio stood out a lot and I know him to be a great guy too. Erika and I decided to push the date back a bit so we aren't too rushed, so things are starting to calm down a little too ;)
I have a couple of thoughts that might or might not be useful to you - first, develop your style. Then put forth images that reflect your style and get rid of the others. I never fully realized this until I looked at 100+ photographers' websites over a few days, but there were only a handful that really stood out... Here are some of the things I noticed -
(1) Unique ways of seeing the world, whether through the use of composition, layering, approach to working with light, etc.
(2) Stylistic consistency between different weddings - the area in which I struggle the most when working with people. It seems that a lot of photographers don't know who they are or how they shoot on a given day but rather just let it happen however it goes. Be intentional about how you're shooting. Maybe that means just adding something new every wedding, not trying to redo how you do everything.
(3) Diversity of images/strengths in different related areas - Strong portrait skills and photojournalism should not be at odds with each other! Both are very necessary! Try to catch that thing that makes a person more than a model. Most were only good at one or the other.
(4) Friendliness and stylistic integration of website - A lot (80-90%) of the websites that I looked at just didn't work with the photographers' personalities and clashed; others would occasionally have great work but just weren't friendly and having to click on too many buttons or look at overly masculine/dominant colors overshadowed their work. Guys tried to do pink. Nearly all (I now see this in mine a LOT) had just totally generic sites - nothing to say "This is who I am, this is what I'm like, and here is my work which I have put a lot of time into presenting well." Presentation counts. A lot.
(5) PUTTING YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD! DEAR GOD! Don't show me a photo of a bride making a nasty face ever again! I know you're a photojournalist but you have a choice whether to focus on the bad sides of people or the good sides! I understand that there are situations (such as war or violence or sports or spot news) when it's useful or good to show people as being vicious, angry, upset, crying in a bad way. But that's opposite of what weddings are about! Choose the moments you take the shot, pick moments which are consistent with the attitude of the day - and in a wedding, this means happy people, beautiful people. If I'm paying you oodles of money my wife better look GOOD! End rant. :-) Hug. Kick. Hug.
(6) Be you. It seemed like so many people were trying to copy shots they've seen somewhere else. Be creative in that way that only you are.
A couple of the best sites (not picked because they're stylistically different from what we wanted - but we thought about converting!)
http://www.oxophotography.com/george/index2.php?v=v1 (Lawrence Chan + brother, SEO and web marketing ninja, and a great guy in general)
http://www.brendaupton.com/ (A few friends from back home in ATL hired her)
Note the consistency of the music, colors, moods, etc - it's not just a bunch of 8x10's on a desk, it's an experience and full presentation. Kind of like how high end portrait studios make an entire experience (see Lori Nordstrom's stuff if you want more info on that too)
I hope some of the commentary is useful to you - it drives me crazy trying to find good input past "That's a cool picture!", hopefully it'll help you get into the place in the world where you rightfully belong - being paid lots of money shooting people :)
Anyway, thank all of you for letting me see your work - you're crazy talented and you're all invited when this thing does go down! (and no you don't have to bring a camera!) |
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Brad Barr, Photographer
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Port St. Lucie | FL | USA | Posted: 8:53 AM on 06.04.10 |
->> Ok....wow. Looking at the one you chose and the two you recommended. Funny that none seem to actually fit with your comments above. As someone that does wedding photographer training, its always interesting to see/hear from someone on the other side (ie a client). Thanks for sharing your perspective. It does go to show you that the way things are perceived can vary widely. Coming from here, I'd have expected you might have picked someone stronger in PJ skills. All 3 of the sites you listed/chose are much heavier on the posed/contrived shots as opposed to true pj work. Not that that is bad, just an observation.
Also interesting how you came up with this statement:
"A lot (80-90%) of the websites that I looked at just didn't work with the photographers' personalities and clashed". How you determined that is beyond me since you certainly don't know the personalities of any of them.....again, perception perception perception....perhaps you can enlighten us on how you got that perception from any of them...exactly? I'm sure they would love to eliminate that perception if they knew how it was levied in the first place.
IMO, several of the recommended names in this thread rocked to a higher level. |
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Andrew Kornylak, Photographer
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Long Nguyen, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Albuquerque | NM | USA | Posted: 4:04 AM on 06.29.10 |
->> If you are open to something different. I would check out these guys out of Albuquerque, NM. http://www.twinlensimages.com/
Craig is a local friend and him and his wife shoot weddings with 35mm and 6x5 medium format. Very unique and different style of wedding photography. They are also SS members. They mix photojournalism with wedding photography. |
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