28 years and 502 weddings later it's time to take a breather. That's right, I'm no longer taking bookings for weddings but instead channelling 100% of my efforts back into commercial, industrial and editorial photography.
It's been an interesting ride to say the very least, from shooting 15 rolls of 120 film in 6cmx7cm format with only 10 frames on a roll in the early 90's through to where we're at now, culling down well over a thousand images to a few hundred 'selects'. The industry has changed so much over these few decades, much of it for the better and plenty for the worse. Can you imagine what it was like when I was shooting weddings on film back in the 90's? Being in a 'country' town like Townsville you couldn't get 120 film processed here so you'd pack up the 15 rolls of film and watch the TNT guy disappear with that precious cargo that hopefully made it's way to Melbourne and back! There was no backup device in those days. 😲
Anyway, if you still reading along and are looking for a wedding photographer can I offer you a couple of pointers that may help you in your search.
1) INSIST on seeing a whole wedding shot by THE ACTUAL photographer who would be shooting your wedding. Here's the catch - it's not really hard to turn out a 3 or 4 great photos from a wedding. Try delivering 300 or 400 perfectly exposed, pin sharp, well composed memories that will be treasured forever. It's very hard and hence the reason many 'photographers' will show you a gallery of their best work but won't show you whole weddings. Remember, insist. 2) Apart from your new bride or groom the person who you'll possibly spend the most time with on your wedding day is the photographer. Make sure you get along well with them, feel comfortable and relaxed with them and love their photography style. 3) Just like buying a new fridge/house/car you can get really cheap or really expensive. The trick is making sure you don't get a lemon. Read testimonials, get word-of-mouth recommendations, visit wedding expos etc but most of all follow pointers 1) and 2) above. 4) If you're planning on getting married in the Maldives, Bora Bora or the Bahamas and are happy to fly myself and my assistant (wife) out then maybe I could be coaxed out of this 'breather'. ✈️📷🌴🍹
Finally, it would be super if you could visit & 'like' my non-wedding photography Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CameronLairdPhotography.
Thanks to all the wonderful brides & grooms I have met, photographed and become friends with over these decades. Have a great 2019!