I am a wedding and portrait photographer in the Edmonton and St. Albert region. I do engagements, portraits, families and weddings as well as specialty photography for fire departments.
I am married to my beautiful wife Joyce, whom with I have two baby boys, Grant and Aidan.
ABOUT ME
A little about me. I am a full time paramedic firefighter. I've been in the Emergency Services for about 12 years. I've had some fantastic experiences while working in EMS and on the fire side as well. It has allowed me to do things I never thought possible. I teach at NAIT, and have been for 7 years.
So how did I become a photographer? It started with a Canon point and shoot that I took with me on my honeymoon with my wife Joyce. I took about a thousand photos while in Mexico. When we got back I made a small photo book to show my friends and family the highlights of the trip. "Reviews" were positive. Friends and family encouraged me to continue taking photos and publishing them.
I became frustrated with the "snapshot" look I was getting with my point and shoot, so I soon graduated to a dSLR camera. One of the first things I photographed with the SLR was some live fire training with one of the local fire departments. Coworkers were impressed with the style and quality of the pictures and soon requested me to shoot their family portraits. Since then things have snowballed into a full fledged photography business.
I photograph children, families, portraits and some (unpaid) bird photography on the side. I do stock photography for the fire department as well. What drives me to be a photographer though, is the weddings!
Wedding photography, first and foremost, is FUN! There's nothing quite like trying to capture beautiful images for 8 or 10 hours a day. It takes skill, inspiration, and creative problem solving to take good wedding pictures, especially ones that go into albums and larger prints, and that's what I love about it.
What makes you stand out?
I think I'm always looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. First and foremost I shoot for the album. This means that I'm always thinking about how to make the images fit into a narrative or design. The album layout is the best way to tell the story about your wedding! Nobody curls up in front of a fire and looks at a cd of burned images. Lots of couples break out their nice albums on special evenings. I also provide up to date and innovative products like slide shows and specialty prints. I am a member of the Professional Photographers of America. I am a member of the WPPI.
Can you give examples of products that you can offer to wedding and portrait clients?
I provide custom made DVD slide shows, on professionally produced DVDs. I print my pictures at a pro lab. Each print is colour corrected and much higher quality than your standard Costo/Walmart/Shutterfly photo lab.. In addition I offer custom printing such as acryllic mounting, canvas mounts, metallic prints, and exquisite albums. The full range of products will be shown to you at one of our contact meetings. One exciting new service I offer is the "Crazy Booth" at the reception.
What about Photoshop/ Post Processing?
I own and make full use of the Adobe Photoshop CS5 Master Suite as well as Lightroom 3. I use of album building software and plugins for Photoshop. These programs altogether allow me to provide clients with a full range of post processing options.
What equipment will you use? Do you have backup equipment?
I use 2 camera bodies with various lenses. I have several off camera speedlights as well as portable high power monolights. Your pictures are stored on multiple compact flash cards during the shoot which greatly reduces the risk of data failure.
Are you insured?
Yes, call me for details. I am fully insured.
Why does photography cost so much?
Quality work costs money. Photography is not just about taking pictures, it's a business that has operating and equipment costs that people sometimes don't realize. Operating costs include things like insurance, computers, software like Photoshop, printing costs, education, and hours spent on the actual post production work. Equipment costs at the professional level are expensive!
Beware of photographers offering to shoot weddings for very low prices, they are not charging enough to stay in business. I would ask you if you want a professional taking your wedding photos or an amateur that's on his or her way to going bankrupt. These types of photographers cut corners, and it shows!
That being said I do realize you are looking for a reasonable bargain as a consumer. I take pride in being able to provide exceptional service at exceptional value.
My packages start at $2000 and are up to $5000. All the packages include albums and engagement sessions. Please contact me for further details.
How long do you stay to take photographs at weddings?
I start taking photographs typically as the bride and groom are getting ready. I shoot throughout the day, through the ceremony and formals, and well into the reception. The first dance and cake cutting as well as any formal "events" at the reception are covered. If you select one of the packages that includes the "Crazy Booth" I will be staying very late. I will ensure well rounded coverage of the entire day.
Will you require food at the reception?
The offer is greatly appreciated but it is not an expectation. You are paying me to work, not to eat after all. :)
Do you use a "shot list"?
Generally no. I take pictures constantly throughout the day with the aim of taking good enough pictures to print in an album. I do however use a shot list (provided by you) for the formals immediately following the ceremony. This helps me keep track of which family member needs to be photographed with certain other family members etc...
I use the photo-journalistic style until the formals, at which time we will work together to find visually interesting and fun poses.
Anything else?
I know finding the right wedding photographer is a tough task. I would invite you to make use of the free consultation appointment to see if we are the best fit. There's nothing like seeing the product first hand.
My commitment is to help you find the perfect match for your day, whether you choose me or not.
I can’t say enough good things about Kate and Ryan. I would really like to thank them for inviting me to take pictures of them practicing some truly amazing yoga. Ryan runs the Ananda Yoga Shala here in Edmonton. I can’t say enough about how nice these two people are. The hope was to get…
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