and i am back for more on these interviews! who did we have so far? the elegant {catarina zimbarra} & the joyful nontraditional couple from {piteira photography}. both are wedding photographers in portugal and today we shall have someone london based. i think it’s the first time i only have european guests in such a topic, unless on purpose. chloé browne & emma-jane are the ladies behind {caught the light}… magical name, {again}!
hello chloé, how are you? thank you so much for being here today… it was delightful to find out about your work! you seem to make beautiful portraits from a very special day… and you travel the world even… can you describe your path until now?
i’ve always been a photographer, i just didn’t find what i was good at photographing until istarted looking at weddings. i have a few years experience as a picture editor, so i’m used to looking at images all day for a living, except now, i’m the one taking them.
why do you chose to be a wedding photographer?
i love how happy weddings are and that i get to capture moments that people will reference for the rest of their lives. i remember being mesmerized by my grandparents’ wedding photo in their local newspaper and thinking that if it wasn’t for them, i wouldn’t be here. that wedding photo symbolized something really important for me.
what do you consider to be the secrets for a beautiful and charming wedding day, concerning the photography part?
i think it’s really important that my clients care about their photography and take into consideration things like the time of day they will be getting married, getting ready in a big bright space and leaving enough time for things like their family photos, candids of their guests and their own portraits. it’s really hard to take natural photos when you’re working to too-tight a time frame.
what inspires you to make your work, what drives you to create the images you create?
i love an excited bride and a loving family making a fuss of her. i cry quite often at weddings with all the emotion that’s going on, so a really emotive day makes for really meaningful photos. in terms of conditions, i prefer a big clean space to work in, like a hotel room kept tidy, or an outdoor wedding venue space. i also love sunlight in the early evening as the sun gets low in the sky.
the most beautiful place to host a wedding is…
somewhere that’s really important to you. it can be really beautiful, but if you don’t love it, your emotions won’t shine through as much.
now, talking about a more technical point of view, tell me… what equipment do you use?
i use two canon 5d mark II’s, an 85mm 1.2, 50mm 1.2, silly 45mm 2.8 tilt shift lens and a 35mm 1.4 lens. i also have a holga and polaroid instax that i use sometimes to vary things a little. i also have two sony video lights and two canon 580 flashguns.
what do you carry in your bag for wedding sessions?
for weddings, i carry all of the above in this {roller bag} and during the day, i carry a lens and some essentials like my phone and runsheet in {this bag} over my shoulder.
what do you consider to be a challenge on a wedding day and how do you face that challenge?
i’m not sure that there are many challenges for me at the moment. i’ve photographed around 50 weddings and all of them are different; you just learn how to roll with the differences and make sure your clients are happy with the service you’re giving them.
what editing program do you use?
i use adobe lightroom to manage my workflow and then photoshop to fine-tune anything on a more detailed level.
can you describe your services and what do they include?
i looked through lots of photographers when we were getting married two years ago, so i knew what i wanted as a bride. i hope we attract the same kind of bride that i was, so we tailored our package around that. the wedding package includes: unobtrusive photography coverage of six hours, usually from preparations through to your first dance and everything else you have planned in between; two-hundred and fifty high resolution, fully-edited images on personalised disc, for you to print, share and make copies for friends and family, alongside an online, password-protected gallery for you to send around the world. other than that, there are also, the {engagement and portrait sessions} are also available with or without a wedding package and include time spent on location, with 30 unique images provided high-resolution on personalised disc for you to print and share, along with a password-protected gallery too. additionally, {bespoke albums} are available and designed by us, to suit your personal taste.
it’s incredible how familiar and yet so different wedding photography can be. after three interviews with wedding photographers… after searching for them before these interviews, i have seen a lot of wedding photography and though you might think that it will be similar to any other wedding, one’s eyes make all the difference.
like one friend once told me, you never say to a photographer that he must have a really good camera, as the reason for his excellent work, as you never say to a cook that he must have a fab oven, because the food tastes so delicious. it makes total sense! even if a wedding might have similarities here & there… the one capturing it makes all the difference. the light, the framing, the composition… the romantic point-of-view, or more relaxed… the elegant touch, or the wild one… you just need to follow your heart. after three interviews, i might have a clue about the equipment needed for such occasions and most of all, it was really interesting to realize that maybe, just maybe someone i admire also started like me. so, this is a way of saying, come on, just start with it… everything else will follow and flow…
for more on {caught the light}, just hop into their {blog} and why not follow on {facebook} & {twitter}? it might be a nice idea! have a beautiful thursday my sweet friends!
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