[byrt_001]

Hi everyone

I recently came across the site of Yervant Zanazanian and i have not stop looking at his work. it is just amazing. I have not come across someone works and say wow i want to become a wedding photographer until now. it is so inspiring to see his work.

this is his site http://www.yervant.com/ http://yervant.wedshooter.com/

his bio http://yervant.wedshooter.com/2006/01/01/yervant-bio

this is a slideshow http://yervant.wedshooter.com/category/Slide-Show/

info on his work and cameras http://www.wedshooter.com/2005/12/20/soft-touch

just amazing

christian

[adam]

Ah! I recognise the 3x3 wedding photo thing on his main page.
It's in my Canon Lens Workbook

[NT73]

It is interesting to see what he does with the pp. Thats in the last link.

[byrt_001]

i was reading againg some of the section from here http://www.wedshooter.com/2005/12/20/soft-touch

“There isn’t a lot of time to spend at a wedding, so I can’t afford to sit back and wait for something to happen. I have to create the moment, so rather than waiting for a breath of wind to carry the veil into the air, I’ll have it thrown into the air. If a special moment happens, I’ll be there to photograph it, but if it doesn’t I’m not going to go home without any pictures.

I’ve been accused of overtaking a wedding, but I think I’m misunderstood. Certainly I’m directing the wedding, but they want to be directed.

i was wondering the same, there are great shots but how natural are? how much privacy/special momemts/wedding minutes do the they (bride/groom) have? do they alsways have the photographer up and about disturbing the special moment?
chris how do you approach a wedding? anyone else do weddings?

christian

[shuttertalk]

Actually my brother had his wedding shot by Yervant - well not him personally, but one of the photographers under his employ. The pics were great - but it took about 18 months before they got their album -- he's that busy. :o

And he's not cheap either...

[byrt_001]

well work like that does never comes cheap.

christian

[Wedding Shooter]

Yervant's work is great - however 18 months is a rediculous wait to get an album finished (no matter how busy you are) - you can get a house built in less time :|

My approach relates around the couple desires for their day. Sometimes they want more direction, sometimes they want you to hang back.

But I have found that the shots I set up tend to go in the album (apart from the ceremony where you obviously have to go with what happens) and that despite what people say they look to the Photographer as a general director of proceedings on the day. After all you are probably the only professional with them all day.

Most importantly I try to get the bride to relax a little in front of my camera - that usually means a good outcome to the days work. This makes all the difference.

I will sometimes indicate to them to kiss or to look at each other, maybe get under the veil together - things like that. One thing I always try and photograph is the detail of a wedding. Brides go to great effort to plan their day and I want to capture all the little things that make that day special. To do this effectively I have an assistant who shoots the relatives, friends, candids of the after ceremony stuff while I focus on the couple, immediate family, bridal party, ring shots, macros, flowers and table decorations.

I tend to go with a subtle post processing - natural colours, a little cleaning up of lines/wrinkles, pimples and special attention to the eyes. I very rarely go into the the very processed look.

The natural look (with non-obvious make over), lots of detail and a very original album layout that tells a story would probably sum up my style. That would also define my approach - I never want the bride to feel she is being forced into a shot she is not comfortable with. A natural smile will always look better than a dictated pose in an album - key to that is a relaxed bride.

Sorry for the ramble

[NT73]

Both approaches are OK. As an ex musician (which is a similar thing in a different field) we had to make our audiences like us over a few hours. They did not tell us how to do our job, we showed them what we could and did do. So with photography you gotta do the same..show them you are the expert (even if you are not).
That would be my approach. It is show business after all.
I am not going to mention my wedding photo's as my brother in law took them (money was tight). But I would have liked to look back on something spectacular .

[byrt_001]

thanks for the info chris,

I get the impression that wedding photography it is a very dificult thing to shoot as there is a few things to take into account, also i think there that line where you are the photographer and not the bride or groom.

I also really like the idea of the shots of details of the wedding, i mean the flowers only so much time and photos you can see then over and over.

I think who ever gets married must really do her/his homework in choosing the photographer.

christian

[Wedding Shooter]

To do it well, consistantly is difficult - that constant need to keep your work looking fresh after many weddings.

But it does pay well if you are good at it and are willing to really work hard for your client - you live and die by your reputation in the industry.

It is one of the most rewarding things I have done in terms of a job.

[shuttertalk]

Some very good insights into the industry - thanks for sharing guys. I think I am for the natural look as well - although some direction from the photograper helps. With my own wedding, I found that the photog was very jovial which made us feel quite at ease, but he would tell us where to stand and where to look, even had an assistant with a reflector shining light on us. I suppose he knows what looks good - after all he's the professional. The end result was great - almost every shot he took was exceptional, and he was shooting medium format as well.

Where am I going with this? I think the poses he put us in were set up - but he would say something funny or make us laugh so the emotions were genuine...