Choosing a Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

choosing a

gay-friendly wedding photographer A GUIDE THROUGH THE MAZE OF WEDDING INDUSTRY RHETORIC

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

A publication of Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Hallmarks of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer 2. Considering Style 3. Assessing Talent 4. Choosing a Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

CHAPTER ONE

Hallmarks of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Hallmarks Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer #1 Sensitive and Understanding

The gay-friendly photographer is sensitive to the feelings of couples and understanding of family dynamics at a wedding. A good indication of sensitivity in a wedding photographer is a portfolio that includes photographs that show he or she is able to make couples and family feel comfortable in front of the camera.

© Cindy M Brown | Cindy and Sharon Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Hallmarks Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

#2 Welcoming

The gay-friendly photographer is welcoming and affirming. He or she is excited about documenting the love you and your partner share and let’s you know it. You should feel comfortable when you meet with the gay-friendly photographer, whether they are gay or straight. (Don’t judge a photographer by sexual orientation alone.)

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Hallmarks Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

#3 Open-minded

The gay-friendly photographer is able to appreciate and celebrate difference in all its forms. A good indication of open-mindedness in a wedding photographer is a portfolio that shows people of different ages, different cultures and different gender expressions.

© Cindy M Brown | Cindy and Sharon Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.

Frank Zappa

Hallmarks Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

#4 Flexible

The gay-friendly photographer is capable of adjusting to the situation at hand. Same-sex weddings sometimes follow a traditional path, but just as often veer off the beaten path. Having a photographer willing and able to go with the flow, wherever that may lead, is a must.

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

All you can do is plan to go unplanned, prepare to be unprepared, make going with the flow part of your agenda, for the most successful among us envision, plan, and prepare, but cast all aside as needed.

David W. Jones

Hallmarks Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

#5 Creative

According to Stanley Stegel, author of Uncharted Lives, “The process of becoming gay, of accepLng one’s sexuality is a process of living an extremely original life.”

Quirky, o*eat, visually surprising images are the staple of the gay-­‐friendly photographer’s work.

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Hallmarks Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

#6 Tech Savvy

Richard Florida, author of Ci2es and the Crea2ve Class, found a correlaLon between gays, creaLvity and technological innovaLon. A gay-­‐friendly photographer has a vast amount of technical knowledge.

The ability to use the techy features of a camera, such as f-­‐stops, shu:er speeds and ISO se>ngs will show in a photographer s porQolio, as will her ability to use off-­‐camera lighAng, as well as aRer capture ediLng and toning. Like any good scienLst, the gay-­‐friendly photographer knows how to use the technical tools of the trade.

Buying a Nikon doesn’t make you a photographer. It makes you a Nikon owner.

-­‐ Author Unknown

CHAPTER TWO

Considering Style

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Styles Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

When looking for a gay-­‐friendly wedding photographer, or any wedding photographer for that maVer, it’s important to understand the different styles of photography available.

While an internet search reveals more than 30 styles of photography, there are really only two broad categories of photographic style – make and take.

Photographers who “make” photos are concerned with orchestraAng people and events to create beauLful photos. Photographers who “take” photos are more concerned with capturing the essence of the people and events they photograph.

To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.

Henri CarLer-­‐Bresson

Styles Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

A “make” photo by take photo-­‐ grapher Sharon McMahon of Cindy and Sharon.

Cindy and Sharon | Same Sex Wedding Photographers

Make photographers (tradiLonal portrait photographers, fashion photographers, commercial photographers) control what is in front of the camera. ”Make photographers” spend a good porLon of each wedding day asking folks to pose in a variety of se_ngs. Good “make photographers” use their ability to © pCeople indy M aBnd rown | C Btrown Photo visually interesLng photographs. orchestrate props o create

The photograph at le8 is a posed “make photo” taken by photojournalist Cindy M. Brown.

You don’t take a photograph, you makeTit.

-­‐ Ansel Adams

Styles Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

On the other hand, take photographers (photojournalists, documentary photographers, street photographers) let events happen . “Take photographers” blend into the background. They take what is known in the world of photojournalism as a fly on the wall approach to documenLng your big day.

Good “take photographers”

use their ability to see the inters-­‐ ecLon of strong composiLons and peak moments to create photo-­‐ graphs of real events that surprise and delight.

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

If you know how to wait, people will forget your camera, then their souls will open up.

Steve McCurry

Styles Of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

In reality, you do not have to choose between the two. Most wedding photographers/photojournalists will actually do at least a li:le of both.

What you should ask yourself is whether you prefer a photographer who will spend most of his or her Ame controlling what is going on in the frame or one who will spend most of his or her Ame capturing the essence of what is actually happening.

If you spend Lme looking at a photographer s porQolio, his or her true style will show through

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

CHAPTER THREE

Assessing Talent

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

Assessing the Talent Of A Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer When choosing a photographer, any photographer, it is important to evaluate the talent displayed in their photographs. Here are a few elements to consider when assessing the images a photographer’s porQolio.

1) Surprising and DelighHul Look for a porQolio with images that surprise and delight -­‐-­‐ images that make you take a second look, or maybe even a third.

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

Assessing the Talent of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

2. Varied: Look for diversity-­‐-­‐in terms of what's in the image, the way the image

is composed, the angle the photo was taken from, the techniques used, and the content of the photos.

3: EmoAonal: Look for photographs that make you feel something-­‐-­‐images that capture smiling eyes, a belly laugh, tears of joy or a special look between a couple,

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

Assessing the Talent of the Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

4. Consistent: Look for a porQolio that shows a photographer can consistently produce emoLonal, visually meaningful images. Ask to see enLre galleries, slideshows or album designs from several weddings.

5: NarraAve: Look for collecLons of photographs tell the story of the whole wedding day -­‐-­‐ scene-­‐se_ng shots, story-­‐telling details, images that depict interacLon, acLon photos, as well as portraits that really capture personaliLes.

CHAPTER FOUR

Choosing

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

Choosing A Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer Here’s a quick summary of the previous three chapters for those who are fond of

skimming and/or who love numbered bullets.

So far we have discussed hallmarks, style and talent and ways to evaluate each.

1. HALLMARKS: Look at the descripLve text, tesLmonials and photos on a photographer’s website for clues to how well they live up to the fivehallmarks of a gay-­‐friendly photographer: 1. Open-­‐minded; 2. Flexible; 3. UnconvenLonal; 4.Unobtrusive; 5. CreaLve; 6. Tech-­‐savvy.

2. STYLE: Determine the style of photography you want—”make or take”-­‐-­‐and

review photographer’s websites for work that matches that style.

3. TALENT: Assess the talent of the photographers whose style is in synch with what you would like from your wedding photographs.

My pictures are not escapes from reality, but a contemplaLon of reality, so that I can experience life in a deeper way.

Bruce Davidson

Choosing a Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

ARer considering the hallmarks of the gay-­‐friendly photographer, the style of photography you are most interested in, and the talent evident in the porQolios of photographers who work in that style, it’s Lme to narrow the pool of favorites based on price and personality.

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

Unexpected moments make for some of the best photos at a wedding.

The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.

Yousuf Karsh

Choosing a Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

Price

Full-­‐Lme, professional wedding photographers typically charge from $2000 to $8000* to photograph a wedding. (A few fall outside these parameters, but they are the excepLon.)

Generally, if you spend more, you will either get more coverage (number of hours of photography or number of photographers,) more or beVer products (prints/albums,) or beVer photography … perhaps, all three.

Given a limited budget, the pracLcal soluLon is to get the best photography you can for the money you have to spend now, and plan to buy products when you can afford them. (BeVer to have awe-­‐ some photographs you can do something with later, than an album full of mediocre photos.)

* The average photographer nets 25 to 36% of gross.

The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.

Yousuf Karsh

Choosing a Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

Personality: The photographer you select to photograph your wedding can make or break your wedding day-­‐-­‐not just your photographs. Because he or she is there, with you and your family, in person, interacLng with everyone. All …. day …. long.

Your photographer plays a large part in how you feel on your wedding day by the way he or she helps you plan your wedding, the way he or she treats you and your loved ones, and the way he or she acts throughout the day.

ARer y ou meet each photographer, decide if you really like the photographer and if you will feel comfortable with the photographer.

It’s important to choose someone with whom you will be comfortable being yourself.

© Cindy M Brown | C Brown Photo

“Calmness of mind is one of the beauLful jewels of wisdom.”

James Allen

Choosing a Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

Don’t go overboard and insist on finding a photographer you believe could be your next best friend. (if you find that-­‐-­‐ fine, but it’s certainly not necessary.) Do choose someone you will be comfortable around for 8-­‐10 hours.

A good quesLon to ask is, will this person be a calming influence on my wedding day? Calm is good—especially on your wedding day.

If you don’t gel with the photo-­‐ grapher, move on, no maVer how much you like his or her work.

Cindy with David, a groom.

“Calmness of mind is one of the beauLful jewels of wisdom.”

James Allen

Choosing a Gay-Friendly Wedding Photographer

Tips for relaAonal bliss while choosing your photographer

1) Decide who will take the lead in choosing the photographer. (If one person is more knowledgeable or more concerned about photography than the other, consider allowing that person to take the lead.)

2) Let the the lead set up appointments with wedding photographers. (Having two different people set up appointments will just complicate things.)

3) A:end all appointments together. If that’s impossible, then let the lead aVend all appointments alone. Otherwise, you may end up with totally different opinions based solely on the fact that one of you met with a photo-­‐ grapher that the other partner never met.

4) Discuss the final choice. Hopefully you will agree. If not, allow the lead to choose, with the caveat that your partner be allowed a veto if he or she feels it will be impossible to work with a parLcular photographer.

5)

Book and celebrate! You have Lcked one more item off your to-­‐do list.

“A sLtch in Lme saves nine.”

Anonymous

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