Hotel deals

Monday 27 July 2009

Dress yourself to Impress yourself

Attention all brides to be....If you are in Chile, Vina del mar and santiago specifically or, you are getting married in Chile...this place is worth traveling to no matter where you are During one of my weekly marketing walks I stumbled onto this place NUPCIART by Denisse Mora www.nupciart.com Santiago 093374274 / 074982913 Vina del mar 32- 2682521 These are some of the most unique wedding dresses in Chile...I would love to shoot a wedding where the bride has used this dress maker. Check it out !

Wednesday 22 July 2009

Event Organisers


This is an excellent reference for an event organising company in Santiago. www.milproducciones.cl Contact them and ask to speak to Mauricio

Monday 20 July 2009

Price Wedding Photography / Precio de fotografia de boda

For a quotation click here
Cotizacion clik aqui


Looking for the finest wedding dresses in Chile...look here

http://www.lasadrianas.cl/

If your looking for unique and finely crafted wedding dresses..you need look no further. These people produce the best I have seen in Chile...in fact...South America...a few of my clients have had dresses from here and they are a pleasure to photograph.

Working with so many brides over the years, I to apprieciate the differences between nice and amazing wedding dresses. Thes are just flat out amazing...the materials are excellent as the light reacts perfectly with them for photography.

Sunday 19 July 2009

Locations for Weddings in Chile

Hi there,
So your thinking about getting married in Chile ??...well theres a few locations and companies Ive worked with lately and they really impressed me. I will list them at the bottom of this post.
If you already live in Chile then sourcing good locations is easy as you have the means to go and physically see the place to check it out. As a fotografo de matrimonios (wedding photographer) in Chile I also feel obliged to do the same and actively have been. For me it is very important to know the location before the event, know the hot spots and the pitfalls of each location to ensure I bring the best equipment to cover the shoot for the client and also to pre visualise how and what I will use on the location to create the images, ie backdrops, gardens, lighting, reflect, shadows, stairs, architecture etc etc.
It still saddens me that so many chileans have all these wonderfull scenic locations for weddings and choose to perform the ceremony so lte in the day missing out on so much good lighting...with summer coming soon that will change but the last 11 weddings I have covered have been after 7pm in winter...flash flash and more artificial light...if you have the choice brides to be...change the time to suit the sun!!!
So, where do I like to shoot and why.......well as you have probibly gathered by now, any location has its good points but for me...its all about daylight to make you look amazing... If I had to state some preferences for locatios in the Vina del mar city area then it would be

Castle Ross (Vina del mar)
Hotel Radisson (concon)
Sheraton Hotel (Vina del mar)


These three locations have amazing ocean views which also contain some landscape in the backgrounds creating great backdrops for sunset photography. Castle Ross also has the element of architecture within the building and some nice features in its gardens.
If you are looking for a very regal backdrop of a wonderfull old white stone building with mosaic tile floors and stairs and also beautiful gardenrs then, the fine art center in "Quinta Vergara" in Vina del mar has amazing architecture for wedding backdrops and can be availlible for wedding photography with a simple permission from the municipalidad de vina del mar. You can see some sample portraits (retratos) at this location in the Galleria at www.gardnerhamilton.com , select Portraits/Retratos. These images were taken from 2pm to 5pm and the lighting changes can be noticed.

OK Other locations I feel are special...other than the listed above you should look at "Sporting Club Valparaiso" it is actually in Vina del mar about 5 mins drive from centre of town. This old race track has a beautifull old building attached to it with several event rooms all very regal with magestic views and oak panelled walls floor to ceiling. i was photographing a wedding there a couple of weeago and was very happy with the results as the elegance of the bulding amplified the elegance of the event.

Prefer the countryside.....I have one thing to say http://www.indomita.cl/

This is without a doubt in my mind...Thee place to get hitched! the vew, the look, the service...oye oye oye...Located 45mins drive from Santgo and about the same from Vina del mar it is the greatest location no matter where you event. As you can see on their website the location is second to none, both for your event and for the purposes of wedding phontography. The sunset in the valley, the low light beaming down through the rows of vine rees, the mountains, the clean fresh air, the bloody amazing vino...beautiful....romantic...its everything a wedding photographer dreams of.

Event Planners in Chile.....well...its different from say USA for example but hey, their trying!!!...but seriously I ve woed on several occations with a company called CASA EVENTOS ( house of events is the nearest translation) www.casaeventos.cl These guys blew me away, after working in other countries over the years and seeing a lot of styles...these guys I consider to be the masters of their craft in Chile..there food is just down right great and with great presentaation and originality. The visual presentation is beautiful but most of all what stood outo me is something not much found down here at the end of the earth, attention to detail...these guys nail it wonderfully, and to me again this is important as photographs and more so wedding photography is all about details.

so in short here is my list for the Vina del mar area..I will post the same for Santigo soon although....Vina is way more picturesque to begin.

Location (City)
Castle Ross, Vina del mar
Hotel Radisson, Concon
Sheraton Hotel, Vina del mar

Location (out of town)
http://www.indomita.cl/ (I'm not giving you a choice here as I want the best for you lol)

Event Production
www.casaeventos.cl

Contact me if you would like info on other location and even from other cities in Chile and I will try to help you...thanks

Saturday 18 July 2009

Being a British Photographer in Chile

Being a British Photographer in another country means you have offer something special to stand out from the crowd. My proud membership to BIPP helps me to say to my clients that I have the qualifications and skils to serve them well. I am not a guy who just picked up a camera and decided to make some money but I am formally qualified in my field to do so, and will do so with professionalism.

Friday 17 July 2009

Cotizacion SIN COSTO Fotografia de matrimonios bodas Santiago Vina del mar


Cotizacion Aqui
Click Here


Visit this link to submit your information and recieve your estimation for your wedding
thanks

Tuesday 14 July 2009

FREE COUPLES PORTRAITS

This week I have decided to start the free monthly portraits for couples who are getting married. How does it work? ok...all the clients who book with me each month...their names are put into a monthly draw and one couple wins the chance to do a free photosession for couples portraits consisting of around 3 hours of phototime from which they will recieve a CD containing minimum 10 images all full size files, without copyright and ready to print and send. The final images will be fully edited in Photoshop and of full pro quality.

On average I get 8 to 10 weddings per month booked so theres a good chance of winning...Good luck and look forward to hearing from you.
Saludos
Gardner
www.weddingphotochile..com
www.fotografobritanico.com
www.gardnerhamilton.com

Saturday 11 July 2009

The copyright freedom pays off

Well, today I booked a wedding for a great couple, it's a smaller and very private event needing some very specific shots but I know it will be a great shoot. They have great energy and seem very willing to be flexible to help create a range of image styles in a short timeframe..GREAT !.
Something the groom mentioned about why they decided to go with me on this event , other than the fact i;m a nice guy !! was due to the lack of copyright on their images....are they famous you ask?? No...well not that I know of...but his sister 18 months ago got held to ransom with her wedding photographs due to the photographer providing all the images as small file sizes and watermarked. When she asked for the original files to print and email the photogrpher then presented an entirely new set of prices...this is a typical example of what goes on in this industry...Honestly...it makes me sick.

These photographers should have there cameras surgically removed. I would bet something very nice and expensive that the photographer did not even have a registered copyright to fight a case with..unfortunately in many cases the client just wants their images without more problems or without the risk of getting no images so they pay up...terrible.

So I rest my case with the copyright free images for clients.....

Monday 6 July 2009

Pro or Hobby Photographer....whats the difference?

I remember when I first started out in photography, what seems like 2 lifetimes ago..and I remember asking a seasoned Pro " what's the difference between a pro and a hobbiest photographer? " he looked DOWN at me and replied in almost a whisper, as if it were top sectret " a pro will keep less than 10% of what he shoots, a hobbiest keeps them all."

At the time i was 17 years old I did not realise the significance of this statement but over the years it has became more and more prevelent and has always almost haunted me. Do I count my total shoot images to ensure I keep less than 10%..NO..but after I do my first cut, second cut, edit then final cut...im always testing myself to see what % I do keep.. While not to satisfy the old man watching over me from somewhere today, but more as a guide as to how accurate I am performing when I pull the trigger. I like to assess myself in this matter.

The reason for my assesment is in my understanding there are two Schools of Photographers, one school of photographers know what they want, create and capture...the other school is the school of shoot and hope...the gaurdians of post production!!!.. While both can create fantastic images there are two very different mind sets..one of pre creative vision and one of post creativity..to have both is the key. So...back to my assessing of me...I assess my keep image volume because if i shoot for example a wedding and with 600 frames i keep 100 then for 500 frames I have not been thinking...while during moving events like dancing etc I may run a sequence of frames at high speed this maybe accounts of another 100 of the 600 said possible shots...so now I say for 400 frames was i guesing and hoping...the very thing I despise?...NO longer the case because after the first 3 weddings I ever photographed I realised that the point and shoot at everything and hope to catch is what the untrained, unqualified, and non pro photographers do....spending many many hours in post production. By putting the thinking head on I can reduce my shoot and strike rate to a 35%-40% keep rate.

Now, what does this mean for the client...in reality..nothing...this saves me time and makes my work more profitable....The only possible gain for the client is they get there images faster and the image contant is less random and more composed. Where possible, taking 2 seconds to think before shooting can save hours of trawling through hundreds of images containing silly errors and can save hours of photoshop time.

So other than the fact of a pro photographer making a living from photography and hopefully being qualified to some level or having a natural abillity I think the difference between a pro and hobby photographer is how your mind is thinking before you press the button or, not thinking. When filling your refridgerator counts on pressing the button at the right time it changes the thought pattern..if it doesn't then enjoy your hobby!!!

getting married in Chile, matrimonios en Chile

Matrimonio en Chile…


Getting Married in Chile..

So…your getting married in Chile, or your thinking about it…well, without a boubt, Chile has some of the most stunning locations and backdrops I have ever seen. As a photographer the entire content of the photograph is very important to me, not just the subject but the entire composition. Chile has some amazing elements to offer for your wedding location from vine yards to mountains, snow, beaches, desert, glaciers etc etc etc..

Something to be aware of if your coming to Chile for your wedding is that most of the ceremonies take place after 7pm meaning that at many times of the year there is very low natural light or even none at all. In all my years as a wedding photographer I have always preferred the results using natural light for obvious reasons but in Chile, the system provides for evening weddings mainly meaning many of the photos have to be taken with artificial lights and flash. While this still produces perfectly good photos, it never replicates the beauty of natural light. So…if you have the option, set your church or ceremony time for around 4pm, after the main heat of the day and into the soft evening light…this may sound trivial but makes a world of difference to the resulting images and video.

Fotografo Matrimonio Boda Santiago Vina del Mar

http://www.weddingphotochile.com/




ENGLISH BELOW




Bienvenido al Blog de Gardner Hamilton (www.gardnerhamilton.com) y la fotografía de boda de Viña del Mar y Santiago de Chile.

(www.weddingphotochile.com) Este blog es para compartir experiencias e ideas, conceptos y problemas con la fotografía de bodas en Chile.


ENGLISH
http://www.weddingphotochile.com/


Welcome to the Blog of Gardner Hamilton (http://www.gardnerhamilton.com/) and Wedding Photography for Vina del mar and Santiago, Chile. (http://www.weddingphotochile.com/)


This blog is to share experiences and ideas, concepts and problems with wedding photography in Chile.

In my experience, Chile has some very capible photographers but they lack innovation in composition and a deep enough knowledge of post production (eg - Photoshop) to produce the high quality Fine Art style photography required for wedding clients.


In nearly all of the weddings I have photographed in Vina del Mar and in Santiago, local clients always require an album containing printed photographs. This is obviously the tradition in many countries but, after working in several northern hemisphere countries such as United States, Canada, Japan and many locaions in Europe I notice a trend change where 90 percent of clients now only request images on a digital format (DVD / CD).

The freedom of the digital image gives clients the availibility to email and print at their own control. The problem then begins with Watermarks!!! As a pro photographer for many years I realise the importance of a photographer protecting his copyright and his work. In my opinion this is for the commercial side of photography. Many of the photographers I have encountered in Chile do not even own their own copyright yet cover there images with a bold watermark stating protection. This as in other countries is a way to ensure clients have to return and pay for more images.


In my mind and looking to the future, I see this as the rope with which they hang themselves. I prefer to give the client disks of full size, copyright free images for them to do with as they please. This means I do not make resale on the images but for a wedding, seriously...how many clients come back year after year for prints....come on photographers.....cut your clients free...


My next BIG ISSUE with images in Chile is print quality. Chile has one pro lab and to be honest it has failed me twice already. While they have state of the art equipment...they pay no attention to paper humidity levels and ink tempratures so all their fancy gadgets become useless. The turn out the same quality upto 20"x16" as the regular Kodak store in the street. For high quality large prints I still use the USA.


What struck me the most when arriving to Chile 18 months ago was the huge demand for informal wedding photography, the opposite of the northern Americas where the formal pose and fine art portrait is a key element of the event. Just last week i was shooting for a couple from Santiago who had a fantastic wedding event at Sporting Club Valparaiso http://www.sporting.cl/ A bueatiful Venue and a great event hosted by http://www.casaeventos.cl/ . This particular client wanted only informal photos, which turned out to be great as they were all party animals and were dancing crazy all night. A far change from the very rigid and formal events timed to the second in other parts of the world. Using some super wide angle lenses (10mm) my assistant, Mauricio, and I captured some very different images using monopods to shoot from different perspectives and give alternative views of the event..A SUCCESS !


Next week I am working with a Canadain couple who tie the knot on a roof top at midnight in Santiago...i will let you know how that goes.


Contacto
Gardner Hamilton
http://www.weddingphotochile.com/
info@weddingphotochile.com
Tel (0056-9) 9-992 9508
Facebook “Gardner WeddingPhotographer Hamilton”

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