Matrimonio Costanza & Jorge ,El Pregon, Casablanca, Chile

Heres a little sneeky peeky....
What a great sunny warm day in the Casablanca Valley at El Pregon for this wonderful wedding. Jorge (The Groom) arrived bright and early complete with jacket, shoes and....ehhhh...better call to find out where your pants are !!!  OOOPS !!

Not completely shocked Costanza gets the pants story first hand....

Time to continue with the Bride Prep where Costanzas sister lends a helping hand

OK guys, pants on and get to the Church...EVERYONE IS WAITING !!

SEALING THE DEAL

Always an awaiting crowd for the brides of Chile

I love Mauricios vapture at the leaving end...Nice !

After the ceremony it was a quick greeting session then time to skoot back the 3km from the church to El Pregon to begin the cocktail. This little old church is over 70 years old and has some serious scars from the TEREMOTO but these add to its charm and history

After cocktails as the guests start to enter for dinner was a chance to catch the last of the days natural light and make some shots among the landscape of  this great location.

Mauricio catches the happy couple from another angle...the advantage of having Two photographers!

It's Dinner Time !!

 

Between bouts of the wild fun came moments like this...the way Costanza is looking at Jorge just says it all !!

Also consumed in the moment, Jorge seems almost unaware there are nearly 200 other people in the room

and without fail   the inevitable dance of the Marinos....but guys, youré not suposed to drop him  !!!

All The Single Ladies !!!!!!!

All the single gentlemen !!!!!!!

Nice Mauricio...this one gets my eyes full of tears with its little touch of Scotland !

and to end this quick preview off is a shot of me dragged into the crowd just before the guys attempted to pick me up with my cameras   YIKES  !!...thank goodness that didn't happen.. What a blast this wedding was.. Thanks Costanza and Jorge for a great day and one of the best steaks I have had in Chile !! I can't believe how well this shot turned out considering a guest took it with my 2nd camera after a couple of piscos ****("couple") *****     
 ...good job !!

Gardner Hamilton
http://www.weddingphotochile.com/
info@weddingphotochile.com
Tel (0056) 9-992 9508
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Elizabeth and Cesar

While is is over 15 months until Elizabeth and Cesar tie the knot here in Chile, the need to send the "reserve the date cards"was pressing due to many invites having to plan the trip to Chile from the USA so Elizabeth asked if we could do a little session together and create a few shots to use with her invitations. A great idea and what fantastic fun we had.
Elizabeth ( Washington DC, USA) and Cesar (Chile) drove through just after lunch to meet with me in Vina where we headed for a coffee to wait on the sunlight softening before hitting a local park/garden area.

Since the plan was to have photos that would have a primary use on invitiations I thought I would mix it up a little with some photoshop fun. Then off into the gardens to look for a nice spot on the grass under the trees.

I love the way Elizabeths eyes are looking at Cesar in this shot...I am sure there will be a lot of this at the wedding.

Time for a quick kiss as the sun starts to set then walk along the main boulevard towards the beach.....

On route to the beach I spotted this little casual photo-opp

So ...we arrive at the beach..time to sit and relax, enjoy the view, enjoy the moment. I took a chance on the post production of this image by not lifting the light as much as I normally would and by keeping the horizon af ew degrees offset, also leaving the natural lens flare...i liked it ..

The last kiss of the day before we head off for a couple of Coronas and a laugh at the Enjoy Vina Bar.

This was a very short session but a huge laugh, Elizabeth and Cesars wedding will be a hoot and NO ELIZABETH , I will not be wear my kilt lol...well, not until the party starts lol ....thanks guys...this was a whole bunch of fun !!!

Gardner Hamilton
http://www.weddingphotochile.com/
info@weddingphotochile.com
Tel (0056) 9-992 9508

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Some Questions to ask your Wedding Photographer

1. How many full weddings have you photographed as the primary photographer?
Consider if you think this level of exerience reflects acurately the price quoted to you.

2. How many years have you been a wedding photographer?  (specifically weddings)
Many photographers use weddings as a weekend income stream, consider this for the most important photos of your life. At some point every wedding photographer has to shoot their first wedding…is it yours?

3. Do you have any formal education in your field or is this your hobby turned to full time income?
Many hobby photographers produce stunning images and can easily become professionals, consider the event. A wedding photographer has to manage people and a tight timeling while being totally flexible to the bride, groom and days chronology on the day, not just take photographs.

4. Do you use professional series camera equipment with professional lenses and lights/flash?
In the era of digital cameras many photographers can take awesome images but if there equipment is not Pro series you may encounter image problems when enlarging. Take note of the equipment and read about it online, that’s free and it will let you see if it is really pro grade equipment or average user entry level. Better still contact me and I will gladly tell you if the equipment of your photographer is the right quality.

5. Do you bring backup cameras, lenses, flash in case of a problem?
This is a must…if not, I strongly suggest you contiune shopping.

6. Do you work alone?
I believe there are still some wedding photographers who work alone, this not only limits the angles of availibility for the days images but also requires a lot of pressure on the photographer. If they bring another photographer or an assistant get some more info about who else will be helping or taking some of the photos.

7. What happens if your sick on the day?
The speed of the answer will tell you if the photographer has made consideration for this in their mind and the actual answer will assist you in determining if they are indeed a match for you

8. What happens if your car breaks down on route to my wedding?
Again, has this photographer got systems in place to deal with crisis control?

9. Am I guarenteed that you will be the prinicpal photographer on the day?
Many photographers sell you as their name and show you their work then subconrtact out your wedding…

10. Can you give me a contract?
Even if you do not want one, the reaction will show you the level of self confidence the photographer has in their abillity to produce

11. Are you insured incase anything goes wrong?
While in many counrties this is not required when establishing a wedding photography business it is available worldwide and dilligent wedding photographers have this to cover both parties involved

12. Can you give me contact info of 4 previous clients to contact for references.
If not, why not….often the photographer will have to speak first to the clients to get authorisation. If the brides were happy, there always happy to talk to you about it.

13. Are you a member of any oficial recognised associations within your field?
A great way to verify your potential photographer

14. Can I have a full breakdown of what I get for my money?
Get a quotation justifying the costs quoted, some wedding gphotographers just pull prices from the sky and make packages based on what they think is the maximum people will pay without relevance to value given.

15. What styles will you use to photograph my day?
Photojournalism / artistic / stylistic / all or a mix, are they open to your style…?

16. Why did you become a wedding photographer?
This could show you a passion or a nessesity, consider the personallity and how they will interact with your guests on the day…a dry and shy photographer hiding in the background of the event will miss many chances while a bold and loud personallity could steal attention from the bride…where do they fit in?


Gardner Hamilton
http://www.weddingphotochile.com/
info@weddingphotochile.com
Tel (0056) 9-992 9508
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fotografia de matrimonio en Chile para $220 dollars

http://www.weddingphotochile.com/

Wedding Photography in Chile for $220 Dollars

YES !!!! WOW !!!!!! WHAT A DEAL RIGHT?.......... WRONG!!

After being in chile for a little over two years now and probably stumbling across every wedding photo website here it never ceases to amaze me 2 things.

1. The standard of images accepted by clients from the average so called wedding photographer in Chile. 90% of weddings here are shot by weekend warriors..this is to say for example someone who is a wedding photographer only as a secondary source of income ie taxi driver monday to friday, wedding photographer saturday night...you may scoff, as did I when i first got here, but it is for real!. These photographers, and I use the word very lightly, generally pass the images to the client unedited or edited with no training, (A( in image editing, (B) no training in wedding photography and (C) no artistic skill whatsoever let alone an understanding of light and composition.

and..2. The unbelievable price war among the locals to see who can supply the most images and the cheapest price, regardless of how crap they are....and beyond this...the clients seem to keep coming back for more. This is a great way for the quality to stay low and the photographers to stay poor.


I recently attended the EXPO NOVIOS 2010 at Casa Piedra in Santiago where there was one so called photographer who had the most pittyfull display of images I have ever seen at an expo. I also witnessed some of the most over exposed images ever to land in a clients wedding album, yet...the public were massing to him and wallowing in his work. So, is this his fault for being CRAP...or the clients fault for not knowing good professional wedding photography?.
Now, there is an issue with the $220 dollar price tag. If a client is paying $220 bucks they should expect nothing greater than this guy was offering but it still escapes me, how on such a special day, when brides take so much care and pay so much attention to details that they miss such a huge hole in the photographic service of the day.

In the time before the internet I can understand people being a bit in the dark as to what's out there...but today...NO!

So why do people in Chile consistantly select 6th grade unqualified photographers to shoot there most important day...Is it price? is it the 600 images on disk and the 200 printed images for next to no cost? is it because they dont have internet and have never seen the work of real pro wedding photographers? or they just dont care?.

I wonder if in time it will change and clients will raise the bar here to eliminate the fly by night wannbees.

Next...

There are some rules in this industry that professional photographers, and video people tend to play within...one golden rule is never use, play or even imply the music "Beauty and the Beast" with anything to do with a couples wedding day..you know....there up dancing and on comes that song .... after watching about 17 videos on youtube today, all submissions by Chilean based wedding photographers and video production companies, to my horror. 2 videos using this as overlay music and one photographers slide show the same...I can only put it down to the song being sung in English and the editors just plain dont know whats being said. welcome to 1975 !

All said and done these things do frustrate me as I have to witness clients not getting the best on their one chance special day but I can only do so much. There are handfull of good quality production wedding photographers down here but only a handfull.

Shop carefully
Demand the best
and always always always ask to see some samples of previous LOCAL weddings.



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

Fotografo boda santiago chile fotografo matrimonio santiago chile fotografo casamiento santiago chile
Fotografo boda vina del mar chile fotografo matrimonio vina del mar chile fotografo casamiento vina del mar chile servicio fotografia Gardner Hamilton weddingphotochile wedding photographer santiago chile wedding photographer vin del mar chile destination wedding photographer chile fotografo britanico photography services www.fotografobritanico.com

Wedding Services Directory Chile (English)

Karen and Yan Wedding Photography 30th Jan 2010 Vina del mar

Another sunny day in Vina del mar started mid afternoon as Karen arrived at the Sheraton Hotel in Vina del mar with her 3 best friends ready for the preperation of the big day.

As usual Stealing the dress and shoes is always priority for the wedding photographer and this was no exception. Karens shoes were more than different with respect to bridalwear but, with the imported Italian wedding dress they hit the spot beautifully.

Karens long time friends proceeded to insert Karen into her dress with military precision and some laughs along the way. This was truely one of the killer dresses of the 2009/2010 season with some fantastic details and a quality unseen locally here in Chile.

Take Dress...Insert Bride

After the preperation photographs we had some free time to spend catching some informal portrait and architectural detail photographs around the Sheraton Hotel. This was a great chance to kill some time, get more photos and help distract Karen who was getting a little nervous. Putting her on the balcony of her room and shooting from far made her feel at ease and got her used to the camer starting to look at her for the rest of the day...Clearing people from 7 balconies, beach towels from about 10 and some other items from several other of  the balconies was not easy but hats off to Maurico for running to god knows how many room doors to get it done! I think it payed off in the clean image showing bride and location.

A little stroll through the Hotel gave opportunity to catch some classic angles wth some locally well known architecture ensuring a clear reminder for the future of the day unfolding

Finally Karen takes one last look from the balcony as a single woman before heading downstairs to join the vintage car which will take her to meet Yan at the little stone church in Miraflores to seal the deal, then off to the Concon sailing club for PARTEE !

2 Black Eyes , a Swimming Pool and a Portrait in the Gents Toilet

Well this week brought quite a variety to the table…..it all started off on Monday when I was doing my usual research to sourch anything photography in Chile. Scanning through the pages of related items in the hope to find a printing company that can hit the mark on my rather anal quality standards for printing I stumbled onto a photographer, who, for his own sake will remain without name. I could not believe that this person who markets themselve as a professional wedding photographer in santiago and throughout Chile has the main photo on the website as a self portrait, taken in a mirror in a gent toilet with a line of urinals in the background. I was a little surprized to say the least as I know things are different here but who in their right mind would hire someone who portraits themselves and their business in this way?...beyond my reasoning..

Friday night I received a disturbing message from Mauricio (2nd Camera man)..While on a location shoot in Villa Alemana he was approached by 4 young men or wannabe men, they procceded to try to rob him and hit him across the right eye with a bottle which thankfully never broke. Mauricio got more than his share of marks from fighting back and a corker of a black eye as a reminder of how shooting in the streets of Chile always brings a risk. As a sign of his professionalism he managed to keep posession of all his equipment…..Ive always said…stealing a camera from a tourist and stealling a camera from a photographer are 2 completely different things…..we bite back….with big teeth!! Ha ha ha…anyway Mauricio escaped with probably more damage to his pride than anything else and he lives to tell the tale and work yesterday at the poolside parcela wedding.

Eileen and Linus had planned carefully to ensure there day was very relaxed and felt like they were a part of the day with everyone involved rather than being the stars of the show. The beautiful parcela located just outside Villa Alemana was the perfect set. With a very natural and country feel to it, everyone was so relaxed and just totally kicked back. The swimming pool added a great element to the day….In the early stages it served to keep the younger kids amused but as the pisco started to flow it became a playground for all ages. Eileen had insisted that we (the photographers) brought our swimming outfits, which we actually did and had them in the truck, but the event was buzzing and there was too much going on for us to drop the cameras so we kept on working right through..

The 2nd black eye in this unusually titled post came during the wild and funkie dancing under the tents in the garden…with a sudden change in the music everyone stepped it up a notch including one young guest to the left of the bride who, in a very fast spin proceeded to catch the bride directly on the nose with her right fist. The bride held her feet and stayed standing but only just….what a smack!...i could not believe she did not go down. Within a few minutes, even after ice and cold towels etc etc…the swelling on the bridge of her nose and the blackening of here eye began…WHAT A WEEK !

Eileen is a real sweetheart and a trooper too…she got herself fixed up…a quick retouch of the makeup and party on…Linus, you’re a lucky man !

Next week 2 weddings in V Region…..Quillota and Concon one very informal and one very formal, back to back…

Watch this space…

Family Portrait Session

So Christmas brought the usual enslaught of Family Portraits but this year the highlight was shooting the family of none other than Bruce Strong www.BruceStrong.com one of the the USA's top photo journalists. It was truely a pleasure to meet bruce and his family and an honour to be chosen as the photographer for this event.




Both Mauricio and I are familiar with Bruces work and enjoyed very much talking photography with him. Safe trip home Bruce and keep your finger on that shutter.
www.GardnerHamilton.com www.WeddingPhotoChile.com

Vina Wedding 21st Nov 2009

WOW...what a day...Beautiful day..great locations and a fantastic crowd !
I actually found the party of this wedding very hard to photograph as I was constantly laughing at the antics of the guests. This is definitely in the top 3 weddings attended this year, Thanks guys for making me and the team welcome.


Heres a couple of sample shots from the day.

Off to Pucon

So its confirmed, another Austrailian client conirmed. This time its a national destination shoot in PUCON. Truely a spectacular place for wedding photoraphy in Chile. Here's the deal !...2nd Dec 2009...Drive to santiago airport, park car, fly to Valdivia, bus to Pucon. 3rd Dec...Shooting. 4th Dec...bus pucon to Valdivia..fly to Santiago..Drive home to Vina..5th Dec..Wedding shoot Vina del mar. My question is...how Coffee will I have to drink?

I am hoping all the flights and connections run smooth, this being chile we never know right!

in the last few weddings I've encountered some unbelievable delays, for example, a full coach (bus) of 58 guests 45 mins late for a wedding as the driver decided to take a detour on route to get his particular brand of cigarettes in a specific store while on route to the wedding, this not only nearly caused the groom to have a stroke but lost ultimately 1 hour of available shooting light for me and my team. ONLY IN CHILE...well mabe PERU also..

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

Fotografo boda santiago chile fotografo matrimonio santiago chile fotografo casamiento santiago chile
Fotografo boda vina del mar chile fotografo matrimonio vina del mar chile fotografo casamiento vina del mar chile servicio fotografia Gardner Hamilton weddingphotochile wedding photographer santiago chile wedding photographer vin del mar chile destination wedding photographer chile fotografo britanico photography services www.fotografobritanico.com

Who is actually taking your wedding photos?

After speaking with a potential client for Dec 5th 2009 which I already have a booking for I offered to look at some other options for her to assist looking for an alternative wedding photographer in Chile.

I did some research and sent her in the direction of a couple of photographers I already was familiar with and a couple of others I researched onine.

Three of the five had the date availible but none of them actually attend and take the wedding photographs. They would be sending other photographers that they work with. In many cases it seems that although the photographer advertises under there name fronting themselves as the photographer with their name as the website etc but on your big day you may not get the main person....so....after this discovery I strongly suggest you clarify...Who is actually taking your wedding photos? Many so called or self proclaimed wedding photographers in Chile are in fact filling gaps in their income only by doing wedding photography at weekends. With little experience and no formal qualification take care who holds the responsibillity for recording your most special day.

Fotografia de matrimonio GRATIS !!!!!!!

GRATIS FOTOGRAFÍA GRATIS de su matrimonio…… gáne sus fotografías de bodas en 2010!
www.WeddingPhotoChile.com se complace en anunciar a usted la oportunidad de ganar sus fotografías de su matrimonio en el 2010. El sorteo está abierto a todas las parejas en el mundo que estén planificando sus bodas y matrimonio en cualquier localidad de Chile, incluye Santiago y Viña del Mar.
La selección tendrá lugar el día 5 de Diciembre 2009 y el ganador será contactado el mismo día. Los resultados serán publicados en http://WeddingPhotoChile.blogspot.com

Lléne el documento ubicado en http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEg1OG9SNnV0SkRsZ1FxNXJmemxpeHc6MA..

Gane, gana, gratis, bodas, fotografía, fotografías, fotógrafo, matrimonio, Santiago, viña del mar, chile





FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Win Your Wedding Photographs in 2010

www.WeddingPhotoChile.com is pleased to announce to you the opportunity to win your wedding photography in 2010. The competition is open to all people throughout the world planning marrage in locations besed in Chile including Santiago and vina del mar. The selection will take place December 5th 2009 and the winner contacted the same day. Results published on http://WeddingPhotoChile.blogspot.com

Please complete the document located at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEg1OG9SNnV0SkRsZ1FxNXJmemxpeHc6MA..

Win, free, wedding, photography, photographs, photographer, matrimonio, santiago, vina del mar, chile

Wedding Dresses

Great resource for wedding dresses.
www.noviasmariaegenia.cl
Very nice people and awesome quality...very original
Locations in Vina del mar and in Las Condes.

Also have a division for amazing quality flowers....great service

Consuelo y Raul

Well this was fun...A smaller family event with about 40 people at home for a civil ceromony and then THE PARTY !. Before the event we 3 managed to catch 20 mins on the beach before the sun said good night...Heres a quick look at some beach shots...enjoy