Just Add Alcohol !!

Over the last 2 years continuing as a die hard wedding photographer in Chile I have become aware of a very funny part of the Chilean culture, which I think is kinda cute. 

During the wedding photography of the day people are not very responsive to the camera and sometimes need a little prodding to get my required result. While everyone is derssed up , make up, hair, nails, all looking great the missing element is often a little smile. At the formal part of the day many people seem to be sooooo serious and reserve expressing their feelings. Even when theyknow there in frame and about to be shot, they will hold a poker face that could bluff easly with the worst of hands in a real game.

Just add alcohol  !!!
Now, during the cocktail things begin to loosen up and as I pull guests to produce the formal family group shots the mood lightens and the smiles start to appear, but usually just on the ladies at this stage. The men remain ties tight and serious. Asking for any fun group shots at this stage in a wedding in Chile usually does not produce the desired effect.

Add more alcohol !!!!!
The meal begins and as the wine starts to settle with the cocktail champagne the knots in the ties begin to slip and everyone starts to asume their natural smile. This is usually the best time to capture the candid photojournalistic shots of emmotions and people interacting, great chances for photographs of eye contact, laughing, touching etc etc

OK Lets just finnish all the alcohol  !!!!!!!!!!!!!

The party begins and like any good wedding the guests start to party hard, although in Chile iI find they party probably the hardest out of all the countries I've worked in. I love the wedding partys in Chile....truely a fiesta...and the dancing is awesome.  Now ...upto this point ..all but 4 weddings in Chile have produced one or two people who constantly approach me throughout the night requesting a foto. It doesn't bother me...It is my job to capture the guests doing what they do so well but I have to consider that the bride and groom most likely do not want 100+ fotos of the same person getting more and more drunk. As much as it is a very fun part of my work watching 200 people getting hammered and having a free hand to photograph them doing all sorts of crazy stuff.. As much as I love this, the artistic portraits are still my favorite.

My assistant Photographer Maurico is a party animal and he just cant get enough of the wedding fiestas. He also has his fare share of Mr and Mrs FOTO FOTO FOTO requesters and produces some perfectly timed images catching them...lets just say not always at their best, but the party is about us reporting all the fun to the clients..so be it.  So, to continue, the FOTO FOTO FOTO cries go out around my ears as I patrol the dance floor. After taking at least 60 requested images of a certain guest I asked Mauricio to step in and track her for a bit. The booze was kicking in and it was about to funny (funnier)

Approximately 3 minutes later I see Mauricio cutting a path right to me with a huge smile on his face and his camera preview screen lit with an image...I thought "he's got one already?"  surely not !!  sure enough...only a matter of time and percentages.  Oh dear...The front of the dress fell down !!

(While I hold the full Copyright and Publication rights on this image It will not be published to protect the ID of the subject)

After we gave the guest a preview of this she laughed and kept insisting on more fotos...she was awesome  just too funny.

In summary..Chile weddings ROCK !...and the guests are always awesome...Just add Alcohol !! (lol)

 

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

Getting Married in Chile

www.weddingphotochile.com


If you are in Chile or coming to Chile for your wedding I have now started my long and over promised resource site for connecting brides to good quality and reliable service providers for weddings in chile.
The link to the resourse site is

http://weddingphotochile.freeforums.org/index.php

at this time is does not contain data for all services but throughout the winter I will be adding to it as I search on your behalf.

Other service providers feel free to post your company. If I have heard any bad report (even 1) from clients in the past about your product or service your post will not be published. If I have worked with you at an event and did not find you to be professional or provide high quality product/service your post will not be published. Successfull posts will remain published until and be open to positive and negative feedback from clients after their event.


Contacto
Gardner Hamilton
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

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 !

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.

Entering into the season

So 25th October and the wedding photo season has kicked into full swing. Wedding photographers all over CHile and no dobt the southern hemisphere are now recharging batteries friday and saturday nights until the end of May 2010.

I have finally take charge of someting I was never happy with in supplying wedding photography sevices in Santiago and in Vina del mar. Offering Clients wedding packages for their photographs. It seems so standard and boring. To me, a wedding is so unique and needs a unique approach and a unique construction to the format of the days photography. People are all so different and like different things, to try to provide a package to report such an event is really a comprimise on the part of the bride and groom.

So as of today I will take the details of each event based on what the client needs and wants, not what they can get for their buck. Through customising my wedding photography delivery I am convinced that the type of client I serve will have a greater satisfaction and also allowing me to work outwith the constraints of a package. Weddings require huge amounts of flexibility and adaptabillity on the behalf of the photographers. Packages are a ball and chain for all. Contact me for a sample price on your event. Below on this blog you can see a listing for free quote where you can fill out all your information to recieve a free quote on your wedding photography for events in Chile. for weddings in other countries please contact me directly through www.weddingphotochile.com
( fotografo matrimonios santiago vina del mar chile fotografia boda )

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 !

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

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

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!!!

Fotografo Matrimonio Boda Santiago Vina del Mar

http://www.weddingphotochile.com/

ENGLISH BELOW

http://www.weddingphotochile.com/

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”

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