Wedding Vina/Valpo

ok 8 hours sleep in 4 days and here i am ready to shoot again...This wedding was set in 2 awesome locations, Church on Salinas, Vina del mar and then the officers Naval Club in Valparaiso. Both locations were just beautiful, a great day and with full formal dress there will be some popping image coming out of this set or sure...I did a session with these guys on the beach...see posting from a couple of months ago...they were a little nervous and it payed off as they were great on the day...Only one image prepared just for the blog at this time...more later..i currently have 3 wedding sets and 1 commercial set of images to edit so i will be shckled to my MAC for the next 3 weeks.

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

Fotografia de boda Pichidangui IV Region Chile

Wedding 14th Nov 2009
Pichidangui, Chile
So...a 2 hour drive north into the 4th region took me to my first meeting with Paula and Daniel. After flying in from Switzerland last week they have been so busy we did not get a chance to meet so all details had been done over the phone and email. This was such a unique event, A church carved into the rocks on the ocean front was the main stage for the ceromony..Very different. Then we took off to the beach for some informal shooting before hitting the beach front hotel for the rest of the day. These guys were great...Willing to get the feet wet makes all the different for a beach shoot...Good Job Guys!...I think you both look fantastic..Next week..Recreo and Vina...watch this space











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

Matrimonio Santiago 7th Nov 2009

Great location, Golf Club, Lo Barnechea, Santiago, Chile.
This wedding was a german Chilean event and brought a huge array of cultures from traditional german outfits to easter island dancing..wow...great job guys...and hey...that first dance...what a show..next week...Pichidangui..









What a great night...I really have the best job in the world..a wedding every week and sharing in such great moments with really nice people.. heres a few quickie preview shots in low resolution...

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.

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

Wedding Forum

For all things wedding and Marrage visit this FORUM
http://weddingphotochile.freeforums.org

Leave and take information to and from others for all things wedding

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.

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

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.

Blogging

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