John & Joanna, Vina Indomita, Casablanca, Chile 22-Nov 2011

Joanna came to me through a contact via http://www.allchile.net/ an online haunt for gringos in and out of chile. A man by the name of Mike called me one day to see if I could cover the wedding photography of the neice of a friend of his, all very distant and confusing but on the Sunday before the wedding (Monday) at 7pm John and Joanna arrived at the Sheraton Miramar in Vina del mar for our pre arranged meeting to talk through any last minute details. Upon meeting both John and Joanna I instantly got a great vibe that this smaller and extreemly personlized event was going to be a dream to photograph. Here are some mainly detail oriented photos of the day.

Monday started at the hotel 11am sharp : Bridal preperation with novia and her Two very funny sisters.

I couldn't help myself...I had to take this next shot..  loving it !!



Ok ....So while all that was going on it was time for me to steal the dress and shoes and run around the Sheraton hiding from the groom

Can you spot the dress...?  If Joanna only knew what I was doing with her dress !!

Last minute details...

OK  now Joanna is ready, time to get her on the balcony to cool off before heading down to the Lincon

Trust me ..! she's there !!

and off we go !!

A very private and unique ceremony took place at the Vineyard hence the more generic images posted

Do these bridal shoes ROCK  or what !!

After the ceremony John and & Joanna headed up to the terrace to await their guests

Did someone say "COCKTAIL"?

Did someone say "LUNCH"?

One of the several toasts to this wonderfull couple

I loved the fact that Joanna had considered flowers for all the principle ladies at this event, and I loved the way the light was hittig them as they all took a drink while the wedding group had lunch.

With lunch over I had time to take the newlyweds for some informal portraits in the awesome location.

and to end the day...always with a kiss...This was an awesome day with a truely great bunch of people. Thanks guys for your patience and for agreeing to go to all the other crazy locations I dragged you too .

IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.

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
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday 29th Jan 2010 parcela Villa Alemana, Chile Wedding Photography

The day started with some preperation shooting at home where I managed to convince them both that a pre wedding ride on Hugos motorbike was a great opportunity for a very cool addition to their album.

Being the gentleman as always Hugo assists his bride to be

Hugos 2nd passion is his bike, kept spotlessly clean, gleaming in the driveway a reflection shot was too good an opportunity to miss.

Valeria and Hugo are a very romantic couple who planned there special day for a countryside wedding with a very natural feel in what used to be a functioning bodega. They enjoyed the romantic poses for the informal portraiture session.

The day was hot and the night was cool….perfect with the shade of the trees for the ceromony and the cool of the night for the dansing…A damn fine event. Only only little hickup…a wonderful high heeled shoe containing a guest planted itself on my left foot breaking my second toe. Another warwound from photographing weddings in Chile…