Photographers-Every Family Should have a few
I love art. I love makeup. I love anything pretty. I LOVE photography. I don’t know what it is, but something about photos really mesmerizes me. Especially well taken ones. About 5 years ago, when I got engaged, I was looking for a wedding photographer and I started my journey into researching someone who would be just perfect. I don’t remember the details precisely, but in a nutshell, we had an AMAZING photographer recommended to us by a friend-she was just starting out and happened to be my friend’s sister-in-law. For some reason, we didn’t book her for our wedding, (probably because she was booked?) but we used her for our engagement photos which were, to this day, some of the best pictures anyone has ever taken of us. Check out https://katchstudios.com if you want to see what I’m talking about.
Our wedding photographer was another story-the pictures were sub-par, and his service also left a bitter taste in our mouths. Needless to say, we would never be using him again, but this experience turned me into a crazy, perfection-obsessed psycho when it came to finding a photographer for any special occasion after our wedding. Special occasion number one: maternity photos. I wanted to do something fun and playful, and found Julie Guertin. We were really happy with her. Check her out at: https://www.julieguertin.com
Special Occasion Number 2-Newborn baby pictures-I used to be obsessed with Anne Geddes and have always hoped that I could get pictures like this taken of my newborn babies. Due to the fact that they were premature and I was recovering from a c-section, getting these pictures done shortly after they were born was impossible, but Kyla Baker came to our home when the boys were 8 weeks old, and she worked some serious magic. Not only does she have a way with newborns, she is very talented and the pictures turned out exactly as I had hoped. You can see her amazing work on her site: https://kylabakerphotography.com
Special occasion Number 3-Our first family portraits-We took our first family vacation to Tofino (my favourite place in the world) when the boys were about 7 months old, and not having had any previous family pictures taken, I wanted these to be just perfect. I wanted an editorial style-pictures on the beach with us in our Sunday best. As it happened it was our 5th wedding anniversary and we would be renewing our vows, so this was extra special. I did my research and found Douglas Ludwig. Another great find. Check out his site: https://www.douglasludwigphotography.com
Douglas and his assistant were great with our family, especially with the boys, and they bent over backwards (literally) to get the perfect shots. Not only were we thrilled with the final product, but I have to add that Douglas provided us with amazing value. He charged a very fair fee for the shoot (2 hours), and provided us with a very generous number of digital images, with no minimums or extra frills. If you are getting married, or wanting family portraits, or celebrating any kind of occasion that warrants a photographer, I highly recommend Douglas Ludwig. He travels all over the island and the Mainland.
I’m pretty artistic myself and usually have a vision of my own and always communicate this to the photographer ahead of time. If they are good, they will listen to what you want and make it happen. Unfortunately, my wedding photographer simply did not get my vision and it was a mismatch, but all it did was motivate me to ensure that I would never encounter the same issue again. As it turns out, our wedding day wasn’t the most important day of our lives, (and I think most people will agree that, in hindsight…it never is). We have since gone on to have a family and the moments that have been captured in relation to that, have been exactly what we wanted. If you are expecting or have recently delivered and want to capture some special times with some special photos, (and live in relation to their service area) I highly recommend that you check out these photographers. And remember, communication is always the secret to success in any relationship! If you have something in mind, discuss it with the photographer. A good one will work with you to make your vision a reality!
Good luck! Have a great photographer you want to recommend? Pictures you want to share? I would love to blog about it!