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This article is focused on wedding photography, but it applies to any type of photography where you're interacting on an active level with the photographer, not only as the client, but also as the person in front of the camera.

Ok, so let's get down to business.

We've all seen wedding images. What sets images apart or photographers apart?

If you're a couple soon to wed, what's your criteria for choosing a wedding photographer? What do you ask yourself? Wedding photography is much more than just photos. 

There are certainly things to educate yourself with, such as the photographer's reputation and professionalism, business ethics, turn-around time, customer service, products & services, backup camera & lighting gear, etc.

Your wedding day is one of the most important days in your life. So it makes sense to not take chances when choosing your photographer.

When couples ask for help in deciding, I tell them what I feel are the three most important things to consider:

Work: When you look at the photographer’s images, do you connect with them? How do they make you feel? This is probably the most important. Try to articulate what it is that is making your toes wiggle. Can you envision yourself in the images? If so, that’s perfect because the photographer will most likely document your wedding the way you see in his / her portfolio.

Personality: Personality is the 2nd most important thing to consider. Your photographer will be around you, your family and friends all day. If you don’t like your photographer (and visca versa!), then it’s not a good match. Out of all your wedding vendors, the service provided by your photographer is the most intimate, so you’ve got to like each other. Open up. Get to know one another. When you meet or chat on the phone, do you get a feel-good feeling?

Price: The price has to be both realistic and within your budget. Figure out what is important to YOU with respect to YOUR photography. Do you want a fine-art album keepsake to pass on to future generations? Do you like a combination of photojournalism and art? Newlyweds-to-be sometimes say they had no idea how much professional photography costs, and therefore didn’t budget appropriately. The bridal magazines, newspapers and websites often provide unrealistic expectations, so it’s very important to be aware of this. In the end, the price has to be right, but not the primary deciding factor. Pricing is complicated and there are numerous reasons why photographers charge what they do (and that’s a whole other article).

I hope this was a useful read. Take care and bye for now : )

I was at the National Bridal Show this past weekend. It was great speaking with fellow photographers and meeting new people. I want to give a shout out to Trevor and Larissa of Ambient. Your booth looked great!

There's so many vendors involved in the event industry. I sometimes hear from our lovely couples about how overwhelmed they sometimes feel when choosing vendors, aside from the easy choice of choosing us to photograph their wedding, of course! : )

I was happy to spend a few minutes chatting with Rosanna Riverso. She's a classically trained lyrical soprano and jazz singer. And what a voice! I was listening to her CD while working at my desk today, and when she hit the high notes of Nessum Dorma, it sent shivers down my back! You can visit her online at Rosanna Music.

I have to mention Celebration Duo. I've known Jaye and Lawrence for a few years, and their music is lovely. Celebration Duo for flute and guitar provides audiences with an array of repertoire ranging from classical music to pop and jazz standards. I attended Jaye's wedding last year, and when she played her flute for hubby Jeremy, it was sweet sweet sweet.

Until next time...

I'd like to toast all the newlyweds I've photographed. It's such an honour to have been entrusted with photographing your wedding day. I'm sincerely moved by all the heartfelt words of kindness you've expressed. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Tonight at about 10pm EST, our blog will be unavailable as Big Folio upgrades and migrates to a new blog server. It should only last about an hour.

What an important day in history. Watching President-Elect Obama's inauguration today it was evident that while the U.S.A. has come a long way, it has a long way to go. President Obama has a lot of work ahead of him. His speech today was full of hope, but it was also somber, and that is what made it real.

It was touching to hear him say that less than 60 years ago, his father wouldn't have been seated in a restaurant because of the colour of his skin, and now, his son has become the first black President of the United States of America.

During the Senate Luncheon, true to the power of the still image, he was presented with the "Official" photograph of his inauguration captured only a couple of hours prior. Interestingly, the presenter said he has six children, four of which are girls, and that each of their weddings wasn't complete until they had been presented with their wedding images!

The power of Twitter really came through today, as many of my American photographer friends were twittering their feelings as Americans, as their new representative of the people was signed into office.

For the last few weeks or so, I've been playing around with Twitter. Sometimes there will be things I'd like to bring you up to date on, but it's not really something that I want to put in a blog post.

So what I've done is added Twitter Updates to the sidebar in my blog.

For example, say I'm attending an amazing art exhibit and it ends today. I'll want to tell you about it so you might have a chance to check it out for yourself. I can twitter it via my blackberry, and it'll show up on the sidebar in my blog, and on my status on Facebook. And, if you're already following me on Twitter, it'll show up in your Twitter!

It's just too cool.

If you want to check out Twitter for yourself, follow me here.

For photographers: Photoshelter offers lots of info and services to those looking to sell images online.

It's important to have an online presence. Our main website, (Dean Oros Photography / Images of a Promise) provides visitors the opportunity to learn more about us and to view our online portfolios. Our blog, which you're reading now (The Blog of Dean Oros Photography) allows us to keep in touch with those who have an interest in our work. Photoshelter takes it one step further, facilitating online sales of images to the public at large.

If anyone wants to share any experiences they've had with Photoshelter, drop me a line.

Who do you know that doesn’t own some type of camera? Probably very few. Almost everyone has one. But owning a camera does not a professional photographer make.

There were a few wedding celebrations I photographed last year, where 100+ guests had their own camera, and wanted to take photographs of their own. Dozens and dozens of cell phone cameras, point & shoots, video cameras and even some with pro gear!

While we do our best to educate our clients about their guests’ use of cameras, it can happen that guests haven’t been informed.  And it unfortunately can go overboard, much to the detriment of the newlyweds! In their guests’ enthusiasm to photograph them on their wedding day, they inadvertently do not allow the commissioned photographer to photograph. They may obstruct line of sight, compromise lighting with their own camera flashes, etc.

Couples MUST educate their guests that they have retained a professional photographer for their wedding celebration, and to please respect that. By that I mean, most importantly to not obstruct the photographer or stand over his / her shoulder. When I’m photographing, for example, I’m shooting with the view of creating artful images that tell a story: your wedding day story. They’re not snapshots. Once your wedding day is over, it’s over – there is no going back to re-shoot it. Most of my wedding clients have included a Fine-Art Wedding Album as part of their photography collection. Imagine discovering many important moments from your wedding photography were compromised by over-zealous guests.

This is pretty funny: I’ll never forget one large wedding I photographed, where there was a guest list of 500 people. About half had cameras. That’s 250 cameras! I almost broke out laughing when, for example, it was time for the newlywed’s first dance, and the dance floor looked like it was the championship game for the National Football League. There were over two hundred cameras lined up around the circumference of the dance area with enthusiastic “photo journalists” jostling for the best position! Camera flashes popping everywhere.  It can make for very difficult shooting conditions. Thankfully I had the opportunity to speak with the newlyweds just as they were walking onto the dance floor. It did break the spontaneity of the moment, but they decided to ask the press (aka the guests!), to please put their cameras away and to make more room. We always include a wedding website for our clients, so everyone will have the chance of viewing the wedding photos I create.

While we typically don’t request guests not bring their cameras, it’s important that couples make it clear to their guests that they have invested in our services, creativity and experience as visual story-tellers.

In some upcoming posts, I’ll be providing more useful information for newlyweds-to-be.

Have a lovely day, and thanks for reading. 

Things seem to have transpired so quickly these past few months. We’re already about to wrap the first full week of the new year. Where did 2008 go?

We all know the year ended with uncertainty due to an impending international economic crisis. More than ever before, people expect professionalism, quality and personal attention when dealing with small business. I have always strived to provide this, and intend to continue doing so in 2009!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my clients, suppliers, colleagues and friends. It’s your support and continued confidence that inspires and motivates me.

In an effort to best keep in touch, I’ve embraced the web to communicate with many of my lovely clients and colleagues. I upgraded to a shiny new blog last autumn, a revamped personal page on Facebook, a presence on LinkedIn, and just a few days ago, I joined Twitter. Now of course, all I need is an extra hour in the day to fit it all into my schedule.

If you haven’t already, I invite you to join me on any of the above. Bookmark me or use RSS. Occasionally, I send out an email newsletter. It’s my way of reciprocating your trust in providing me with your contact information. There is often information and promotions that are only available via the newsletter. Drop me a quick email if you would like to be added to this list. I will personally reply to you.

This is about everything I wanted to say in this post. Thanks for reading. I'll write again soon. Best wishes.