Hello Everyone,

Anyone feel free to reply to this post but I am especially hoping to hear from Ms. Cantrell.

Ms. Cantrell, I have had your book "The Art of Wedding Photography" for quite some time and I have been to your website and viewed your images several times. If you read this post I want to say your images are absolutely gorgeous and I certainly wish my images were half as good as yours. I certainly don't have your talent and at my age and current level of photographic activity I doubt I will ever get any where close to your level quality.

I would like to hear some thoughts from anyone, but especially Ms. Cantrell about what I will describe, for lack of a better description, as the estethics of a wedding image. The one thing that continues to catch my eye with Ms. Cantrell's images and many other top level photographers is the almost studio and staged like look of their wedding images. The people in Ms. Cantrell's images look like models and all look like they have been made up professionally. Even the locations always look perfect never like the small cramped churches and church basements where I have had to work. I almost never see any thing else distracting in the images. How do you do it? The few weddings I have shot I barely have time to think and there are almost always distracting, cluttered backgrounds and other people in the way. I know this is probably a hard question to answer because it was a hard one to articulate. But any feedback and words of wisdom you have to share are greatly appreciated.

Regards,
George

Hi George. I doubt seriously that Ms Cantrell shoots the type of weddings that you do. That is why you will never duplicate her photo looks. I will also hazard a guess that she has assistents and other shooters to cover the job. Your photos would look great like hers with model like brides and fantastic scenery and staff. Hard to go wrong with that kind of combination.
If the big time shooters had to shoot the pluse size people in dingy basement venues on shoestring budgets their photos would look like yours. This area of wedding clientel on 3,ooo.oo dollar wedding budget for the entire wedding would not attract the big name shooters.
That is why your photos look different than Bambi's
If you where able to book the level of clientel that she does, your photos would look comparable.
Ed

Ed,
Thanks for responding. You are too kind.

Regards,
George

I don't mean to slam Bambi or any other photographer. It takes a lot of work and some luck to get to the cost no object clientel. Most of the big name photographers will not anwser the question you posed. They will feel as if they would come off being offensive. I feel your pain George. I too have shot in some less than beautiful venues. There is no way your photo's are going to look pleaseing. Please don't take this in a negetive way. All you can do is work with what you have,and do the best that you can. After all you didn't pick the locales nor the body shapes that you have to shoot.
Ed

Hi George,
You are right the lower end weddings are harder to work. But it will make you a lot more creative. If you think about it the place may not look that great but it will get those creative jucies flowing. At the high end weddings everything is taken care of for you. The light is great the tables are beautiful everything is great. We all have to crawl bfore we can walk so doing the low end weddings just gets you set up for the high end weddings. Then when you do reach the high end wedding you will rock the house because you will have so much better to work with. So don't say you may not ever be as good as bambi just work hard at what you love and you will make it to the top. I love all photographers and don't mean anything by what I am about to say but she is at the top there is only one place to go. The mountain is in front of you (shoot for the top)

Thanks to everyone that responded. You all have made excellent points and pretty much have confirmed my thoughts. I just wanted to hear what others thought.

Good Shooting,
George