Wedding in New Zealand, need a photographer

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jansenniek5

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Topic # 96677 2-Feb-2012 08:30

Hi guys,

I'm new here so I'm not totally sure if I'm at the right place with this request. I live in the Netherlands and I've asked my girlfriend to marry me and she said yes:) We are visiting New Zealand from 26 april till 24 may this year, starting from Auckland and leaving from Christchurch. We want to get married in New Zealand and have found a nice spot to marry on the beach, Rings Beach in the Coromandels.

We are having a short ceremony at the beach and are looking for a semi-professional photographer who wants to make some nice pictures of this ceremony. This will be on the 30th of april 2012 at Rings Beach.

Again, I'm not sure if I'm at the right place with this request so I'm sorry if I'm not! Is there anyone interested? Hope to hear from you guys,

Regards,

Niek Jansen
The Netherlands

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Reply # 576170 2-Feb-2012 08:36

Congratulations! NZ's a great place to visit and get married. Just make sure you have indoor backup locations, in April you never know what the weather will do... that's true all the time in NZ though.

I'm a professional photographer, but not in that region, so I wouldn't be suitable. Some thoughts though:
- A semi professional can often take worse photos than an amateur. If you want good photos, hire a professional. You may find a professional who'll cover just the ceremony, family photos, and an hour of photos of the two of you for a reasonable fee.
- Google "coromandel wedding photographer" to find suitable photographers, or visit www.nzipp.org.nz for a list of some.

Think of it as an investment, you'll only do it once and it's the only thing you'll keep from your wedding day - other than your new wife!

Good luck :)

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kiwitrc

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Reply # 576172 2-Feb-2012 08:39

Congratulations and welcome to NZ.

Personal choice, but if I was you I would specify digital for your photos and make sure you get the files included in the cost. Much easier to share with friends and family and get reprints later on.

Good luck!

timmmay

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Reply # 576174 2-Feb-2012 08:42

I don't think any professionals use film any more. There may be the odd one about, but they'd be pretty odd. I've been digital for 6 or 7 years.

Most photographers either include the files, or offer them for a fee. Make sure that the files are processed, ie color corrected, brightness fixed, etc, not straight out of camera. Processing can make an ok file good, and a good file great.

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jansenniek5

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Reply # 576183 2-Feb-2012 08:58

- Google "coromandel wedding photographer" to find suitable photographers, or visit www.nzipp.org.nz for a list of some.
)

Thank you for these tips, I'm currently searching the web.

Our idea is that we can take the files on DVD so we can bring it home. The most easy would be if we can download the pictues because we will be traveling onwards the next day.

It will be a short ceremony so a photographer will be needed for an hour or so. We dont need prints but it would be nice if the pics are processed. Do you guys have any idea what a reasonable price would be?

Thanks for the replies

timmmay

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Reply # 576187 2-Feb-2012 09:12

My minimum charge for weddings is about $1500, but that's for four hours. There's overheads of drawing up contracts, preparing gear, travel, processing, web galleries, that mean you don't get one hour for 1/4 the price of four hours. You might find someone who'll do it for a smaller fee though, I doubt you'd get a professional under $500 though.

Processing often takes between 2-4 weeks, but this is negotiable too. Same day would really be pushing it though.

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Jaxson

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Reply # 576191 2-Feb-2012 09:24

Congrats!

We all hope you have a lovely time here in New Zealand.

kingjj

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Reply # 576212 2-Feb-2012 10:13

Congragulations on your engagement, and we look forward to welcoming you to New Zealand!

Pity you're not getting married in the deep south, I have a friend in Dunedin who does wedding photography/makeup and she is extremely reasonable in her pricing. She is currently a doctorate student who has a masters in fine arts (among other things). http://www.facebook.com/pages/Captivated/120499337963241?ref=ts

listudio

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Reply # 576273 2-Feb-2012 12:45

Hi Jansenniek5, congratulations! Sounds very romantic.If it is a less than two -hour wedding ceremony, I think I can do it for you for ‘free’ under one condition – if you allow me to have copyrights and ownership of your wedding photos. I may use the photos for my commercial photo website ( I am working on it at the moment). You will have your photos (more than 50 photos) on DVD. If you are interested, pls pm me, we can discuss more details. I have an art studio in Auckland city central. You can have some photos taken in my studio as well if you like. I may charge you a little $ for that. I am not doing this for everyone, I am quite interested in the location you choose for your wedding, and I love to take romantic photos.

My photo blog is http://www.li-travel-photo.blogspot.co.nz/ & my website http://li-studio.co.nz/

Cheers!

timmmay

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Reply # 576275 2-Feb-2012 12:48

With respect to listudio, weddings can be difficult, that's why you have specialists. Like most luxury goods, photography is usually worth what you pay for it. However you do sometimes get good deals when skilled people want to try new areas or expand their portfolio.

The coromandel is very isolated, you may end up paying travel fees to get anyone decent there, if you can't find someone there.

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listudio

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Reply # 576296 2-Feb-2012 13:26

timmmay: With respect to listudio, weddings can be difficult, that's why you have specialists. Like most luxury goods, photography is usually worth what you pay for it. However you do sometimes get good deals when skilled people want to try new areas or expand their portfolio.

The coromandel is very isolated, you may end up paying travel fees to get anyone decent there, if you can't find someone there.

I am like a sparrow, enjoy rob food from others mouth..it will make the food more tasty..just another joke.

timmmay

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Reply # 576297 2-Feb-2012 13:30

Generalists generally don't do a job as well as a specialist, but they can be cheaper or easier to find.

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6FIEND

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Reply # 576310 2-Feb-2012 13:59

It's probably not a perfect fit for you - based on your listed requirements... However when we got married 2yrs ago, we used Gerald Shacklock http://www.geraldshacklock.com and have absolutely no regrets about engaging a professional.

To further expand on Timmay's comments - shooting a wedding is a unique challenge. There can be a huge amount of pressure on many of the people involved and there are no second takes! It is important that you engage a photographer that you feel comfortable with and who understands what you want to achieve on the day. The photographer may well be the individual 'directing' the wedding guests as well as the Bridal party when staging formal & group photos, so you would be well placed to find someone who has an 'approach' or a 'manner' that works well for you.

In our case, we also found that "unobtrusiveness" was an added bonus. (The last thing you want is for the photographer (or their equipment) to be the "star of the show" on your big day. In fact, one negative in our experience was an aspiring pro-photographer-to-be on our guest list who requested that we re-stage the "signing of the register" because they didn't get it the first time)

A professional/specialist is also more likely to be prepared with contingencies to cope with unforseens such as equipment failure or unsuitable weather. And, naturally, will have a feel for the best locations, techniques, and 'cheats' to give you the imagery that you're after.

As already stated... you tend to get what you pay for. (and you only get one chance to get it right)

Congratulations - and good luck!
:-)

timmmay

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Reply # 576311 2-Feb-2012 14:04

Equipment always fails at the worst possible time. At one wedding I had two cameras fail, and i've had single camera, lens, or flash failures at multiple weddings. Backup equipment is essential, and every real professional has some.

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stevenz

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Reply # 576375 2-Feb-2012 17:09

I've been at a couple of weddings where they've "compromised" on the photographer, and they've made an absolute nuisance of themselves, trying to be overly artistic at the expense of peoples enjoyment, I've no idea what the outcome was but I suspect they weren't anything overly spectacular.

As always, as with any job that absolutely has to be done well with little to no margin for error, then don't muck around, get an experienced professional who is able to deal with curveballs and get the job done well. If it's a wedding you're probably already spending tens of thousands of dollars, you might as well spend a little more and get someone who knows what they're doing.

@KnightNZ

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Reply # 576379 2-Feb-2012 17:19

What's your budget?

Congratulations too!

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