How being Landscape Photographer of the year helps with Wedding Photography
As many of you may know, I was crowned as South Australian Professional Landscape Photographer of the year through the annual state-based AIPP awards in 2016. I also happened to be a runner up in the Science category. One might think that this is a bit of a disconnect with being a better wedding photographer, and may be asking why I’m not winning the title of ‘Wedding Photographer of the year’. But I’d argue that due to my professional-level prowess in these other genres of photography, I’m able to approach wedding photography in a unique, laid-back and genuine way. It’s like having an professional chef come in and cook you dinner, it’s not as if that chef would only be capable of cooking a single meal would they? So how does being a successful Landscape photographer help at all with being a better wedding photographer?
How being Landscape Photographer of the year helps with Wedding Photography
Having done both landscape and wedding work professionally for over 5 years now, I’d just like to point out the type of adaptability required to move from one work situation to another. In the landscape field, people appreciate a huge amount of technical ability, and the ability to create works of art from the mundane. This skill set is easily transferred over to wedding photography as my work is always of a high calibre technically and I love to incorporate an ‘epic vibe’ to much of my work.
Having worked in a variety of different situations I have the experience to quickly adapt to whatever is thrown at me in regards to scenery, lighting and weather. It’s through my ability as a landscape and scientific photographer that I can quite quickly and easily adapt to anything a wedding throws at me, while also drawing on my 5 years experience of shooting weddings. Neither skillset is mutually exclusive of one another and it’s one thing that I feel sets me apart from other photographers, that and my additional services I provide for free.
The general knowledge of photography needed to be successful in these fields also comes into play in a huge way. I am intimately familiar in how a camera works and frequently utilise home-made cameras to create some of my award winning work. While I’m no gear snob, and couldn’t care less how much your camera costs, I understand what equipment is needed to capture the shot the way I would like. It’s for this reason my work looks the way it does, it’s the root of my artistry. Say I want to use a sun flare or sunset happening behind my bride and groom, the same knowledge is used when thinking about shooting a landscape.
Being so successful in other genres of photography also allows me to see things in ways others don’t. I hate being a cookie cutter at my weddings, I cringe at how many photographers approach weddings by taking all the same shots at every single wedding they do. Of course there are some shots that just work and look amazing, but every single one? I think it’s important to personalise each wedding based on the personality of the bride and groom, and I shoot accordingly using my knowledge in all genres of photography.
Due to my work in a variety of different genres, I’ve also become quite proficient in photoshop. This would also be due to my several degrees in Multimedia and associated subjects, but it’s truly doing the work that gives me the practice. It’s a lot of fun too 🙂 The below photo may not be suited to every wedding, but I think it demonstrates the technical ability in photoshop I have garnered through my prowess in other genres of photography, and not just weddings.
For a bit of a taste of my Landscape work if you’re interested, I have a separate website built to showcase my work at http://stevenduncanart.com
