On the 9th of December, the SA ABIA 2020 Wedding Awards were announced, and I’m happy to say SvenStudios has once again come out as one of the best wedding suppliers in South Australia! SvenStudios has come runner up in both the wedding photography and photobooth supplier categories, meaning that as judged by our delightful bridal couples throughout the last year – we were just pipped at the post in attaining the title of wedding phtogroapher and photobooth supplier of the year!
2020AbiaRunnerup
2020AbiaRunnerupPbooth
The ABIA awards are a nationally-run organisation that give awards to wedding vendors a little differently than many other awards organisations. As a photographer I tend to take the AIPP photography awards quite seriously as that organisation awards the technical prowess of a photographer in capturing a scene – where as ABIA awards wedding vendors based directly on the feedback of a business’ every day clients.
One is judged by professionals based on technical ability, where as the other is based on the personal experience that a client has had directly with the business.
As a result my previous year’s wedded couples rated their customer satisfaction with me at a whopping 99.8% which has ranked me as the runner-up at the SA ABIA 2020 Wedding Awards. I’ts a little bit dissapointing to miss out on top spot by such a small margin, but that’s just the way it goes I guess!
Thank you so much to all my wedded couples who took the time to register their recommendation and reviews! It always helps out a lot!
Being a Landscape photographer helps me 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 win the national title of Science photographer of the year at the national awards. 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?
Landscape photographer of the year 2016
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.
Bride and Groom under trees
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.
Glenelg sunset
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.
Through the foliage at Bridgewater Mill
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.
Star wars wedding at Auchendarroch House
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 https://stevenduncanart.com
As a dedicated member of the AIPP (Australian Institute for Professional Photography) I am a recognised accredited photographer by trade within Australia and as such run my business in the utmost of ethical manner. This includes consistent professional development and networking with other professional photographers around Australia. Last night the South Australian Professional Photography Awards dinner was held, which is an event I’m proud to say I have attended each year since 2009, consistently winning awards for my work in a number of different genres, including wedding, landscape, science and illustrative. In 2014 I came close to becoming the SA contemporary art photographer of the year by coming second in the category.
This year I’m proud to say that I had my most successful year yet by winning the title of photographer of the year 2016 in the landscape category, while being a finalist in the science category. I managed to win a gold and 7 silver awards across my entries, which included entries into the wedding category. This shows the dedication to my craft as a photographer amounts to being consistently award winning no matter what genre of photography I partake in and it’s the level of dedication I take to each of my shoots, be they weddings, or landscape work.
SAPPA awards 2016
Landscape photographer of the year 2016
So what does this mean when it comes to wedding photography? While yes I did not win photographer of the year in the wedding category, the portfolio of images entered in the category were all deemed to be of high professional standard. Winning landscape photographer of the year means that I have an award winning eye for the scenery surrounding your wedding. I am able to paint a picture with my camera by really putting your emotion and personal story into any backdrop you’re holding your wedding at. Utilising the skills I have as the landscape photographer of the year 2016 at your wedding means I’m producing pieces of fine art at all times while shooting your wedding. Your images will have the quality of the fine art photographs you would see in any of the best galleries as they would have been taken by one of the SA photographers of the year.
Landscape photographer of the year 2016
I have a separate website at https://stevenduncanart.com to showcase my work in the genres of landscape and science, so if you’d like to view my work in those genres, please feel free to have a look! 🙂
