Tag Archive for: awards
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?
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 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.
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.
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! 🙂
Recently the Sunday Mail newspaper of South Australia featured not one, but two recent weddings I’ve covered in and around South Australia as an Adelaide wedding photographer. You can catch the articles in the June 26th, 2016 edition of the paper on pages 78 and 79.
Sunday Mail featured weddings
The first of these weddings is that of Gemma and Ryan’s wedding at Utopia Waterfall Gully. The Sunday Mail dedicated an entire page for the feature and published two photos from the day. However I feel they could have possibly cropped them a little better, but oh well 🙂
To paraphrase the article –
It was the handmade touches at the wedding of Ryan Morrison and Gemma Sneddon that encapsulated them as a couple. When Ryan proposed to Gemma at a fancy dinner while on holiday in melbourne, the ring box he presented her with was a handmade book. And the ring, made of aircraft grade titanium, adorned Gemma’s finger when she and Ryan exchanged their vows. At their ceremony and reception, held at Utopia at Waterfall Gully, 80 guests celebrated the future ahead for the newlyweds. Their bridal party included Justin McArthur, Shannon Ryan, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Natalie Rose, Carly Wilamowski and Wayne Bickley. Gemma made paper flowers from book pages, while her dad made custom wooden LEGO head ring boxes. They chose their own music playlists and hand-dyed fabric with text on it to make custom vests. “We wanted the wedding to feel like ‘us’,” Gemma said. They also had two cakes, one which was made of cheese, and had LEGO in the bomboniere. “It was cool watching people barter and trade for the mini figurines they wanted,” she said. The couple celebrated their honeymoon, or “mini moon”, at Victor Harbor. Gemma, 28, works in library customer service and is the daughter of Hal and Jacqui Sneddon, of Holden Hill. Ryan, 30, is a PhD student and the son of Karen Bartel, of Junee, NSW.
The second of the weddings featured in this edition of the Sunday Mail was the wedding of Wendy and Steve who held a wedding with traditional Chinese elements while being wed in the Brougham Place Uniting Church.
To paraphrase the article –
Making a promise to be there for each other through life’s highs and lows, was a wedding highlight for newlyweds Wendy Tran and Steven Goldsmith. Wendy, wearing a dress from a bridal boutique in NSW, was joined by bridesmaids Linda Duong, Anna Mai, Bernadette Chan and Priscilla Tran. Sam was joined at the altar by groomsmen Sam Solanki, Ethan Parsa, Ashley Hepworth and Adam Mai. The newlyweds and their 130 guests then continued celebrations at the Ballroom and Kozak Bar in Hindmarsh. The couple, who are both medical scientists, spent their honeymoon in New Zealand, exploring the north and south islands. Wendy, 27, is the daughter of Hong Ngoc Mai and Tai Tran, of Mansfield Park. Steven, 25, is the son of Peter and Evie Goldsmith, of Edwardstown.