Took the weekend off – Perspectives of a photographer

We took this weekend off and found some enlightenment in Hogsback!

While scouting Hogsback in the Eastern Cape (about 90 minutes from East London) for locations for an upcoming wedding in September we found some unlikely inspiration and some food for thought.

Taking pictures can be done by anyone with a cellphone these days.  Being a photographer seems easy and as long as you are deemed to have the “right” equipment, you can can call yourself a photographer.  Right?  WRONG!  As there are as many definitions for the word photographer as there are photographers, I am led by the most basic of definitions:  A photographer is somebody who takes pictures professionally. This seems like a very broad definition, but in essence, it is pretty spot on!  This means that you cannot call yourself a photographer if photography is your hobby (unless you make money from your hobby).

Let’s take an example:  A photojournalist is on holiday, but while walking along the beach one early morning, he finds a beached whale.  As it is still very early, he is the first person on the scene and captures a few images with his cellphone.  He sends the images to his editor at home and they are published in the next paper.  The newspaper was first with the breaking news, and the photographer was paid for his photos!

Another Example:  A young man receives an expensive DSLR camera for his birthday.  He decides to take some photos at the rock concert his friends invited him to that evening and captures some images that night at the concert.  The pics came out great and he has them printed poster size and puts them up in his room.

To the casual observer the young lad with his DSLR might seems “pro”.  But the photojournalist (although he did not even use his trusty D3) was the true professional.  Every section of photography has it’s own ‘perspective’.  Photojournalism is about getting the story.  Landscape photography is about capturing nature at her most breathtaking moments.  Commercial photography is about making a product extremely attractive for the buyer.  Wedding photography is about telling the story artistically.  And we can go on and on…  Every section and subsection of photography uses an unique perspective on the same subject.

The bottom line is that photographers need to capture images that their clients are willing to pay for.  Without drawing myself into the pricing debate, the result turns out to be that you eventually get paid your worth, or from the clients perspective:  You get what you pay for!

I’ve seen a lot of wedding photographers at work, and I’ve seen even more portfolios.  One thing we pride ourselves on is the fact that we consider all the angles, light, height and otherwise, to get that unique perspective on your most perfect and special wedding day.

Greetings!

Marius

PS.  It was also Michelle’s birthday today and Hogsback was the perfect place to celebrate!  We were even greeted with some August snow!  Visit www.hogsback.com for more info on a very unique venue in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.  Or even better,  go there for your next break away!