If you know me, I always preach about being able to take a great photograph any place, any time. Location doesn’t matter as much. Being in Hawaii again makes me eat my words. I never appreciated Hawaii when I lived in Honolulu, HI between 1991 and 1994. Then again, I was not a photographer then.

I appreciate it more each time I return. The sunset in Kona, North Shore, Waikiki, etc. makes the sky glow hues of red, purple, blue and yellow in just about every evening.

Brian is an executive in Symantec and a art collector who loves the work of Peter Lik. He already owns four Peter Lik’s landscape art pieces in his home thus far and is looking for collections to match, in his wedding photographs.

Beyond his deep appreciation in Landscape art, the Hawaiian within him yearns for an escape to serenity and love. The latter, he acquired in abundance from Dee, his wife-to-be, in about a month or so, October 8th.

Capturing landscape and people well require a multitude of skills such as lighting, meteorology and people skills. Brian also wanted his dad’s home in Aiea, Oahu, Hawaii where he grew up to be photographed as well. That required the photojournalism part of me to emerge, to understand his story, his life in this beautiful home. A home to a large mango tree the he used to climb, growing up, a basement of dirt that he played in and a view from the entry to his home.

We were at Waikiki, Honolulu for a few night scenes and the next day, traveled north to Turtle Bay Resort, Oahu for some of the photos as well as an abandoned building that doesn’t even show up in Google map!! Then, to end the day, an unknown beach in the North Shore. It’s a beach that is filled with sea turtles, climbing up shore for a breather. We saw at least 10-20 sea turtles during our scouting trip there.

An amazing day with fantastic friends. Nothing beat the dinner after at Ige’s and the 19th Puka. Thank you, Brian & Dee for such an amazing time. Tiffany Chiang’s makeup and hair styling was beautifully done, as usual. Her help in directions and ideas made the day wonderfully pleasant.

Being a bride isn’t easy. You have a thousand things that you are coordinating and another thousand that you have to do yourself. As the saying goes, “If you want to get things done right, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

On top of all that work, you’ll need to select a photographer without knowing their true abilities. That’s one of the biggest reason referrals work great and higher-end bridal shows are filled to the brim. So, what are the Top Criteria to look for in your Wedding Photographer? Hopefully, this list will help you funnel down the list of photographers to a top 2-3 that you will be absolutely thrilled with.

1. Style : Your eyes tells it all. What styles are you attracted to? Is it photojournalistic (documentative by nature with well composed artistry fused within)? Traditional (posed beautifully against a backdrop of scenery of sorts)?

   Although there are some photographers who are more flexible than others, you can pin point down your style easily by just going through photographers’ website. The photographer’s portfolio will look really easy on the eyes if you really like his style. Comparison shop by viewing the images will provide a big payoff here.

2. Website : Any legitimate photographer should have a professional website that showcases his/her portfolio of imagery he/she is capable of. The website should be clean and easy to navigate. The portfolio and design of the website can clue you in on what he/she likes and his/her composition skills in photography.
3. Blog : What is more important than the website is the blog!!

   See what the photographer has been shooting every other week!! Every photographer places their absolute best work out of years of shooting in their website. But it’s the consistency in their artistry that you will only find in their weekly blog.

4. Clientele Variety : The portfolio of the photographer website should contain a variety of clients. If it contains a lot of images from the same people, you might want to research further as those may be weddings of relatives of that photographer.

   Weddings place a lot more stress on a photographer. Every moment counts. The fast paced environment do not allow the photographer to think twice about how to expose their images correctly in the technical sense.

5. Reference/Testimonials : Ask the photographer for testimonials or reference from his past clients. That will give you an excellent idea on how well he works with his clients. If people you personally know has worked with him/her before, it’s even better.
6. Engagement Sessions : Photographer who does engagement sessions will provide an excellent test-bed for you and your fiance(e) to work directly with your photographer in a casual environment before your momentous day. This will strengthen your relationship with your photographer as well as produce a larger variety of imagery in your albums.
7. Backup Equipment : Ask your photographer how many cameras will be there at the wedding. If he/she replies “one”, run away as fast as you can.

   With the digital imaging revolution, just about everyone has a $1000 digital camera and claims to be a photographer. Do not get trapped into allowing your big day to be shot by a photographer who does not have multiple cameras, multiple lenses, multiple memory cards, etc.

   I have seen weddings half ruined by photographers who dropped his camera into mud and not being able to continue shooting for the rest of the day. Do not let that happen to you.

8. Photographer #2 : Beyond backup equipment, if you are paying good bucks for the wedding, expect an option from the photographer to allow a 2nd photographer to be present.

   Providing multiple angle coverage is more important than one might think. Just by the couple turning away from the photographer to kiss, the main photographer may, within that second, lose his ability to capture the most important moment of your life.

   In addition to that, a 2nd photographer may come in handy to direct group photos to be shot smoothly, arrive to a wedding separately ensuring that if the main photographer is stuck in traffic or whatever other inevitable that may happen. Essentially, the 2nd photographer is your one time insurance coverage that pays for itself.

9. Speed is of the Essence : Find out from the photographer when will your images be available online (average timeline is a week), when will your album be designed (average timeline is a month) and when the final album can be delivered after the approval (average timeline is another 1-2 months).
10. Contract : Never do business with any wedding vendor without a clearly written contract or agreement that specify what exactly you will receive.

This will hopefully get you started on how to narrow down on your search for the photographer of your dreams. Do meet up with your photographer if you have questions. A good professional photographer will answer your questions to the best of his/her abilities in the most honest way possible.

- Michael Soo

ar·che·type (är’k?-t?p’)

–noun 1. the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.

This is my venture into the deeper trenches of art. “Art of Photography“, if you will. This shoot took place in my studio and only took a mere 3 hours to cumulate a large number of top keepers, as high as 20-30 !!! As some of you may be aware, I keep a really high standard for my images and to obtain such a high percentage of keepers require many things, two of which are a fantastic model and the other, a critical eye. A critical eye will tell you if the skin is discolored, overly smoothened in photoshop or when an image is oversharpened, badly composed, etc. It will also tell you how to make an excellent image into a inconceivable one.

But that’s not all. There are a heap of other things to consider too, like taking your shower regularly so that the models won’t faint at the mere smell of you and be sure to buy relevant books such as the “Photography for Dummies” guidebook before an important photo session.

For our shoot, you are looking at Iona Lynn, a professional figure model. Iona could pull more poses out of her behind than I can count the number of grains of rice in my bowl during dinner. Let me tell ya, I eat lots of rice; though I am…trying to cut down on the carb.

For this blog, I’m gonna stop being a chatterbox and let the images do the talking.

Exhibition of Archetype

- Michael Soo