hey ppl…just bin reading thru the threads…
jst wanted to ask if anyone knows of any good photographers in islamabad/rwp area …whcih have a fotojournalistic approach to wedding photography like they have here in the uk…like they follow u round and take the fotos at random as they cum naturally rather than the usual makin ppl pose etc …as far as ive seen they r all normal ones who do the usual roll system …
any help appreciated thanx
n_y_r, i asked a similar question on another thread and it seems like the only studio in pakistan that does photojournalism is based out of Lahore. The name is 360 Degrees....mahismart posted the info on the thread under the same thread called "What is the name of that photography studio?" Someone else said that a good idea would be to have a friend follow you around...really not a bad idea, especially if you or someone you know has an SLR camera.
erm ...really ...so theres no one in pakistan who does fotos like that :( ...
i cud gt a frend but then it wudnt really b pro ....
any other suggestions??
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go to flickr, look through the pictures of the 'pakistan photographers club' or 'Pakistan Photographers' until you see a photog that you like and approach them by email to ask if they would consider doing this. there are both amateur and professional photographers who display their pictures there, so it will soon become obvious who the professionals are.
i would still hire a regular photography studio to do the main stuff and ensure that you have the traditional shots and then have have a secondary one to do the photojournalistic stuff.
i was going to do this and had a few responses but my inlaws are so uptight and would not have liked this so i let it be. so i'm forking out on a digital slr so that at least our 'home' pictures can be decent. it's just unfortunate that i'm usually the non-professional photog at events so i have to chose someone who can take my place!
Thats gotta be hard, right? I'm in the same situation and the people who are good at taking photos are people I'm close to so I would want them in front of the camera, not behind it the whole time! I dont know how to pick someone who is good at taking pics and also someone that isnt a family member or best friend...
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also that flickr idea is great, thanks!
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no probs :)
there are some great photogs on there, like fayyaz (you see a lot of his fashion pics posted on these forums), he's a professional though. so it shouldn't be too hard to find someone who's not a professional but good enough to do this job for you.
and as for someone you know.. well, i did this job for my cousin's wedding (as it was in multan), as well as her make-up, lol. but i was like, this is her big day not mine, so as long as i got a few pics with her i didn't mind being behind the camera the rest of the time. it really depends on how willing someone would be to do this for you.
on her walima day (which was in a small town), once the photog her husband's family had hired had set up, i took a few pics before they told me to leave coz they needed to get on. when the pictures came out she told me she wished i had done a lot more coz she was much more comfortable and natural with me directing them than a group of quite frankly, dodgy looking men.
comfortable and natural with me directing them than a group of quite frankly, dodgy looking men.
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lmao!!!
i do know a fotographer who took my engagemnt pix lakin ...he doesnt do that style ....so how can i gt him to think like that ..creativety wise......i mean i cud show him examples of pix n say aisi kenchni hai lakin ...its still nt the same .....as some one who has the creativety in their brain n can do it naturally....... :(
im gutted.....either ill have to take a fotographer from englnd or just have the wedding here ....cos fotos fr me are the most important thing about the wedding cs ...u cn have the most spectacular wedding bt if it hsnt been captured the rite way then ...koi faida nahi ....... :(
i feel like crying atm lol!!!
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lol.. well i feel exactly the same as you. i mean if it's realistic to have the wedding here then go for it, otherwise just don't give up without trying. i don't think you need to resort to taking one from england, pakistan has some amazing photographers.. i just don't think they make event photography their main thing but if it's worth their while and they can get some amazing pictures from it, then i don't see why they wouldn't.
i would really follow up the flickr suggestion i posted above, some very accomplished photogs add their photos to those groups (i'm sure you will recognise a lot of the fashion work). it would be much easier to pay for someone to come from for example, karachi to wherever your wedding is, than from england.
and you're right, you can't teach someone this, it's about noticing the little things that will give you an amazing looking shot.
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n-y-r, I dont think you will find a photographer in Pak that does the photojournalistic style and I dont think it will be a good idea to explain them or show them examples.
I tried doing that on my wedding and the guy was totally confused. They blast the bride with direct flash and use ordinary lens. For photojournalistic approach, you need fixed prime lens and bounced flash. I was the dulha and believe it or not, during my valima, I got up for a few minutes and took pics of my dulhan, becauase she is so beautiful and I couldnt resist.
There is a photographer from pindi who I met here in Boston, but she wont be avaiable till feb 09 as she is teaching a course here.
best wishes and good luck
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well my weddings after feb 09 so its cool....u gt any details of that photograpoher ...would really appreciate it...does she do the fotojournalistic pix?
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I totally agree with mr. photog, can u plz give me the contact for the photographer, i want to book her right now for my cousin's wedding in mar 09. sensible photographers are hard to find these days. thanks
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I emailed her and have not heard back,, I dont want to give out her information out without her permission. I have also directed her to this page and she may contact you directly.
best
TW
sorry nyr,, forgot to tell you the details. She does photojournalistic photography but its not at all appreciated in Pak. her work is only thru word of mouth and no ads or publicity. Most of her work has been for high profile clients who trust her that their photos will not be leaked. To give you an idea she was asked to do the formal family portrait of Benazir Bhutto last year. I was impressed too. She is the master of portrait photography. if she contacts you,, do ask her about classic portraiture. She doesnt run a business as such but is very passionate about it. She'll tell you how to have your makeup done on cheeks and nose to suit your face profile. In the shoot she takes about 200 to 300 pics and picks the best 50ish. I know her through my mami and she let me see her workflow and photoshoot.
one thing that I found sort of different was that the bride had come with her mom and she took portraits of mom fixing the brides hair and so on,, and the girl was I think getting emotional. however the pics were beyond awsome.. these things are a bit uncomfortable for girls when too many guys are standing around them. Another thing, she doesnt let any assistant take the pictures but only uses one for holding reflectors and so on. With afzal and other big studios in pak, one is lucky if the real photographer is taking the pics,, its usually the chota doing all the work. and to them, you are just another client among the other 7 that came in.
equipment wise,, it was pretty expensive too. let me know if you need details on lens, strobes and cameras.
best wishes
TW
Photojournalistic way of photography is very popular in North America and in some other parts of the world but in Pakistan it is unknown to photographers. We used to have studio in Lahore and did photojournalistic photography back in early 90s when we didn't have the digital cameras and were only relying on film cameras. But now I am in Canada and my other friend/partner is in England. I have mentioned in very detail in my past posts about this type of photography in Pakistan and why it will not be done in the same style/way as we have in Canada or USA. Now I figured that more and more people are asking this question, I have checked some photographers in my recent home visit and now I have asked my friend in Lahore to visit around several studios to find out their services and type of photography (photojournalistic) they do so we can share that information with others here on this forum.
Doing Photojournalistic way of photography is somewhat difficult in our culture because of our family living style and the influence of the elders. One or the other elder may stop photographer or videographer to go beyond the self-think limit. Photojournalistic photographer need free hands around the bride without any restrictions so he/she able to take the pictures of the moments.
Our photographers are not trained for this and even they claim that they got the training to do this type of photography as 360degree studio claims, they will not be able to do the proper job because this style doesn't come just with the training, hands on experience is a must for this. They might do good job after messing up few functions.
Photog is right that you are lucky if the main photographer is doing your job because you could be another x y z customer and they might send any chota to do the job, I think all these things should be written in the contract too.
Equipment wise it is also very important for you to know what equipments they will be using because you are paying and you have the right to ask, the reason? slow cameras and slow lenses will not work for the photojournalistic shoot.
I think if you hire a photographer based on per function or per day to shoot the party pics and not by the number of images or rolls and ask him/her to shoot every time there is some movement and do not count the frames rather keep doing clicks and at the end just take the memory card from him no prints no edits, you might find 20-30% images out of those that value some to you, . This way you can pay for the photographer's time and he will just have to shoot and give you the memory cards (buy some memory cards for him)(you can also have your friend to do the above said thing, you just need a camera).
Good & real photojournalistic photographer will meet you and your family in person so everyone in the family know 'oh this is the photographer who will take the pics' and both family and the photographer will be comfortable with each other on the party day because they have met before rather than some strange photographer shows up right before the party and say salaam baji ji, bhai ji, I am the one who will take your pictures and lets start. Good photographer will also explain his plans to take your photo shoots during the party and visit the area and may ask some questions. Ask the photographer to show his couple of previous wedding pics (all the pics), not just the studio shoot and you can guess his/her quality/style from there.
I did couple of photojournalistic style weddings during my last visit and people in the party kind a surprised what I was doing and some thought that I might be just clicking and not taking actual pictures, but at the end everyone was saying oh when did you take this pic and that pic, girls liked their pics while dancing because everyone was in motion and pics were so natural.
"direct flash on the face is like slapping someone in the crowd"
"(some restrictions apply)"
I will add some pics here later-on
Sorry for the long commentary as usual
hey Mubeen are u a photographer?
thnaks for telling us in detail:)
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yes I am
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so are you in Pakistan or not?
do u travel for yr shoots?
wats yr charges for bridal snaps n movie?
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I am in Canada but travel to Pakistan mainly for my family and friends (love to travel), this year I went and did couple of weddings. I do travel for shoots and also to capture lots of God Created natural beauty (landscapes). I did travel this year to Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, England and of course within Canada ( that I do every summer). If you are in Lahore I can find out the video guys number, I think he did good job in the weddings where I spotted him but he is not a big name. For pictures, if my schedule matches then only possible to do in the Pakistan and it will be real photojournalistic way. I charge here in Canada in dollars. This year I didn't take much of my photography stuff to pakistan (related to wedding shoots), but whatever I had it was certainly way more than what the local Pakistani photographers had during the wedding coverage, but next time I am planning to take more stuff because I dont know at this point if I am gona have any paid functions, we always have few weddings in the family during my stay there. I took one pro camera with three four pro lenses and flashes, didn't want to take more stuff for two reasons, law and order situation in Pakistan and if I need any thing else, it is available in big cities and can also be purchased or rented (if need to setup studio). If I am in Pakistan then I am charging in Rupees whatever is reasonable because I dont go there to make money, yes will charge full only if I go specially for someone and only to do this. Average snaps, last week one party, 5 hours ceremony, number of people150, number of images 732, second party less than three hour engagement, number of people 200, number of images 325, third party reception (not much activity, just come, sit eat and go), time 2.5 hours number of people 200, number of images 150.
It just depends how active and hot the party is!!!
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I am also looking for photojournal professional for my bro's wedding in March '09 InshaAllah.