Re: Z Molu Photography
This is a great conversation, I hope you all don't mind if I join in.
I'm Zaheer Molu a.k.a. Z Molu Photography
There are some very interesting points being made here. I think the main thing to keep in mind is that there are different markets out there and as you can clearly see from this thread, I'm not the perfect fit for everyone, and nor am I trying to be. I never got into this business saying I am going to be all things to all people. That is why I don't do baby, maternity, family, or corporate photography. I've been very focused on weddings and shooting couples - it's what I love to do. And I do it MY way. I don't have any formal training in photography, I developed my own style and I continue to develop it.
People invest a LOT of money on their big day and they want to be captured in a very different way. Nothing you do on your wedding day is "normal". You don't normally have dinner with 600 people, you don't normally spend $1000 on your hair and make up, you don't normally get chauffered around town in a 30 passenger Hummer limo. So why should your pictures be "normal"? Why shouldn't it be something of a fantasy? I work with a couple's energy. I have very conservative couples who are not into public displays of affection and there are couples who are very passionate with each other - each are shot differently. I don't approach a wedding day and say these are the poses I must have today! I go with the flow and through our engagement shoot session, I will already have a great understanding of how the couple works together and will use that when I'm shooting the two of them alone.
That's another part of this equation. What you see displayed on my website are the pictures that I personally really connect with. The ones that were tricky to nail down, that were technical, that were unique, that were new to me. Of couse I can't show you the 800-3000 pictures that I deliver to a client on my website and I have always made full albums available to anyone who walks in the door. Many people get a bit bored after the first 100 or so pictures! In addition, being a very passionate and intimate person myself, I like to show shots of just the couple and realistically, if I'm lucky, I will get an hour out of a 12-18+ hour day to shoot the couple by themselves. The rest of the day is about the prep, ceremonies, reception, and family/group photos. In encourage everyone here to hit me up on Facebook where my profile is completely open and you can see 70+ albums that I've posted (www.facebook.com/ShootMyWedding). You'll see more depth to a wedding day and how I cover everything from the prep to the reception. Keep in mind that everything that you see on my website and on facebook, was edited (not in Photoshop) during the dinner hour at the reception and shown on the spot. We're not talking about spending hours on end working on a photo. I nail the shot on location and then do a little toning just to give it some pop.
People who connect with my work have a strong artistic side to them and they really appreciate what goes into making an image different than what is commonly being offered in the market. And yes, they want to feel like supermodels for their big day, why not? I'm okay if people want to hate on me but I don't think it's fair to be hating on couples who want to look like "models" on their wedding. It's their day! I have people who have changed their dates so they can have me shoot their wedding. One bride even got married on a Thursday because that was the only time I was available. I'm not tooting my own horn, I just want people to understand that it's okay for people to like one thing over another and there's no reason to be putting people down because of that.
And again, us photographers have to shoot a lot during the course of the wedding day. It would be every photographer's dream to just have the couple walk around the city for 10 hours all done up and just shoot them but that's not the reality. We have to shoot details, architecture of the church/temple/hall, we have to know macro work so we can shoot the rings just right, we are expected to cover every minute of the day and deliver a product at the end that has captured every moment. So for people to think all us photographers or me particularly shoots only "editorial"-type photos for the day, it's totally not the case. I personally make sure I shoot the stuff that I want to shoot (that's why people come to me) and then shoot some very close up images of the couple in loving, giggly ways to capture that emotion. Do I always show that work, no because I've done it a million times and it's the "safe" stuff that I have to ensure I get and provide as part of the end product.
One major thing that I want people to keep in mind as they are planning their day is this. I want you to think about what your guests are doing during the ceremony and the reception. People have a fantasy that their guests will be doing such amazing things while the speeches are going on for hours and people are only thinking of one thing - when are we going to eat?? When couples ask me to capture people candidly during the ceremony and the reception, I tell them that I do shoot as many people as possible but what they are going to get is shots of people looking like a deer in the headlights. This is why I and others in the industry promote photobooths as a fun way to capture your guests. Interaction is always more interesting than watching people fighting off sleep and hunger! So during cocktail hour, make sure you're not locked up in the bridal suite, get out and mingle with people, or get up and make the rounds to the tables during dinner. Give us something to work with and we'll give you amazing moments! If you want to discuss this further, please email me at anytime - [email protected]. It's a personal pet peeve of mine that I have extensive experience with as I covered well over 200 weddings in my 4+ years.
In terms of editing, I enhance 10-15% of the images but every single image goes through a process of colour correction, cropping, and contrast/highlight/shadow enhancing. I do not just shoot and burn on a disk what I shoot! I wish it were that easy! I would actually have a life if I could just let the images go out like that!
I do use 2nd shooters as needed. I've shot $100,000+ weddings in the U.S. by myself and the couples always comment on how I didn't miss a moment. I work like a ninja (that's what I've been told) and move around a lot and cover different angles. I preferred doing it on my own as I don't have to worry about the 2 videographers plus my 2nd shooter getting in the shots. Lately I've had an assistant work with me to ensure I get the shots I need but to help with more advanced lighting techniques and to just keep things moving along as weddings have become so much more hectic.
I love the comment about getting 5% of 5000 pictures! That would mean you would have 50 usable images of your wedding - you can't be in business with those ratios!
Last thoughts - in this business you really get what you pay for! In the past year I have done a number of "re-shoots" for couples who HATED their wedding pictures because they tried to save some money and go elsewhere. They had to get ready again, pay for hair and make up, get the entire family and bridal out again and also pay me to shoot for several hours. Add that to how much they originally paid and it's well over what I would have initially charged. I'm not saying you have to pay insane amounts for wedding photography, but you really need to decide where on your list of priorities is photography and budget accordingly.
I'd love to chat with anyone here. I love these types of dialogues. I'm not big on checking into these forums so please contact me through email or facebook and even if I'm not shooting your wedding, I'd be more than happy to help you with deciding on locations and even share my favourite vendor list.
To all those that are getting married, I wish you all the best that life has to offer. Being married is a beautiful thing, I've been married almost 14 years myself!
Thank you!
Zaheer
khasman nu khaana:jj:…kiski shaadi mubarik? 
Can’t wait to see some new work 