Wedding Wednesday
Featured Photographer: Brett Florens
This week’s Wedding Wednesday is SmugMug Ambassador, Brett Florens. Brett bases his wedding photography business in Amsterdam, Durban and South Africa but photographs destination wedding for his clients all over the world.
How did you get started in wedding photography, and why did you
choose it as a genre as opposed to other forms of photography?
I did not have a conventional introduction to photography at all and it was never something I intentionally set out to do with my life. It all started when I was fulfilling my obligatory two-year National Service duty for the South African government during the Apartheid Era. I was a 20-year-old policeman in the Riot Unit of the Police Force, stationed in statistically the most dangerous place on earth, South Africa’s east coast province of KwaZulu-Natal. A need arose for a photographic unit within the riot unit to document the heavy political unrest and daily township violence. One would basically have to be placed right in the thick of it, armed only with a camera. As you can imagine, no one put their hand up quickly. Eventually due to the lack of enthusiasm for the position, our commander, Captain Hunter, mentioned the incentive of having your own dedicated police car. Immediately perceiving freedom from the routine patrols and crowd monitoring duties, and more or less loving the idea of my own car, I jumped at the opportunity. I had no photographic inclination or desire, but here was my great moment of destiny. Having to buy my own camera for the job, I bought a budget point and shoot. A photojournalist, Mark Peters, as an act of gratitude for some information gave me a Nikon F3 and I went about photographing the most harrowing scenes of death and destruction. Murders, arson, armed robberies, kidnapping, torture and brutality filled my days and as the political transformation took place and the elections of April 1994 drew closer, so did the media interest in South Africa. Soon, I was being approached by journalists for information and images of what was going on in the townships, the police always being the first at the scene. At first, I was flattered by the attention and was happy to give them copies of my images. I then realized that I could make some much-needed extra cash by selling my images and video footage to agencies and media companies myself. From then on, I bought my own film, arrived at a scene and quickly shot some newsworthy images before my official duties of capturing evidence for the Police forensics. This was a tipping point moment for me, as all the money I made from selling images I put back into buying more gear for my new-found passion. So how does this translate to wedding photography, you may ask? With my growing reputation as being a man who knew what to do with a camera, I was asked by a colleague to photograph his wedding. And feeling pretty confident as a “photojournalist” I took the gig and, and by relative standards, it all turned out rather well. The ball started rolling, and soon I was a freelance Wedding Photographer.
How did you go about building your business when you first started, and what was the most effective tactic you’ve found?
When I first started, I never really had a clear idea of who my target market was. All I wanted to do was to earn enough money not to be a policeman anymore, having already stayed on over the National Duty required time. I started by going to local schools and sports clubs and shot images of kids competing on the weekends, this could’ve been anything from swimming to rugby, hockey or netball. I would rush the film to a one-hour lab and then walk around like a street hawker selling the prints. After hours, I would walk around the neighborhood putting flyers into people’s post boxes with the hope that someone would contact me for any photographic need. It wasn’t very effective, but I stayed very fit! Then I advertised in Bridal magazines and found that that to be more successful. Instinctually I also knew that I had to project a brand that was attractive to a higher income demographic and so I did my first styled shoot for my advertising campaign in 1995. It was a huge hit, and with that tactic, as well as the positive spread by word of mouth, I was pretty much full every weekend for the next 10 years. Then came the digital era and the information revolution. A massive influx of photographers diluted the market and the advertising tactics that worked in the past were not nearly so effective. I had to change my marketing to make the difference and so I focused my efforts on targeting the trade. I have since built amazing relationships with people in the industry and find that most of my work comes from referrals from within the industry. It is so much more effective but does take a mindset change.
Must have gear/accessory for a day of weddings?
My style is very editorial and intentionally so, and I believe that it attracts the right demographic for me. In this industry, most photographers shoot with natural light in more or less a photojournalistic style. My knowledge of artificial lighting and editorial posing differentiates me in this competitive market. My must-have equipment, aside from my Nikon camera gear, would be my artificial lighting. I love using off-camera flash to create dramatic, impactful images and mostly use the Elinchrom ELB 500ttl battery powered strobe for this. I also like using continuous lighting and have a range of LED solutions that I use when I feel it will work.
If any of the gear geeks wanted to know which specific cameras and lenses I use, here is a non-exclusive list:
- Camera Bodies: Nikon D5; Nikon D850; Nikon Z6 (mainly for BTS video work)
- Nikon Lenses: 70–200 f2.8; 105 f1.4; 24–70 f2.8; 14–24 f2.8
- Nikon SB910 speed lights
- Lowepro camera bags, either the roller or backpack depending on the location of the shoot.
Do you accept every job you are offered?
If the price is right, I will accept most jobs. I just don’t tell everyone about them. I know that I am capable of shooting a wide range of genre, so I don’t question my ability. The possibility of brand conflict is easily resolved by not telling the world what you are doing all of the time. You need every client you shoot for to believe that you are a specialist in that specific field. I have had commercial clients ask me if I would consider shooting a wedding. They had no idea that I shot weddings, my wedding clients mostly know that I shoot fashion, because I tell them that I do in order to reinforce my brand. I won’t accept jobs that go against my moral compass, but otherwise, “Show me the money!!”
What is your preferred camera/shooting style for weddings, and why?
My work is largely inspired by the icons of the fashion photography world. I do a lot of my research into trends and movements within the fashion industry because I believe that my high-end clients are aware of what is going on in that world. I specifically target clients that are fashion conscience and my style reflects that — be it shooting with different colored gels, or through broken glass, to the kind of post-production implemented by glossy fashion magazines. I don’t look at the work of other wedding photographers, because I feel that most wedding photography is five years behind fashion photography. With my hustling mind, I have worked out that if I copy fashion photographers, I will be two years behind them, but three years ahead of my wedding photography competition.
What are the top 3 most frequently asked questions you get from clients?
The questions that I get are quite expected. The first question is about availability for their wedding date. Other questions would be about logistics. 95% of my weddings are destination weddings and couples usually have questions around flights and accommodation and how many people are in my crew. My quotes are totally inclusive of travel and accommodation, what I quote is what the client pays. No hidden costs. There aren’t too many other questions as my communication with them is quite comprehensive, with all anticipated questions answered with a FAQ section.
What are the top 3 things you wish clients would STOP asking their wedding photographers?
Actually, I don’t get annoyed with repetitive questions or with questions that seem inane. I understand that it might be the 850th wedding that I have captured, however, it is the first time that they are arranging their wedding. Questions are expected and a good opportunity to reassure clients about their choice of photographer. It is an emotionally charged time for the client and I ensure that they feel secure in the fact that they chose me to capture their wedding. I do a lot of training with workshops and hear from other photographers that questions regarding price are common as well as clients asking for discounts, fast turn-around times and RAW files. I find that dealing with clients with above average budgets are much easier than the middle market or lower end of the market. The demographic I target are prepared to pay for superior products service and brand value.
What has been your favorite wedding/location/circumstance you’ve photographed to date?
One of my favorite destination weddings was an incredible wedding on the Island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania, Africa. Zanzibar is a tropical beach paradise and a town with a colonial past that was at the heart of the slave trade, full of contrasts and photographic opportunities. Nadia was an incredibly beautiful bride and the scenery was breathtaking. The whole experience was wonderful and the results earned me a few WPPI awards for destination work.
What is the best advice you could give to someone who is considering wedding photography as a business option?
My best advice for anyone considering a career in photography, not only wedding photography, is to do a business course first. Most photographers are born artists and love creating great imagery. The reward that they derive from this is very emotionally fulfilling for them, but they often fall short when it comes to the business side of things. I learned very early on in my career that especially when it comes to weddings, we are dealing with emotional clients and the best way to neutralize that, is to keep your business hat on — not your creative hat. Treat your business like a business, not a home industries project. Implement business principles, if you act like a business, people will treat you like a business. Keep to answering emails and calls during business hours. Have a definite marketing strategy and business plan. Target a market that has more disposable income than yourself, you will find that if you target a market that is similar to you, you may find it difficult to get great paying clients as people like you don’t have plenty of disposable income either. My last bit of advice may be controversial, but I advise you to shoot what sells. If you are doing this as a career and you are an income earner, this is more important that self-fulfillment, it’s about putting food on the table. If I’m going to photograph for pleasure, I shoot for myself and not for paying clients.
Brett has a gift training video download for readers of this SmugMug blog.
Go to www.brettflorens.com/smugmug to get it.
To see more of Brett’s amazing wedding photography or to find out more about his resources for Wedding Photographers head over to: www.brettflorens.com
