We’re here today with award winning Vancouver Wedding Photographer, Josh Bowie and we’re going to talk about a frequently asked question, which is one of the most important ones. How’re you doing today Josh?
Josh: Good Mark thanks for having me on.
Mark: So, why would I invest in a professional wedding photographer?
Josh: Well, I think the main thing that you get is the experience and expertise that those photographers have, just from so much experience shooting so many weddings. You just develop an expertise that is different than someone who’s just doing it as a hobby, or just shooting for fun on weekends or whatever. So, I think that’s the main thing that you get.
Mark: So, as you know, everybody’s got a camera on their phone, I mean the phone really isn’t a phone anymore, it’s more of a camera in how it’s used. Do you notice a trend in people hiring their friends to do their weddings?
Josh: Yeah, I don’t know if it’s real a trend, I mean there’s definitely a lot of hobby photographers out there that are shooting and I do have some clients that will mention having a friend who might shoot the wedding. So that is out there for sure. I don’t think that anyone really wants to have a friend shoot it and just hope for the best. I think mostly when people are hiring their friend or are thinking of hiring a friend it’s a budget issue for the most part. People are just trying to find a way to save a bit of money, which is understandable. So, I don’t think that anyone is really wanting to have their friend photograph their wedding.
Mark: So, have you heard any horror stories of people hiring their friends and the photos not being the best?
Josh: Yes, I’ve heard a few. Actually I have a very good friend who hired a family friend to shoot her wedding. The person was actually a professional photographer, but more of a commercial photographer and hadn’t really shot a lot of weddings before. My friend was devastated in the end. I mean they literally didn’t have one good photo of just the two of them. Everything was shot with an artistic flair of some sort, half of them came out out-of-focus and so on. It just wasn’t his area of expertise even though he was a photographer. He didn’t know where to be, he was always caught in the wrong place at the wrong time…. for her it was a major, a major regret for sure. I mean it’s risky, you know you’re just hoping for the best, so….
Mark: So, I guess that’s one of the things that people get when they invest in a professional wedding photographer, but what else? What separates you from an amateur?
Josh: Yeah, like we said at the start, I think it’s mostly the experience and expertise of having shot so many weddings and really mastering your craft. I’ve got a little analogy, or a story to share, that helps to explain it:
So, the story goes that there’s a man and his wife, and they’re in Spain on a family vacation and they end up meeting Picasso. The guy thinks what a great opportunity to have a painting of my wife, you know, done by Picasso. So Picasso says, no problem, why don’t you come back in six hours and I’ll have a beautiful portrait finished. So the man goes off and he comes back six hours later and Picasso’s just finishing up the final touches of the painting, and it’s beautiful. And then it comes time to pay and Picasso says it will be thirty thousand dollars. The man thinks, well that’s a lot of money but it’s Picasso, and so he starts writing a cheque and he makes a joke to Picasso saying, you know, it must be nice to make thirty thousand dollars in six hours of work. Picasso says to him, you’re not paying me for the six hours that it took me to paint your wife, you’re paying for the lifetime of training and practice and education, which has gotten me to the point where I can paint this beautiful portrait of your wife in six hours. You know, it’s the same with a wedding photographer. You’re not just paying for the eight hours that I come to shoot your wedding and some of the hours afterwards to edit. You’re paying for years of experience, practice and education, where I’ve gotten to a point where I feel like I can go to any wedding, any time, under any conditions, in any venue, and do a great job. And that just comes with a lot of experience and practice.
Mark: So that leads right into what are some of the main things that you’ve learned in doing this over the last seven years?
Josh: I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t work just by shooting so many weddings. I think the main thing is you develop an intuition of where you need to be here when. By shooting so many weddings you just start to see the flow of the day – you know what’s coming up next and you’re able to anticipate where you should be and what’s coming next. So, when something of significance is happening you’re able to put yourself in the right place at the right time to capture it. Not only that but by being a step ahead all the time your able to set yourself up to capture these moments from the best angles, with the best light etc… So I think that’s the main thing I’ve learned. It’s an intuition of where you need to be and what’s going to happen next. And you can only get that by shooting a lot of weddings!
Mark: Listen Josh, your photos are amazing in my book and if anyone out there wants to see some examples of the kind of work this gentleman does you can lots of them at bowieweddingphotography.ca. You can see him on Facebook. Just search for Josh Bowie Photography on Facebook or you can give him a call 604-897-7689. The nicest wedding photographer in Vancouver and one of the most skilled I’ve ever seen. Thanks a lot Josh.
Josh: Thank you very much Mark.