I launched a small website for my Launch Party HERE.

~dave

Sometimes I find myself wondering why my clients elect to book me. I thinks it’s a valid question every photographer with a similar style to mine must ask themselves. And for that reason, I think it helps me to better define my style to new clients, assess my marketing approach and to deliver consistent images.

I truly value my clients and their desire to hire me for my work itself. Hopefully that’s the primary factor when a client elects to book me. But I think it’s also important that they hire me for who I am as a person and the entire experience they walk away with. Unfortunately, it seems many couples book a photographer for what they perceive wedding photography to be; traditional, overly contrived, and just like what everybody else gets out of their pictures. That’s not me, nor do I change my approach to suit a client that expects traditional wedding photos.

It’s important for me to help educate my clients on my style during our initial consultation, yet I find that it’s also equally important for them to fully research and understand what it is I do. I can’t stress it enough that I’m a non-traditional wedding photographer. And for that reason, the majority of my clients have open minds and hire me for this approach. I value that.

I love every wedding slideshow and gallery I deliver. There is not one that I haven’t been proud to call my own or add to my portfolio. And from the looks of it, my clients generally feel the same way.

“I cannot begin to tell you how happy we are with the pictures. They are so real, genuine and original. They are exactly what I hoped for..” said Jenny Toft after her February 15th wedding. “Thank you for a fantastic experience and an absolutely wonderful presentation of our happiness and great day.”

This is what makes this all worth it.

What an interesting and busy last two weeks. Man, oh man….!

Since I’ve been far busier than I thought I’d be this time of year, I’ve managed to neglect the ‘ol blog for the past week. I’ve recently discovered that running a business can be quite interesting, to say the least. Regardless of the trying moments (and trust me, I’ve had plenty as of late) I truly love being here, doing this thing that I do. When it all boils down, I will never miss punching the time clock.

Not so much.

My most recent highlight was shooting Jenny and Dave’s wedding in Madison on February 15th. Blasted by bad weather and some 13+ inches of snow here in Appleton, I managed to make it to Madison with my family in tow. Their wedding was a last minute booking, yet all awhile, so worth braving the elements! I can’t begin to tell you the amount of driving Jenny and Dave did to make it from Omaha, Nebraska to Wisconsin for both the consultation and the wedding in a matter of three very short weeks.

The coolest thing for me, was that Jenny knew what she was after when she booked me. She didn’t walk in with any pre-concieved notions and hopes of finding a traditonal photographer. We hit it off right away. I knew from the onset that the wedding was going to be hard for me to leave in the end.

Rob and I talk quite often after the weddings, about the overall feel of the day. Within the first hour of shooting, we just knew that this was one of those very personal experiences we would get to share with our clients. Jenny and Dave were incredibly easy to work with. Everything just felt right. This is one of those experiences that I’m after when shooting weddings.

I think the best part of the day was after the ceremony when we took them out to shoot at the Capitol and on State Street. We sorta ran with whatever shooting scenario presented itself. That is the true spirit to my style and that of documentary wedding photography.

Rob and I wished we could have stayed longer, but after 9 hours, we had some bad weather to stay ahead of…!

The “un-portrait”.

The wedding highlights slideshow can be found here.

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Thanks to Amy Barker, and after a great cup of coffee, I had the very impromptu chance to add to my SIMPLE+DIRTY website yesterday.

“The Cow House”

View the gallery here.

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I had an amazing networking experience today, thanks to my good friend Kim Bednarski. She invited me to brunch at Coast in Milwaukee with the Wedding Photo Guild. Scott Patrick leads this group of exceptional wedding photographers, bringing us together to build on each other’s experiences. It was a great chance to network with other photographers from outside my little world here in the Fox Valley.

Yup, Kim treated me to brunch. Which by the way was hands-down amazing food! I guess I owe her at WPPI in Las Vegas next month.

From the iPhone..

~dave

This is a time for change in our country. And an important one at that. I have never been one to discuss politics, especially here on my blog. Please take some time to truly educate yourself on the current Presidential candidates and vote in tomorrows primary election. Only we can make a difference for our country, our lives and for the greater good.

With that being said, my good friend Pat called me today and we decided to go hear Mike Huckabee talk here in Appleton. Now I may not be the biggest Huckabee supporter, but he was a great speaker. I got to sit in on the press conference, shoot some frames, then off to the rally. This was a first for me, but a good experience! We were not able to make it to McCain’s rally, as there was a waiting list. I plan on making it to the other Republican and Democratic rally’s before it’s all said and done in November.

And one of Pat with The Huck!

Oh man, I thought this was great! A new quasi-commando way of photojournalism. It’s all about getting the shot…

~dave

Go pick up today’s Appleton Post Crescent newspaper! I was recently interviewed for the Fox Valley Inc section, about my transition to becoming a full-time photographer. Yup, I have the big spread! Thanks to Maureen for spending some time chatting with me!

You can read the article online here.

~dave