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About Me
I started photographing children professionally in 1996, then photographed my first wedding in 1998. I've moved from fully manual cameras and printing images in my darkroom to digital capture and a color managed workflow.
I strongly prefer photos that say something real about my subjects. I'm looking for emotion, character, and personality. The best images are of course aesthetically pleasing, but I'm looking for that little bit extra that summons deep emotions in the viewer. I'm looking for proofs that make mom cry, and album prints that can let the viewer relive all the emotions of the wedding day, even years later. I want all my images to say something honest about the people they portray.
In order to best accomplish this, I do a few things different than many photographers:
- I try to use available light as much as possible. This is fairly easy with portraits as we can schedule the session to take place when lighting is best; with events like weddings I will use supplemental light as necessary, but always minimally.
- I don't pose my clients, or interact any more than necessary. Body language is one of those things that can tell the viewer a lot about the people in my photos, and I hate to lose that.
- I take a lot of photos, as I find that doing so seems to make my clients more oblivious to the idea that they're being photographed. If you go up to ten random people and ask them to show you their favorite photo of themselves, nine of them will show you a photo that was taken when they were unaware of the camera. Shooting a large number of frames (especially at the beginning of an event) goes a long way toward creating this same sort of natural ease in front of the camera.
- I generally create black and white photos. I find that stripping away the details results in a more timeless image; personality and character have a larger role in an image where you're not distracted by the color of the flowers or clothes. I see this a lot with brides during consultations -- color images result in the bride and her mother discussing the choices surrounding the dress/flowers/location, where black and white images focus more on the beauty of my clients, or the joy their faces show.
While photography has always been my first love, I had to place it on the back-burner for a few years while my wife completed her degree in medicine. However, now that she is has completed her residency and has established her practice, I am able to refocus myself on image making.
Right now I'm also pursuing an MBA at Georgia Southern University.
All Content © 1996-2007 Derek Zeanah Photography