From Behind The Lens

For my second wedding photographer interview, I asked Jeanette Verster if she would like to be a part of it.

I must admit here to a bias in favour of Jeanette’s work, she’s done a family portrait shoot for me and my engagement shoot! She will also be photographing my wedding in July this year, and doing the TTD afterwards.

Jeanette is based in Johannesburg, and you can follow her 365 project on her website as well!

How do you describe your photographic style? It’s between photojournalistic and lifestyle photography… depends on the circumstance of the shoot and the people involved in the shoot I often have to adjust my style to suit the occasion.  I don’t like loads of posed photos though, and love capturing the mood of the day and the essence of the people I’m taking photo of.

How did you get into photography? A photographer on a local online mothers forum challenged everyone to take a photo-a-day for a year and post them on a blog.  I was the only one that completed the year in the end and I did it with an advanced digital camera (not a DSLR).  Towards the end of the year I started realising that I wasn’t too bad with this photography thing so I joined a camera club to learn more about it, and my husband bought me my first DSLR.  I took on my first clients in October 2008.

How long have you been photographing weddings? A year.  I’ve only photographed 2 weddings so far, but I’ve got quite a few booked for this year.

What has been the highlight of your career as a wedding photographer so far? Interacting with the couple whose wedding I photographed a few weeks ago, because I met them online months ago, and that’s how the booking came about.  It was great to finally meet them IRL.

Which are your five favourite wedding photographs, and why? My favourites are all about emotion, and capturing special moments between people.  The one photo is from a Trash-the-dress session, but it’s my favourite shot of all time.

How do you market yourself? Via my blog, Facebook and Twitter.  I only use social media to market partly because I work full-time so I’m not able to take on more work than I’m currently doing.

What type of camera do you use? Canon 50D and my backup is a Canon 350D

What would you love to add to your equipment? Canon 5D Mark II and a macro lens and a 85mm f1.2 L etc etc

How important is a tool like Photoshop in your work, and do you retouch at all? I edit all my photos, but mostly in Lightroom now because it’s faster to process.

Which are your five favourite artistic or creative photographs and why?  I chose these because their either depict the personality of the person in question, or there’s a special mood about the photo

If you could be invisible- with your camera- for a day… I would walk around the city and take photos of people going about their lives.

What advice do you have for photographers who are just starting out?  Learn to use your equipment.  Take photos every day and hone your skills and develop your style and read lots of photography blog.  A blog is a brilliant way to advertise your work, because the content is current and it’s easier to get search engines to rank your site. 

Where would you love to go for a wedding shoot?  Anywhere really, I love the challenge of new environments to photograph!

Is there anything you’re learning to do? I’m going on a wedding workshop next week with Dror Eyal and Andrea Carlysle, and I cannot wait!

What will you be up to in 2010? This is the year of the wedding for me… the year I get my experience