From Behind The Lens

This week’s interview is with the fabulous, Joburg based, Kat Forsyth!

How do you describe your photographic style?

The one word that always comes up when I’m talking to clients is “natural”. For the most part I like to shoot moments as they happen; catching people unawares, and letting the moment unfold without interfering.  But I’m also creative and artistic, and I like to let this side come through when I’m shooting the bride and groom by themselves. I let them talk, kiss, laugh and have fun while I play with the light, the angles and the settings. I like to do something a little offbeat as well. If the couple is keen to leave their venue for a bit and go and pose in front of the graffiti or the burnt-out car outside, I’ll be over the moon!

 

How did you get into photography?

I fell into it when I was searching for a photographer for my own wedding. Before that, I’d only seen the boring, cheesy, overposed wedding photos that were the staple a few years ago, and suddenly I discovered this world where wedding photos could be ART! I was blown away by the creativity and beauty I was seeing. At first I thought I was just excited to have those photographs for my own wedding, but when I got back from honeymoon and I was still obsessed with them, I realised that what I actually wanted to do was create them myself. I went out, bought my first DSLR, took a photography course, and threw myself in.

 

How long have you been photographing weddings?

About a year. The first few (okay, the first many) months were spent photographing friends and family, begging couples I knew to let me do free sessions with them, and finding opportunities to second shoot with more experienced photographers. Once I had the portfolio, I started getting real bookings.

What has been the highlight of your career as a wedding photographer so far?

I think it’s still such early days for me that every new wedding has been a kind of highlight for me. Just seeing the dresses, the décor, the love between the couple and their families and getting to capture it, and then the excitement of looking at the photos later and realizing I got exactly what I wanted, is all I need right now!

Which are your five favourite wedding photographs, and why?

Oooh, what a tough one!

1.      Jade and Craig were a fantastic young couple, so in love, so excited, and so prepared to do ANYTHING for their photos! I think this one really captures their excitement and joy. Plus I love the graffiti.

2.      As Kate and her bridal party and family walked across to the ceremony area, I got this gorgeous flare through the window behind them. It feels so magical.

3.      I love overhead angles and I love the stark chessboard in the background. This one just worked exactly how I envisioned it.

4.      I love the natural laugh and exuberance you can see here! Sarah had that smile the entire day; it was wonderful.

5.      I love veils. And I love Jade’s natural beauty and the happiness in her eyes. The little bit of chandelier above her just makes this picture even more fairytale-esque for me.

How do you market yourself?

The internet, and that’s it. I think the internet is the most powerful advertising tool there is. Once you create a web presence for yourself with a blog, a facebook business profile and other social networking forums, people will find you. You have to, have to have a blog so that potential clients can see your work wedding by wedding, and not just the twenty good shots you’ve happened to take over the last ten years in a portfolio. There is so much wedding info out there, and so many sites that showcase good photography, that you have to keep up or you’ll be lost. I put my photos on flickr, link to my blog from twitter and facebook, blog regularly, and submit my blog to wedding photographer directories.

What type of camera do you use?

I use a Nikon D700 with a D60 as backup. The D60 was my first camera, and many of the shots you see on my website will have been taken with it. But the D700 is pure fabulousness!

 

What would you love to add to your equipment?

Um, about a hundred things? One of my top priorities is a really great wide angle, and a 50mm 1.4 prime lens. But better and faster lenses keep coming out, so I don’t think any photographer will ever have all the gear they want!

How important is a tool like Photoshop in your work, and do you retouch at all?

I’d say what I do in Photoshop after I’ve photographed the shoot is more than 75% of the work. Photos from a professional DSLR come out very flat and basic, because they are intended for the photographer to adjust his or her way. Usually I’ll lighten, brighten, sharpen, and bump up the saturation and contrast on every photo I take as a beginning. Then there is deciding which photos to make black and white, which need a bit more of something, which might benefit from a texture or special effect, which close-ups need skin touch-ups, and so on. The “look” of my photos, which I think of as light, bright and colourful, with crisp, clean black and whites, is achieved only in the editing stage.

 

Which are your five favourite creative/ artistic/ different photographs and why?

1.      I took this for the Splendid Affairs magazine shoot in December last year. I had Cat lie down on the grass and I stood on a chair over her. It just reminds me of a fairytale, like Alice in Wonderland or something.

2.      I mentioned I love offbeat, creative images, and this one is a perfect example – beautiful white dress, soft white veil, juxtaposed with vampy black books and graffiti, in a very un-bridal pose.

3.      I really felt this set-up needed something, so I asked Toadbury Hall if they had a chandelier we could hang in the tree. I love the idea of bringing furniture outside!

4.      This photo was just asking to be edited in a way that made it look old, faded and warm, like an old-fashioned afternoon in the past. I love that I gave the groom a parasol to hold too – it just really works for me!

If you could be invisible- with your camera- for a day, you would…

Probably go into all the places I normally wouldn’t be allowed into and take photos! This is me inside Kim Jong Il’s Palace… :) Can I take a bride and groom with me?

 

What advice do you have for photographers who are just starting out?

Shoot everyone and everything. Go around your garden and take photos of flowers and leaves from interesting angles. Beg your family and friends to pose for you. Get to know some photographers on sites like facebook and twitter, and then ask them if you can second shoot for them sometime. You’ll get a far better reaction if they already feel like they “know” you than if you just email them cold. Study other photographs you like and try to figure out what makes you like them. Join a wedding photographers forum (there are some nice ones on Flickr) and learn about the business from others who have been through what you’re going through. Attend workshops. Never stop learning.

 

Where would you love to go for a wedding shoot?

Somewhere with gorgeous old buildings, cobbled streets, a sense of history, and maybe a gorgeous view thrown in! Somewhere in Europe, perhaps.

 

Is there anything you’re learning to do?

I’m learning all the time! Like I said, never stop learning! This year I’d like to learn about off camera flash a bit more, and just generally shooting under difficult conditions, like outside night shoots.

 

What will you be up to in 2010?

2010 is looking amazing for me so far! I’m so excited about all the weddings I have booked. I love to see the couples’ individuality and style shining through, and so far I’ve only got one venue duplicated, so that’s really fun for fresh ideas and places to shoot. My ideal is to get couples who are really keen on their photography, and who are willing to do crazy and wonderful things to get the kind of photos we all want! I’ve got some really great weddings coming up, and I can’t wait to share them with you!