planning a destination
Wedding?
If you are, then you need a photographer
that specializes in Destination wedding photography. Its not unusual
these days for couples to shop on an international basis when looking
for a good wedding photographer. In the US or Europe where there are
lots of photographers to choose from, the shopping will be easy. However,
many of the most exciting and beautiful destinations around the world
are in third world countries where there is little chance of finding
a good wedding photographer in the vicinity. |
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Fortunately, international travel has become very affordable these
days. For the price of a plane ticket and a little extra for travel
days, you can get the same quality photographic service on a beach
in the Caribbean as you would get in a major city here in the US.
If a destination wedding is for you, I hope you will consider me as
your photographer. I love to travel and I've got the experience to
know how to get myself and my gear safely into third world areas that
aren't always friendly to fragile electronic equipment.
In 2006 I successfully photographed
23 destination weddings outside the US.
Currently the total number is just over
50.
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I've had to learn how to deal with all the normal travel challenges
like passports, currency exchange, language barriers, rental cars,
and exotic diseases that all third world inhabitants must survive.
But with digital photography comes a host of new problems like transporting
cameras and a laptop computer through through the maze of customs
desks and airport inspections, and then camouflaging that same gear
so that it isn't so obvious that I'm carrying anything valuable, and
then I also have to deal with keeping rain, high humidity and salt
water filled breezes out of the gear.
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I have photographed literally hundreds of weddings
in the US and roughly 50 destination weddings outside the US. This
travel experience is priceless, and it can easily be the difference
between a photographer that shows up on time, and one that doesn't
make it there at all.
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Are you considering the Hotel Photographer?
Don't do it!
Compare my slideshows (in the links
above) with what you see offered by the average
hotel photographer and I'm sure you will agree that the
difference is vast.
The question you'll be asking yourself
is.... is the price differenceworth it?
Consider this, every destination wedding
takes at LEAST 4 days of my life to get there, shoot the
wedding and get back home. Add to that a half day to make
all the travel arrangements, plus 2.5 days of color correction
and other office work necessary to complete the job and
get the images into your hands.
That adds up to a minimum of 7 days
work on each destination wedding.
If I were to stay home and shoot local
weddings, I could easily do two of them in that same amount
of time. That's why there are not many wedding photographers
who shoot destination weddings on a regular basis. You may
find some that do it occasionally just for recreational
purposes, but most will soon realize that they can't charge
less than about $4000 if they want to make a living at it.
Read this about Shopping Photographers
Hotels to Avoid!
In an effort to reduce costs/maximise profits, more and more large resorts are ony allowing brides and grooms to use the resort photographer or charging high fees to allow you choose your own.
We recommend checking with your chosen resorts for rules or hidden fees.
The following is a list of resorts who do not allow you to (or make it very expensive to) choose your own photographer:
I reccomend that you avoid these hotels if you care about your wedding photography.
Sandals Resorts - All locations
Breezes Resorts - All locations
Couples Resorts - All locations
Grand Lido Resorts - All locations
Hedonism Resorts - All locations
Starfish Resorts - All locations
"Rooms on The Beach" Resorts - All locations
Pink Sands Resort - Harbour Island, Bahamas
Rose Hall - Jamaica
Half Moon Bay - Jamaica
Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort - Jamaica
Frenchman's Reef - St Thomas/USVI
Ritz Carlton - St Thomas/USVI
