newfoundlandphotographer.ca

There have been several Online Photo Sites uploaded in the last few days. Here are the few that I can remember…

Collins / Green July 2007

Miller/ Cooper July 2007

Myers / Kavanagh July 2007

We’re crazy busy now, but we’re having a lot of fun and getting some great stuff - more later.

Wednesday’s wedding went fantastically well. Everyone was so friendly and, for the first time in awhile, I wanted to stay late at the reception - perhaps have a few drinks and act like a fool… well… moreso.

Upon arrival at the bride’s place, the little girl pictured above, Lauren, announced to us “Oh my god, I’m beautiful!”. When she noticed everyone else getting ready, she got to work as well. As can be seen there, she got into her dress while still in her pants. Very cute.

Here are a few of my favorite shots. It’s not hard to tell that Terri was having fun - she’s cracking up in almost every picture!

We stayed at a great little B&B called the Hill Road Manor. They’ve got a wonderful full breakfast with all kinds of home-made goodies - too much jam I thought, so I sampled as much of it as I could. :)

It’s a beautiful old house in a beautiful area of town. It was the first time that I’d stayed in Grand Falls-Windsor for any length of time and I gotta say, it’s a charming little community - very clean, picturesque and well kept.

The Hill Road Manor has a mascot of sorts - Lady, a Black Lab. Generally, I’m afraid of dogs, but Lady is a total sweat heart.

In other news, The Current has published an article that I wrote a few weeks back - a “Five Faves”. I thought it was pretty good for my first attempt at published writing.

I would also like to specifically point out that I did not write the bio / intro text. I’m not sure why they stated “beautiful photographer” - beauty really has nothing to do with what happens behind the lens. Anyway, I’d like to thank James for the ego boost. Check out the complete text on page six of The Current (pdf) or read on.

Kim Goodyear is a photographer based in St. John’s. She specializes in documentary style wedding photography.

1. My Camera. I could be in the most foul of moods, foaming at the mouth, but just hand me my camera and watch the transformation begin. I become happy, sometimes even giddy. When I get a good shot, you’ll see me dancing like a fool - people laugh at my expense. The camera is an extension of me - I’m more likely to leave home without wearing pants. This could be due to the feeling of instant gratification when shooting. It’s the ability to freeze an exact moment with nothing faked or edited.

2. Wikipedia. If it goes over my head, I head to Wikipedia. Written for the common man by the common man, it’s contributors hash it out until a definition is refined and non-partisan. With such a vast, diverse range of contributors, it’s a model that could arguably be the future of knowledge distribution. Keep in mind that they do have supervisors - try to blatantly screw with the entries and you will get blocked… or so I’ve heard.

3. Purity Kisses. I have a sweet tooth, and having the Purity Factory a stone throw away doesn’t help too much. Depending on the direction of the wind, there can be a fantastically sweet smell wafting in through the open window, the air thick with sugar. Later, I find myself cruising the candy aisle. Peanut Butter is my absolute favorite - hard, sweet and cheap - what else could a woman ask for?

4. Google Earth. Google Maps’ more attractive cousin, combining three dimensional virtual tours with high resolution satellite imagery. One second you can be looking down upon the Eiffel Tower and the next on Everest. Combine this with Frommer’s and you have a travel bug’s wet dream. The only problem with Earth is the speed with which it zooms - it can leave you feeling nauseated. No worries - a few peanut butter candies will help with that.

5. Stephen Colbert. Master of the grin f#ck. A shtick that is egotistical, sarcastic and simply hilarious. No one can bait the victim with such cunning. It seems the most wide spread way of reporting the truth now-a-days is to make a huge joke of it. I guess we can either do that, or break down crying.

We have 269km left to go and it’s 21 degrees and sunny. John Mayer is pumping through the speakers.

ROAD TRIP!

I wanted to call this entry “The Post from the Coast”, but after many a rolled eye and the much appreciated “you’re a bit of a geek, huh?” comment, I decided to change the title. Plus, we’re sorta traveling inland. In fact, in the complete opposite direction of the coast - I just like the fact that it rhymes.

Since departing from St. John’s at 10:30am, I’ve spotted four bakeapple stands (the average going rate is a whopping $10 a jar btw), several heart berry U-Pick’s and 25, 26, wait 27… too many motorcycles to count. Also, 3 European licence plates - how do you get a VW van across the Atlantic from Germany anyway?

I’ve eaten half the food that was suppose to last for the entire trip - I was secretly scavenging late last night under the cover of darkness (Damn You, Pringles, DAMN YOU!).

I forgot to bring my sunscreen too. Who would of guessed I’d be needing that? But I did remember my coconut scented hand cream!

I was excited to see, upon arriving in Grand Falls-Windsor, the Mary March Museum, which I hope to visit before heading back. If you’re a regular visitor to my blog you will have already noticed my fascination with native peoples - I find myself drawn to the museums and interpretive centres. Mary was said to have been the last known living Beothuk, and with her death came the end of an important era in history.

We’re shooting a wedding in the area. I’m completely in love with the scenery here and my fingers are crossed for good weather. We should come out of this with some amazing photographs.

Here are a few from the drive earlier today.

I always walk away from a wedding with a cute story or two.  I’m recalling two little boys from Saturday.

At one point, I was trying to get a requested group shot of 18 people and decided that one of these two brothers, Bradly, just wasn’t in a good spot.  
I knelt down beside him and said in my nicest voice “Sorry, I know I’m a BIG pain in the butt, but could you please stand over there?”

His reply (and keep in mind, he’s eight years old) was “No you’re not, you’re just doing your job … … which just happens to be being a pain in the butt!”.  Very cute.

When I want to get a laugh or reaction, I sometimes say something silly.  On Saturday, without skipping a beat, these guys were right there outdoing my silliness on every level, with the whole group cracking up.  Thanks guys, you made my job easier.  Being a pain in the butt can be quite exhausting.

The next shot is from Friday.  Here’s the bride, Bonnie - an absolute ball of fun and energy.  The bridal party was mingling after the ceremony and, upon discovering what the guys had hidden inside their jackets, she decided to join them.

Usually, when clueing up in the evening at a wedding shoot, I’ll approach the bride or groom. This would involve a hug and thank you’s - I’ll tell them generally how long it will be till the proofs are ready based on our current workload and ask if they’ll be in town for awhile.

A little while later, after delivery, we’ll often get a quick message from the couple saying what they think of their pictures. A few months after that and they’ll ask about ordering enlargements. That’s often where it ends.

Occasionally though, we’ll get a client who not only loves their pictures, but is very enthusiastic about telling other people about their photos and our work.

When this first started to happen, it seemed odd - I mean, I’m doing a job and being paid for it.

But it’s also something that I love doing, so a simple “Thank You” is more than enough.

It surprises me then when a couple, during what is often a hectic day, notices how I enjoy the work and comments beyond the courteous “Thank You”. When someone is so exceedingly generous with their thoughts and comments, as Sonya was in the following message from yesterday, it is very special and meaningful to me.

Hi Kim,

I just wanted to say again thank you to you and Jennifer and Eileen as well for the absolutely wonderful job you did with our wedding pictures. They were honestly above and beyond anything we could have hoped for. We knew as soon as we viewed your website shortly after the engagement that the style of photography and tastes of yourself and Jennifer were just what we were looking for and you certainly did not disappoint us!

We’ve looked at our pictures a hundred times already…and it’s only been a few weeks! I would like to again thank you for having our album ready so quickly for us - that was so great of you. We hope we didn’t rush you - we would never want to restrict your creativity. Our parents love their albums as well and we’d like to mention what a wonderful idea we think that option is - the only thing for everyone now is to decide which shots to enlarge! And we never should have mentioned the bonus disc…..now everyone wants to see them all! I guess we’ll have to put our nose to the grindstone and start making copies for them.

For so many of our friends who were unable to attend our wedding for various reasons, the photos you took let them see the day just as it was. Maybe that’s why Shayne and I enjoy looking at them so much - it’s like reliving a wonderful day again and again. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard the comment “Well it’s just like being there!” after people view the photos. If you ever want to move to Manitoba I think we could have a lot of potential clients for ya!

And during the day, it was so much fun to be with you guys and take the photos. So many times we’ve heard “Oh the taking photos was exhausting” or ” I was sick of smiling and my face hurt”. We can’t say any of that was the case for us. We had an awesome time….it didn’t even really feel like getting our picture taken. We just went off with you and sat there and enjoyed each other and enjoyed the three of you cracking jokes. It truly made us feel at ease and maybe that’s why we were able to just be ourselves. With all of the shots you guys got, you were never intrusive. In fact I barely remember having photo taken at the reception! I vaguely recall occasionally seeing a camera lens peep from behind a pillar a time or two!

Your enthusiasm and joy in what you do made it a very enjoyable experience and certainly resulted in some wonderful pictures. It was great to spend time with you guys and have fun and know that you were having fun as well. It was just a great time. We appreciated that more than we can say and your attention to detail was awesome. We didn’t have to think about a thing…you guys were right there for us to do it all. Uhhmmm…too bad none of us noticed I sat on an ant hill though hey?? LOL….made for a good story and some lovely pics!

Thank you guys so much for the option to have an online website….so great to share pics with friends and family all over the country and world for that matter. The added convenience of online ordering is fantastic as well. We look forward to seeing what your wonderfully artistic and creative minds will do with our coffee table book. No rush….we’re still enthralled with the pics we have!

Take care guys and keep having fun! And should anyone else read this…..you couldn’t go with anyone better for your wedding pictures than these girls!

I’m happy to say that we’ve had a few clients so far this year that have been as enthusiastic as Sonya. A client like this makes it all worth it. I want to make all of them this happy!

I like to put myself in odd spots to get a unique shot.

At a reception a few weeks ago for example… I laid down in the middle of the dance floor when everyone was in a big “dance in / dance out” circle.  Maybe not such a good idea with a floor full of people that have just had a few drinks.

People think I’m crazy of course.  I just say “Ignore me - pretend I’m not here!”  

Here’s one from last weekend during one such incident.

Another wedding from a few weeks ago has just gone online…
Patterson / Greene June 2007

A few of the many faces of sweet darling James. I absolutely adored this little boy and the other children at a wedding a few weeks back and thought they deserved a post all their own.

Before we agree to cover a wedding, we always ask the client a few specific questions about what they want from the photographs of the day. It’s funny how this question is met - sometimes with a high degree of understanding followed by a grateful explanation - and other times, with a confused generic response that leaves us wondering “why would they pay all that money for us?”

We ask; Do you need a lot of posed shots? Or do you want us to disappear and document the happenings, without interruption? Or maybe a mixture of the two - get the posed shots during one specific time frame, and then slip away again to capture the day as it naturally unfolds?

In reality, the question I want to ask is shockingly self indulging and I’m almost reluctant to say it here; “How much artistic freedom will you give me in documenting your day?”

Ironically, what will sometimes create a problem is how familiar a client can be with our photos. Even before the wedding date, many clients will have visited our site so often and are so closely acquainted with the shots that they say “I feel like I know the people from the weddings you’ve photographed”. Then, when asked about the type coverage they desire, they name specific shots. The result is quite understandable - they confuse the question that I can’t ask with an entirely different question “whose pictures would you like your pictures to look like?”. They actually name poses. Sometimes we’ll see pose lists - followed soon after by the death of creativity.

What is misunderstood is that the best pictures are something that cannot be reproduced. To list out a pile of shots that need to be “posed” or “staged” is to totally misunderstand the concept and style. When backed into this corner (and it has happen), the truly sweet and special moments that would inevitably take place are missed, or even prevented, because everyone was so preoccupied with “faking it.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, those couples that were relaxed, having fun and so obviously in love and “into each other” are the ones that are most often singled out as having desirable pictures. “I want to be like them!” Yea… no kidding.

So, what do we look for? Well, quite simply, when someone tells us they want all documentary style coverage, I love it. But even better is when the couple (or even just one of them) seem to fully understand what we require from them to deliver in this situation. We’re not going to fake the story of your day if you’ll display raw emotion - if you can show those true feelings like that couple did, we won’t have to fake anything.

Real is good.

—

The above shots are from Amie and Adam’s wedding in Placentia (just over a week ago) and Sonya and Shayne’s wedding in St. John’s (on the following day). Thanks to both couples for being so relaxed and enjoyable to work with.

Here’s a few more from Amie and Adam’s day.

Well, the minion is now on the payroll, and he’s already got the scars to show it.

We’ve been working on integrating a new online print service with our current offerings, which in one sudden swoop will allow us to offer direct ordering to our customers, allow family and friends to order without us getting in their way, and perhaps even allow us to boost sales a little while also giving us more time to do what we love - shoot.

This has produced a few obvious changes to The Wedding Site, most notably in the After the Wedding section of the FAQ.

There were also one or two “legal technicality” type changes that were necessary to appease the up-tight crowd - no affect on the customer.

Full detail on this new offering was put on the News page earlier today.

The site mentioned below actually has a link to this new service as well - feel free to take a poke around. Hell, order a few pictures of the crazy dancin’ groomsmen if you like!

On an entirely different note…

A new site has just gone online for a wedding we shot last weekend. This is the one I spoke of earlier - the service took place at St. Patrick’s in St. John’s.

The couple, Sonya and Shayne, were both gracious and fun while we traveled around St. John’s to various locations. They went with full day coverage, so we stayed for the reception - and I’m glad we did - it was a riot.

The full session is online:
Diamond / Power June 2007.

And here are a few more of my shots:

Anyone who’s ever seen us cover a wedding knows that I’m usually the loud one, which basically means I get most of the attention. That’s not to say that I can’t blend in to get the really nice candid shots - it’s just that, when the time for a few group photos comes along, I’m not easy to miss. When combined with the fact that I get a bit of exposure here through the blog, this all adds up to my feeling that often Jennifer doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. The observant visitor would certainly be able to quickly tell who’s shot is who’s, but in any case, here’s a few of hers from Saturday:

Also, we’ve started training a new girl to work with us - Eileen. She’s had formal training in photography along with years of experience with film and shooting in a studio environment, but none of that will get you terribly far when shooting a fast-paced-high-energy wedding in digital. Happily, she’s got a very firm grasp on the technical side, and a definite appreciation for the artistic side and the style in which we shoot. Here’s one:

As promised, here are a few shots from that Grad I mentioned. This one was planned for the studio and then rescheduled. We ended up in Bowring Park on what started out to be a rainy day. But, just in time for the shoot, the sky parted and we got some magic light.