Now that we are back from Atlanta, I’m more excited than ever…. and all because of the inspiration given by Denis Reggie this week. For those that don’t know of Denis, he is an amazing person and photographer…… many have called him “the best wedding photographer of our generation,” and many other high level remarks that he certainly deserves. Denis has single handedly shaped the world of wedding photography by defining the word “photo journalism” which was done back in the 80′s (by the way, I mean literally define as in he created the word). Denis has shot more high profile weddings and has more award wining and photo of the year images than I think he can even count…… just while sitting in his house, he received calls from both Rudi Guliani and John Kerry, who’s weddings he’s shot (unbelieveable, right?) A small, multi-billion dollar company called Canon (maybe you’ve heard of it) has even allowed Denis to co-design and have heavy input in their camera equipment, which thousands of photographers around the world use today…. simply amazing to me. (by the way, I don’t even have that kind of pull over my wife – lol)
Now that I’ve built him up a bit (not that he needs it), you can image what an experience and chance of a lifetime it was for me to spend 3 days with him in his home for a private conclave with 8 other photographers from around the country. (It’s equivalent to someone really into golf hanging out with Tiger Woods at his house for a few days). Our work is pretty damn good in my opinion, but Denis picked me apart at the seems and was quick to point out all of the things that can be improved…… while slightly hard to hear, it was an honor to have someone of his experience give me the feedback, tips & training that I really need to take our quality of work and business to the next level. In addition to doing some hands on training/shooting with Denis, we also got the opportunity to hang out with some of the top guys from both Canon & Adobe (George & Fred), and test out some of the new cameras and software not even available to the public yet…. I should have worn a bib to control my drooling :)
In a nutshell, I’m so excited of this experience that most other photographers would do anything to be a part of, and with the new shooting, lighting, business, etc techniques we learned from this workshop….. all I can say, is it’s going to be a great time to have your 2008 or 2009 weddings with us as I know our work is about to take a huge jump to the next level. We are completely revamping things this week, including some new exciting products, and albums, upgraded equipment, as well as a completely re-structure fee schedule with some absolutely amazing options for clients of all levels & budgets. We’ll also be taking a very hard look and making a few adjustments to our shooting style, which I think our current and future clients are going to love compared to what we are currently doing! (Don’t worry, you’ll still get the stuff you see on the site too!)
Denis, if you’re reading….. thanks for what I know is going to be a life & business changing experience – words can’t describe how thankful and excited I am of what we’re about to do with the knowledge you’ve given us.
P.S. The bottom shot from above is one I snapped of Denis while messing around a bit…. hopefully, he won’t mind me posting.
We wrapped up the day today by shooting some family portaits in the studio with Jennifer, Michael, and the two little ones, Amanda & Brad. Getting a 1 year old to look at the camera in perfect sync with everyone else looking at the same time is about the same odds as winning the lottery I think…. I’d say we got 3 numbers and the powerball on this one :)
by Matt Ramos
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