What makes a photographer the best photographer?
There are so many different factors that make a photographer "The Best". Of course talent is a factor, however I have met some very talented photographer that could do a great job in any photographic situation. However the can't find their way to the photo shoot, worst yet, they can't even remember they had a shoot to start with. With this in mind talent is not the only factor. Other factors are equipment, finances and the ability to problem solve. When someone hires me I expect that often they have already viewed my work, this is not always the case. Sometimes I get called for a photo assignment because I was referred by another past client. Most of the calls I get do come from people who have already seen my work. The potential clients that have not seen my work are calling because the have a sense that I'm dependable and I get the job done correctly. My ability to take direction and over prepare are two factors that help me because successful. I never go into a job as a South Florida photographer thinking I'm the best and could never screw this up. It's actually the opposite, sure I have years of experience and I also have the best gear. I own a huge amount to top notch professional camera. They are all in perfect condition and maintained often. However, between my years of shooting events both in Los Angeles and in South Florida and my great camera gear, it's my attitude that helps to insure my services result in a happy client. I look at every new job as an opportunity for defend my reputation. This means I can't afford to make mistakes or not properly prepare from job. In addition, I take all my photo assignments seriously I give the same amount to prep and thought every job large or small. In other words, a quick last minute headshot gets the same amount of effort as a large corporate or charity photo-shoot.
The picture above is from one of the best photo assignments ever. OK one of the best, This event took place at The Breakers in Palm Beach. Most people consider this venue to be the most elegant South Florida Venue ever. As a Photographer who has worked at this high end luxury venue many times I have to admit, it's my favorite place to work. The assignment was referred to me directly by the hotel. This Job was to provide photography and videography for a charity event that was being held in Palm Beach. In addition to providing both pictures and video, I was also hired to photograph each guest who attended and then have finished printed pictures from every guest to take home after the event ended. Covering an event with all these elements involved required planning in advance. First I had to make sure I had enough printing paper to print all those photos. Normally one box would be more then enough. However, I had two new boxes with me at the event. Call me paranoid but once I had an entire box of printer paper go bad at a job. In this case the paper was not stored properly in the delivery process, My guess is that it was stored in a environment that was too hot. As a result the paper emulsion melted and stuck together. The paper looked great out of the box and printed the first 20 photos with no problems. Then my printer started making a squeaking sound and the prints stopped coming out. I checked the paper and found that instead of having a roll of paper, I had a round wad of unusable paper. It's a good thing I had an additional roll of printer paper with me. Now I always bring 2 new sealed boxes. If I have extra paper with me, I'll use that first depending on how much and how old the paper is. However, I will only show up with new extra paper. When looking at this situation with the damaged paper, one should also consider the fact that bad paper in a printer could damage the printer itself, so having two machines is also a must. In addition to backing myself up with printers and printer paper, having several cameras along on the job is also a must. It's not a question of if your camera breaks, its when you camera does break. If your camera breaks it really doesn't matter if you are the best South Florida Photographer, with no camera, you are out of business, and that's that.
I must admit that this assignment was really a lot of fun, I enjoyed every second of this job. However, I'm always my best when I'm holding a camera. Since I have been a photographer I have photographed hundreds of Corporate Events, Charity Events, Weddings, Bat and Bar Mitzvahs and many other types of photo assignments. If you cruise through my portfolio and blog you will find all kinds of cool images from many different South Florida events. If you are planning an event and are looking for a photographer I would love to have the opportunity to talk with you. This photo was taken in Palm Beach, however I also cover events in Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, including all of Broward and Palm Beach County. Below are some links to other corporate and special events I have photographed.
BELOW: This link takes you to an article I wrote on important question to as your photographer. It covers topics such as entertainment for attendees, awards dinners, headshots and guest speakers.
Questions to ask your South Florida Photographer
BELOW: This link takes you to a really cool corporate event which also took place at The Breakers, In Palm Beach.
A luxury corporate Palm Beach event.
Location: 1 S County Rd, Palm Beach, FL 33480.