April 2009 Featured Photographer

Our April Featured Photographer of the Month

John Edgar – Oakville, Canada (Just outside Toronto)

Click on the above image to view his PhotoBiz Website

John’s Blog

 I’ve been in this business for a while now and have had to deal with many companies that cater to pro photographers. My experience with PhotoBiz has been second to none. Their customer service is TOP, they are polite, attentive, and really cool! Their product is also really excellent. I’ve used many other template websites and PhotoBiz takes the cake with a really intuitive, well-built backend and classy well-designed fronts. I highly recommend PhotoBiz.

1.  What equipment you do you use?
I’m a Canon boy through and through.  You’ll generally find me sporting a 5D or two. Gotta have the full frame, so right now the 5D is really the prime camera for me. I shoot Canon mostly because I really enjoy their fast primes; they have a great look to them! I’m almost always shooting wide open; I love the 24 1.4, 50 1.2, 85 1.2. These are my staples for lenses. I’m also really enjoying rocking a tilt when the moment is right, either the 45 or the 90.  I won’t shoot anywhere without my trusty BODA Bag. I’ve had loads of camera bags in the last few years and the BODA bag is the one that fits me perfectly.

2.  How long have you been shooting?
Seriously, I’ve been shooting for a little over 4 years now. Generally, I’ve been taking pictures for the last 8 years of my life.

3.  Where are you located?
I live in Oakville. It’s about a 20 minute drive from Toronto. I don’t shoot in Oakville much though; most of my work is done in Toronto and thankfully across the whole world!

4.  What type of photography do you take?
While I’m primarily a wedding photographer, I do concentrate on children and family as well.  I’ve shot a lot in my life, though, and I’m more than happy to shoot anything!

5.  Price range of events?
I start at $3,500 for coverage. After albums and whatnot, my couples generally expect to pay between $6,000 and $8,000.

6.  When did you notice that you had passion for photography?
I’ve enjoyed photography since forever, and I’ve always had a fascination for cameras. It’s really only in recent years when I left a job in I.T that I decided to move into it as a career.

7.  Is there anything unique about what you do?
I’m generally quite a quirky guy, and I’m always trying to be happy and fun with my clients. I think it’s super important to create a good friendship with my clients. Most of them meet me for lunch and we just hang out. I understand the seriousness of what we do as photographer, but I also think it can be a really relaxed and interesting process. I try and get my clients as excited about having their picture taken as I am about capturing them. If I owned Speedos, I’d probably shoot in them.

8.  What’s the funniest thing that ever happened during a shoot?
Well, interestingly, the most amusing thing I’ve seen at a wedding was my very first.  It was a tent wedding in the backyard of someone’s house and mostly consisted of just family and friends. The priest read the vows for the bride to repeat and she started to tear up. In the few moments of silence that followed, the 4-year-old ring bearer took a step forward. He looked at the bride, looked at the guests, and then loudly proclaimed, “I just pooped”.

9.  What’s the scariest thing that ever happened during a shoot?
I’m not sure if this is scary, but I was shooting a wedding in  Mexico, and I dropped my 5D with a 24 1.4 down a pyramid and smashed them both… that wasn’t pleasant.

10.  How many events do you photograph each year?
I’ll shoot between 20 and 25 weddings a year.

11.  Have you had to change anything to adjust in current economic times?
I think playing to your strengths is really the best thing you can do when times get tough. A lot of photographers I speak to are preaching diversification, and while I totally agree that a diverse and well-rounded repertoire is always a great thing, I worry about many of my colleagues spreading themselves too thin.  Do what you do well; stay competitive by way of unique product offerings, concentrate on the stability of the core of your business, and the rest will follow. Don’t forget, shoot shoot shoot!

12.  Describe your shooting style?
I’m pretty far from your typical traditional photojournalistic wedding photographer. I believe in capturing great real moment in really interesting ways. I think it’s also okay to pose your clients and show them what you’re looking for. I love fashion, editorial, and glam, I love making things larger than life. My hats off to pure PJ shooters; I can’t do it, it’s not me.