Some thoughts on photography services available in Switzerland

You may spent months preparing for your wedding, but the day itself will pass in a heartbeat. You will be able to re-live the joy and romance of it by looking through your wedding album. So don't take chances with your wedding photographer. You need a professional, whose work you admire, who understands your vision and whose style reflects your own. 

·       Expertise & style

 You may be searching for a wedding photographer for your wedding that will take place in Switzerland or a professional in destination weddings that will come to the place of your choice, or if you are looking for a family in-home session or for a studio staged photo shoot – in any case, I would recommend to choose a photographer, who is experienced in the area and, what is even more important, whose style resonates with your personality. Photographer’s portfolio speaks better than all the words about the style and expertise, so spend some significant time looking through the pictures. Photographers are creative people and happy to experiment, but even trying something new we will stay true to our personal taste and style. 

·       Packages & hidden costs

Most photographers offer a selection of packages. Packages may vary in coverage, number of photos edited, number of images printed, quality of printed pictures and photo albums, etc. So, before making a decision, be sure to find out what is included in a package and which services are available at extra cost. Check for hidden costs, you may be surprised, but sometimes family and portrait photo packages don’t include digital images, the price of a photo session covers just time and talent of the photographer, while products, either digital files or prints, are purchased separately. It's important that right from the beginning you are absolutely clear on how you are being charged, ask your prospective photographer what their policy is. All my collections include full-resolution digital images with a release for personal use (sharing, printing and posting on social media). If you need the pictures for commercial use, please contact me first. Photographers often use password-protected online galleries that are very convenient for displaying  pictures from the wedding celebration/photo shoot. I would also recommend to check, if you or your guests will have to pay additionally to be able to download the pictures and how much. The nice thing about the online galleries is that you as a wedding couple or family on the portraits can regulate who may have the access to the pictures as well as which exactly pictures you want to have accessible.  

·       Duration of a photo session & coverage

The duration of time when the pictures are taken is certainly a very important factor. Don’t fall for longer coverage all other things being equal, except price, while choosing a family photographer – you don’t need 3 hours of a family photo shoot, since your children will be not willing to cooperate after certain time. At the same time, don't expect a variety of pictures, if you book a one hour photo shoot at one location. As my experience shows, 2 hours is the ideal time, we will be able to change the outfits as well as locations. Regarding wedding photography, you do need at least 6-hour coverage for a wedding session and even more, if you want to have the memories of the different stages of the day. We are all different, think what will have more value for you - portraits of you while getting ready, pictures of your dress, shoes, rings and flower bouquet or rather shots from the dancing floor? Formal portraits of the guests are regarded to be essential part of the wedding photo coverage, but are these pictures really so necessary? Why not to limit the formal group pictures to maximum 1-2 and better assign one hour to couple portraits? If you plan your photographer to be present at the Apero, ask her (or ok, him :) to make portraits of the guests (couples, separate small groups of friends), this will be a nicer memory from the artistic point of view! :)

You can’t get what you want until you know exactly what you are searching for, right? :) So be specific. Also, be prepared to ask right questions for getting comprehensive answers that will help you choose the best photographer for your needs.

Family Photo Shoot in Switzerland: How to Get Prepared?

What do you feel when looking through family photo albums? A blend of sweet nostalgia, gentle sadness and warmth of memories... Family photos seal the most important moments, significant events and small life pleasures in our memory. That’s why family photography is one of the most vibrant types of sessions though featuring some peculiarities. When being with close people, we experience the most sincere and warm emotions, which can turn the pictures to real magic – and a professional family photographer in Switzerland just has to create an appropriate atmosphere, add some entourage and capture right moments.

But how to achieve this in the real world? Any family photographer in Zurich will tell you that a successful photo shoot is a result of photographer and models’ joint work. The process begins long before a photo shoot, when you discuss and search for places, ideas, clothes and other details. But when the big day comes, try to follow these simple recommendations:

Have a good sleep, relax and eat well. These are the key factors for matching with "a sound mind in a sound body" rule, which is especially true for families with small children. Even if you plan to arrange a kind of picnic in the process of shooting, have a snack prior to the photo session.

If your family photographer in Zurich offers to choose morning or evening time for your photo session, consider his opinion - natural light is the most favorable during these hours for shooting outdoor. Besides, your younger kids will be full of energy after a night sleep or nap.

Manage your time. Often, mothers are so engaged in getting the whole family ready for a session, that they have no time left for their own hairstyle and makeup. Don’t try to put this away for later, as at the last moment some emergencies may happen preventing mother from brushing up. Make sure that you have enough time for yourself, since mother is usually the glue of the family.

Take some time to cheer up a daddy. As an experienced family photographer in Switzerland, I learnt that in most cases the initiative of arranging a family photo shoot belongs to a wife and mother, while men tend to take such ideas with suspicion. Do try to convince your spouse and father that for a successful family photo shoot you need more that just his presence, but his love, support and an ingenuous smile :)

Travel photography

What are distinctive features of travel photography, allowing marking it out from other genres? First of all, let’s define travel photography as a genre that tells about a country through describing its nature, people, way of life, traditions, history, culture and other things associated with the country. So, according to the definition, travel photography can’t be separated from many other genres, since it comprises their features. Sometimes travel photography is landscape photography, sometimes it is a portrait or street photography. That is, travel photos can be taken in almost any genre, except for staged, studio and advertising photography. You may not believe it, but even wedding photographer in Switzerland can take travel photos, when shooting a destination wedding!

Let’s delve into peculiarities of travel photography genres.

• Landscape photography covers views of nature and, as a rule, avoids getting people into the frame. Rural and urban landscapes are the options, showing static, both day and night life of a city or a village. The key word is "static", since dynamic urban life is a focus of street photography.

• Street photography is usually a dynamic photo showing scenes of people’s life in their urban environment. Sometimes, street photography touches on architectural photography (in its aesthetical aspect), though it doesn’t limited to taking pictures of only architectural scenes. Often, street photography tries to deliver rhythm of a city: in some cities it is steady, while in others it is just flying. And yes, street photos are often night photos (night photography deals with outdoor photo shoots between dusk and dawn).

• Portrait is an integral part of travel photography, showing personalities of people living in a country and often delivering other important information, like features of social life, customs and so on. But this is more typical of scenic photography that is focused on people’s lifestyle and activities.

As you can see, travel photography really embraces many genres and one of them to mention is lifestyle photography. If you are a lifestyle photographer in Switzerland, you can create travel photos during your regular sessions taking pictures of people, surrounding landscapes or daily life scenes.

10 Tips How to Shoot Architecture in Switzerland - photo school theory - wedding, lifestyle, family photographer in Zurich and Switzerland

Switzerland has a lot to offer people who would like to try architectural photography. But how to do it correctly and obtain great results? Today we will share with you 10 tips how to shoot architecture in Switzerland.

1. Shoot in various weather conditions and hours of the day and night

Most people like to take a photo at sunset hours to catch the dramatic atmosphere of the building. Of course, this usually gives good results but the negative side is - it doesn't reveal the whole potential. A specific point in time decreases the varieties of what the building is in various weather conditions and times of day and night.

2. Make good lighting your priority

Lighting can emphasize a structure, space, and atmosphere. It reveals the most important feature of the target architectural project.

3. Find a unique angle

Look for the angle that will expose some missed form or decorative detail of the building. Take your time and watch the target from different places to get what you need in your photo.

4. People can be included

Architecture is made by people so it would be strange if architecture could exist without them. Don't be afraid to add people to your composition as they are an integral part of any architecture.

5. Shoot details as well as the whole

Remember that details can be beautiful too.

6. Not to objectify the target building

When you start shooting, forget about photos of the building you have seen before and find your own angle to take the unique photo.

7. Use tools for post-processing

If you can improve your photo don't hesitate and do it!

8. Good photography equipment

Buy appropriate equipment to get the best shots. A wide-angle lens is considered to be the best one to photograph architecture. A tripod will give more possibilities to take a picture when the light conditions are bad.

9. Return to the place multiple times

Really interesting aspects of the architecture can be revealed only over time.

10. Do a research

Learn the history of the building before going to shoot. That will undoubtedly uncover you the essence of the architectural structure and you will know what to focus on.

The 4 Most Common Questions About Photography

Today we will discuss and answer the most common questions about photography in Zurich to help new shooters start your journey in the world of photography.

1. What is “manual mode”?

The name speaks for itself. Using this mode, the photographer is able to control the process of taking a photo. Everything should be set manually: ISO, aperture, white balance, shutter speed etc.  Manual mode can be very productive and effective if you use it properly. Photos made in manual mode can be more clear and pleasant to the eye. Just take more photos, try different combinations of settings and analyze your results.

2. Is it so necessary to edit all of your photos?

All in all, yes you should. Of course, the first and the main step is to take a good photo but the second one is editing which will improve your image and make it the finished product. Some photographers prefer to make their photos more artistic and expressive with editing while others - just make them more clear and colorful. The choice how to improve your image depends on you.

3. What gear is the best to take great photos?

First of all, you should define what type of photography you like. But for beginners, it is recommended to start with 50mm lens as they give good opportunities to discover the world of photography. It's the best starter, obviously.  Then, you will be able to change your preferences to wide lenses. If you like zoom, you will find many lenses with it as well. We have listed some lens examples: 200mm, 132mm, 100mm (macro), 50mm, 35mm, 24mm.

4.  What are JPG and RAW? Do they differ?

JPG is considered to be the most common file format for digital photographs. Different sizes of JPG can be stored on your camera as well as your camera can be set to shoot various size of JPG. The negative side of JPG is that much detail is lost when the photo is taken this way. While taking JPG images, the camera does some automatic processing which ends that when you edit your image you don't have as much data to work with as it should be. This might make hard to recover improperly exposed parts of photos which leads to bad photography. But, it doesn't happen often, so don't worry.

Photos having taken with RAW file format save all of the detail available to the camera sensor, so RAW format allows to take uncompressed and unprocessed shots. That's why RAW files are absolutely unedited and should be post-processed.

Tips for amateur family photographers :)

If you are a beginner photographer and interested in photographing kids, here are some tips from an experienced family photographer in Zurich on how to treat children during family photo shoot session.

Keep Children Active and Engaged

Children love to change types of activity and get bored of monotonous plays rather quickly. So, a good family photographer is always prepared to offer several places and games at option for a photo shoot session. To keep children engaged, it is desirable to change activity every 10-15 minutes.

Make Sure That Children Feel Comfortable

Children need energy for playing games with you. Thus, prior to taking pictures, make sure that children are not hungry or tired. Even the best family photographer in Zurich won’t get good images if children experience physical discomfort.

Avoid Taking Pictures under Direct Sunlight

When having an outdoor family photo shoot session, try to take pictures of children in shaded places, so that they wouldn’t squint at the bright sunlight. The most beautiful and attractive thing in children portraits is their eyes. A professional family photographer in Switzerland will do his best to make the eyes clearly visible on pictures. If there is no shadow and you are forced to take pictures in the sun, don’t hurry and let children's eyes get used to bright lighting. However, you can create some shadow by putting a bucket hat or some kind of a hat with a peak on a child or by asking someone to hold a towel over children while you are shooting.

Keep Some Distance

Try using a lens with a larger focal length - you can move away from a scene and shoot from afar. This will help children to forget about your camera and to feel at ease, while you will get live pictures with a really natural touch. Generally, children under 5 should be photographed in a way that they don’t know that you’re shooting, while when it comes to older children it is better to get them involved in the game of shooting. For example, a good family photographer in Zurich will pretend that he is playing for real, while shooting just for fun.

Promise Reward after Shooting

Don’t stuff children with sweets during the photo shoot session. They will be chewing throughout the session, dreaming only about how to eat all the sweets. This can badly affect the images and even ruin your ideas about the photo shoot. Instead, promise some pleasant rewards after a family photo session, but don’t make much focus on this.

Best 10 Pieces Of Advice For Bride And Groom

If you are going to become husband and wife these pieces of advice are for you.

1. If you want to have a happy and long-term marriage, you have to be accountable for your part in the relationship — good or bad one.

2. Be flexible. Learn how to agree when you know you have been wrong. Learn how to disagree and prove you are right without a squabble.

3. Advice for men: women need to be listened to. Listening itself is a very important gift. But you can learn how to listen to your woman too. Advice for women: men need time for themselves. Give your man a space to be on his own and don't take it personally; allow him to reconnect with his desire for you and this will increase his commitment to your relationship.

4. One of the most common problems in relationships is trying to change your lover. Nobody will be happy to hear that he or she isn't the one you expected. Find reasons for such judgment in yourself first.

5. General problems such as boredom in the bedroom or resentment can be solved by talking and finding a solution that will satisfy you both. Just don't stop talking with each other and sharing your thoughts about everything that concerns you.

6. Never forget what being fair means. Have you been fair with your groom or bride till marriage? Are you going to be fair with your lover after the marriage day? If not, how can you start your family life? If yes, try always to be fair with your spouse.

7. Nothing is more important in a marriage than the love between a wife and husband. You will have children, careers, hobbies, trouble sets etc. But you have to remember that relationship is your top priority. Only in this case your marriage flourishes.

8. Never start talking with the word 'you', it's better to start with 'I' or 'we'. Share your emotions and feelings, always be open. It's not so easy as it sounds, but it gets easier to do with time. The proper beginning is vitally important.

9. Never stop dating. Regular going-outs with your spouse can rekindle the magic of your relationship. Dating will help you keep in mind why you first fell in love.

10. Don't forget to make compliments to your spouse! A compliment gives a feeling that you are acknowledged and appreciated. Making compliment isn't a hard thing, right? Especially for the person you love... So, make an effort to affirm your lover's value in your life, give him or her a little of your attention and love every day.