So, is that loved-up selfie you took on Valentines Day still your screensaver? Did you go filter crazy until you got the perfect, natural, image. We’ve all been there.
But your wedding is one day you really don’t want to be critical of your photographs. And you definitely wont have the chance to personally edit them as you go along. In fact, you have to place a huge amount of trust in your wedding photographer — after all you won’t see the finished product until after the event.
So, to make a considered selection, that means:
- Studying the photographer’s website
- Checking their artistic style
- Seeing if their personality works for you
- Comparing costs.
All are super-important to find ‘the one’.
Ran Bergman’s got it all
Today, I’d love to help you get to grips with a photographer we’re LOVING at STG, Ran Bergman. In fact I’m blogging a fabulous real Jewish wedding of his next month that will make your jaws drop… and what’s more, for me he sails through with flying colours on all of those points above.
The Man behind the Lens
Based in Israel, Ran photographs weddings all over the world. He LOVES people and he LOVES photography. This is a heady mix for a wedding snapper.
His website sings this from the mountaintops. You get a real sense of the man behind the lens as soon as you click onto his opening page.
The cool, vibrant thumbnail shots with titles such as My Art, My Love — My Life, My Black and White, My Israel drags you in, wanting to see more.
His work is artful and super dynamic. And no wonder – Ran left his former life in advertising to pursue photography and turned his big passion into his professional life. He couldn’t be happier with his choice.
And looking at his shots, neither could we at STG. They’re inspired and inspiring.
Chemistry
It’s important to get a photographer who’s professional and can be counted on to capture the best bits of your wedding. But you also need to GET ON with them. Don’t underestimate how crucial it is that your personalities mesh. After all, that photographer will shadow you all day.
People feel very comfortable around Ran — bride, groom, family and guests — it’s a specialty of his. His warmth soon makes people relax. He doesn’t interrupt the flow. And that’s what you want in your wedding photos – folks behaving naturally. No forced smiles and bunny in the headlight shots here.
Candid and unobtrusive
Ran is incredibly professional and unobtrusive but he’s also prepared to go and hunt out those sublime shots. So it helps that he puts people at ease, in order to cajole where necessary. I mean, please look at this for a STUNNING candid shot below.
The composition, the colours, the exquisite framing. What a story in one snap. The beaming groom flanked by his ecstatically proud parents, the guy wolf whistling behind and another guest wiping away a tear in the forefront — it has everything. Except the bride, of course.
But here she is below making her entrance in another exceptional shot… Just WOW.
What Style Works for you? Can Ran cover it?
Are you looking for documentary, portrait or arty, edgy? Ran can do it all.
Documentary
These are not styled, they’re the candid, un-posed pictures that tell the story of your day. The ones that really give you a sense of the atmosphere — a bridesmaid in a fit of giggles, the cousins cutting loose on the dance floor, the grandparents sharing a loving gaze. And of course the dà©cor. Why spend all that money and not get that snapped too?
Portrait
Basically posed shots of the couple, friends and family. These are the type of traditional shots your parents may have had at their wedding. But that’s not to say you cant be creative with portrait shots. Ran plays with this style and has the posed shots but with the most gorgeous, colourful and incongruous backgrounds. Ran makes portraiture hip.
Edgy
Unconventional angles and focal points. How about a set of robots and a shoe lined up in the forefront of this bride’s preparation shot? Edgy enough?
Or sultry, moody couple shots – making full artistic use of light and shade? Ran’s all over it…
Creative ways to use Ran’s engagement shots
I can’t write a post on Ran without mentioning Ran’s uber cool engagement shoots. They’re AWESOME. Immediately I thought how striking they’d be to use for your wedding stationary — Save The Date, Invitations, Place Cards. Mix them up with a picture of the bar where you met, or your first city break for a personalised collage.
For my wedding our theme was keeping it personal and getting creative.
Our invitations featured landmarks and images that were personal to Mr STG and I, plus pictures from our childhood. It went down a storm. Ran’s engagement shoots look prime personalisation territory to me, and that’s why I love him and his style so much.
How to find Ran Bergman
To get hold of Ran and chat through the vision you have for your wedding photography, talk costs and get to know the man himself…
Call: +972-52-6360063
Email: ran@ranbergman.co.il or fill in your requirements here: ranbergman.com/contact
Follow: Ran Bergman on Instagram | Facebook and of course all his beautiful wedding portfolio can be found here: www.ranbergman.com/category/weddings
