Friday, November 09, 2007

Amazing Conclave w/ Denis Reggie.....


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.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey Matt did he like your sunburst shots???

Tim A

Matt Ramos said...

Haha - not nearly photo journalistic enough for his tastes, but that's okay... we still like doing some of the creative stuff like that anyway :)

I hope all is well with you and Kris, and am looking forward to getting some Wii in with ya one of these days!

Andrew said...

Sounds like this conclave was a defining moment in your career, Matt. I'll be excited to see some of the changes you plan to implement in the coming months and into the new year.

Davida and I are excited to hear about "Tonya's" new Mark III too. We're still smiling over that one.

Anonymous said...

Yay! I'm excited that you're getting some great ideas from the photographer who shot Rudy's wedding :-)

Rebecca said...

I'm bowing down in the presence of Mr. Reggie!!!