Digital Wedding Forum - Wedding photography's home on the web.

DWF - Let's start off with a little bio, tell us a little bit about yourself.

JUSTINE - Well let's see. I just turned 30, I live in LA with my fiance, Gary (a television art director) and our maltese dog, Oliver. I love champagne, I eat ice cream every day, I have terribly unsophisticated taste in music ('80's anyone?) and I've recently learned that planning a wedding is like having another full-time job. I shoot about 12 weddings/ year in Washington DC and I shoot portraits & music industry stuff in Los Angeles. I love being a photographer but you won't ever see me with a camera in my hand if I'm not getting paid. :)

DWF - How did you become a wedding photographer?

JUSTINE - I grew up in Washington DC, got a philosophy degree from VA Tech and after a year and a half in the corporate world, I decided to follow in my mother's footsteps as a wedding photographer. At that time she was retiring from weddings after 18 years so I got to swoop right in and take over. Of course I knew absolutely nothing about photography at the time so I had to learn really fast but it's amazing what you can do when the pressure is really on. I found that I thrived on the pressure so shooting weddings was a good fit.

DWF- Who or what inspires you as an artist?

JUSTINE- People inspire me. No nature, architecture or still-life...just humans. In terms of wedding photography specifically, I tend to be inspired most by the couple in a particular place because I think that a person's choice in wedding venue really says something about who they are and I try to express that in my work. I'm also inspired by just about any photographer who is better or fresher or cooler than I am. Every time I think I've outdone myself I can look at the amazing work that is being done by others and that puts me back in my place and pushes me to learn, grow and do better next time. :)

DWF- If we needed a photographer today why would we book you? What makes you unique?

JUSTINE - I think that I'm pretty relatable for brides. I think that a lot of my brides see themselves in me somehow and I try to do everything in my business according to what I would want from a wedding photographer were it my wedding. I also
think that I put my brides at ease and they enjoy having me around on the wedding day, it's like having an extra bridesmaid for them because I'm sort of the resident wedding expert for them at any given moment. As for my work, I think that I bring a strong ability to photograph my clients in a flattering way without compromising the real moments that are happening all around me. I really think constantly about how to flatter my subjects with light, angles and lens choices, rather than just trying to "get the shot". First, make them beautiful, then make it art.

DWF- If you had to pick a favorite "Tool of the Trade" what would it be? and why?

JUSTINE - I am a total lens junky, it's a disease really. I bring no less than 8 lenses to every wedding and I use all of them. Choosing one would be like choosing a favorite child. I can't pick just one but I'd have to say my collection of super fast prime lenses would be my favorite "tools of the trade". I shoot most of my weddings in DC and that means lots of dark locations and night-time weddings. Prime lenses are essential to shooting in those type of conditions.

DWF- You're going to be speaking at DWF Convention 09, can you tell us a bit about your seminar?

JUSTINE - First of all I'm totally excited to be speaking this year. Last year was my first DWF convention and I met so many amazing new friends there. A number of people started calling me "Justine Projection" and although I've decided against officially changing my name, my seminar presentation is going to be centered around how to use a digital projector as your proofing method in order to make HUGE portrait sales. I'm also going to cover as much as I can about how to price yourself accordingly and define a product line that suits your style of shooting.

DWF - Care to share your favorite photograph? and tell us a bit about it?

JUSTINE - This is a new favorite actually from a wedding I shot Labor Day weekend in Santa Monica. The ceremony ended as the sun was going down so I didn't have much light afterwards for portraits of the bride & groom. So I decided to play up the whole night-time thing and used the Santa Monica pier as a background. I didn't really feel like fussing with an off-camera flash so I had my assistant hold a small video light from the right side of the frame. This was shot on a 5D with an 85mm 1.2 lens at ISO 1250, f/2.0 at 1/125 second
 

Here's one from a recent pregnancy portrait. My clients never did an engagement portrait before their wedding (which I didn't shoot) so we decided to make the pregnancy portrait session reflect their lifestyle together. Hence including the motorcycle and the rock band t-shirts. This was shot in their driveway late in the day and there was this great natural backlight-lighting. But I didn't want to lose any contrast or detail so I used a speedlight with a small softbox off to the left for some fill light. I processed it with one of my fave new actions from The Boutwells' Totally Rad Actions 2. Shot at ISO 125 f/4.5 at 1/160.
 

Here's one that I shot in my house actually. I organized a shoot with a wedding gown designer and a veil designer which we shot at my house. I don't have a separate studio right now so I set up my home to act as a studio for when I need one, even though I do 95% of my shooting on location. I shot this when I first bought my 45mm Tilt/ Shift lens which can be a little bit challenging to focus. This is how I realized that my right eye is not so great anymore. :) This was shot at ISO 400 at f/2.8 at 1/125. There was some window light coming in from the left but it wasn't quite enough so I added a big softbox on the left to simulate the window light and add to it.
 

DWF - How about some final words to live by?

JUSTINE - Never stop learning and growing as an artist and never be too impressed with yourself.