Many thanks PwC - now I go full time photographer!

Many of my blog readers and clients don't know that I have never been a full time photographer even though I have always wanted to give my clients the best and most professional service there is. But, things are about to change and as from today I'm a full time photographer, taking my strive to give my clients the best to an even higher level! I look forward to what's to come with great expectations, curiosity, inspiration and, I have to admit, a large portion of humility.

In 1999 I graduated from law school at Stockholm university and after almost seven years working at court I joined PwC Tax in February 2006. The last five years I have been working as a corporate tax advisor in the Stockholm office and I think it's the best place possible to work if you want to learn from and work with the best in the business, and to get the perfect mix of career challenges and great colleagues. And I do. Really, I still want to in a way, but the day and night only have 24 hours and I have come to a point when I have to choose between two careers I love. So, now the time has come to put all my effort and passion into my own business and go full time as a photographer. In March I will move my workplace into a new studio and of course I will keep you updated on all exciting news to come!

I want to send a huge thank you to all colleagues at PwC and I also want to say that the gifts I received my last day were just perfect! THANKS!

And yes, I know that even tax laywers can have unknown talents in front of the camera lens so why don't you give it a try with me!

Lindísima featured in latest issue of Allt Om Bröllop

Last summer I went to Italy to photograph a dream destination wedding at the Emerald coast at the north east corner of Sardinia. Now this wedding is featured on nine pages in the latest issue of the Swedish magazine Allt Om Bröllop. It's in stores now so if you want inspiration for your destination wedding, go get it! Want to see more of this wedding? Well, take a look at my previous blog post here! Post 1, post 2 and post 3!

Answer to some e-mail questions about my post processing

I frequently get questions by e-mail and many times it's about how I work with my photos after the actual photo shoot. A couple of days ago I got this:

"You keep amazing me :) Would it be possible to see your sample draft work in Lightroom, at the stage of presenting it to your customers  I just wonder how far from the final effect it is, because PS is unfortunately too difficult for me, and I do my efforts to tweak my pics using LR only (local adjustment brush instead of PS masking and so on...). I don't know whether to improve my LR skills or move definitely to PS... Another question - your pictures are so bright - do you use spot meter at faces at all times ?"

I post process all my photos in two steps. I go through each and every photo in Lightroom before I even show them to my clients and then I give the favourite photos selected by the clients some extra love in Photoshop before I print and deliver them (I also include the fully processed high resolution files). And yes, I usually set the exposure based on the light in the faces.

Below you can see both my basic post processing in LR and the original RAW file, without any adjustments.

And finally, here you can compare a fully retouched crop with the basic version straight from LR. In this case I have taken away some hair from the forehead, reduced some red in the eye and I have softened the skin a bit.

The couple on this photo is my wedding couple from last Saturday's wedding in Sandviken, aren't they just gorgeous!

Winter wedding assistant in Sandviken - my sister!

I actually like working alone and I don't have an assistant with me at every wedding. But, a winter wedding in my hometown with a request for formal group shots after sunset gave me the rare chance to ask my sister to come along. And she did! Before we met with the bride and groom we did some last minute planning at the location I had selected for some of the outdoor portraits and of course I had to take some "test shoots" with a very reluctant sister as a model :-). Here she is! Thanks for a loooong day sis!

Preview from yesterday's winter wedding in Sandviken

I love to travel and to work at weddings all over Sweden and abroad but this time it was special. This time I was asked to come to a place where I have never photographed a wedding before even though I know the location very well - my hometown Sandviken! It was a wonderful winter wedding and among the guests I met both a wedding couple I photographed in 2009 and a couple I will photograph at their wedding in August. So, I had a great day with a lot of inspiration and even though I have had no time to go through the material properly I want to post a few pics before the bride and groom leave for their honey moon. Thanks H & H, you were the best!

Photo talk + meeting YOU February 8 = FUN!

I have always enjoyed sharing my experience with people and even though it takes more time than I want to admit, I love getting questions about how I work. So, when Juliana Wiklund asked if I could come and talk to the members of Fotosidan's wedding photography group (which she is hosting), I shouted "YES" right away! I will talk about my workflow, my way of working with the clients and share my thoughts about post processing (which, in my view, is an important part of creating your own style!). If you are or want to be a member and want to hear what I have to say, come and join us February 8! For more information and booking (it's free and maximum 20 participants), see Fotosidan's wedding group.

The photos in this post is some of the pages of the wedding album I have been working with today. As almost always I used only natural light. Want to know more, come and meet me!

2010 in review part 2 - The warm coloured favourites!

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Part 2 of my blog post about my 2010 wedding favourites is dedicated to photos full of life, warm colours and intense emotions. It's a mix of photots from different weddings with one thing to unite them all - love and happiness!

2010 in review part 1 - The soft coloured wedding favourites!

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2010 has ended and I have had a great year with ONLY fantastic wedding couples to photograph! Now I look forward to a new year full of new opportunities and great experiences and I hope you will be part of my 2011 here on my blog - as a client or by posting a lot of comments! But, before I can share my first 2011 wedding pictures with you I want to celebrate all of my 2010 clients with a massive blog post in three parts and here is the first one. Enjoy!

Thanks for a fantastic 2010 and happy new year!

Today it's new years eve and I can look back at 2010 as a year full of fantastic clients which have given me a lot of fun with my camera! I, on the other hand, usually try to avoid getting in front of the lens but a couple of month ago I did something very unusual, I booked a photo session..... for me! My dear friend and extremly-over-talented-fantastic-great-best-photographer (I know this isn't a word but I think you'll all understand what I'm trying to say!) Erika Gerdemark got a real challenge to try to turn me into a model and yes, I think she did very well! Soon I will upload some of my personal wedding favourites from 2010 here on the blog but for now you're stuck with a bunch of photos of me. Happy new year to all of you! Erika - THANKS!

© All photos in this post: Erika Gerdemark