Christopher Humphrey Photography
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Allegheny
(1)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Allegheny
(1)
Specializing in portraiture and wedding photography, Chris Humphrey brings years of experience and an artist's eye to composition, framing and experimentation. He is adept with Lightroom and Photoshop, and can make your images shine. He can also do sophisticated collages for wedding albums and especially bridal portraits.
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1 customer review
Leigh Spittel
Christopher always captures the essence of each event in his photos with such creative insight!
Reviewed on Facebook
What’s the secret to taking a great photograph?
Apart from the technical things (good exposure, lighting, framing and composition), a rapport with the subject is important. The expression, especially the look in the eyes, is often key. (E.g., cover the mouth in an image, and determine from the eyes if the subject is really smiling.) We can usually tell the difference between an image in which the subject is self-consciously smiling, often in initial photographs, and one in which he or she is at ease and pleased. It sometimes takes a while, some conversation, even some experiments with different poses and angles, before the images start to show that relaxed or reflective simplicity in which the personality shows through.
What questions might you ask a client when starting a new project?
How do you plan to use the images? Is this going to hang on a wall, or go in a book, or be your Facebook profile shot for the next year or so?
How do you imagine the images will present you and/or your loved ones? Are you going for something casual or formal, happy or reflective?
For wedding photography, do you like a slight "photo-journalistic" look? Black and white, or toned, or color, or all three? What kind of visual art do you like?
If you have in mind particular images from an event (e.g., the bride embracing her grandmother in a wheelchair), can we make a list, so that we are less likely to miss anything in the excitement of the day?
Do you want something fairly conventional or more experimental -- I can do both.
What do you love most about your job?
The most pleasing thing for me is when I shoot something so beautiful that it takes my breath away (or I just stop breathing for a moment). Sometimes, oddly enough, it gives me a reaction like fear. (It's rare, and it's momentary, but I know I'm getting something REALLY good.)
The second most pleasing thing is seeing my clients delighted by one or another image, and knowing that my expertise made that possible. i like pleasing people.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I have always been interested in visual arts. I am also a stained glass artist. (In one instance, someone who bought a panel I made had the builders of her new house make the window the right size for the panel!)
I knew that I could have a win-win relationship with clients, and so it has been.
Why should our clients choose you?
i think clients need to see some of my work and decide if they like my style. Then they should meet with me, and see if we can have a good working relationship -- a productive collaboration. Not every photographer is right for every client. I like people, and they tend to like me.
