Review is written by Staff @ The Ring and is based on • Interviews with this vendor • Interviews with past brides
There’s traditional wedding photography and then there’s John Wills Photography. Picture adventurous couples jumping into the pool after the first dance, lounging in a bathtub, running through the rain, a the bride riding horseback alongside her gun-toting Father - with all of the pretty, romantic shots captured somewhere in between.
John Wills Photography targets adventurous, fun-loving couples looking for photos that deliver on personality – their personality. The kind of shots that, when you’re going through your images, will leave you saying, ‘what a cool shot!” They might also leave you in tears. “So many times brides have been crying on the phone, saying it felt like it was their wedding day all over again… Very cool stuff!”
Staff at The Ring sat down with John Wills for a second time in 2011 to get more on how he’s managed to capture a new breed of fearless brides and grooms. Here’s what we found…
It started with a canoe....
John Wills is the kind of guy that you just want to hang out with. He’s laid back, has a great sense of humour, and doesn’t take life too seriously. That’s why anyone he’s worked with would probably be shocked to find out that initially, he was more into shooting wildlife than people.
John first got into photography when he brought his camera along on canoe trip and started shooting wildlife. He was perfectly content until his wife had a friend over and he instinctively started shooting the kids playing around. He was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. And when his wife’s friend saw the pictures and absolutely LOVED them, John was hooked.
John decided that the perfect avenue for shooting people was to get into wedding photography. So last year, he opened his business. And his unique style is catching a buzz amongst local brides. In his first year alone (2010), he shot 22 weddings!
And although John's ideal vacation still involves a canoe, a cottage and his Nikon, his heart lies with wedding photography, "I love meeting and working with so many great people every weekend. I have the best job in the world…..let's face it I get to spend the most important day of people's lives with them. I get to see all the love and emotion on a weekly basis…..what other job out there does that?
Daring to be different…
All you have to do is check out John’s website to see that location and personality (his personality as well as that of the bride and groom) play a significant part in each shot. We absolutely adore his photo of a bride lying in bed, surrounded by the groomsmen, as the groom looks on, totally ‘mortified’. And his shot of a bride working on a broken down car (in her wedding dress) as the grooms leans back with a beer.
John says his secret to getting the images he wants (he shoots for a completely fresh and visually stunning image) is being laid back and having fun. "My first priority on wedding day is not the images…..it is that the bride and groom have fun and enjoy their wedding day and if that happens then their images will ROCK!"
Tara Kelly booked John Wills for her May 2010 wedding as was impressed right from the get go, “In looking through John's portfolio, his photos seemed "real". We were looking for a photographer that had an eye for capturing us as individuals but also as a couple. We were looking for anything but traditional "family" photos and we felt that John could meet our need. On our wedding day he made us feel relaxed and at ease, he made us laugh, he went with the flow."
Even though he’s still new to the wedding business, John’s company has grown on referrals, usually from a friend of someone whose wedding he photographed.
Packages
John’s Wedding Collections start at $1700 and each feature extra perks so that couples can find something that really works for them. While each collection has something unique, all of John's packages come with a disc of digital files.
John says that hands down, his “Ultimate Collection” is his most popular package. It includes your engagement session, two photographers for your entire wedding and tons of shooting time. With this type of package, you’re not going to miss a minute of the action on your wedding day.
Something else we love; John guarantees that your images will be ready for pickup within the first three weeks of your wedding day. Anything after that and he’ll refund you $100 per day until your pictures are ready!
Building a connection....
For John, getting those ‘stand out shots’ really comes down to his connection with each couple. So his booking process might be a little different than most….
John loves getting phone calls from brides because he finds them so much more personal than email but explains “I totally understand that people are busy, so email works too.”
If your wedding date is available, you’ll do an initial consultation with him over the phone, "I try to get a feeling of the kind of people the bride and groom are. I don’t book every wedding I get asked to do. I think it is very important that I have a personal connection with the bride and grooms. Let's face it, I will be spending most of the day with them on their wedding day so think it's important that we enjoy being with each other and couples aren’t just hiring me based on price or what package I offer. There has to be a great connection for us to work together."
Brandi Febel was impressed with John’s process when she contacted him for her February 2011 wedding, “One thing that stood out right away was that when I called him to set up an appointment, he said that he didn't take people on as clients that he didn't have a connection with. I thought this was very unusual, in a great way. This wasn't someone who was just looking to make money off of his clients, he wanted to make sure that one of the most important days of their lives was captured perfectly by the right person, whether it was him or not. When we first met him for coffee, we found that we clicked very quickly and spent more time just talking than we did talking about our wedding! We knew right away that this was the person we wanted to photograph our wedding.”
After your initial consultation, you’ll meet up with John so you can get to know each other in person and again, make sure that you really connect with one another. That’s why, it’s important to John that both the bride and groom are there for the meeting.
If you both feel like you’d make a great wedding day team, you'll be able to choose the collection that works best for your special day. You'll sign a contract and you'll usually book your engagement session. John says the engagement session is key, "We’ll start building that connection and friendship. This will really show on wedding. When I show up, I’ll seem like a friend… with a very expensive camera."
On the day of, John will sometimes bring a second shooter, depending on which package you choose. His shooter will be right there with John all day and will usually photograph the guys getting ready so that John has more time to spend with the bride. It’s a great way for John to focus on you as a couple throughout the day, without missing out on everything else going on.
For John, one of the most rewarding moments happens after the wedding, "I also love getting the phone calls from the brides a couple weeks after their wedding and they’ve seen their slideshow on my blog….so many times they have been crying on the phone saying it felt like it was their wedding day all over again….very cool stuff!"
And here's something that we think is so cool. After your wedding, you'll be invited to a party John hosts for all of the brides he's shot that year, "and it's always a good party!"
Details, details, details....
·Prices start at $1700 at John Wills Photography
·The average bride spends $2700
·A $500 deposit is required to secure John for your wedding day
·The easiest way to find out if your date is available is to give John a call
There’s traditional wedding photography and then there’s John Wills Photography. Picture adventurous couples jumping into the pool after the first dance, lounging in a bathtub, running through the rain, a the bride riding horseback alongside her gun-toting Father - with all of the pretty, romantic shots captured somewhere in between.
John Wills Photography targets adventurous, fun-loving couples looking for photos that deliver on personality – their personality. The kind of shots that, when you’re going through your images, will leave you saying, ‘what a cool shot!” They might also leave you in tears. “So many times brides have been crying on the phone, saying it felt like it was their wedding day all over again… Very cool stuff!”
Staff at The Ring sat down with John Wills for a second time in 2011 to get more on how he’s managed to capture a new breed of fearless brides and grooms. Here’s what we found…
It started with a canoe....
John Wills is the kind of guy that you just want to hang out with. He’s laid back, has a great sense of humour, and doesn’t take life too seriously. That’s why anyone he’s worked with would probably be shocked to find out that initially, he was more into shooting wildlife than people.
John first got into photography when he brought his camera along on canoe trip and started shooting wildlife. He was perfectly content until his wife had a friend over and he instinctively started shooting the kids playing around. He was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. And when his wife’s friend saw the pictures and absolutely LOVED them, John was hooked.
John decided that the perfect avenue for shooting people was to get into wedding photography. So last year, he opened his business. And his unique style is catching a buzz amongst local brides. In his first year alone (2010), he shot 22 weddings!
And although John's ideal vacation still involves a canoe, a cottage and his Nikon, his heart lies with wedding photography, "I love meeting and working with so many great people every weekend. I have the best job in the world…..let's face it I get to spend the most important day of people's lives with them. I get to see all the love and emotion on a weekly basis…..what other job out there does that?
Daring to be different…
All you have to do is check out John’s website to see that location and personality (his personality as well as that of the bride and groom) play a significant part in each shot. We absolutely adore his photo of a bride lying in bed, surrounded by the groomsmen, as the groom looks on, totally ‘mortified’. And his shot of a bride working on a broken down car (in her wedding dress) as the grooms leans back with a beer.
John says his secret to getting the images he wants (he shoots for a completely fresh and visually stunning image) is being laid back and having fun. "My first priority on wedding day is not the images…..it is that the bride and groom have fun and enjoy their wedding day and if that happens then their images will ROCK!"
Tara Kelly booked John Wills for her May 2010 wedding as was impressed right from the get go, “In looking through John's portfolio, his photos seemed "real". We were looking for a photographer that had an eye for capturing us as individuals but also as a couple. We were looking for anything but traditional "family" photos and we felt that John could meet our need. On our wedding day he made us feel relaxed and at ease, he made us laugh, he went with the flow."
Even though he’s still new to the wedding business, John’s company has grown on referrals, usually from a friend of someone whose wedding he photographed.
Packages
John’s Wedding Collections start at $1700 and each feature extra perks so that couples can find something that really works for them. While each collection has something unique, all of John's packages come with a disc of digital files.
John says that hands down, his “Ultimate Collection” is his most popular package. It includes your engagement session, two photographers for your entire wedding and tons of shooting time. With this type of package, you’re not going to miss a minute of the action on your wedding day.
Something else we love; John guarantees that your images will be ready for pickup within the first three weeks of your wedding day. Anything after that and he’ll refund you $100 per day until your pictures are ready!
Building a connection....
For John, getting those ‘stand out shots’ really comes down to his connection with each couple. So his booking process might be a little different than most….
John loves getting phone calls from brides because he finds them so much more personal than email but explains “I totally understand that people are busy, so email works too.”
If your wedding date is available, you’ll do an initial consultation with him over the phone, "I try to get a feeling of the kind of people the bride and groom are. I don’t book every wedding I get asked to do. I think it is very important that I have a personal connection with the bride and grooms. Let's face it, I will be spending most of the day with them on their wedding day so think it's important that we enjoy being with each other and couples aren’t just hiring me based on price or what package I offer. There has to be a great connection for us to work together."
Brandi Febel was impressed with John’s process when she contacted him for her February 2011 wedding, “One thing that stood out right away was that when I called him to set up an appointment, he said that he didn't take people on as clients that he didn't have a connection with. I thought this was very unusual, in a great way. This wasn't someone who was just looking to make money off of his clients, he wanted to make sure that one of the most important days of their lives was captured perfectly by the right person, whether it was him or not. When we first met him for coffee, we found that we clicked very quickly and spent more time just talking than we did talking about our wedding! We knew right away that this was the person we wanted to photograph our wedding.”
After your initial consultation, you’ll meet up with John so you can get to know each other in person and again, make sure that you really connect with one another. That’s why, it’s important to John that both the bride and groom are there for the meeting.
If you both feel like you’d make a great wedding day team, you'll be able to choose the collection that works best for your special day. You'll sign a contract and you'll usually book your engagement session. John says the engagement session is key, "We’ll start building that connection and friendship. This will really show on wedding. When I show up, I’ll seem like a friend… with a very expensive camera."
On the day of, John will sometimes bring a second shooter, depending on which package you choose. His shooter will be right there with John all day and will usually photograph the guys getting ready so that John has more time to spend with the bride. It’s a great way for John to focus on you as a couple throughout the day, without missing out on everything else going on.
For John, one of the most rewarding moments happens after the wedding, "I also love getting the phone calls from the brides a couple weeks after their wedding and they’ve seen their slideshow on my blog….so many times they have been crying on the phone saying it felt like it was their wedding day all over again….very cool stuff!"
And here's something that we think is so cool. After your wedding, you'll be invited to a party John hosts for all of the brides he's shot that year, "and it's always a good party!"
Details, details, details....
·Prices start at $1700 at John Wills Photography
·The average bride spends $2700
·A $500 deposit is required to secure John for your wedding day
·The easiest way to find out if your date is available is to give John a call
