Review is written by Staff @ The Ring and is based on • Interviews with this vendor • Interviews with past brides
Tara Jeles, Owner and Photographer at So Jeles Photography, uses a fun, relaxed style of shooting to capture wedding days, though you can also see a bit of her own artistic vision in each image. Tara is young, fascinated by weddings, and uses a refreshing energy to take on each wedding that comes her way (most of which, do so by referral). Shooting completely in digital format, she told us, "It’s the emotions of the wedding that keep me in the wedding business. It’s capturing the love and excitement as people begin a new life together... and I get to be a part of their special day and the start of that life together."
When we recently met up with Tara again to find out what was new, she was going into her fourth season of photography, and this professional photographer was already fully booked for weddings for 2010 at the time. She has worked with brides in London, Barrie, Peterborough, Haliburton and even Jamaica.
When we saw Tara's online availability calendar filling in so quickly with weddings, Trash the Dress sessions and maternity and baby shoots (among other things), staff at The Ring thought we'd better update local brides on all of the great reasons to book So Jeles Photography as far ahead as possible. Let us explain...
Personally speaking...
Tara has been shooting weddings for seven years, but has always been interested in photography. She was eight when she got her first camera while on vacation with her family at Disneyworld. She remembers taking pictures of anything and everything and being overwhelmed by the ability to capture a memory forever. Tara's hobby of taking photos was something she never gave up, which eventually led her to capturing memories for friends and family as well as brides and grooms in the Brantford area.
"You always remember the first wedding you shot," says Tara, recalling details from the first one she did. "It was a gift for a friend whose photographer cancelled at the last possible second." Since Tara was known by most of her friends and family as an amateur photographer with tons of talent, her friend asked for help. "That was where everything really started." The next nine weddings she did were for friends and family. Word of mouth led the way to more and more weddings while Tara studied both fine art and photography. She considers herself a career student, and continues to study her craft regularly.
A fun, romantic, casual style
From looking at her portfolio, you can see that Tara's photos are candid in a fun, romantic, casual style. "The couple should feel relaxed in the shoots and remember the fun they had once they can look back at the moments in photos," she says.
Such was the case for Nicole Hershey, who hired So Jeles for her November 2009 wedding photos. She told us that her experience working with Tara was calm, relaxing and fun. "I would definitely recommend Tara to friends," she adds. "I would say: 'you won't be disappointed and in twenty-five years [your photos] will still be classic.'"
Tara poses the usual portraits that are necessary for documenting the facts and for appeasing parents or guests who may want more traditional photos. She can work from a shot list if you have specific requests and she'll attempt to get as many of the details as possible so that you won't agonize over the perfect table setting and then not get a picture of the final look. But in the end, your album is designed to show off the as-it-happens photography that So Jeles Photography offers.
For her July 2009 wedding photography session, Holly Roberts says that Tara listened to exactly what she wanted and followed through on her wedding day. "I gave her sample pictures of what I was looking for and she had those samples with her on the day of… and got similar shots at the same time!" Holly told us. She adds that Tara was extremely patient, especially with the kids. "She was always there but you never knew she was. She made me feel special and that she was entirely focused on us during that day."
Weddings with Tara...
The CD of your photos should arrive within one to two months of your wedding day (depending on how busy Tara's season is). "I love to deliver the pictures to the couple, feeling the anticipation then giving the bride and groom their pictures and watching them relive their day all over again."
"My experience meeting with Tara was great and working with her was so delightful… she made it easy for us," Nicole told us. Tara even agreed to go to Nicole's house at eight in the morning in order to go to the hairdresser with her the morning of her wedding.
Tara has been hired for a variety of different styles and budgets of weddings, including several destination weddings, one of which was in Jamaica, followed by a reception that took place in January back here in Ontario – both of which Tara photographed.
Brides (and grooms) just wanna have fun
Couples who choose Tara for their photography often end up being long term clients and friends. Tara said that it's probably her 'Trash the Dress' sessions that have most of her couples coming back for more after the wedding. She takes the new husband and wife out in their formal attire to pose in a variety of fun and different locations. Tara says it's a lot of fun and a great excuse to wear the dress again, or to do some of the shots that might have been a bit too risky on the wedding day.
Holly says that one of her favourite memories of her wedding shoot with Tara was the laughs that they had on her wedding day. "It was like she was a part of the wedding party... Tara is a great photographer, very personable; at times during the day I would glance over and see her chatting with guests. She was never an intruder or in the way of anything, more so a part of everything that made the day so special."
If you're not into trashing the dress, you can book an additional date with Tara to wear your dress again and get some outdoor shots if your plans for outdoor wedding day photos don't work out due to inclement weather.
"Bellies and babies sessions also have me really busy this season," said Tara, referring to maternity and baby portrait sessions. "It's wonderful to see the bride and groom as husband and wife and then mother and father..."
Tara also offers boudoir shoots and photobooks – pre or post wedding and whenever you're feeling brave enough to do it.
Packages and pricing
Even though So Jeles Photography is certainly no longer considered 'new' to the business, Tara's packages are the lowest we've seen in a long time. This makes her a great option for a bride with a lower budget. This also means that she'll book up very fast.
Nicole found Tara's prices to be right in her budget and certainly quite reasonable considering how great the quality and quantity of photos were. "I like the uniqueness of the photos," she adds.
Starting at $800 and going up to only $1700, each of So Jeles' packages include all-day coverage and unlimited photo shoot sites. With these packages are photos in an album (of varying amounts depending on the package), various sizes and amounts of photos in print, and a CD of all of the high resolution, unmarked photos ready for you to print or share. Typically, you get about 200 to 400 photos, says Tara.
"Tara's prices are incredible, the quality is fantastic, plus getting a CD with unmarked pictures allows for easy access to all the special memories," says Holly.
An engagement photo session is $75 to $100 plus taxes and includes the images on CD, an 8x10 print of your favourite shot and twenty-five to forty photos in an album. The engagement photos are often used for your reception table at your wedding or for your newspaper announcement. For Tara, she uses the engagement session to help her get to know you as a couple and in front of the camera. She can gauge your style and personality while you do the same with her. You can also add a matted signing frame of an engagement photo for your wedding reception for an additional $60.
So Jeles Photography's album options are flexible and depend entirely on your wants and needs as far as your take-home memories are concerned. Tara is happy to work with you to create something you'll love for a lifetime.
If you're looking to book Tara for a destination wedding, contact her for a custom quote.
One of our favourite things about So Jeles Photography (other than Tara, of course), is that Tara offers a registry for your photography along with cards that you can put into shower invitations.
We think that recent bride, Nicole, summed up nicely how awesome Tara is: "She is fun, talented and dedicated to what she does. I could not have asked for better engagement and wedding pictures."
Details, details, details
• Initial meetings with Tara are often at the location of the couple's choice. Tara will bring an assortment of her work for you to look over.
• Once you’ve selected your package and booked your day, a deposit of $50 is due. This deposit ensures that no one else can book So Jeles Photography, as Tara only takes on 1 wedding per day.
• Your balance is due the day of or before the wedding.
• Most people book So Jeles Photography 1 to 2 years ahead of their wedding date – we told you she booked up fast!
• Package prices are subject to applicable taxes.
• A $50 travel fee applied to any location more than 100 km from Tara's office.
In other words...
"Thank you so much for all your hard work - the pictures turned out beautifully. You have an incredibly good knack at knowing which poses will look good in which setting. Because of your work we have many images to look at to fondly remember the celebration of our marriage. You are so friendly and professional and efficient. We would have been so disorganized without you. You were so much more than a photographer. You became wedding coordinator and friend. Thank you too for paying attention to the details. I was thrilled to see the pictures of my shoes, the bouquets, place setting, the boys tying up their ties, etc. And we loved that you took pictures of guests - it rounds out the pictures beautifully and helps us remember who was there (believe it or not, the whole day sort of felt like a blur). We all had so much fun with you. Thanks for everything." - Bryan & Michelle
"Tara, ... we picked up the pictures. There is not one that I don't like. I really love the ones that we did at the park... The grandparents' photos turned out beautiful. I can't wait to show his grandparents those ones. Thank you so very much, Tara. The pictures turned out even more beautiful than I could have imagined. You have the talent which makes pictures look great, but you also have the artistic flair that takes photography to the next level and makes the pictures beautiful." - Alicia & Greg
"We want to thank you for so much - the photo session was so relaxing and enjoyable, I would not have imagined it any better. It showed through in the pictures too. Speaking of pictures... they are amazing. You captured every happy detail and aspect of what we were feeling. We couldn't be more pleased." - Sanu & Audra
"Thank you so much for being our photographer. Your patience and great ideas were appreciated!! Thank you for helping us in making our wedding day full of wonderful memories." - Adria & Bruno
Tara Jeles, Owner and Photographer at So Jeles Photography, uses a fun, relaxed style of shooting to capture wedding days, though you can also see a bit of her own artistic vision in each image. Tara is young, fascinated by weddings, and uses a refreshing energy to take on each wedding that comes her way (most of which, do so by referral). Shooting completely in digital format, she told us, "It’s the emotions of the wedding that keep me in the wedding business. It’s capturing the love and excitement as people begin a new life together... and I get to be a part of their special day and the start of that life together."
When we recently met up with Tara again to find out what was new, she was going into her fourth season of photography, and this professional photographer was already fully booked for weddings for 2010 at the time. She has worked with brides in London, Barrie, Peterborough, Haliburton and even Jamaica.
When we saw Tara's online availability calendar filling in so quickly with weddings, Trash the Dress sessions and maternity and baby shoots (among other things), staff at The Ring thought we'd better update local brides on all of the great reasons to book So Jeles Photography as far ahead as possible. Let us explain...
Personally speaking...
Tara has been shooting weddings for seven years, but has always been interested in photography. She was eight when she got her first camera while on vacation with her family at Disneyworld. She remembers taking pictures of anything and everything and being overwhelmed by the ability to capture a memory forever. Tara's hobby of taking photos was something she never gave up, which eventually led her to capturing memories for friends and family as well as brides and grooms in the Brantford area.
"You always remember the first wedding you shot," says Tara, recalling details from the first one she did. "It was a gift for a friend whose photographer cancelled at the last possible second." Since Tara was known by most of her friends and family as an amateur photographer with tons of talent, her friend asked for help. "That was where everything really started." The next nine weddings she did were for friends and family. Word of mouth led the way to more and more weddings while Tara studied both fine art and photography. She considers herself a career student, and continues to study her craft regularly.
A fun, romantic, casual style
From looking at her portfolio, you can see that Tara's photos are candid in a fun, romantic, casual style. "The couple should feel relaxed in the shoots and remember the fun they had once they can look back at the moments in photos," she says.
Such was the case for Nicole Hershey, who hired So Jeles for her November 2009 wedding photos. She told us that her experience working with Tara was calm, relaxing and fun. "I would definitely recommend Tara to friends," she adds. "I would say: 'you won't be disappointed and in twenty-five years [your photos] will still be classic.'"
Tara poses the usual portraits that are necessary for documenting the facts and for appeasing parents or guests who may want more traditional photos. She can work from a shot list if you have specific requests and she'll attempt to get as many of the details as possible so that you won't agonize over the perfect table setting and then not get a picture of the final look. But in the end, your album is designed to show off the as-it-happens photography that So Jeles Photography offers.
For her July 2009 wedding photography session, Holly Roberts says that Tara listened to exactly what she wanted and followed through on her wedding day. "I gave her sample pictures of what I was looking for and she had those samples with her on the day of… and got similar shots at the same time!" Holly told us. She adds that Tara was extremely patient, especially with the kids. "She was always there but you never knew she was. She made me feel special and that she was entirely focused on us during that day."
Weddings with Tara...
The CD of your photos should arrive within one to two months of your wedding day (depending on how busy Tara's season is). "I love to deliver the pictures to the couple, feeling the anticipation then giving the bride and groom their pictures and watching them relive their day all over again."
"My experience meeting with Tara was great and working with her was so delightful… she made it easy for us," Nicole told us. Tara even agreed to go to Nicole's house at eight in the morning in order to go to the hairdresser with her the morning of her wedding.
Tara has been hired for a variety of different styles and budgets of weddings, including several destination weddings, one of which was in Jamaica, followed by a reception that took place in January back here in Ontario – both of which Tara photographed.
Brides (and grooms) just wanna have fun
Couples who choose Tara for their photography often end up being long term clients and friends. Tara said that it's probably her 'Trash the Dress' sessions that have most of her couples coming back for more after the wedding. She takes the new husband and wife out in their formal attire to pose in a variety of fun and different locations. Tara says it's a lot of fun and a great excuse to wear the dress again, or to do some of the shots that might have been a bit too risky on the wedding day.
Holly says that one of her favourite memories of her wedding shoot with Tara was the laughs that they had on her wedding day. "It was like she was a part of the wedding party... Tara is a great photographer, very personable; at times during the day I would glance over and see her chatting with guests. She was never an intruder or in the way of anything, more so a part of everything that made the day so special."
If you're not into trashing the dress, you can book an additional date with Tara to wear your dress again and get some outdoor shots if your plans for outdoor wedding day photos don't work out due to inclement weather.
"Bellies and babies sessions also have me really busy this season," said Tara, referring to maternity and baby portrait sessions. "It's wonderful to see the bride and groom as husband and wife and then mother and father..."
Tara also offers boudoir shoots and photobooks – pre or post wedding and whenever you're feeling brave enough to do it.
Packages and pricing
Even though So Jeles Photography is certainly no longer considered 'new' to the business, Tara's packages are the lowest we've seen in a long time. This makes her a great option for a bride with a lower budget. This also means that she'll book up very fast.
Nicole found Tara's prices to be right in her budget and certainly quite reasonable considering how great the quality and quantity of photos were. "I like the uniqueness of the photos," she adds.
Starting at $800 and going up to only $1700, each of So Jeles' packages include all-day coverage and unlimited photo shoot sites. With these packages are photos in an album (of varying amounts depending on the package), various sizes and amounts of photos in print, and a CD of all of the high resolution, unmarked photos ready for you to print or share. Typically, you get about 200 to 400 photos, says Tara.
"Tara's prices are incredible, the quality is fantastic, plus getting a CD with unmarked pictures allows for easy access to all the special memories," says Holly.
An engagement photo session is $75 to $100 plus taxes and includes the images on CD, an 8x10 print of your favourite shot and twenty-five to forty photos in an album. The engagement photos are often used for your reception table at your wedding or for your newspaper announcement. For Tara, she uses the engagement session to help her get to know you as a couple and in front of the camera. She can gauge your style and personality while you do the same with her. You can also add a matted signing frame of an engagement photo for your wedding reception for an additional $60.
So Jeles Photography's album options are flexible and depend entirely on your wants and needs as far as your take-home memories are concerned. Tara is happy to work with you to create something you'll love for a lifetime.
If you're looking to book Tara for a destination wedding, contact her for a custom quote.
One of our favourite things about So Jeles Photography (other than Tara, of course), is that Tara offers a registry for your photography along with cards that you can put into shower invitations.
We think that recent bride, Nicole, summed up nicely how awesome Tara is: "She is fun, talented and dedicated to what she does. I could not have asked for better engagement and wedding pictures."
Details, details, details
• Initial meetings with Tara are often at the location of the couple's choice. Tara will bring an assortment of her work for you to look over.
• Once you’ve selected your package and booked your day, a deposit of $50 is due. This deposit ensures that no one else can book So Jeles Photography, as Tara only takes on 1 wedding per day.
• Your balance is due the day of or before the wedding.
• Most people book So Jeles Photography 1 to 2 years ahead of their wedding date – we told you she booked up fast!
• Package prices are subject to applicable taxes.
• A $50 travel fee applied to any location more than 100 km from Tara's office.
In other words...
"Thank you so much for all your hard work - the pictures turned out beautifully. You have an incredibly good knack at knowing which poses will look good in which setting. Because of your work we have many images to look at to fondly remember the celebration of our marriage. You are so friendly and professional and efficient. We would have been so disorganized without you. You were so much more than a photographer. You became wedding coordinator and friend. Thank you too for paying attention to the details. I was thrilled to see the pictures of my shoes, the bouquets, place setting, the boys tying up their ties, etc. And we loved that you took pictures of guests - it rounds out the pictures beautifully and helps us remember who was there (believe it or not, the whole day sort of felt like a blur). We all had so much fun with you. Thanks for everything." - Bryan & Michelle
"Tara, ... we picked up the pictures. There is not one that I don't like. I really love the ones that we did at the park... The grandparents' photos turned out beautiful. I can't wait to show his grandparents those ones. Thank you so very much, Tara. The pictures turned out even more beautiful than I could have imagined. You have the talent which makes pictures look great, but you also have the artistic flair that takes photography to the next level and makes the pictures beautiful." - Alicia & Greg
"We want to thank you for so much - the photo session was so relaxing and enjoyable, I would not have imagined it any better. It showed through in the pictures too. Speaking of pictures... they are amazing. You captured every happy detail and aspect of what we were feeling. We couldn't be more pleased." - Sanu & Audra
"Thank you so much for being our photographer. Your patience and great ideas were appreciated!! Thank you for helping us in making our wedding day full of wonderful memories." - Adria & Bruno
