Peggy Farren
Wedding Photographer Florida
Peggy Farren operates a thriving portrait and wedding studio in Naples, Florida. Peggy started her photography career as a wedding photographer and videographer and her work has been published nationally and internationally. Peggy opened her studio, Avant-Garde Images, Inc., 10 years ago.
Peggy is also the owner of Photography Naples School, offering classes, workshops, photography excursions and private lessons to the growing number of photographers and enthusiasts throughout Florida. Her fun personality and patient teaching style have helped many photographers get their start and improve their both their photography and their businesses.
Tell us a little about yourself and your photography.
My name is Peggy Farren. I've been a professional photographer for about 13 years. I was raised in Michigan and I've been in Naples, Florida for almost 18 years. I was a salesperson before getting into photography.
Why did you start taking photos?
I always loved taking pictures but never thought about photography as a career until I fell into a part-time job as an assistant to a wedding photographer. I mostly carried the bags! I started taking classes on my own and eventually started taking photographs and video at that company.
What inspired you to turn it into a business?
I worked for the other company for about three years. After a while, it was time to start my own company.
Why are you fascinated with weddings?
There are so many things I love about photographing weddings. One is that every one of them is so different. The decor, the dresses, the personalities, the venues - they all change with every wedding. I challenge myself at every wedding to try to come up with unique and creative photographs so that each of my clients will have her own "look" to her wedding photographs.
Sometimes my assistant and I will have "themes" such as reflections or frame within a frame or textures or extreme closeups. We have so much fun at weddings!
I also am a people person so I love meeting all the new people. I love the music at the receptions. I love to catch pictures of people having fun!
How do you capture the love and feeling of a wedding?
This is so funny that you ask. Everyone teases me because when I am posing, I say "I want to feel the love!". For the family portraits, I'll often ask them to do a group hug. I get wonderful smiles and feel the love of the family.
For the bride and groom, this mostly involves them looking at each other. Touching the face is soooo sexy. Eyes closed, leaning into each other is another awesome "pose" to feel love. Having fun together, smiling and laughing - running down the beach, the groom picking up the bride, doing the "dip" while looking at each other.
Q: I bet you can tell me about some challenges you faced or awkward circumstances. Tell me about some memorable moments.
Do you mean the "F" word brides? ha ha I've had quite a few brides melt down and have hissy fits before their weddings. They almost always calm down once the ceremony happens. The one exception was the 19 year old bride who tried to get an alcoholic drink at the cocktail hour. She had a screaming, swearing fit when the bartender refused to serve her because she was underage. That was certainly an awkward circumstance - especially for all the guests!
Believe it or not, I've seen several groomsmen faint at weddings. They get so hungover and then have to stand out in the hot sun on the beach. It's hot and they don't always make it!
The most interesting wedding I had was in 2004 on Sanibel/Captiva Islands. This poor couple had to change churches last minute due to hurricane damage at their church. They hired several trolleys to shuttle their guests from the church to the reception. I was on the trolley with the bride, groom and attendants. We heard a loud thump then "OH MY GOD, THAT WAS A PEDESTRIAN!" The trolley hit a pedestrian who was crossing the street!
The driver checked the pedestrian, who was alive and conscious and then drove us to the reception. He went back after he dropped us off. I never did find out what happened to the pedestrian but he didn't die or I would have heard!
BTW - this wedding also had one of my favorite first dances! The bride and groom danced to Bon Jovi's "I'll be there for you". All the guests crowded around the dance floor and sung all the words really loud. It was awesome!
What are some other photographic projects you enjoy working on?
I started a photography school about a year ago called "Photography Naples". It's been so much fun learning nature photography, HDR, night landscapes, food photography and fashion photography. Working in all these different types of photography has kept me fresh! It's been fun to incorporate some of my new skills into wedding photography.
What kind of a camera and lenses do you primarily use and how do you select your equipment?
When I started my company, I invested in two good Canon L series 2.8 lenses - the 24-70mm and the 70-200 mm. I carry one camera on each shoulder using those two lenses during every wedding ceremony. I shoot with both cameras so that I have a backup of the ceremony if anything should go wrong with either of them.
Once you invest in good lenses, you really can't switch so I've been with Canon all along.
I primarily use Canon 5Ds but I also have a 30D, 60D and an old 10D converted to digital infrared. We bring a lot of gear to weddings including our fisheye lens. We use on camera flash during the ceremony and a mix of off and on camera flash for the formals and reception.
Can you name some tips for those who want to start a wedding photography business?
- Have a good business plan. Get the proper licenses, insurance, bank accounts, etc. You need to know how many weddings it will take to pay for your initial investment and then how much you'll need to charge and how many weddings you will need to make a profit.
- Marketing, marketing, marketing and more marketing. This is a really competitive business!
- Have enough backup equipment. Equipment malfunctions are more common than you think!
- Join your local professional photography guild and local wedding association and go to the meetings! If people like you, they'll refer you.
- Don't lowball your prices. Start with "average" prices. If you start with super discounted packages, you'll brand yourself as a low end photographer and it will be hard to change your reputation.
- Have great relationships with the other vendors. Make sure they get pictures from weddings you've done together. Choose one or two favorite venues and market to them. You can't possibly call on all the vendors so make sure you are in the minds of at least two busy wedding venues. Drop off cookies/donuts, send them pictures, etc. Send thank you cards, become their Facebook friends.
Thanks for a wonderful insight into your world, Peggy and great success moving forward!
You can see more of Peggy Farren's work at Avant-Garde Images, Inc. at www.naplesportraits.com or give her a call at (239) 263-7001.
Information about her Photography Club and Workshops www.photographynaples.com
Thrandur
Digital-Photo-Web.com
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