FAQ: Who Takes Your Pictures?

I have recently added a new Frequently Asked Question section onto my website and a brand new post for aspiring wedding photographers as this is a question I am often asked about. Another question that I get, is about who takes my pictures. If you follow me on Instagram (@tanyaweekes), you will know that I regularly post pictures of my latest adventures, a lot of which include pictures of myself. One of my followers, lovely, Sena Naib Yassin asked this question most recently when she commented on one of my Instagram posts.To answer the question.. it usually boils down to three options...

1. Myself

Most of of the pictures that I post of myself, I have taken by myself using my Fuji camera on the self-timer mode. Recently, I have started using my iPhone as a remote to trigger my camera, which was made possible by downloading an app. Before that, I literally used to run into position and hope for the best (can you imagine?!). The camera remote is great because you can see yourself on your phone before you take the picture, so I can see whether I have chopped of my head and make sure that I am in focus. If I have my tripod, I will used that, if not, I will try and just prop up my camera somewhere... if I need to use my camera strap to tie my camera to a tree, I will do that if I need to haha.

2. Whoever I am with at the time

When I'm photographing a wedding, my behind the scenes shots are usually taken by my assistant and second photographer, Safrana Musa. However, for my lifestyle and travel shots, this could be my Mum/husband/cousin/friend/auntie... I usually set up the shot by looking through the camera viewfinder first and telling my Mum/husband/cousin/friend/auntie where to stand and click. My Husband, Will, just reminded me though, that "it's never usually just the one click". So, I have to admit, that I ask them to take a few pictures, not just the one, much to their annoyance haha. That said, I usually credit whoever has taken the picture in the post. So if nobody has been credited, it is safe to say, I probably took the picture.

3. A random stranger

For the times where I am out and about and not with my Mum/husband/cousin/friend/auntie and I can't prop my camera up somewhere and put it in the self-timer mode, then I will ask a random stranger. I did this in Florence, Manila and in Paris... I will give the stranger a quick glance over, to see if I think they are cool and to see if I could potentially out-run them in a race if they decided to run off with my camera and, well, hope for the best :-) Here are a few pictures of me using the tripod/self-timer/iphone remote set-up which I typically do. Will kindly agreed to shoot some behind the scenes shots during the shoot.I love how the Fuji Film remote app allows you to control my cameras focus from a distance, I simply have to touch the screen. It also allows you to remotely change the aperture, ISO and shutter speed. The changes that you make can be instantly seen on the screen before you take the picture.