So just this morning I was exchanging an email with one of my favorite fellow brides. One of the topics was photography. Then right after that, I get yet another email asking about photographers. While I didn’t want to review specific vendors until after our wedding is done, I know it can be hard to secure the best photographer. Since I get so many emails on this, I will share with you who I think is the best photographer – In my opinion, hands down, its Victor Winklaar. First, his website is beautiful and his photo gallery is top notch. Even the “Ring Photo”, shown left, is so much more interesting than the ‘rings set on top of the bouquet’ photos we’ve seen so many times (though he has some of those too). I am super super fussy when it comes to photography. One of my best friends happens to be a brilliant fine art photographer. Having had the opportunity to kind of see the world through her eyes, I would never be able to settle for a typical, traditional wedding album I won’t want to open.

I appreciate the fact that Victor creates interest with clean composition and perfectly exposed photos, and does not rely on Photoshop effects. Given I’ve worked in Photoshop for over 10 years and still maintain my membership with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, I feel like I can spot mediocre Photoshop work in a second and shudder at the sight of it. (Of course that helps explain why I am among other things a “Mac snob”.) I think Victor avoids the temptations and traps that less experienced photographers often fall into. So, before assuming Victor will be out of your budget, give him a shout. While for us, video was an afterthought, high quality photos were at the top of our list.

One interesting note – while you’ll find plenty of rave reviews through the Aruba.com forum, I’ve noticed that Victor is one of the photographers that does not participate in or market himself through the forum. Some photographers are fairly aggressive in their marketing and there are others that are more subtle, acting more as just part of the community offering help on all sorts of topics. I’m a fan of the ‘not marketing’ or very indirect marketing over those that try so hard. (By the way – my wedding planner also does not market herself through the forum.) You shouldn’t have to tell people how good you think you are. If you’re great at what you do I think the referrals should speak for themselves. For me, self-promotion in the forum is a real turn-off… While they aren’t allowed to blatantly self promote, at least one is clever at bending the rules.