I am so pleased to introduce you to a photographer that I admire so much and consider to be a good friend!
Johnny Tran of JT Images was actually the photographer of the second wedding that I ever did – and I’ve had the pleasure to work with him a few times since then. He is always professional, but treats his clients like good friends…and his clients usually end up at Flames games with him!
I sent Johnny some questions, and would love to share his answers, as well as some of his amazing work. Take a peek!
Tell us a little about your business!
I started JT Images in 2005. I was so inspired by my own wedding photographer that started to get really interested photography in general. Weddings weren’t my first interest at the time, I was more into travel photography. I wanted to make a living doing photography but soon realized it wasn’t easy getting into travel photography. I ended up trying a bunch of different things. I even worked for the Calgary Flames for a little bit but that wasn’t paying the bills. Then I thought back to what my wedding photographer had done for my wife and I, and I knew there was a large demand for that. I soon enrolled myself at SAIT and took a few courses, including Wedding Photography, to see what it was all about. I fell in love with it. I knew at the time I needed to have a distinct style that would separate me from the others. I worked tirelessly on my style and still do today. After SAIT, I soon found myself second shooting for another wedding studio and really got my feet wet. I was booking weddings of friends and extended family to start off with until my portfolio was decent enough to put up a website and put my name out there. The first place I had advertised was the Yellow Pages. It costed me way too much money than what it was worth and I wasn’t happy about it. But looking back, if I didn’t, things might have turned out a little different. When I ran my ad in the yellow pages from 2007 – 2008, I only got 1 commission from that ad in 2 years. It was a sweet young lady named Athyna who saw my ad and went to my website. She felt that I was the one she wanted for her wedding and was ecstatic to hire me. She was getting married at the Fairmont Palliser and it was my very first “high end” wedding. At the time I was still at a cross roads, trying to figure out if this was what I wanted to pursue as a career. I was already a business owner in another industry and was looking for a change. So, when Athyna and her fiance Jon came to me, I told myself her wedding was going to make or break me. I had to make the best of this opportunity. To make a long story short, I showed up at that wedding with the intent to absolutely rock it. It was her wedding that I created a few of my well known images at the time. Including one that was voted by DWF, the biggest online community of professional wedding photographers, as the top image of 2008 and earned me the title of DWF Wedding Photographer of the Year. It was a huge honor and to make sure I didn’t fluke out I entered WPPI’s Awards of Excellence in 2009 and 2010 and won 3 more awards for some of my wedding images. So after Athyna and Jon’s wedding, I knew this was what I was meant to do.
What do you love the most about being a photographer?
The thing I love most about being a wedding photographer are the relationships that are created. After working so closely with some of my clients, you can’t help it but get close to them. Some of them end up being pretty good friends! I can think of quite a few clients that I do personal things with, like fishing, BBQ’s, birthdays and stuff. The best weddings are destination weddings where you end up hanging out with everyone for a week. That’s when relationships get really close. I love meeting new and interesting people.
What is your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is to stay fresh and relevant. There are a lot of new photographers entering that market, which can be a good and bad thing for couples getting married. The good is that there are more choices than ever before. The bad this is that, well, a lot of them are just that… bad. So with me, I make sure my style is distinct although continuously evolving. At every session or wedding I shoot, I always try to do something I haven’t done before. Whether it be a pose or a lighting technique, I always experiment. And I am a big believer in learning from the best. When there’s an opportunity to attend a workshop that is hosted by one of the world’s best wedding photographers, I always set a budget to be able to attend that. It helps me grow as an artist and keeps my creative juices flowing.
How you would define your style?
My style is quite the mixture. I love shooting PJ (photo journalism) but I also love lighting and shooting fashion/magazine style photos for my clients. Composition is also a big and important part of my style, so I like landscapes and architecture as well. I don’t know if there is a word for my style. Its everything all rolled into one but done really well and timeless. 
What are three things you would want engaged couples out there to know about you?
1. Professionalism. When clients hire me they can expect absolute professionalism from the consultation to the delivery of their wedding album. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work. Everything has to be perfect and that comes from being 100% professional.
2. I shoot for the album. When I am doing the wedding coverage, I am thinking ahead and planning for the design of the wedding album as I go. The wedding album is the most important piece of art you will get from me. Once the wedding is all said and done, it is the one physical item you will have that you will cherish. It will become a very important family heirloom going forward, so it only makes sense that this well thought out ahead of time and completed to perfection.
3. Me. That’s right why not me? After all, I am also selling the client me and who I am. I have been told many times that I go the extra mile for clients. I have to say that is true. I do that, because I love it. Like I mentioned before, it’s about the relationships as well. Most of my clients have gone to either dinner, lunch and even hockey games with me. I want to get to know my clients and who they are before they even get close to stepping in front of my camera. If you feel comfortable hanging out with me, then that will also be evident when you are in front of the camera.
What advice do you have for newly engaged couples who are searching for a photographer?
My biggest advice when searching for a photographer is to make sure you look around. There are a lot of photographers out there now and everyone has different levels of experience and ability. Make sure you compare what’s out there and find the photographer whose images you love most. Make sure you see as much of their portfolio as you can to make sure they can reproduce the same quality images each time. Ask to see complete weddings to see how they do their coverage and again to see the consistency. Are they just showing off their best images only and hiding the rest? That’s a huge flag. On my website, I show complete weddings from start to finish. Make sure you ask about albums and see their samples. A wedding photographer is not wedding photographer if they do not have sample wedding albums to show you. Also ask friends and friends of friends for recommendations. They will always give you the best and honest recommendations. Or, ask the photographer for references from couples they have shot. What I like to do is, I let my couples pick a random couple or couples from my blog and then they can get a testimonial from them. I do this because giving them a list of couples that I already know what they will say feels like cheating.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The last thing I would like to add is to remember to have fun on your wedding day. You did a TON of planning before the big day. Let that all come together and just relax and enjoy the day. It really helps to have a wonderful Wedding Planner like Mary and her team. It goes by extremely fast because after all, it’s only about 16 hours from prep to the end of the night after months and months of planning. If some things don’t go as planned on the big day, don’t fret about it too much. Things can and WILL happen, guaranteed. So it’s not worth it to get all wound up about it. This is your big day, it will only happen once. You are marrying the love of your life…. just have fun!
Thanks Johnny! We look forward to working with you again!
