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vendor reviews: photographers
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Interviewing Christine Kufske, Owner & Principal Photographer at Click Photography
Click Photography is a well-loved company that came recommended to The Ring by both brides and vendors in the community. Owner, Christine Kufske, is both a talent and a trendsetter, not to mention a mom of twin
five year old girls and an active figure in the community. With a reputation for personality and the ability to photograph life’s most natural moments in their natural lights, staff at The Ring knew that interviewing and reviewing Christine and her brides was a must. Here’s what we found...
Christine clicks with her brides Christine’s photography career began when she shot her brother’s wedding in Italy in 2002. "I shot another friend’s wedding later that year." After this, Christine began shooting with other photographers and mentors and began signing up for various photography courses at Conestoga College. "When I had my children, I knew I wouldn’t go back to work in the corporate world." So after a career as a Child and Youth Worker, Christine moved forward, launching Click Photography when her girls were a year old and she hasn’t looked back since.
Today, her photography business is focused primarily on weddings with Christine shooting about twenty-four weddings per year. "I love shooting weddings, and being creative with the bride and groom." Christine says she could take on more events but she'd rather keep them to two or three each month for the sake of focus and quality.
She continues to take classes and workshops in the art of digital photography and Photoshop, with her last course being WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) Trade Show & Conference in Las Vegas in March.
Christine’s company offers photography that is all about capturing the best parts of real life as they happen. "I photograph the 'will you’s' and 'I do’s', the little ones, the bellies and babies, and the generations," Christine explained to staff at The Ring as we sat in her home studio. Click’s portfolios are filled with great fashion-style shots but with fun and personality playing the biggest part of them. Candid shots can also be seen all through their collections.
Melanie and Travis Beatty were married March 1st, 2008 with Click helping them capture their memories on digital film. They’d had friends and family who’d used Christine in the past and had, "... never seen anything we hadn’t liked. Christine has a different, more natural style to her photos that are timeless. She shoots using the latest trends in photography as well, which we love. The variety of her work is fantastic, and I knew that they would be pictures we could look back at in twenty years with absolutely NO regrets."
How it's done... When we met with Christine, looked through her work and listened to her outlook and inspiration for what she does, we realized how easy for a bride to put their trust in her. Christine’s energy and enthusiasm can become contagious. "We had so much fun on our wedding day - Christine kept us relaxed and created a comfortable atmosphere, especially since both of us are not comfortable in front of a camera," Chris and Gabriela told us, who hired Click Photography for their February 2008 wedding.
John Young and Andrea Leavey agree. Christine captured their wedding in August 2006. "She's just like hanging out with a great friend who happens to know how to take great pictures. She was very accommodating and our pictures are perfect. We've been in A LOT of wedding and have had a lot of friends get married and I always hear at least one complaint and I cannot say that about her at all - we were very lucky in discovering her!"
Christine shoots entirely in digital, is a self-proclaimed Photoshop Junkie (something staff at The Ring highly respect!) and, after her family, lives for her Nikons. If she can avoid it, Christine’s flash and lighting stay in the car. She prefers to photograph in natural lighting, if at all possible. "It’s less intrusive. I can get a more natural look without a flash."
Christine says that talent is so important when it comes to wedding photography - and she seems to have plenty of that – having shot over ninety-five weddings to date. But it’s more than just talent, she knows, that makes the difference. Christine says personality plays a big part in her success as at a wedding and as a photographer. "I think many brides need to have someone who’s easy going and fun, someone positive to be beside them throughout the photos and the day itself." Christine said that as long as she keeps her calm and cool on the day, she finds that everyone else is able to as well. "I try to just fit in with the group, to blend..." She says doing so makes it easier to capture that real life, the photojournalistic shots and fun poses that make a wedding album sentimental.
Inspired by weddings Brides who choose Click Photography are often outgoing, fun brides. "They’re real life brides that just want to have a great time on their wedding day," explains Christine, "They can be themselves with me and in front of the camera, and want photos that show them having fun on their wedding day..." Her brides’ excitement and anticipation are part of the reason she never fails to be inspired by wedding photography.
Christine says she’s inspired by the human dynamics of a wedding day, "Every bride and groom and every day is unique. There are always different colours, textures and lighting in each shot..."
On location Click Photography shoots weddings from Stratford to Toronto and the surrounding areas. They also take on destination weddings, a service that has taken them out of Canada twice already. "One of my favourite destination weddings was one I recently shot in Cuba. The feel was elegant, classy, with a Cuban vibe. We did underwater shots in the ocean too. A few days later, we had a trash the dress session on the island!"
Walking you through it The Meet & Greet ~ Most of Christine’s brides contact her by email first, having heard of her through the media, her website, or word of mouth. When you meet Christine for the first time, it will likely either be at her studio or at a coffee shop - it’s entirely up to you – but since her studio is fantastic, with modern décor, comfy furniture and tons of samples to browse, you might want to opt to meet there!
After you’ve met, chatted, gone through options and details, your next date will be for the engagement shoot. "I don’t require engagement shoots, but I encourage them... It’s a great way to get to know me and my way of orchestrating a shoot. I can get to know you at the same time."
The Pre-Plan ~ The next meeting is about a month before the wedding, where you’ll finalize details, timelines, ask last minute questions, talk locations, and prepare for the big day.
Showtime ~ On your wedding day, Christine will bring a second shooter just to help make sure all locations, people, equipment and details are covered.
Breaking down the numbers... Wedding photography packages range from $2100 to $3500 and include any number of the things brides like best – time, talent, high resolution pics on DVD, engagement shoots, killer coffee table books, and engagement shoots. Christine says the average amount spent on a package at Click is $2600.
Melanie said that the sentimental value of the moments captured far outweighed the cost of Click’s services for her and Travis. "We had visited a few bridal shows prior to the wedding, so we were able to compare Click’s prices and services against other local photographers. What we got from Click was far more, for less money (we felt) than others with Christine’s level of talent and experience. I couldn’t have been happier with the cost of her services."
Gabriela and Chris agreed that Christine's
services adapted well to their budget and needs, "We didn't want
a full production team on our special day and she offered us an hourly rate that
worked right within our budget. No other photographer that we quoted was willing
to break outside the traditional wedding
Christine asks couples to try to book their wedding dates a year in advance, however she welcomes short notice bookings, if she has an opening. There are always the odd dates that never seem to book, so it can’t hurt to ask!
If you are like us and find yourself wanting to see more and more of Christine Kufske's work, hop online to www.clickphotography.ca and check out the galleries as well as the Click Photography blog. To reach Christine, give her a call at 519-635-1003 or send her an email at info@clickphotography.ca. She's happy to answer any questions that you may have.
- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca |
Christine is
also the founder of The Smiling Eyes Project, a beautifully moving photography
service that offers complimentary photo shoots to people recovering from,
battling, or celebrating the victory over cancer. For more information, see The
Smiling Eyes blog by 
Shooting in real life
On her shoots, Christine describes herself as a
photographer who orchestrates the moments, "I think of myself as a choreographer
of the moments that I get to capture."
Catching
up with Click...