BEHIND THE LENS: CHRIS SHUM, CALIFORNIA

We met Chris through a mutual friend.  When I discovered Chris was a professional photographer, I had to check out his award winning work.  I love how he captures the moment in a wedding when the bride and groom are caught totally unaware.  He captures sweet, funny and endearing moments forever.  Chris is well on his way to achieving his goal - that of becoming a destination wedding photographer.  Check out his unique style, herewith is our reveal - Chris Shum!

Your Name: Chris Shum

Your studio/business name: Be My Photographer

Location: Sunnyvale, California

Website: www.bemyphotographer.com

Blog: http://chrisshum.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/chris_shum

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1220255046 (A fan page is on its way)

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/chris-shum/11/215/569

Your Style

·      In 50 words or less, how would your clients describe your photography? My clients like my simple yet elegant, observant yet un-obstructive approach. They will just be themselves at either an important event of their lives, or a photo shoot of a slice of their daily lives, and I will be there to capture the memorable and true moments.

·      Are you self-taught or classroom trained? Self-taught

·      How many years have you been a professional photographer? 5 years

·      Where do you want to take your photography business in 5 years?  World-class destination wedding photographer

·      Is there a photographer who inspires your style? Who would that be?  That would be Ben Chrisman. I met him at my sister-in-law’s wedding and we became good friends since then. His endless creativity pushes standards to the extreme which blows me away all the time.

·      Favorite location to take photos?  It will be San Francisco with all sorts of beautiful spots and varieties.

·      Favorite vacation spot?  Anywhere with my family.

Your Business

·      What was the pivotal moment when you decided to become a photographer?  I always loved photographing people since I was a kid and it just happened at one point a few years back while I got fed up being an engineer for the rest of my life. I wanted to do something more creative.

·      What’s the best marketing tip that has worked for you?  Word-by-mouth and being an award-winning photographer in the major wedding photography competitions.

·      What’s the most surprising thing a customer has asked you?  “Could you use Photoshop and add some hair to my bald husband?” “Could you fix my mother-in-law’s double chin and tighten my grandma’s turkey neck?” Sorry, but I am just a photographer, not a plastic surgeon. And using post-processing techniques to change a person’s look to me is too unnatural.

·      Favorite print lab? I’ve been using WHCC for many years. Their super quality and professionalism always achieves and even exceeds my expectations.

Your Gear

·      Are you Canon or Nikon (or – gasp--“other”):  Straight Canon

·      If you could only have one lens on a photo shoot, what would it be?  Canon 35mm 1.4

·      What brand bag do you carry your camera in?  Tamrac

·      What gear would we find in your camera bag?  Canon Full Frame DSLR Cameras, all sorts of L-Series prime, wide angle and zoom lens, flashes, lots of batteries and memory cards.

·      Are you a natural light fan or strobe fan?  Natural light

·      Are you PC or Mac? PC

Your Tips and Tricks

·      What post processing tools do you use?  Majority in Lightroom and a small portion of pictures in Photoshop

·      Do you shoot in Raw or Jpeg?  Raw only.

·      Best advice you would give your 20-year old self?  Follow your passion and start the photography business early.

·      Best advice you would give a new photographer?  Develop you own style, be unique always

·      What site do you use for your photography and why?  I am currently using Bludomain for website template, They are inexpensive and easy to customize. And I customize eBlogger for my blog posts. The format of eBlogger is clean and straight forward.

What Else Should We Know?

·       What was your worst photography experience?  I don’t really have the worst photography experience, but a bit scary and unique experience - I was trying to get a good angle during a ceremony, and got too close to a candle and burnt a hole in my shirt. Luckily, I realized soon enough and only my shirt was sacrificed. I’m still saving this shirt as my souvenir.

·      What would surprise people most about you, whether it is photography related or not?  People are usually so surprised to see how my pictures come out just using a simple way to shoot and light gears.

·      Tell us something else you’d like us to know:  I am also a destination photographer. People always wonder why my client would like to spend extra money to hire me instead of the locals. I think my pictures just speak for themselves. I am an international award-winning photographer in two of the most renowned international wedding organizations: Wedding Photojournalistic Association (WPJA) and International Society of Professional Wedding Photographer (ISPWP).

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