James Cook Photography Interview

James Cook Photography is run by Jim and Melissa Cook and is located in Georgetown Kentucky. While they are located in Central Kentucky, they shoot weddings across the country. They are award winning photographers and are currently the only wedding photographers from Kentucky to be recognized by the Artistic Wedding Photography Society. We visited with James Cook Photography and asked them 10 questions.

Q1: Let’s start out with a very easy question, who is James Cook Photography?

Jim: James Cook Photography is a husband (me) and wife (Melissa) photography team. I created James Cook Photography a few years ago when we became “empty nesters” and wanted to pursue my life long passion for taking photographs.

Melissa: I didn’t get involved with business at the beginning because I was really never exposed to photography and really didn’t know much about it.

Jim: Yes, if she did show initial interest, it wouldn’t have been called James Cook Photography, but we now have name recognition so it would be hard to change the name at this point, but Melissa certainly is an amazing photographer in her own right and we really complement each other on the artistic side.

Melissa: I am just lucky with the shots I get.

Jim: Well then you are the luckiest girl in the world, and I am not just saying that because you are married to me! *chuckles*

Q2: So why did you choose to be wedding photographers as opposed to some other type of photography?

Jim: I didn’t choose wedding photography as a specialty when I started. But as I was viewing the wedding pictures on the internet, I was really attracted to the beauty, emotion and artistry associated with wedding photography images. They just reached out and touched me.

Q3: There are plenty of photographers, what differentiates you from other photographers?

Jim: That is an interesting question which is both tough and easy to answer. The easy answer is that Melissa and I are unique so that in and of itself differentiates us. But probably the more important answer is by looking at our portfolio and the images we capture.

Q4: What is your favorite wedding photograph you have taken?

Jim: Your questions keep getting harder. I have taken many photographs that I love, but probably my favorite is always one of the pictures I took on my last shoot, be it an engagement shoot or a wedding. When you asked the question there were several photographs that popped into my head but I quickly settled on my last shoot which was actually an engagement shoot. And from that shoot, there were quite a few pictures that I loved. But if I had to pick one — I think it would be one where she jumped off a wall into his arms. That is a pretty fun picture.

Melissa: Oh my — I don’t know how to answer that. That is like asking which child I like best. I will just say I love all of them equally.

Q5: You are not the least expensive photographer, how do you justify the premium a bride pays to hire you?

Jim: We know we are not the cheapest, but we feel we are the best value. Some brides are just looking for photographs for their wedding and they place little value on their wedding photography. Those brides certainly do not hire us. The brides that hire us are ones who value their wedding photography and want amazing photographs of their wedding day.

Melissa: Actually we don’t set our prices and we don’t compare our prices with other photographers. We let the brides decide what we are worth. We are constantly improving our services and photography and as our booking rate goes up we increase our prices. It is a supply/demand type situation. And it is not just the photography that differentiates us, everything we provide, be it prints or albums or whatever, is first class products. We don’t skimp anywhere. While someone may like another photographer’s style better than ours, they will be hard pressed to find another studio that provides better service.

Jim: Melissa makes an excellent point in that we are constantly improving in all areas of the business – some that brides see before they book and some that they don’t until after they book us. Melissa impresses upon me the value of raving clients and we insure that our clients are raving!

Q6: Ok, here is a softball question, Nikon or Canon?

Jim: *chuckles* Canon of course! Actually it really doesn’t make a difference which manufacturer you use, whether you shoot raw or jpg, or whatever. What does matter is that you use quality equipment and expensive lenses. Of course knowledge in how to use the equipment is a plus!

Q7: We see you are starting to photograph High School Seniors, does that mean you are abandoning Wedding Photography?

Melissa: Not at all. We love wedding photography. However, more and more people were asking us if we did high school seniors and we did a few and liked it and starting to do more and more. Now we are starting to embrace it.

Jim: I really like doing high school senior shoots as they are really fun and much easier. When they are over I don’t feel exhausted like I do with a wedding. One wouldn’t think wedding photography being exhausting. But shooting for 8+ hours always being vigilant to capture amazing images is pretty tiresome. It is really taxing on the brain. What is funny is that I run on adrenaline all day and I really don’t feel exhausted till the next day.

Q8: What do you like best about wedding photography?

Jim: The food. *laughing* No seriously, it is a combination of things. The beauty and the emotion of the day are part of what I like best. The fact that our clients trust us enough to capture their most special day certainly plays a part.

Melissa: For me it is my connection with the bride and groom. Every single wedding we go to we feel like we are part of the family. That just makes me want to do that much better.

Editor: Part of the family?

Melissa: Oh yes, I guess I should explain. Part of the reason we are able to get such amazing pictures on the wedding day has to do with our rapport with our couples. We develop that from the moment we meet with them. So by the time we show up to the wedding, we feel like we are attending a wedding of a family member or dear friends.

Jim: While there are photography reasons why we develop the relationship with our clients, we have been blessed with attracting clients who we really like. And as such we work that much harder for them.

Q9: Can you go into more about “photography reasons”?

Jim: I could spend an hour on the topic. But here goes my abridged version. In order to get absolutely outstanding pictures on their wedding day, we need to make sure the couple is comfortable in front of the camera. We do so in many ways, but the main way is through our engagement shoot. When I attended a class by Joe Buissink he talked about the psychology of wedding photography and we apply his techniques. And don’t think of this as brainwashing or anything sinister. It is just that we get people used to being in front of the camera so when the wedding day rolls around, it is somewhat natural that we are their taking their pictures and we can get great images we are known for.

Melissa: And it is a two way street. As we develop the rapport with our clients we develop a genuine friendship. So we are more than a vendor to them and they are more than clients to us. It just makes us work that much harder to produce great work since we have an emotional involvement.

Q10: What would you like prospective couples to know about you?

Jim: Our phone number? *laughs* Ok, that we are fun to work with and that it really is possible to get amazing wedding day photography. We consistently do it.

Melissa: That we will take care of them with outstanding service and by hiring us, they are in good hands and can focus their worries on the other 1000 wedding details.

Editor: Thanks for spending time with us today and enjoy your upcoming wedding season.