Becoming a Master of Wedding Photography

On our way to become a Master of Wedding Photography

We are proud to announce that on our way to obtain a Master of Wedding Photography degree from PPA (Professional Photographers of America), and after achieving the CPP designation (Certified Professional Photographer), 4 of our images have been selected to the prestigious Merit Collection from PPA. These images have been evaluated by a panel of 5 experienced jurors who are assessing against 12 elements of a merit image standard. Some of those elements are Impact, Storytelling, Creativity, Composition, Technical Excellence, Technique, to name a few. In the wedding category, judges take into account the high-pace of the wedding day, the fact that the photographer doesn’t choose the ‘models’, hour of photography, venue, etc., but instead, how the photographer (in this case, my wife and I) handled all of those circumstances and was still able to produce or capture high quality images that are worthy of a merit.

The above image is titled: Regal. For more photographs from this wedding visit Maria Luisa & Ben's Blog here.

As for the Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) designation, we would like to explain to you how or why this is important. First of all, Nelson ‘Javi’ Navarro Zayas is one of only two photographers on the whole Island of Puerto Rico to obtain this designation, so this lets you know that the PPA is not giving them away that easily (there are 26 active PPA members in Puerto Rico). To obtain a CPP you have to take, and pass, an exam and after that you must submit images that are evaluated for technical accuracy from a standard that the PPA has implemented. Soooo, why is this important? Well, every industry has its benchmark and the CPP is the one for the photographic industry.

Is a CPP a better photographer than a non-CPP? That’s not necessarily an absolute yes answer, but let me try to explain why. There are a lot of great photographers in our industry, and Puerto Rico is no exception; but, working with a CPP can guarantee that you’ll be dealing with a qualified, responsible, ethical, knowledgeable and committed professional that keeps working everyday to be at the top of his industry by learning, executing with great technical prowess, with a high sense of respect for the photographic industry, and in my case, with a good sense of humor while under pressure. All of these qualities are of the utmost importance, especially at weddings. Why is that, you may ask? Well, on a wedding day, time is of the essence as it is usually high-paced. You can’t expect great photographic results in a short time period, if your photographer doesn’t know the nuances of lighting, posing, composition, lens choice, camera settings, etc. Plus, a wedding photographer should be a well rounded photographer as we photograph products (wedding cake, rings, wedding dress, shoes, jewelry, flowers, etc.), models (the couple), we do photojournalism (for candid photos), classical photos or even fine art, portraits, group photos, landscape and architectural photography (sometimes both, depending on the venues) and all of this is done while on a time constraint.

So you see, a great wedding photographer is not your average photographer, it should be someone who is committed to give his/her best, each and every time, and that’s why we are pursuing that prestigious Master of Wedding Photography degree from PPA.