JOS Photographers
630 NE Killingsworth Street
Portland, Oregon 97211
(800)567-1232 (503)781-1306
JOS photographers are Portland Wedding Photographers based in Portland, Oregon. Jos Smith, Portland Wedding Photographer, is an international award winning wedding and lifestyle photographer whose team is passionate about fine art wedding photography. JOS photographers are experienced destination wedding and lifestyle photographers shooting fantastic weddings around the globe. JOS photographers serves San Francisco, Sonoma, Los Angeles, Southern California, Seattle, Portland, New York, New Orleans, Mexico, Paris, Tuscany, Rome and anywhere else in the world their clients take them. JOS photographers works in dynamic teams to maximize creativity, communication, organization and hold space for profound experiences. Their style captures real moments while emphasizing creative compositions of light, lines, shadows, motion, reflections, negative space, and symmetry. They invite their couples to fall in love all over again. Their mission is to capture the most meaningful and creative photography possible.
JOS photographers wants to connect and hear your story. 8 0 0 - J O S - 1 2 3 2
Who is Jos Smith - JOS photographers
The great thing about photographing local and destination weddings is the energy I get from all the people involved. The eagerness, the love, the craziness — all the emotions — are food for my soul. I feel especially honored to be the one hired to capture this emotion with my camera, for the enjoyment of you and your family. I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my family also live in Portland, Oregon. I have wonderful parents, grandparents who have been married over 62 years, three siblings and a whole lot of cousins all in and just outside Portland, Oregon. It is from them that I really got the sense of family love that it takes to immerse oneself and become one with a wedding. I’m inspired by people who are on purpose, in love with life and believe life at its core is a great comedy. As a Portland Wedding Photographer I've been fortunate to have photographed over 400 weddings all over the globe including Canada, Washington, Oregon, California, Texas, Rochester New York, New York, New Orleans, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Honolulu, Hawaii, Vienna, Austria, Venice, Sicily, Italy, Tuscany, Rome, Paris, and Normandie (Normandy) France. While studying communication at the University of Oregon, just south of Portland, I learned that connecting people with stories and photography was a life long passion for me. Prior to becoming a full time lifestyle and wedding photographer I was a communication consultant and start-up partner for 7 years at Extreme Arts & Sciences, just south of Portland, traveling throughout the states and Europe teaching organizations teamwork, training, technology, strategic planning, and communication. The leadership skills I learned from those experiences gave me the knowledge, skills, and confidence to innovate in today’s digital playground. I’ve been lucky to have many mentors in my life and feel the strong calling to give back many of the gifts I’ve been given. My photography mentor, the great Lew Harrington, a Hawaii Wedding Photographer based in Honolulu, taught me invaluable lessons about how to do the job right and the pitfalls to avoid, as well as how to do business effectively and with a sense of humor. After working with Extreme Arts and Sciences I co-founded a boutique photography studio in the Portland area and beyond specializing in lifestyle and weddings in 2004 called “The Photographers.” We built a very strong reputation for 4 years and soon decided to expand into our separate brands. In 2008 I re-branded my photography studio as JOS photographers. For me, that meant expanding into destination weddings across the globe, including Canada, Washington, Oregon, California, Texas, Rochester New York, New York, New Orleans, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mexico, Vienna, Austria, Venice, Sicily, Italy, Tuscany, Rome, Paris, and Normandie (Normandy) France and anywhere else in the world our clients take us. Today we work in dynamic teams to maximize creativity, communication and organization which produce profound experiences. The style we embrace are real moments while emphasizing creative compositions of light, lines, shadows, motion, reflections, negative space, and symmetry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is your style?
Our style is a blend of creative photojournalism, fashion, architectural, and details that reflects the heart of the human spirit. We capture authentic connections between people, place our subjects in the best light possible, and fully explore creative composition. We believe this style tells a story and stands the test of time. This experiential style is an investment and will be valued for the rest of your lives.
What’s your shooting approach?
We invite people to fall in love all over again. We believe each shoot can be a profound experience. Setting this intention invites our clients to adventure into the true expression of who they are and beyond. We meditate about the creativity and potential connections between our subjects and bring ideas and charisma to each shoot.
How long have you been shooting weddings and lifestyle photography?
I started studying and shooting photography in 1986. I photographed downhill ski racing and quickly learned how to manage intense light variations and composition. When I visited Europe for the first time in 1991 I quickly identified with the romance of architecture and portraiture. Combining my 9 years of professional communication consulting at Extreme Arts & Sciences with wedding and lifestyle photography was the perfect “marriage” of experience, knowledge, and skill. In 2004 I decided to specialize full time in professional wedding and lifestyle photography and haven’t stopped. Our team limits the number of weddings we shoot each year to build authentic relationships and quality time for proper editing and creative design.
Can we talk to your past clients and get a feel for their experience with you?
Certainly. We are happy to provide you with a number of recent clients who are willing to share their experience. Be sure to checkout what our clients are saying about us on Wedding Wire.
Will you travel to my destination wedding?
We are versatile destination wedding photographers and are inspired by new places. Our national and international destination experiences include travel and lodging. Inquire with us for specifics on the Contact form on our website. We are happy to provide you with a detailed proposal once we learn about the vision of your wedding.
What are the pros and cons to planning a destination wedding?
Destination weddings have grown from 5% of the market in 2000 to 20% of the market today from the 2.2 million US weddings each year.
Destination weddings are actually cost-effective. If you pick a good spot you really don’t have to do much to make it look good, they often have built in themes. While destination weddings mean less people attend, it also means your guests will spend more time with you over multiple days and those who attend are most likely the closest people to you. Many destination wedding locations also offer free planning.
Planning can be tricky over the phone, however Skype can work well if you find a photographer and planner who is willing to take the time to create a clear vision and customize things exactly the way you want.
Why is good photography more important than a lot of products?
Profound imagery reinforced by a meaningful experience with your photographer during your lifestyle shoot and wedding day is top priority over having more products which can be bought later.
How do you approach lifestyle engagement sessions? What do they entail?
Engagement life-style shoot are an elaborate experience! JOS and his team will capture the full personality of your relationship using an exquisite blend of creative photojournalism, portraiture, architectural, and fashion photography. This style is timeless, carries rich emotion and stands the test of time. JOS will explore the intimate connection in your relationship while also capturing details. The session is a dynamic interaction between the “life-style” of you and JOS, and a commitment of an afternoon and evening, including dinner. The afternoon lifestyle shoot involves a full exploration of natural light and backdrops while the evening shoot explores our mobile studio lighting for a diverse set of creatively lit shots. This is a great time for developing a chemistry which establishes a great foundation for a natural feel for the wedding day. This is a very exciting and meaningful session that produces JOS’ signature results. Bring a variety of outfits.
Do you do Skype consultations? What is your Skype name?
Yes. We prefer face to face communication. We want to develop a strong relationship. If Skype is the best option, we are happy to facilitate a discussion. Please contact us (inquire@josphotographers.com) to setup a Skype session and obtain our Skype ID
Why is a bridal consultant so important?
It’s paramount. Don’t sacrifice your dreams trying to plan everything alone, or putting that weight on someone close. Instead of your engagement being a stressful time, make it an exciting period you will treasure by using an exceptional wedding planner. Make your experience joyous, beautiful and free. We have select wedding planners we strongly recommend. Inquire with us about their contact information.
How do you manage family shots? Do
you direct setup shots?
While our style is predominantly organic we respect our clients wishes and are
happy to provide select setup photos of family and friends. However don’t be
surprised to find out our group photos are much more natural and expressive than
traditionally posed images. We recognize compositional opportunities while
setting up shots. Creatively placing people in the right light, backdrop,
spacing, and gesture can be very powerful. Today the term “posing” carries
a contrived and awkward or fake connotation (which we avoid at all costs); we
find ways to lead people into natural, attractive and well placed spaces for
unique, fresh and fun compositions. Explore with us, the creative
opportunities are endless.
Are you a member of a professional photography organization?
Yes, we are members of the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, good standing members with WPPI, Pictage Community, Greener Photography, and regularly attend conferences every year to research the best products and learn from other professional photographers.
Who are the associate photographers who work with you?
We have strong working relationships with many of the finest associate and principal photographers across the globe. We are happy to provide you with their sample work and introduce you prior to your shoot.
What is your editing process?
Editing involves four phases:
What does the “stylized” collection of images mean?
These are the “best of the best” story telling images from our point of view.
They are rich with emotion, well composed, illustrate creative light, depth and
clarity.
We stylize this select set of images using the most appropriate effects while
keeping it real.
What is involved in the fine art design process?
Fine art design is the extensive process of preparing special photos for fine art print. We believe it’s eminent to give images depth, allow characters to shine and remain true to the story. We “design” these images which means we give them artistic depth by healing blemishes, cropping, converting to b&w, sepia, or mono-tone, vignetting, softening, sharpening, texturizing, and more. This process requires a special artistic eye and demands extra time. Extra fees are involved for this commitment of time and talent. The results are extraordinary all the while keeping it real.
On average how many images do you shoot? How many do we get?
We shoot thousands of photos, and edit them down to approximately 500-800 wedding images, and approximately 75-200 lifestyle images depending on the coverage given.
When will our photos be live on the gallery?
We take extra time to select and stylize your images with “excellence”as as our priority over immediacy. Our letter of agreement states 4-6 weeks following the shoot.
Do we get a DVD?
In addition to your interactive website gallery, we include the high resolution images on a DVD 6 months following your event. Earlier arrangements can be made.
What professional on-line gallery service to you us to host your clients images?
I trust Pictage to provide the highest quality professional products and prints to all of our clients. We pay Pictage to provide a very professional quality guaranteed representation of our work. This comes with more cost than your drug store prints, yet we know from experience the real cost often comes from poor print quality and subsequent lost time and frustration. Pictage guarantees 100% quality results, a variety of products, and delivers products to our clients door step. And they have exceptional customer service. Just give them a ring and find out how they treat you. That’s golden!
How do you backup our wedding photos? Are you insured?
Immediately following every shoot we backup all original captures in 3 separate systems including the most advanced RAID 5 DroboS, Drobo FS, off-site, and firesafe security. We are insured with The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. recently celebrating 200 years in service. We are covered up to $1M liability per occurrence and $2M for each year.