Rangefinder Magazine
April 2006

Click Here for printable version of this article.

Michael Kitada’s Margaret Lane
Wedding Album of Love

Six years ago, 20-year veteran photojournalist Michael Kitada made an ironic career decision to add wedding photography to his portfolio mix— ironic because one of his earliest photography jobs as a college student was shooting weddings for a small studio. “That experience left a lot to be desired. At age 20 I swore off shooting brides and grooms for a living,” says Kitada. Fast-forward to the new millennium and, as luck would have it, he’s asked by a friend to shoot his wedding. “I absolutely loved it!” Michael exclaims, chalking up his earlier flee from nuptial ceremonies to bad working conditions and a poor choice of employer.

Already at the top of his game as a photojournalist shooting for publishers including the Orange County Register, Forbes, Newsweek, the Miami Herald and the San Francisco Chronicle, Kitada followed his heart and was soon attracting more and more wedding clients. Within a year he had shot 15 weddings. By the end of year two in business, he was holding 22 to 24 sessions a year. “In the early years, as is the case now, the majority of my clients found me through word of mouth. Shooting a wedding or engagement session is a very personal thing, so if the experience is pleasing and memorable, the bride is going to tell her friends.”

Gaining Their Trust

What’s important to Kitada? Trust. “The bride and groom must be able to trust not only your talent, but also your personal integrity if you wish to shoot their wedding and engagement,” states Kitada, who uses a mixture of old-world courtesies when courting clients. The couple is greeted at his Orleans Square studio in Southern California, where they are welcome to view the many sample albums and images from his work. Kitada uses albums from three vendors: Asukabook albums, 10x15 Leather Craftsman flush-mount books and La-Vie albums.

Kitada engages clients in conversation not only to draw out their personalities, but also to learn of requests and special circumstances.

Through this dialogue, he can usually tell if there’s a fit. “This free-form interaction is important. Wedding photographers have to hone their interaction skills and find ways and reasons for clients to begin building a bridge of trust. Couples need to be shown they can trust me, that I care about their lives and the images I will capture at their wedding.” Concerned with getting to the souls of his bride and groom so he can best “tell their beautiful wedding day story,” Kitada strives to start building that bridge of trust from the beginning.

In addition to trust, there are two standout attributes on which his clients judge him: his images and his personality. “If they don’t like my images or my style of photography, it’s not going to be a fit. If we don’t mesh personality-wise, they won’t be comfortable with me shooting their every move, and I won’t be able to capture the essence of their love,” he says. After every potential client meeting, Kitada follows up with a personal note to the couple thanking them for their time. If they decide to work together, he will make a planning schedule and share it with the couple. “One of my favorite touches is to send the bride a box of Godiva chocolates. What bride does not love chocolate or deserve a little indulgence at this hectic time?” Soon thereafter he asks the couple to start planning their engagement session, which is generally scheduled three to four months prior to the ceremony.

The couple picks the location. Not only does this half-hour shoot give Kitada time to be with the couple and observe their interactions, but it’s a chance to see how each reacts in front of a camera. “There’s nothing worse than learning that the bride is camera-shy or the groom won’t smile with a camera on him the day of the wedding. This session allows me to see how they move, and to get a glimpse at the body language and little gestures of love they share. Because I shoot digitally, I can give them a peek at what I just shot. I love shooting digitally— it’s liberating and frees my creativity, but I stay away from heavy editing; I want the photos to be as true to life as I can make them.” For these sessions, Kitada shoots with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II and a EF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens for a variety of distances and moods. It’s a very basic setup. He prefers to work with a minimal amount of equipment for more mobility—an approach that stems from his upbringing as a photojournalist.

The couple’s engagement images are mailed to them within two weeks. Generally the package includes 4x6 images in black and white or sepia, plus an enlargement.

Kitada does minor retouching and lets his favored color lab, Digi- Labs in Woodland Hills, California, handle color correction and printing. Often times the couple places these images in a guest book at the reception. “It’s one more way to share the couple’s love and new life with family and friends. I see more and more couples add these homemade personalized memory books.”

A few weeks prior to the big day, Kitada will again meet or schedule a call with the bride. He quizzes her on details and timing. “Are there must-have shots? People or things to be aware of?” Having shot so many weddings, Kitada generally has the day planned out in his head, but this meeting also serves as an opportunity to learn about other important individuals attending, and it’s a chance to see if any new twists have come up.

A Photojournalism Background Perfect for Shooting Weddings “I shoot weddings in a photojournalistic style,” states Kitada, a digital early adopter who recalls one of his first assignments using his employer’s brand new $15,000 digital camera, a Kodak DCS.

“This was in 1995, and I was assigned to cover a Bruce Springsteen concert with this suitcase! Saddled with the camera and a 15-battery pack, I had to navigate my way to shoot Springsteen— in black t-shirt and jeans—and make him come alive against an all-black stage background.

Trust me—having spent a photojournalist’s life working in less-than-ideal situations such as this makes shooting a wedding fairly simple.” Kitada gets a chuckle when wedding shooters talk about lighting challenges in the church or at the reception or how difficult it can be to capture the white-onwhite details of bridal gowns. “Photojournalism trains you not only to work with existing light and background, but also to anticipate, be on your toes, and capture the best shots no matter what.”

When it comes to working the room, this is one photographer who’s not afraid to gesture subjects into position. “I’ll ease them into a situation and prompt them to do something. If there are a lot of people, I look for one with the best humor—the person I can tease, in a good-natured way. Bantering with this person helps break down the inhibitions of others, making it possible to capture folks in their most relaxed, true self.” He likes to shoot carte blanche and finds that most of the time he gets his way. “It’s amazing how far you can go with a camera and a woman in a bridal gown. One time we even gained access to a shiny Harley for a few quick shots—with the owner waving us on!” Kitada enjoys both editorial and wedding photojournalism. “Some of the things I love most about shooting weddings are that the guests are thrilled to see you and are happy and excited to be at the wedding.

I love that I am in control of capturing what I think is right. My editorial photojournalism career is usually the opposite—most of those subjects are not excited to see me, and I certainly don’t have the latitude to shoot any way I please. Unfortunately, many of the celebrities and public figures I photograph for news or editorial are on tight timelines and/or are so dulled to photographers that this shooting is perceived as a nuisance or necessary evil to their careers—not a joy.” Having a Wonderful Time When asked about a favorite image, Kitada pauses, then offers this: “There was a bride I was shooting. She was very beautiful and completely void of ego. She was having a wonderful time wrapped in experiencing all the joys of the day. Her ease and comfort with being photographed, coupled with the magic of that day, were pure ingredients for the images I strive to produce—the photos pull you in and make you feel, and hear, and touch the moment.”

This particular image (shown bottom page 76) was made right after the ceremony. Kitada asked the couple to hold each other as he moved back with a 70–200mm. “They started playing with the veil and it was just a matter of waiting for the best moment. The lighting wasn’t even optimal, but the moment made the image.”

For the big day Kitada packs two Canon 1D Mark IIs and an assortment of lenses: an EF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS USM, EF 16– 35mm f/2.8L USM, EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro, EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, and an EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM. He also brings two 580 EX flashes, six 1GB Lexar CF cards and a dozen 512MB Lexar cards. Most of the time he shoots solo, but for larger or complicated venues he’ll bring a part-time assistant who can shoot. Nearly 70% of his portrait and people shots are photojournalistic style, and the balance will be environmental. Kitada is adept at finding unique lighting, moving in and nabbing the shot. A signature piece that he’s perfecting is a borrowed idea from Latvian-born American photographer Philippe Halsman, one of his role models. “I like to gather together my subjects and then say, ‘Jump!’ The command catches people off guard at first, but when they jump you can really see their personalities coming through—I want that energy and personality!”

After a day of shooting, Kitada returns to the studio to download all the images and make a back-up copy on CD. He will then forward the images to DigiLabs for color-correcting. With image files back in hand, he uploads selected imges to online galleries at www. digilabs.biz and notifies the bride. All images are edited and posted to the online gallery within two weeks of the wedding. Once the bride makes her online selection, 4x6 proofs are mailed to her within four weeks. He then instructs the bride to pick 15–20 of her favorites, and he builds her book using Leather Craftsman or La-Vie. If she wants additional images or albums, these can be added at any time up to the project’s completion. He finds that many brides today want a DVD of the day, so Kitada uses eMotion Media (www.emotion media.com, see article on page 70) in Oklahoma City to put this together. Their DVDs feature 70 images picked by the bride and set to music.

On average Kitada shoots 22– 24 weddings a year—90 percent local and the rest on the road. Marketing is carried out in a three-pronged attack: print advertising (mostly for brand-building using Ceremony—ceremonymagazine.com, MyOrangeCounty Wedding.com and Weddingbells.com), referrals through happy couples and partner vendors, plus his own website—www. michaelkitada.com. “Marketing is important, but the most valuable and gratifying satisfaction comes from hearing from a couple that I helped make their day so memorable.”