About Mark Foster:

Portrait of Mark Foster

My Background:

I grew up in Rochester, NY and my father worked at Kodak so naturally I was well photographed as a child. My first camera was a hand-me down from my brother that used those rotating flash bulbs that had to be replaced after each firing, and my second camera was a Kodak disc camera - quite an upgrade at the time! I have been taking pictures ever since and I now thoroughly enjoy the age of digital SLR cameras which provide the opportunity to experiment without all the photo processing expense.

I work as a software engineer full time so my photography is more of a passion than a profession. A few years ago I started branching out into wedding photography for friends and family that either were having less formal events or could not afford a professional full-time photographer. I had a lot of fun, gained a lot of experience, and received enough positive feedback that I decided to put together a portfolio and offer my services to others. I have since photographed a number of weddings and other events with positive feedback from my clients.

Style:

When I am photographing people, particularly at a wedding, I tend to prefer less posed shots and more of a documentary approach. This is often referred to as the photojournalistic style. I still do some formal shots but try to limit the number of group combinations. A photojournalistic approach to wedding photography is not necessarily better or worse than traditional photography but rather up to your personal taste and something to consider when selecting a photographer. One of the reasons I prefer less posed shots is because I think pictures captured when people think they are unobserved are much more natural and sincere then when they force a smile for the camera.

I use both flash and natural lighting in my photography. When shooting with flash I use remotely triggered off-camera flash or bounce my flash off a wall or ceiling whenever practical. Off-camera or bounced flash gives the subject depth and has the added bonus of eliminating any possible red eye.