Christopher Hartt
Plano, Texas
United States
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General information
Over the past 25 years, Christopher Hartt's classic blend of photojournalism and portraiture has made him one of Texas' most recognizable and sought-after wedding and portrait photographers. From his early years as a National Geographic assignment photographer, Christopher's photographic specialization has evolved to include a long list of wedding, portrait and editorial clients which range from Tim McGraw (Curb Records) to Martha Stewart Weddings.
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Christopher Hartt's wedding and private client business comes primarily from many years of referrals and word-of-mouth. This eliminates the need for significant advertising and business promotion expenses to attract clients and results in substantially lower costs for Brides and other clients in general.
Wedding & Reception: starting at $500 for 2 hours of coverage.
* Photographer & Assistant
* Retouching and enhancement of all images
* All hi-res images on DVD within two weeks of ceremony with rights for you to print
* Online website for viewing and orders.
Add Ons:
* Additional hours at $250 each
* Bridal or Engagement Session $295
* 16 x 20 custom archival print on museum fiber (from Bridal or Engagement sessions) $195
* Rehearsal Dinner (limited availability) $200 per hour
Complete Wedding & Reception: $2,000
* Up to 8 hours of wedding day coverage
* 2 Photographers
* All hi-res images on DVD within two weeks of ceremony with rights for you to print
* Online website for viewing and orders.
* Complementary Bridal Session & disk of retouched images
* Complementary Engagement (E-Pics) session & disk of retouched images
* Complementary 16 x 20 archival custom print for framing
* Retouching and enhancement of all images
Album options beginning at $250
* Magazine style bound album $250
* Flush Mount album (mid level) $500
* We represent Graphis, Zook, PictoBooks, ArtLeather and others
On-Location Corporate Head Shots/Multiple Employees (Pictures on Disk): from $395
On-Location School Pics (Pictures on Disk): typical session - $295
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Q: Why Do Many Wedding Photographers Charge So Much More?
A: Many less established and newer wedding photographers often charge 2 to 3 times the rate I do because they have huge advertising costs to cover. The Knot (www.theknot.com) is one popular website for Brides (which basically provides links to vendor websites). To be a "featured photographer" on The Knot here in Dallas, photographers are charged $1,226 per month ($12,312 a year) to be listed as a featured photographer in the vendor directory (Nov 2007 price). Many times, these same photographers also have listings in places like The Wedding Channel (www.Weddingchannel.com) and My Wedding (www.mywedding.com) which also charge very high rates to photographers who want a listing on their site. Add to that a "Spnonsored Link" on a search engine like Google (Avg $1500 per month) and this results in huge advertising expenses for the photographer who passes the cost along to brides. Ironically, many brides are persuaded by the "free" advice offered by sites like The Knot, but those sites collect large fees from her indirectly when she uses any of the featured vendors on the site. Of course, the free advice offered by such websites to the bride is that she has to spend a hugely inflated amount for her vendors if she wants quality work. That is simply misinformation.
Many of these same photographers who spend so much on advertising often have photography equipment that doesn't meet professional standards like writing to two independent memory cards (in case one card fails), large aperture lenses, etc. As a professional photographer, I use Canon EOS 1Ds Mk II cameras (3 of them with various lens combinations). These are full frame, 16.7 megapixel cameras which are required by nearly all of my commercial clients but which are rarely seen among wedding photographers. Great pictures require great equipment, a fact often overlooked by brides who don't have a lot of experience evaluating wedding photographers.
Sadly, in the state of Texas – as well as most of the rest of the US – there is no licensing or standards for wedding photographers experience, equipment, liability insurance or business practices (bonding).
When it comes to wedding photographers, the best advice I can give you is Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware). There is only one chance to get your wedding pictures right. Consider the “artistry”, but also keep in mind the experience, equipment, business stability and background of the photographer.
So, after all that, here is the “About Me” information that appears in the “Directory of International Photographers” published annually by the Académie des Arts Visuels
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Over the past 25 years, Christopher Hartt's photographic style (a classic blend of photojournalism and portraiture) has made him one of Texas' most recognizable and sought-after wedding and editorial photojournalists. From his early years as a National Geographic assignment photographer, Christopher's photographic specialization has evolved to include a long list of wedding, editorial and advertising/PR agency clients which range from Tim McGraw (Curb Records) to Martha Stewart Weddings.
Photography Education: Photography MFA (Masters of Fine Art) from Academy of Art, San Francisco
A licensed and insured freelance photographer, Christopher Hartt currently holds membership/certification for organizations including:
...Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
...Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI)
...National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
...National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP)
...Adobe Certified (ACE CS) Master
A popular instructor at the Santa Fe Wedding Photography Workshops, Christopher is also a senior staff photographer for the Worldtrekker Foundation.
Christopher Hartt has operated from the current primary business location in Plano, Texas since 1988 and is listed with the Dallas Metropolitan Better Business Bureau under the business telephone number of (972) 375-1551.
Experience
Level of Experience: Very Experienced
"It's not what we see, it's how we see."
(972) 375-1551
Email: Christopher@harttphoto.com
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