Derek Cadzow owner of Love and Life Photography tells St Louis Wedding News about his best outdoor wedding adventure!

How did you get started in the photography business?

My father was a photojournalist, so that got me interested in photography as a youngster.   That interest led me to college for a Journalism degree/photojournalist minor and I went into public relations photography from there.   I’ve also shot for sports magazines, lifestyle magazines, corporations, and advertising groups.  I was turned on to wedding photography by a friend in North Carolina about 2004 — he’d been doing it for years and showed me the ropes.  I found that I really enjoyed it and I have taken it up full-time.

What type of photography do you specialize in?

I’m not sure that I have a specialty.   I do color as well as black and white, photojournalistic as well as traditional, pure images as well as special effects.   If anything, I like the kind of image that captures the emotion of the moment as well as the look — so, if anything, I suppose capturing that emotional moment would be a specialty.  In addition, I’ve had a lot of clients tell me that they like the color that I manage to get out of the images.

What makes you stand out from the other wedding photographers?

I often hear about photographers that don’t show up for meetings on time and don’t respect clients’ time adequately.  I think that with my business background I have firm customer values when dealing with clients:  service, promptness, responsiveness, responsibility.  Those values are core to my business and I try very hard to provide excellent customer service.

What special services do you offer?

We offer full-day coverage, a host of album products, hi-resolution files on DVD, slide shows set to music on DVD suitable for showing on your TV set.

What is the funniest moment you have seen while taking pictures at a wedding?

It wasn’t so much a moment as about three hours of fun!   I was shooting an outdoor wedding in West Virginia for some outdoorsy friends of mine and, after the ceremony, they announced that we were all scheduled to go down the upper AND lower parts of the New River in whitewater river rafts!
They loaded my camera gear in drybags and put me and another rookie paddler in a three-person raft with the minister — the only experienced rafter among us.   The idea was for us to paddle fast and get to the first set of rapids, disembark, set up the cameras, shoot everyone going through the rapids, pack up again, paddle like crazy to get to the next rapids before anyone else, and then repeat the process all over again.
There were at least five sets of rapids and I got a lot exercise that day.   However, we got some great images for Laura and Terry and everyone had a great time and a very unique wedding celebration.

What other hobbies do you enjoy?

At the moment, the rest of my time is taken up with settling in to our new home.  My wife and I are busy organizing our nest and finding places for everything.  It’s the first time we’ve lived in-town and we are thoroughly enjoying it!

What is your contact information if brides have more questions?

- Name:  Derek Cadzow
- Email:  derek@loveandlifephotography.com
- Telephone:  919-414-2922
- Address:  2647 Wyoming St. St. Louis
- Website: http://www.loveandlifephotography.com