1. How long has Mike Greer Photography been around, and where are you located? We have been in business since 1998 and are located in Farmington Hills.
2. How did the company get started? I actually got started experimenting with digital imaging in 1987. In the mid 90s when the internet started to take off, I was recognized in the world wide internet community as a digital imaging expert. I started teaching imaging and photography a few years later, then went into commercial work from there.
3. What is the most important question that couples you meet with forget to ask – and how would you answer it? “Why are wedding photography prices all over the map?”
Answer: In a nut shell, experience and creativity. With modern day digital cameras, almost anybody can produce a technically good photograph under the right circumstances. It’s the “under the right circumstances” that is the key. With weddings, unless shooting outside under good daylight conditions all day, rarely are the circumstances right for good results for a photographer with little to no experience. On the wedding day, the photographer is constantly challenged with varying lighting conditions. So he/she has to be constantly be making adjustments as the day progress. It requires experience and attention for consistently great results. In addition, creativity must be applied while this is happening. Mastering these disciplines takes lots and lots of experience. With an experienced wedding photographer, the couple is making sure that their images will not disappoint. But photographers with this level of experience are usually running full time businesses. Therefore, the compensation must be such that the business can be viable.
4. Do you work alone at weddings, or do you bring a second shooter? My wife and I work as a team.
5. How far in advance do you typically book a wedding? Typically 2 to 18 months out.
6. What other types of photography do you offer that might be of interest? We also photograph high school seniors and infant babies (up to 1 year old).
7. What are some of your favorite locations to shoot? We like downtown areas. Downtown Detroit, downtown Plymouth, and downtown Birmingham are three of my favorite spots.
8. What makes a location less desirable for a photographer? For this photographer, I don’t get very excited by parks and flowers. Why? Because everybody likes parks and flowers! On the wedding day, I LOVE the contrast between the formal bridal wear and the bricks and mortar of a downtown area.
9. What makes Mike Greer Photography different from other companies out there? Part of it is answered in the previous question. But also, I have an eye for the unusual. Places that others would ignore, I take our clients and produce great and unique imagery. We also know that a couple’s wedding day is their wedding day. It’s not a day for us to get them to do what we want. We go with the flow, are totally laid back, yet still are able to produce images that our clients love with that approach.
10. What is something that people would be surprised to know about you? They are surprised that we are older than we look. I like to think we have a youthful approach to photography that keeps our work imaginative and creative, but the wisdom and responsibility that comes with age such that our clients know they can trust us.
