Josephine Havlak of Josephine Havlak

Coffee Talk with Josephine Havlak of Josephine Havlak

WC: How did you get started in photography?

JH: As a child all I ever wanted to do was art, but my parents would never have considered paying for art school. In my senior year I enrolled in Geoff Winningham's photography class at Rice University and fell in love with photography. I decided right away that I would make that my career and have never regretted it.

WC: What inspired you to get into the field of wedding photography?

JH: My first job was for Winchell Photography (now Gittings), a prestigious portrait and wedding studio in Houston, Texas. I thought I would only work there until I found a job in commercial photography, but found that I loved working with brides and children. I am a romantic at heart, and have never tired of going to weddings. I still sneak looks at the bridal magazines in the checkout line at the grocery store.

WC: What kind of photographic style are you known for?

JH: Definitely photojournalism. Weddings in Houston which typically did not begin until 7:30 or 8:00 PM and seldom had fewer than 400 guests, did not allow for any other style. Photographers had to be very, very fast and keep the posed photos to a minimum. When I came to St. Louis in 1988, my business was an instant success because at that time noone else was doing photojournalism and there was a pent-up demand for more natural photographs. And frankly I was very popular because I was so fast.

WC: Do you photograph in black-and-white, color, or both? Out of the two, which one is your favorite?

JH: I am a digital photographer, so my cameras record everything. My clients are very involved with the design of their final album, and I leave it up to them how many black-and-white photographs are in their albums. Some clients want more and some want less. When they leave it up to me, I generally convert about 30% to black and white which allows me to design more interesting albums.

WC: What advice do you offer to couples searching for a wedding photographer?

JH: Make sure that you really like the person who will be your photographer because they will be a big part of your wedding day. Also, make sure you see a lot of their work — not just highlights from lots of different weddings, but entire coverage of several weddings. This way you will know if what attacts the attention of their camera on the wedding day is what you want to remember from your wedding.

WC: In your opinion, while planning their wedding, what can the couple do to help maximize the value of the photographer at the wedding?

JH: Make sure the photographer is part of the scheduling process. I often spend many hours on the phone with my clients before the wedding discussing the least invasive ways to handle the posed photographs on their wedding day. I am also very concerned about finding out ahead of time what is important to them so I don't miss anything.

WC: Do you photograph weddings outside of St. Louis?

JH: Yes, I have photographed weddings in the Caribbean, Texas, and New York City.

Read other interviews at the Club Cafe.