Hochzeitsfotograf Winiger

A reportage photographer from Rapperswil-Jona

Hochzeitsfotograf Winiger is the wedding photography of Dhundup Johannes Winiger, whose address is Rietstrasse 6 in 8640 Rapperswil-Jona, in the canton of St. Gallen. He takes bookings for eastern Switzerland, Rapperswil, Lake Zurich, Zurich, Chur and St. Gallen, and states plainly that no travel costs are charged. He photographs a wedding from the getting ready through the ceremony to the party, in a mix of what he calls authentic, emotional reportage and natural, lively portraits.

His home page puts the relationship first. The decisive thing, he writes, is that he gets to know the couple well and that something like a friendship develops. The reward, in his words, is wedding pictures that show a couple as they are on the day: "glücklich, fröhlich und vor allem unbeschwert" (happy, cheerful and above all carefree).

Who he is, and the languages he speaks

His about page is short and personal. He was born in Nepal, grew up in São Paulo in Brazil, and has lived in Switzerland for 30 years. He is married with three grown children, and has worked for 25 years as a teacher at lower secondary level; photography, he writes, is a passion of his just as teaching is, and he has been deeply involved in it for many years.

The languages line is the most useful sentence on the site for an international couple: "Ich spreche Schweizerdeutsch, Hochdeutsch, Portugiesisch, Spanisch und etwas Englisch" (I speak Swiss German, standard German, Portuguese, Spanish and some English). A Brazilian, Portuguese or Spanish-speaking partner or family can talk to him in their own language; a couple who need everything in English should note the word "etwas", some.

How he works on the day

A separate page describes his method. He works in a very reserved way, and it matters to him that he does not "bestimme" (dictate) the course of the day but lives the moments with the couple and photographs as much as he can. Posed pictures during the celebration hardly ever happen. The couple portraits and group pictures are still an important part of his reportage, and the right moment for each is agreed in detail beforehand; if things go differently, he adapts and checks with the couple.

Two technical notes follow. He only uses fast lenses, which let him photograph without flash even in the poorest light, so the couple and guests are not disturbed by constant flashes and the pictures look natural. And he always carries two cameras with different lenses, so he never has to change lenses and does not miss an important moment.

The four packages

The price page lists four packages. Each includes a preliminary meeting about the day's schedule, group photos of the guests, every photo optimized in his style, an online gallery, all images without watermark, all images on CD/DVD for free use, and no travel costs.

• Express, CHF 1000: up to 2 hours at the wedding, photos during the apéro, about 100 photos.
• Silber, CHF 1400: up to 5 hours, the ceremony, the couple shoot and apéro, about 150 to 200 photos.
• Gold, CHF 1800: up to about 7 to 8 hours, from the ceremony, couple shoot and apéro to the dinner, about 200 to 300 photos.
• Platin, CHF 2200 (Platin+ on the home page): up to about 14 hours on the day, from the preparation phase with hair, make-up and dressing until about midnight, covering preparation, couple shoot, ceremony, apéro, dinner and the evening program, about 300 to 500 photos.

One condition is spelled out below the packages. He reserves the right to publish photos he takes on his website, on flyers and in competitions, so that future couples can get a fair picture of his work. Couples who do not want their pictures shown under any circumstances can have that exception for a surcharge of 20%.

Choosing a package

The package lists are worth reading line by line, because the parts of the day they name differ. Express names the apéro and the group photos but not the ceremony, so it suits a short civil wedding followed by drinks. Silber is the first package that lists the ceremony and a couple shoot. Gold carries the coverage on to the dinner. Only Platin starts with the getting ready and runs through the evening program, which is the one to choose for a full day with speeches and a party. The photo counts rise with each step, from about 100 to about 300 to 500, and every package includes the preliminary meeting where the timing of portraits and group pictures is planned.

What couples say

The home page quotes three couples. J. and F. thank him for making sure they will always have the moments of their wedding before their eyes, say they felt cheerful and well looked after, and that their guests liked him very much too. H. and D. write that his professionalism shows in the pictures, that being photographed by him was fun, and that their guests were delighted with him. M. and R. write in Swiss German, thanking him for keeping their day in pictures forever and saying they will certainly recommend him.

Booking and contact

Contact is by phone on +41 79 696 05 33 or through the email link on every page. The site also has a customer login for client galleries and pages for portrait, couple and event photography. It is written in German with the formal "Sie".

What the site leaves open

The pages do not state a delivery time for the finished photos, a deposit or cancellation terms, or whether a second photographer is ever available. The wedding gallery page shows no captions or venue names, so it does not tell a couple which venues he has worked at. The no-travel-cost promise covers his named regions; a wedding outside them, in Bern or the Valais for example, is a question to ask.

Who this photographer suits

Winiger suits couples marrying around Lake Zurich, in Zurich or in eastern Switzerland who want unobtrusive reportage without flash, clear prices with photo counts attached, and no surprise travel bill. The language range is a real advantage for Portuguese and Spanish-speaking families. The caveats are the limited English, the missing delivery time, and the 20% surcharge for keeping photos off his website.