Sami Harush

What It Is

Sami Harush is a wedding photographer and videographer from Zurich. His homepage introduces him in the first person: "Hallo, ich bin Sami!", and says that for 10 years he has been creating creative, emotional and natural wedding photos and videos. He describes himself as technically fully equipped, working only with professional gear, and says he travels in Zurich, throughout Switzerland and worldwide to record a couple's day. The site's footer carries the name THEADPHOTOGRAPHY alongside his own, and lists wedding photography, wedding videography and event photography in Zurich, Switzerland and abroad.

The line that opens the homepage sums up the pitch: "Jedes Bild soll einzigartig sein, so wie ihr und eure Hochzeit einzigartig seid." (Every picture should be unique, just as you and your wedding are unique.) For him, he writes, photography is craft and art at the same time.

Photos, Film, Albums and a Photo Booth

The site offers four things for a wedding.

Photography. The portfolio is split into single photos from many different weddings, complete reportages that show how he covers a wedding from start to finish, and couple shoots (Brautpaar-Shootings). He writes that he does not just take pictures but pays attention to the couple's personality, their love and what makes them particular.

Video. The video section is more than an add-on. The page says wedding videos are becoming ever more popular because they let a couple relive the day far more deeply, and it describes the setup plainly: on the day, the film is shot with professional wedding videographers throughout the whole day, and afterwards Sami puts "viel Herzblut in das kunstvolle Komponieren der Videoclips" (a great deal of heart into artfully composing the clips). His best wedding videos are on the site, and the site links to his Vimeo channel.

Albums. He designs wedding albums in different sizes and finishes: for example a large, thick book for the couple, medium-sized albums for the parents, and mini albums as a gift for the witnesses (Trauzeugen), among many other variants. The couple picks their favorite photos and the cover, and he does the rest.

Photo booth. A photo booth for the celebration is equipped with a high-quality DSLR camera, flash and a simple remote control, plus a printer on request, so guests can take funny self-portraits during the party.

How He Covers the Day

The longest passage on the homepage walks through the moments he wants to keep: the bride's styling in the morning, when the nerves are in the air; small supportive gestures between the witnesses and the couple; the moment the couple first see each other; the warm welcome of the guests; the big moment during the ceremony when they say yes; the laughing faces at the congratulations; and the cheerful mood of the evening and the wedding party. He writes that he records all of it "in einer perfekten Mischung aus kunstvoll komponierten Bildern und echten, ungestellten Augenblicken" (in a perfect mix of artfully composed pictures and real, unposed moments).

That tells a couple two things. He covers the full day, from preparations to the party, and he mixes directed portraits with documentary coverage rather than committing to one or the other. Elsewhere he promises that the big feelings, the dearest guests and the best party of the couple's life all go into their personal video or photos, and that the pictures will bring a smile to their faces again and again after the wedding. He also suggests couples treat the site itself as a first point of contact: take time to click through the reportages and couple shoots, and see whether the stories they tell feel right.

Getting to Know Each Other First

The site puts weight on a first meeting. He writes that he would like to arrange a personal meeting or a video call so that the couple and he can get to know each other and the couple can tell him their wishes, which in his experience is the best foundation for working well together. After that he advises the couple and puts together a tailor-made offer ("ein massgeschneidertes Angebot") that fits their needs. The video call option is useful for a couple who lives abroad or elsewhere in Switzerland and cannot easily meet in Zurich before the wedding.

His advice on choosing a photographer is to listen to heart and intuition: gut feeling, he writes, is usually the most reliable compass.

Where He Works

The homepage names Zurich and its surroundings, the whole of Switzerland and destinations worldwide. The site menu also has dedicated pages for Lucerne (Hochzeitsfotograf-Luzern) and Winterthur (Hochzeitsfotograf-Winterthur), as well as pages for his offer, prices, references, an about page and a blog of real experiences from a wedding photographer's life.

Contact and Language

Contact runs through the contact page and the email address info@hochzeitsfotograf-zurich.ch, and he is on Facebook, Instagram and Vimeo. The homepage is written in German and does not say which languages he works in. A couple who does not speak German should ask about English in the first email.

What the Homepage Leaves Open

The menu includes a prices page (Preise), so a couple should read it before writing; the homepage itself gives no figures. It also does not say how many hours of coverage a booking includes, how many images a couple receives, how long delivery of photos or film takes, whether photos and video are cheaper booked together, how many videographers work on a wedding, or how travel outside Zurich or abroad is charged. These points, together with album prices and whether the photo booth needs someone to run it, belong in the tailored offer.

Who It Suits

Sami Harush suits couples in the Zurich area, and in Lucerne and Winterthur, who want photography and film from one business, with Sami himself shaping both the photos and the final edit of the film. The album options, including parent and gift albums, and the photo booth make it possible to handle several wedding keepsakes through one contact. His stated willingness to travel across Switzerland and abroad makes him an option for destination weddings too.

The caveats: the homepage is German only and silent on languages, and the practical terms sit on a separate prices page or in the individual offer, so a couple should plan for a meeting or video call before committing.