Thomas Hinder

A Zurich Photographer With an English Site

Thomas Hinder is a wedding photographer with a photo studio in Zurich-Oerlikon. His site runs in German and English, and the English version is complete enough to plan with: wedding reportage, portraits, details, trash-the-dress and engagement sessions, a photo booth, wedding cards and wedding books each have their own page. The footer describes the business as natural wedding photography for couples who value genuine emotions over staged images, with wedding reportages in Zurich, throughout Switzerland and internationally, "personal, discreet, and with great attention to detail." The page descriptions add that the studio has received several international awards for its wedding reports and wedding pictures, and that it is particularly known for its photojournalistic style.

For a couple from abroad, the English site is the first practical advantage. The second is the studio itself: a fixed place in Zurich where couples can meet him, see sample albums and do an engagement shoot before the day.

Wedding Moments: The Photojournalistic Core

The wedding moments page sets out his approach with a line worth quoting in full: the most beautiful day of your life should not be remembered as a «Neverending photo session», but as a «Neverending story». He promises wedding reports in photojournalistic style in which no photo is posed, because he records the moment unnoticed. The pictures in this category, the page says, are true moments, caught as the bride and groom experienced them, and his aim is to tell the story of the wedding rather than dictate it.

He also writes that, as a wedding photographer, he knows how to blend into the party without the guests feeling observed or disturbed, and that this is what produces spontaneous and unusual results. For couples who dread a long formal photo program, that is the clearest statement on the site.

Details, Portraits and the Other Wedding Services

The wedding details page explains why he photographs the small things couples have prepared for weeks: the rings, a red heart-shaped ruby glued to the sole of a shoe, hands that spontaneously find each other, names and date embroidered inside a jacket, the garter, decorations on the dress, the flowers. During the wedding there is rarely time to enjoy these in peace, he writes, and his job is to recognize them and put them in the right light.

The portfolio overview lists the full range, each with a one-line description: wedding reports for modern pictures of the most beautiful day of the year, wedding portraits for extraordinary couple pictures, wedding details for the inconspicuous things that make the difference, trash the dress for creative wedding-dress disposal, uncomplicated engagement sessions, a photo booth for spontaneous, funny memories, wedding cards of all kinds, and wedding books for tangible memories.

Cards and Albums From One Studio

The cards page offers individually designed invitation, thank-you and save-the-date cards for couples who do not want anything off the peg. He designs them to the couple's taste, on anything from simple photo paper to linen or pearlescent paper, with matching envelopes. He suggests combining invitation cards with a pre-shoot, so the couple can practice in front of the camera and have pictures for the cards and a wedding website.

The wedding books page calls a high-quality book the finest conclusion to a wedding and the best way to share the pictures with loved ones. The studio offers the complete range of the Italian manufacturer «Graphistudio», with a large choice of materials, papers and album sizes, and keeps a sample assortment in the Oerlikon studio to help couples choose. The same page shows three albums as examples: a short civil wedding at Lake Zurich, a big wedding at the Hotel Hertenstein in Weggis, and a wedding at Schlössli Utenberg in Lucerne, which gives a sense of the range from small registry-office days to large hotel weddings. The dates on those examples (May 2017 in Zurich, May 2016 in Weggis and 26 January 2016 in Lucerne) show that he covers winter weddings as well as the summer season, a point worth knowing for couples considering a winter date.

The Studio in Oerlikon

The studio, at Genossenschaftsstrasse 18, CH-8050 Zurich-Oerlikon, is described as a modern, cozy space with various sets and backgrounds for engagement sessions, invitation and save-the-date card shoots, pregnancy shoots and bachelor-party shoots. Couples are welcome to visit by appointment, without obligation, to see his sample books in the showroom. Appointments are only by advance booking. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 9:00–17.30, with Saturdays on request, and each page links to a route planner.

What the Wedding Pages Leave Open

The wedding pages carry no prices. Each links to "Prices and Packages" and a separate Prices page, so figures exist on the site but have to be read there or requested. The pages also do not state how many hours a package covers, how many images a couple receives or how long delivery takes, and they do not mention a second photographer. The claim of weddings throughout Switzerland and internationally comes without published travel terms. The site offers a quote-request form, an FAQ and its terms and conditions in the footer, which are the places to settle those points. The footer also links to a separate Thomas Hinder studio page.

The site's tag lists name many towns around Zurich and several Swiss cities; that is search-engine keywording rather than a stated service area, so couples marrying outside Zurich should ask about travel.

Who He Suits

Thomas Hinder suits couples marrying in or around Zurich, and couples from abroad who want an English-speaking starting point, a photographer who works unobtrusively, and cards and albums from the same studio. Being able to visit a real studio for an engagement shoot and to handle Graphistudio samples is useful for couples who arrive in Switzerland some days before the wedding. Couples who want a heavily directed, posed style will find the site argues the opposite, and anyone budgeting from abroad should open the Prices page or request a quote early.

Contact

Phone +41 76 348 48 10, email email@thomashinder.ch. Genossenschaftsstrasse 18, CH-8050 Zurich-Oerlikon. Appointments by advance booking only.