ABOUT ME
HEY THERE!
I am so happy that you are here! I'll do my best to give you a broad overview of who I am so that you can get to know me a little before we meet but it would be much more fun to get to know each other over a coffee or other drink. If you'd rather chat in person as well, feel free to contact me here. If you want to keep reading, I hope you enjoy getting to know me!
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ABOUT ME
I am a wedding and portrait photographer, musician, kitten - father and an aspiring chef and coffee connoisseur - just think of every kind of brewing method and I own it. In the little free time I have I also like to play music, hike and camp & travel.
My photography style is an ever growing piece of art - think of an unfinished tattoo... the farther along I go, the different styles or nuances I add to it - hopefully eventually growing and morphing into a beautiful piece of art that is cherished by many!
Along with photographing weddings I also do wedding video, family portraits and senior portraits and photos and video for business!
After college I moved back to Northern Michigan and started working for a local church. It's there I realized the importance of our local community. This has led me to give back to my favorite local charities. 10% of all money I make I give back to various charities throughout our community. I have one organization I love and recommend, LOVE Inc., a national, faith based charity organization that organizes local churches, faith based groups and non-profits to coordinate assistance programs for the local community. You can read all about them here.
I love connecting with new people and sharing in huge milestones. If you are looking for a photographer for your wedding, please hit me up here.
I look forward to working with you. Please hit the button below to get in touch.
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HOW IT ALL BEGAN
During my senior year of high school I was able to take a computer class where the option to learn about photography came about. Unbeknownst to me it would project me on a lifelong passion through all sorts of places. Let me just tell you that the camera I was using was an old Kodak digital camera... it was terrible but I had fun! It didn’t discourage me because I’m always up for a challenge. It was a great way to learn the ins & outs of photography and learn that I had an eye for it.
Through the course of the semester I fell in love with shooting photos, hanging out in the woods, taking photos of everything I could find and really got excited about the entire process. My photos were terrible, but I was having fun.
Better cameras were on the market at the time, but I used what I had... it was crap because the good ones were expensive, but you could shoot photos and upload them to your computer immediately. I got my first smartphone after high school and started using that to take photos instead.
I kept my photography purely as a hobby (even though I upgraded my phone haha) sticking to taking photos of food, friends, travel, capturing photos of my time in places. Focusing more on landscapes and details of the environments I encountered. It wasn’t until 2016 that things really started to change for me.
I found myself as the media director for a bigger local church in town and I plunged head first into a Sony a7s. It was amazing! After leaving that job to pursue other things, I reached back out to the church and they allowed me to use the camera gear I had used when employed there to start building my portfolio and my brand eventually. Fast forward to 2019 and I finally made my first big camera purchase and bought a Sony a7iii (the latest and greatest mirrorless on the market) I could never justify the spend before as photography had always been a hobby. But now, a little more comfortable financially from working a full time and a part time job, I decided this was finally the time I could do it.
As soon as I bought the camera I started to get requests from family and friends to bring my camera to different events, or to shoot photos for their family. I was not ready for such a huge leap, but I said yes anyways. I did a great job, especially considering the price I charged, but there was a lot of room for improvement. I decided I needed to start second shooting with some real wedding photographers to learn the ropes. I got lucky enough to start training with a photographer couple that I met while second shooting video for Montage Media Films, their names are Oden and Janelle Photographers. I began getting other opportunities because of my built up portfolio to shoot with other amazing local photographers as well. Through watching them work I was able to see the proper flow to a wedding, the importance of following a timeline, scouting locations, preparing for family photos, where to be during different times of the day, etc. etc. I cherish these times of training!
I decided with this new equipment and rapidly-growing passion to photograph people, it was time to actually put my name and my brand out there. I had previously created a website and told my friends and family on social media, that I had started my own business. The opportunities began building up and I began getting more and more referrals and it grew to where it is today. I’ve made so many new friends and have gotten to share the best days of their life alongside them. I also have made a ton of great friends with other photographers in our community too. Creative collaboration is my passion. It’s incredible!
Because of the growth in my business it’s allowed me so far to reinvest cash into new gear, more gear and marketing and has helped so far to help me buy a house, a great vehicle, and soon a wedding of my own! The goal is to build this business with my girlfriend and work it together when we get marries so that she can quit her full time job. It’s all something I could have never imagined coming from a Kodak camera my senior year, but here we are. I can’t wait to update this story in 10 more years and see where this camera takes me. Thank you for reading, much love.
WHO WILL BE PHOTOGRAPHING MY SESSION?
Me, Dale Bartosz. I also work with a handful of incredible second shooters, depending on your needs.
WHERE ARE YOU BASED OUT OF?
Cadillac, Michigan. But I travel all over Michigan and beyond!
WHERE WILL WE TAKE PHOTOS AT?
Location is up to you. Maybe you don’t know a good spot. Luckily, I know a ton. Please reach out and we can work together to make sure your photos get the look you deserve. Contact me here for more details.
HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE?
There’s a basic price sheet here, but please contact me and I can get you a proper quote. Please keep in mind 10% of profits get donated back to our community.
DO YOU TRAVEL FOR PHOTOSHOOTS?
Yes, 40 miles of travel is included in my fees. I’m happy to go as far as you want though. Let’s chat soon.
HOW WILL I RECEIVE MY PHOTOS?
I will send you an online gallery of all the final edited images. I also archive all photographs I shoot. However, I am not responsible for your images after I confirm delivery. If for some reason your computer crashes, you lose the files, etc. please contact me. I am not responsible for your catastrophe, but I want to help. A $50 fee will be charged for retrieval of images after one year. This pays for the cost of storage, organization and delivery.
CAN I GET THE RAW IMAGES?
In short, no. The final files you receive are corrected with my unique eye and assure the quality and look associated with my personal brand.
HOW DO I PAY YOU?
I accept cash, credit cards, Venmo, Apple Pay, Cash App, and bank transfers. 40% is required up front to lock in your date for weddings. Final total payment is due in full at the beginning of our scheduled session.
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