Gabriel Chingolani shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Gabriel, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
We run our business in the mindset of how we would have wanted our wedding day vendors to act. We remembered what all our wedding vendors did that was memorable in good – and bad – ways and use that to inform a 5 Star Client experience! Every wedding day is unique and has to be treated as such – there is no such thing as a “cookie cutter” client and I think understanding that and treating every wedding day with empathy is EXACTLY the mindset of someone I would hire and want by my side for one of the most important days of my life!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
We are GC Media Miami – a husband and wife team that captures high quality photo and video for weddings anywhere from Orlando to Key West!
In addition to high quality finished products – we pride ourselves on FAST turn around times so couples can relive their wedding day while they are still floating on Cloud 9 in that post wedding “high!”
We also have over 200 5+ reviews because we are MUCH more than a photographer and videographer – we are pre-wedding timeline planners, day of crisis management mitigators, stand up comedians behind the lens to get a genuine smile, and trained eagle eye hype men to ensure you look your best in every photo!
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Perfectionism. My perfectionistic mindset allowed me to hustle to get where I am today. And I still maintain a standard of high quality in my personal and professional life. However, on a wedding day, your vendors also need to allow the couple and the timeline room to breath. Not only so the couple can make lifelong memories and not simply follow an itinerary to the minute all day long, but also because in those free flow moments is when real picture-perfect magic can happen!
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Being a perfectionist, it’s easy to think if you solve a problem once, you won’t encounter it again, but that is simply not true. Life is always challenging you to grow, and sometimes, life will present the same challenge to you, packaged in a different way. Embrace it, don’t be frustrated by it, because it’s not in life’s natural rhythm to only challenge you once. Every day the sun goes down, but we trust it will come up again – maintain this faith when life’s challenges arise.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes – I believe honesty is important in personal and professional life. During a wedding day, it’s important to be realistic with our client. Even though we want to stay positive and always facilitate an amazing experience, it’s also important to communicate clearly. For example, if a client suggests a photo location we can let them know “the lighting over there is not as amazing as over here, but yes we can definitely give it a try!” We also like to show clients photos throughout the wedding day, so they feel confident in the finished products or can adjust something on the spot that they might prefer and wish later they had the opportunity to do i.e. try something a little different in their facial expression. Sometimes I think photographers can have a lot of pride – not wanting to show RAW photos – or on the other end of the spectrum – being a people pleaser and saying yes to everything even if it is not in the best interest of the photo. We try to balance giving the client what they want while also offering our professional expertise.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Reading body language and the unsaid. I’m deeply empathetic. This means on a wedding day, I can sense if a bride is stressed and offer her a break in an appropriate way that prioritizes her.
Just yesterday, at a wedding, I sensed the bride was overwhelmed as there were 10 boisterous people all crowded together in a small bridal suite. The bride seemed lost in the craziness to me, not getting the special attention she deserves on her wedding day. I asked if she wanted to go outside with her bridal robe and take some photos. As soon as she stepped outside she said “thank you so much, it’s getting crazy in there!” and I said “I know, I could tell! You deserve some amazing photos and some quiet time just for you!”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.GCMediaMiami.com
- Instagram: @GCMediaMiami
- Facebook: @GCMediaMiami
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gcmediamiami
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gcmediamiami
Image Credits
GC Media Miami
