Author Archive
Tying The Knot: 5 Preparations For The Wedding Day
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There’s a popular saying: failing to prepare is preparing to fail. And this is true.
I have my own take on it which goes: have you seen 127 Hours?! Do you realise that failing to prepare could mean the loss of your freaking arm?!
Ok, hopefully nothing that drastic will happen to a wedding photographer! But then again, screw up someone’s wedding photos and they might want to tear more than just an arm from you – without the use of knives!
So here, for your health, are 5 essential preparations for any wedding day:
1: The run sheet: this is so important it starts with a “The”! The run sheet tells you where you have to be at what time and all the little nuances of the day. Without it you’re working blind.
Ideally you should have a first draft a few weeks before the wedding so you can familiarise yourself with the day and plan your driving routes, timings, and equipment requirements. Some of this you may have already covered off if you’ve been diligent and performed a location scout.
There will be tweaks leading up to the day which the couple should keep you abreast of but the first draft will allow you to map out 95% of the day.
On the day don’t take any chances; be savvy and have a printed copy in your pocket and a backup sitting in Dropbox so you can access it on your iPhone in case of emergency.
2: Batteries: goes without saying but it’s easy to put this simple task off until you realise you don’t have time to charge them all! Camera batteries are crucial and you should have a spare for each body you’re using plus ideally a charger for each body to reduce charging time. I use two bodies and have two chargers but with 4 batteries to charge that means I still need a few hours to top them up!
And if you’re using speedlites then the batteries and spares for those will also need to be charged.
Tying The Knot: Managing New Clients
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It’s easy to get caught in the trap of assuming that clients know as much as we do about wedding photography and styles, how much professional photography should cost, why albums always rule over CDs, or which are the best wedding blogs and magazines. In reality many of them, quite understandably, don’t have a clue about wedding photography or how to book a photographer and are possibly terrified by the prospect of approaching a professional artist.
I mean, I have no idea how much sculptors charge or how to approach one for a commission. Do you? I’d probably say something like “Er, hi, I’d like a sculpture please. Nothing too big, something around 12” x 8” with some wood in it will do. How much will that cost? And does it come with a CD? Wait, why are you pushing me out of the door?!”.
So when you receive an email asking how much 3 hours of wedding photography costs and if a CD is included, exercise patience (ok, after you’ve had a deep breath and bitten your tongue!). You don’t know who’s at the end of the email or what their budget is, and the last thing you want is to end up looking like that sales assistant in Pretty Woman!
I had a similar situation very recently. An email flew in from a couple saying they’re planning a small wedding of just 25 guests and how much would it cost for 2-3 hours of photography to cover the morning ceremony?
My initial reaction was mixed. As an emerging wedding photographer I need to book as many weddings as possible for experience and for my portfolio and their ceremony was going to be at a really pretty location. But at the same time my business head said that reducing my cost based on just 3 hours of shooting would lose me money on a precious Saturday and therefore I should turn this down and hope that something on a larger scale would come along for the same day.
How would I handle the response to this enquiry? Read More→
Tying The Knot: Self Assessment
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My workflow is pretty simple. I sit at my desk editing and blogging away on my Mac while it’s little brother the iPad sits next to it playing movies. I need that background noise to work. Silence freaks me out.
My iPad plays 6 movies on constant rotation, one of which is A Few Good Men. There are so many things I love about that movie, but at its core is an inspiring and motivating story about self-assessment and raising your game. Tom Cruise’s lawyer character Danny Kaffee is highly accomplished in churning out amazing plea bargains from the comfort of his office, but he ultimately takes on the challenge of a murder trial in a real courtroom, with none other than Jack Nicholson’s awesome Colonel Nathan Jessep as his formidable and aggressive witness.
I’ve been going through my own stage of self-assessment recently (albeit without murder victims or courtrooms!). It’s the end of the tax year and also the end of my first year as a professional wedding photographer, so I’ve been keen to take stock of what I’ve achieved so far and figure out whether I’ve got what it takes to not just stay in the game but also move up to the next level. To that end I entered the Canon APPA awards which was judged just a few days ago.
If you’re reading outside of Australia, the Canon APPAs (Australian Professional Photography Awards) is the most prestigious photography competition Down Under. From this contest legends are made and a select few will have bragging rights to prestigious titles such as Photographer Of The Year, Portrait Photographer Of The Year, and of course Wedding Photographer Of The Year. There are also silver and gold awards up for grabs for all high scoring images, so naturally I wanted to get involved! I mean, I’ve had nothing but positive feedback since starting my business so surely I would have a chance of coming away with an award or two, right? Read More→
Tying The Knot: Three Steps To Networking Nirvana
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I’m coming to the end of my first year as an emerging wedding photographer and what a ride it’s been! From seeking my first wedding to building a brand identity and website; from running promotions to blogging for Current Photographer, it’s been non-stop all the way and I wouldn’t change a thing!
I’ve gained a huge amount of knowledge from first hand experience of running a business as well as the hundreds of hours spent learning, training and networking online.
And it’s that last point that I’d like to focus on in this post: the need to network.
For a lot of photographers and artists, it’s about being an individual and expressing their thoughts, feelings, passions. They’re happy to spend all day alone and even enjoy having a reputation for being a bit aloof. But when you make that excited decision to turn your hobby into a business you have to realise that, like it or not, it’s the business side that becomes a priority. Sure you can sit at home after shooting your first few weddings and expect that one day you’ll be discovered by a celebrity couple who are dying to have you shoot their six figure wedding. Good luck with that! The reality for the rest of us is that you have to get out there are make yourself known ‘cos bills don’t pay themselves!
Looking back on my first year there are three clear ways that I’ve made networking pay off for me and I’d like to share them with you.
1: Network with suppliers
Committing yourself to a life in the wedding industry means accepting that wedding gowns, hair styles, flowers and table decorations are going to feature a lot in your day to day conversations (in addition to “cheesecake” of course for me!). That means you need to gain the knowledge to speak intelligently to clients and peers as an informed wedding professional. And if you’re a guy this means you’re heading for one steep learning curve! So look out for regular supplier meet-ups in your area where you can get to know local celebrants, planners, stylists, florists, stationery designers and other photographers. Meet-ups are quite often organised by wedding planners as they have an intrinsic need to know suppliers who can be matched to their clients’ requirements. I go to the monthly Thursday Throwdowns in Sydney organised by Girl Friday Weddings which essentially involve catching up over a lot of red wine! But that’s the fun of networking; not only do you make useful contacts and learn loads about the various industry niches, but time builds trust and pretty soon you find yourself part of an invaluable referral system. And on top of that you also make awesome new friends who actually understand what you do! Read More→
Tying The Knot: TripAdvisor And Testimonials
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Today’s post came from a pool-side sun lounger at the gorgeous Outrigger Resort in Koh Samui, Thailand. I’m here to recharge my own batteries as the Australian wedding season winds down for winter, which means I shouldn’t really be blogging but I was inspired by this wonderful place and so just had to put fingers to iPad!
If I was to list the criteria for identifying paradise, this place would tick a lot of those boxes. It’s a beautiful island with fantastic weather, but the clincher is the food! I LOVE Thai food and arrived with tastebuds deliriously salivating in anticipation of sampling the real deal!
This being my first time on the island I wanted to make sure I used my time visiting the best places to eat and so I turned to my second most favourite travel companion: TripAdvisor (my number one favourite obviously being The Lady!).
I’ve been in love with TripAdvisor for some time now. Its ability to identify the best hotels and restaurants in any area is incredible and it certainly puts your mind at rest, which is exactly what you want when you’re spending a lot of money on a relaxing holiday.
If you’re familiar with TripAdvisor you’ll know what makes it so reliable: the user generated reviews. In this time of social networking the consumer is king and wields the power to make or break companies in the time it takes to type out their customer experience in 140 characters. And due to the increased take up of user generated location based networks like Foursquare, Instagram and Foodspotting, customers are also getting into the habit of acting as brand advocates – leaving helpful tips and advice for others, such as their favourite dish or that free room upgrades are possible if you ask. It’s what I call social love.
And social love is exactly what you need your clients to show you after you have completed their work. In other words: testimonials. Read More→
Tying The Knot: Location Scouting
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Like a good boy scout you should always be well prepared when shooting weddings. Packing the right kit, making sure the batteries are charged and the memory cards formatted are essential tasks on your checklist, but these become second nature and can be done the night before if necessary.
However, what can’t be done the night before are the location checks. These are crucial, especially when you’re starting out and unfamiliar with wedding and reception venues. Why are checks so important? Well a wedding is an event and once it starts there’s no stopping it! So for each of the big moments during the day you need to know exactly where you’re going to be, which lens you’re going to use and what the camera settings need to be. All under the pressure of missing moments that last a split second.
Think of F1 drivers and professional golfers. Can you imagine any of them turning up for a major competition without having studied the track or course in the most minute detail? Or not knowing exactly what gear or club they’re going to use at any given point? Of course not. They’re professionals and so are you.
Even if you’ve been to some of the more popular venues as a guest, it’s highly unlikely you’ll remember what they were like from a photographer’s point of view with regards to light, space and shooting positions. If you do then well done, but as a guest you really should have been focusing on the wine!
I provide location checks to all my clients as standard and I advise you to do the same. The number of checks will vary depending on the plans for the day, but they typically include the locations for: Read More→
Tying The Knot: Raiders Of The Lost CD
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1981. I was 9 years old and already developing a thing for leather and whips.
Not like that obviously. I had no idea what puberty was let alone a fetish! No, it was the year that Raiders Of The Lost Ark opened and in doing so created a generation of wannabe whip-cracking, gun-toting, adventure-seeking archaeology professors!
One of the most powerful scenes for me was the final one. You know it – the one where the old man wheels the crated Ark on a trolley through a warehouse the size of Texas to be buried down a non-descript aisle amongst thousands of other similar generic crates, presumably never to be seen again.
Sound familiar? Well it’s pretty much what happens every time I need to store a CD somewhere in my apartment!
But CDs are still popular amongst brides and near the top of a typical want list from a package.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with issuing a disc of images if it’s part of the package or an added extra. I do believe in promoting albums and books as the best way to showcase the best images of the day, but neither will hold the number of decent photos you should be taking. So a CD has become standard issue whether you like it or not.
In addition to being a storage medium, CDs are also wanted for security. It’s nice to know the disc is near you if you need it, right? Unless you live in my place of course!
But times have changed and there’s an education job to be done. Read More→
Tying The Knot: How A Promo Turned Sushi Into Big Fish
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Ok, time to wake up! Unfortunately we don’t live in that world and instead we face the reality that wedding photography is a hard business. Not just because of the scale of the event, or the long hours of shooting and editing, or the knowledge and skill required, but because you always need a constant flow of new customers.
Unlike other genres of photography, wedding photographers can’t rely on regular customers or repeat business as brides only get married once. Ideally!
Of course weddings inevitably yield baby and family portraits which you’ll be only too happy to shoot. But if weddings are what you want to focus on then how do you keep the momentum going and keep the portfolio building? And where exactly is that new business going to come from?
If you’re like me your first experience as a wedding photographer was second shooting at a friend’s wedding. That was a great start, but you only have so many friends and, inconveniently for you, they’re not all about to get married!
The solution is to grow your potential client base but that’s not an easy task either. With little wedding experience why would brides come running to you? Time to think smart. Read More→
Tying The Knot: Harry Potter And The Virtuous Circle Of Weddings
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Harry Potter’s annoying isn’t he? One minute he’s a wimpy kid who lives in a closet, then a fancy wand and a few games of Quidditch later and he’s the most powerful boy wizard ever! How did he get that gig?! And every year amazing things just happen; like epic battles with He Who Sounds Like Vol-Au-Vent!
If only it was just as easy to become a professional wedding photographer, right?! Why can’t you equip yourself with a decent camera, do a few shoots and then have weddings just magically come looking for you?
Well the good news is that it can and does happen. Because it happened to me. So allow me to tell you the story of my first wedding and a certain someone called Harry!
I was in the classic Catch 22 situation: aching to shoot a wedding but lacking any previous experience and with no idea when I was going to get my first taste! However, I knew when the chance came I would be ready. In a previous post I mentioned how I spent a couple of years prior to this point learning and practising four main genres of photography, knowing that they would prepare me to be a very competent second shooter. Well now I wanted to put my theory to the test!
My lucky break came through my day job. I work in a large advertising agency which is populated with young, cool, creative types and I had established myself as the company’s most passionate amateur photographer (read: I talked about my photography at every opportunity!), so it was really just a matter of time until an opportunity came my way. And it came in the form of my female co-worker and fellow camera enthusiast Harry. Harry was a couple of months away from marrying Sam at an outdoor ceremony up at Freshwater, one of Sydney’s pretty northern beaches. She had been a fan of my work for some time and invited me along as a second shooter so I could gain some invaluable experience and kickstart my wedding portfolio. Read More→
Tying The Knot: Knowing Your Style And How Bruce Lee Would Define Mine
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“My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting”. Cool huh? That was how one of my movie idols Bruce Lee very eloquently described his style of martial arts in Enter The Dragon.
Alas I can’t describe my style of wedding photography quite as philosophically. Call me pessimistic but I don’t think “The art of wedding photography without wedding photography” is likely to win me much business!
But as we know, having a style is crucially important. As photographers it helps us to define who we are, what we stand for, and what drives us. And it helps our clients to identify and differentiate us from other photographers. So knowing your style is a fundamental building block for your new wedding photography business and it’s certainly something that I’m refining all the time as an emerging pro.
But how do you know what your style is? Is it the way you visualise, shoot and edit? Or do you go down the Bruce Lee path and consider what you don’t do as much as what you’re good at? Or is it a combination of all of the above? And if you think you know what your style is, how defined is it?
Try writing it down. Just three words will do. Oh you’re struggling? Tricky isn’t it?! Well fortunately if you want to be a wedding photographer you have three starting points already set up for you.
Brides inevitably turn to wedding magazines or websites for tips, advice and research. After all, it’s their first time being a bride (well, for most of them anyway!). Plus it’s quite possibly the first time they’ve had to hire a professional photographer and so their level of knowledge of photographic jargon is likely to be pretty low. Therefore photography advice sections of these resources aim to make things simple and so they generally use three terms to describe the main styles of wedding photography brides should consider: photojournalistic, traditional, and contemporary (or words to those effects). Consequently these are the terms that your clients are likely to search for or enquire about when they contact you, and hence you should strongly consider aligning yourself with one of these styles to match their requirements. Read More→
