Rarely are we handed THE perfect wedding day (at least not in New England!). We’re always going to face challenges. Try as you may to help clients and advise them as they plan their wedding timeline, more often than not, wedding photography is as much about problem solving as it is about capturing moments. As in, how can I make this situation as beautiful as possible, given the conditions I’m facing? Rather than try to think of every possible variable that could go wrong, I’ve picked a common situation that often challenges me and described ways I’ve dealt with it in the past. As with all my articles, it’s not rocket science, but hopefully you can take away one or two tidbits that will help
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5 Ways to Keep Portraiture Natural on the Wedding Day
One of the best compliments I receive from potential clients is that my photographs feel natural and aren’t forced. That’s music to my ears because I consider myself a storyteller first and foremost. Probably 90% of my wedding photography days are spent covering the action in a photojournalist manner. At the end of the day, however, I gravitate towards portraits. It has always given me great pleasure to have clients who tell me “we’re so unphotogenic,” and then deliver images that truly wow them! Let’s face it, if you can make someone look good, you’ve just earned another advocate for your work. Seriously, who doesn’t want to look amazing on their wedding day? How do you keep things natural? How do you make people feel
Winning Word of Mouth Referrals – it’s a Marathon not a Sprint!
I’m the poster boy of how NOT to utilize social networks to help grow your business.I don’t have thousands of Facebook fans or Twitter followers. I don’t update my blog often enough, and my blog gets moderate (but very welcome) traffic. However, I’ve been fortunate enough to grow and expand my business year after year, despite downturns in the economy. And 2012, my ninth wedding season, will be my best year ever. I’m also somewhat lucky because my clients generally seek me out based on past referrals. It’s not uncommon for me to see one or two former clients at any given wedding I shoot. The referrals I get from past clients mean everything to me and have been the building blocks of my business.
Ditching the “Day” Job: Lessons Learned Going Full Time
I began my photography career while working in corporate America. Eventually, I transitioned to teaching high school history (a job I loved) and worked concurrently as an educator and photographer for six years. Despite my best attempts, working two jobs was not sustainable. Here’s a few lessons I learned along my journey: Believe it or not, your “day” job is an asset: use it. Now, don’t get me wrong…working two jobs was one of the most stressful and difficult times of my life, but one thing I always understood clearly was that my “day job” was a powerful asset that allowed me to build my photography business exactly how I wanted. In other words, because the bulk of my income came from my teaching career,