People ask me all the time why I frequently travel for engagement shoots. Many photographers balk at driving more than 30 minutes to photograph an engagement session, since the actual shoot time for these sessions is usually a few hours at most. So why is it that I’m more than eager to hop on a plane and travel across the continent just for a shoot that will last a few hours? Here’s just a few of the reasons why I love traveling for these engagement shoots: 1. It’s crucial to photograph people in places that are meaningful to them. When I’m traveling for an engagement shoot, I often travel to the place where the couple first met or where they currently live. About half the
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Photography Notes: A Wedding at the Grand Canyon
I wanted to take a departure from my normal technical podcast today and talk about a wedding I just photographed and some of my thoughts behind it. This is the first time I’ve done this, but I had such a strong reaction to this wedding and want to learn from this experience by discussing my thoughts and emotions. After all, this is what we’re paid to do, our job is to experience and to learn and to apply that knowledge and wisdom to our photography. So, I thought I would share this exercise with you and I encourage you to try it as well. Manuel and Samirah were married on the edge of the Grand Canyon, but it was not just their wedding location that
How to Bring out the Best in Your Boudoir Client, Part 1: Overcoming Doubts & Fears
Bringing out the best in a real woman starts with letting her know what to expect and taking the performance pressure off of her. Most women who approach me for a shoot have similar concerns and hesitations. Make sure to address each of them by keeping it light with a sense of humor, validating her feelings, and letting her know what to expect. The most common doubts I hear are: “I DON’T KNOW HOW TO POSE.” I usually respond to this hesitation with a laugh and say, “Good! Let’s not do that.” I explain how I’ll coach her by giving her simple directions, like “toss your hair.” I also reassure her that I will always demonstrate what I have in mind first. I make sure
The Story Behind My I Heart New York Engagement Sessions
I heart NY. I’ve been putting off writing this blog post for quite a while now. Don’t get me wrong; I’m honored to be asked by The Photo Life to write about ANYTHING I do, I just don’t like to write. I mean I have the world’s most neglected blog on the planet. That said, somehow I have been able to amass over 6,000 tweets. So, when I sat down to write tonight, I wondered what I could say to tell the story of my I Heart New York sessions in a new and different way. Recently, I’ve been taking a new approach to things. I’ve been making the conscious decision to tell the honest truth – no sugar coating – just raw thoughts and
How To Bring Out Authentic Emotion in Your Shoots
Jeff and I were just in San Francisco this past week and in the course of four days we shot three engagement sessions for three incredibly unique and beautiful couples. Each couple was very different from the others – their stories were distinct and their personalities were one of kind. We absolutely LOVE that all of our couples have such unique stories and personalities – we wouldn’t trade this job for anything – but photographing so many different types of personalities can also be challenging, right? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if every one of our couples responded the same way to our jokes? If they all looked great in the same type of poses? If their senses of humor all clicked perfectly with
10 Things I Learned Shooting Corporate Events
I’ll never forget the day I shot my first corporate event. I rented a Nikon D2h and an 80-200 2.8 lens. An hour into the shoot my neck was already killing me and the client had already told me to stand in the back because my camera was “making too much noise.” It was there, at some Economist Conferences Event, that my life as an event photographer began. In a sense, I “cut my teeth” in wedding photography by shooting corporate events. Corporate functions such as a “lecture style” event can be very difficult to shoot because of the limited aesthetic range and the rigid situation. Finding an artful way of representing them with the camera can be a real challenge. By taking the time
4 Ways To Make Your Clients Comfortable On Engagement Shoots
I spent the entire week stressing about my engagement session. Though I know that photographers shoot dozens of these sessions each year, I spent hours upon hours doing everything I could to prepare. And still, when the time for our shoot came, I was nervous and insecure. But within the first few minutes of my engagement shoot, my photographers, Jeff and Erin Youngren, calmed my nerves and set the tone for what turned out to be a wonderful experience. Though I’m not a photographer myself, I know that great photographers do more than just take nice photos. And being in front of the camera for my engagement session, I was reminded again of how important the client-photographer relationship is. Being a bride myself, I know
Explore Photojournalism, Gain Confidence.
Every young photographer who wants to throw his or her hat in the ring as a professional should spend time as a photojournalist. It’s not easy- the money sucks, the work day is never ending, and you spend long stretches of time smelling funky because a shower is a luxury- but after it’s over, you feel like you can accomplish anything. That confidence can carry you through any situation you encounter in your commercial or wedding photography career. If you’ve never shot an editorial story in your life, I highly recommend it. The mere process will sharpen your vision immeasurably. Getting started is as easy as choosing an assignment and incinerating your preconceived notions about everything. Working on the assignment is an exhausting and maddening journey that
How to Create Beautiful Portraits in Harsh Sunlight (or at least deal with it)
If you think about it, wedding days are totally against us as photographers, particularly when it comes to light. I mean, who has two thumbs and ends up shooting bridal parties at high noon in July? For four weekends in a row? This girl. One of our most frequently asked questions at The Youngrens is “How do you shoot in harsh sunlight?” The short answer? We don’t. We find shade. Any kind of shade. Shade from a tree, a building, a cloud, a doorway, a diffuser – anything. As much as we humanly can, we try to avoid harsh sunlight. Which brings me to our second most frequently asked question. “Ok, but what if there’s no shade to be found? Anywhere.” Fair question. We’ll start
Boudoir Photography for the Conservative Client
**In honor of Cupid, this blog post is the third and final post in our February series on Boudoir photography. See more posts on Boudoir photography…** Boudoir photography is definitely a very intimate form of photography. The majority of my female clients do not want me to share their intimate photos with the world. In fact, I’ve specifically had women make it very clear that they want their photos for their husbands eyes only. So what do you do when you can’t show your awesome work in order to gain new clients?! First ask yourself as a photographer why you want to offer these sessions. Then use the passion you have about boudoir photography in your marketing. I love these sessions for so many different