Hi, I’m Liana. While many refer to me simply as “liana banana”, I was married in April of this year, so I’ve officially changed my last name from Lehman to Hall! I’m based out of the Atlanta GA area which is great because my focus is destination weddings and it’s easy to get around from here. While destination weddings is our specialty, we also photograph plenty of Atlanta weddings and lifestyle portraits. When I’m not shooting, I’m teaching Photo Business Boot Camps and traveling. Right now I’m one of the only working pro wedding photographers certified to teach the not-fun business stuff to other entrepreneurs. It’s a lot of work, because I don’t have any “down-time” but so rewarding to be able to do both!
I thought I knew what it was like to plan a wedding because, before I started shooting weddings, I assisted a wedding planner and knew the industry well. What I found out this past year, while planning our own wedding, is that I had NO IDEA how stressful it can be – and how wrong I was about some things before. Being on the OTHER side gave me a whole new appreciation for what our clients go through, and things we can do to make their experience SO much better. There are some things about the wedding industry that drove me CRAZY during the process, things I noticed could be better, and I hope that I can share these insights with others during my session at Partner Conference.
If you want to know all the things your clients may not be telling you, come to my session. In the past year I’ve had tons of friends and even my little sister who also got married and I was able to pick their brains for dos and donts as well. It’s crazy how similar our experiences were – and how the industry falls short in making the process easy and enjoyable.
The people, and the chance to do something great by giving back to the community. Partner Conference is always like a big reunion and the perfect place to meet new friends in the industry. If it weren’t for those I’ve met at Partner Conferences since 2005 (yes, I’ve been to all!) then I probably would not be in business today. Running a photography business can be such hard work, frustrating, and even lonely at times. It helps to know you have a network of photographers who support, encourage, and stand by each other. This is the first year we are given the chance to use our talents to tangibly impact the community around us during the Partner Conference. I know it will mean a lot to be able to help the families who were effected by Hurricane Katrina. Giving back may just be one of the most rewarding experiences of all!
Liana will also be bringing her wedding albums, designed by her and printed by KISS.
Written by Liana Hall
Liana teaches the not-fun-stuff every photographer needs to know in order to be profitable in business. She is the ONLY professional wedding photographer in the USA who teaches managerial accounting, finance, and business planning to other photographers in a small group, hands-on environment. Join her in Austin in November or Atlanta in January for her next Photo Business Boot Camp! www.BananasEDU.com