A Healthy Wedding Photography Business

April 24, 2013 by 1 Comment

I’m often asked by potential clients, what I would happen if I was too ill to shoot their wedding. Of course, in that case I know a number of other photographers in the area that could cover for me but my approach to solving this problem is a little more long-term than that. I focus on staying healthy and so far, I’ve not missed any wedding!

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Looking back on periods of illness in recent years I could see that in most cases they were entirely predictable. I was extremely busy, not eating well or getting enough sleep and soon enough I’d have a cold, sore throat or other problem. As a wedding photographer I now keep a close eye on these factors and make sure that I get things sorted at the first sign of any problems.

The second factor in my healthy business plan is exercise. I go to the gym up to five times a week to do a mixture of exercise and I love to ride my bike around the Yorkshire hills near home. Together these activities help to keep me strong, with enough energy to get through the typical 14 hour wedding day!

A good nights sleep is often all I need to nip a potential illness in the bud and getting enough shut-eye is, for me, a key component of staying healthy. Double wedding weekends are becoming more common and in this case I take a four-day approach to getting through. It means an early night on the eve of the first wedding. At the end of the wedding it is straight home to back up, shower and recharge the my batteries and those in the equipment! After the second wedding it is time to relax and if at all possible take a day off to recover.

Gear choices are also important. Do you really need to be carrying around all of the equipment? Perhaps even more important is how you carry it around. At an early wedding I pulled my back after throwing a heavy bag over my shoulder. As a result I invested in a rolling camera bag to prevent any similar injuries in the future.

So to summarise:

  • Monitor your health and take action at the first sign of being run down
  • Exercise to keep your body strong and energy levels up
  • Make sure you are getting enough sleep, particularly during the busy summer season

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Mark Dolby is a professional wedding photographer based in Leeds in the UK.

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Tips for Wedding Guests and Photography

April 12, 2013 by 1 Comment

One of the most long-lasting aspects of a wedding day will be the wedding photography taken by the official photographer. These comprise the ‘getting ready’ shots, walking down the aisle, exchanging the rings, leaving the church, the reception… every moment of your special day will be caught on camera, and the wedding album will be pulled out time and time again to provide you and your family with reminders of the special day. Your wedding photos have the ability to tell the entire story of your wedding over and over again and rightly so you want them to be just perfect. But if your guests want to take their own photos, how can they make sure they don’t interfere with the official shots?

wedding-guests-photography

Flash

Your wedding photographer will know exactly how to play with the lighting in a photo to make sure everyone looks their best and to capture the right tone. If over enthusiastic relatives are stood on the sidelines taking lots of snaps with blinding flash on, however, this can alter the lighting conditions in the official photos which can completely change the feel of a photo, or can illuminate parts of the scene the photographer wanted to hide in shadow.

Position

The photographer knows where he or she needs to be to get the right angle. They may even know the venue or have done some research before your big day which may have included a test visit to the wedding and reception venues to see which angles and light are best for each shot. Even the most well-meaning guest can find themselves in the way, and might find themselves standing exactly in front of the shot the photographer wants to capture. People standing on the sidelines might also cast shadows across the picture, so it’s best to give the photographer a lot of space and to avoid taking photographs in front of the photographer.

Creativity

This is where the guests come in handy. The photographers often have a checklist of shots they need to get, and they need to make sure they have all the formal shots and all the major parts of the day covered. As a guest, though, taking photos isn’t your job, so you have the luxury of taking pictures of just about anything. Noticed a particularly pretty flower display on a table? Take a photo. Is there one unexpectedly talented dancer at the reception? Capture it. You’re able to take your time over picking up some unusual shots of the natural, personal moments going on amongst the guests which can provide a great way for the bride and groom to remember their day. The happy couple may have even supplied disposable cameras for their guests to use which they will subsequently have developed themselves to enjoy those little moments that each guest has deemed worthy of a photo. But be warned, you often get more than you bargain for when you do this as guests may take it as the perfect opportunity to give you a few “surprises”!

Guests can often capture some great photos of the big day, but these should complement the professional shots rather than aim to outdo them. All the pictures from the day are valuable to the happy couple, so don’t feel like you need to compete to get the best photos, just make sure that between you all, everything that needs to be caught on camera is, with fun and flair. You may find that once everyone is in place for the important shots the official photographer will take their shots and then give guests the chance to take their own so that they do not interfere at all and thus everyone gets a chance to capture those once in a lifetime moments!

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Krishanthi Williams is a contemporary wedding photographer based in London and offers pre-wedding and wedding shoot packages for clients in and around London and the home counties and internationally.

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Photo Profile: Joel Conner

January 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I first picked up a camera back in my very early 20′s because I had yet to find the artistic outlet I had been looking for. Back then, digital photography was still a new thing, so like many, I shot on film for years. I loved every part of it, and I was surprised when people began to tell me that they liked the photos I was producing. I never expected it to be anything more than a hobby, because we all know that it is tough to make it in fine art. But after a friend asked me to photograph his daughter’s wedding (and I grudgingly agreed), I realized that I had a knack for weddings that might prove useful. To be honest, I loved shooting that wedding, and for zero experience or knowledge about weddings, the photos that came out of that day were surprisingly good.

photo-profile-joel-conner

© Joel Conner

Years later, I am still at it. Now, we are a full-time wedding studio producing some of the most progressive work in the St. Louis area. We not only are blessed by being able to do something we love for a living, but we have the joy of working with people on the best day of their lives. It’s wonderful.

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© Joel Conner

Most of my personal inspiration comes from nature and architecture. We tend to specialize in those more “dramatic” looking portraits, and when I see a great building with lovely lines or a beautiful tree or field, I am hooked instantly.

Links:

Website: http://www.conner-photography.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connerphotography
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConnerPhoto

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Photo Profile: Darlene Gambino

September 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I am Darlene and am the owner of Aperture Photography. I have been a photographer for 20 years. My style is a lifestyle/editorial blend. I use both film and digital.  I love film and use a Contax 645 with the new Portra films. I love the skin tones. I also shoot digital for low light and receptions and for people who insist on digital.

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© Darlene Gambino

My favorite photographer is Elizabeth Messina. Wow, she has it all. Her look is her own. I would like to work toward her soft style. Easier said than done. I also love to look at paintings and watch movies. They are filled with different ways to light subjects and develop your craft.  I have spoken to her a few times and she is so gracious.  She is careful to only take assignments that will suit her style and equipment choices.  She knows her camera and film and exactly what it will give her.  But, most of all her photographs are art!  They come from her soul.  You can use her setting, her film and her camera and you will not get the look she has.  You may get great results, but they will not be hers.

I can remember when there was no digital.  You shot slower and took fewer chances.  That is good and bad.  With digital I have found myself shooting over 2000 shots a wedding.  Some would say that is too many and many photographers shoot more than that. The time it takes to process 2000 digital files is torture if you take the time to do it right.  I think Lightroom and Photoshop actions are great, but certainly not a substitute for getting it right in the camera.  So I find myself using fewer actions and spending more time practicing during the week with self assignments.  I give myself assignments that deal with different light ranging from overcast soft light to harsh afternoon sun. I do this with my digital cameras to keep the cost down.  It helps with both my digital and film photography.  The greatest benefit I see with digital is low light.  You can pull off some amazing shots that are just not possible with film.  Another great thing about digital is that you can try some radical settings and it cost nothing.  Sometimes you find a technique that you master and use to differentiate you from other photographers.

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© Darlene Gambino

When I shoot film I always have a light meter with me.  Some photographer over expose on purpose, but I prefer to be dead on and expose for the skin.  I feel that is where film excels.  I normally shoot wide open or close to it. So I get a creamy sharp look that I love.  When you get it just right it is magic.  No computer program can even come close.  The 6×4.5 format is nice too.  The camera is no bigger than my Canon rigs.  Much lighter when I have long telephoto lenses mounted on the Canons.

After being in the Wedding Photography business for all these year’s one thing is for certain.  A photographer must adjust to each bride and groom.  Also adjustments must be made for the venue, time of year and venue.

Let’s just take quick look at the difference in venues.  Some of these are my favorites, but there look and style is very different.  People are just so different. Unless your business is strong enough to hand pick you brides and groom, you must size up your couple and shoot to suit their personality and now your limits.  It is so important to give the couple a positive experience on their wedding day.

The part of photography I like the most is when you can take a group of photographs and give a couple an album that they treasure or a portrait they can look at a feel great about themselves.

Links:

Website: Aperture Photography
Blog: http://aperturephoto.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Darlenephoto

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7 Tips For A Wedding Photography Newbie

August 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
wedding photography newbie

© Elle-Rose Williams

When you first venture into the world of wedding and engagement photography it can be pretty nerve-wracking, after all – you’re responsible for preserving the memories of two people’s most special day. A wedding day is something perfect, precious and something people want to be able to remember forever and always, and when you’re tasked with the responsibility of recording that – it can feel like a big weight on your shoulders.

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© Elle-Rose Williams

As a wedding photographer myself, I can offer a few tips and tricks for those who are taking the venture for the first time. There are a few things you’ll want to remember, and a few things you’ll want to look out for too – which will make the whole experience better for you – and also it’ll make the end product better for the wonderful couple who’ve hired you.

  1. Offer an engagement photo shoot
    An engagement shoot is something that will act as a “practice” session for you and the couple. You’ll be able to show them your way of photographing them – as well letting the couple become comfortable with you and your methods. If you offer the engagement shoot for free this is a great way to get in the good books of the couple too.
  2. Ask the couples for “inspiration”
    Before the big day ask the couple to send over some work from other weddings that they find inspiring. It’ll give you a very clear idea of what they’re expecting and what they’re hoping for – and it’ll give you something to work with as a brief too.
  3. Make sure you’re clear on prices
    Price can be something that often trips you up – so make sure you’re clear on this from the very beginning. Will your price include VAT, will it include an album? How many hours are you staying for? All of this needs to be completely verified before the big day.
  4. Ask for a helper in the wedding party
    Make sure the married couple have assigned someone in the wedding party to help you organise the guests during the group photographs. You’ll need a loud voice – so if you’re not up to bossing people around – then you might want to enlist someone to do the shouting for you. It’ll also come in handy to have someone to help you out – who can recognise and identify all the different family members too.

    wedding-photography-newbie

    © Elle-Rose Williams

  5. Make a “key photo list”
    Ask the couple to create a list of key photos that they want from their day. Theirs nothing worse than getting home and realising you forgot to take a photo of the bride with her great-uncle (or something like that) – so insure you’ve got all these key-photos written out and to hand.
  6. Don’t shoot in black and white
    Don’t shoot all your images with effect pre-loaded onto the camera. It’s best to shoot them plain and then edit them on your computer afterwards. You never know – one image might look it’s best with barely there editing – whilst another might look great edited.
  7. Back-up your images
    After the wedding – the first thing you should do is back up the images. Make sure they’re safe and sound – otherwise you’ll have sleepless nights worrying about them!

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Elle works as a wedding photographer for 365 brides and CS Bedford.

Website: http://365brides.com

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Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

July 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

We’re always looking for new ways to differentiate ourselves as photographers. When it comes to wedding and portrait photography, this is especially true with the increasing level of competition and the decreasing access to the means of creating great imagery.

But as professionals, We have a choice. We can either all keep shooting wide open at sunset in a field with the sun as a back light, blowing out the skies and applying vintage fades. Or we can experiment and try new things. We can attempt to innovate and create something that’s difficult to duplicate.

Understanding and experimenting with mixed lighting is one of those means of differentiation. The great thing is that once you get a solid understanding of a few basic concepts, it’s not as complicated as it might seem.

First thing’s first, gain a solid understanding of White Balance. You don’t need to memorize charts or specific numbers, but at least know what it is and know how increasing or decreasing it affects the image. Also understand the difference between RAW and JPEG. Or if you’re absolutely impatient, like most of us, and you want to experimenting before doing the research, set it to somewhere between 3000 and 4000 for some of the effects you see in the images below.

There are three common scenarios in wedding and engagement photography in which you can immediately start experimenting. We’ll go over a few for your inspiration; but we encourage you to try these concepts on your own and experiment until you find something that works for you.

Dusk vs. Video Lights

Using a video light or a orange gelled flash to light your subjects right before the sun disappears into night sky will give you some great contrast between the blues in the sky and the orange on the subjects. In post production, you can either leave it slightly orange and a bit more moody; or you can color correct for the skin tones and make those blues even more blue.

Here are a couple examples:

Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

Indoor/Video Lights vs. Ungelled Flash

The same concept can be applied indoors. An ungelled flash is naturally blue. Introduce that to the tungsten indoor lighting (and at times amplify it with video lights) and you can create some interest to an ordinary scene.

Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

Orange Gelled Flash vs. Daytime Outdoor Light

The last common scenario in which you’ll be able to experiment with mixed lighting is an indoor lit situation with outdoor daytime lighting somewhere in the scene as well. The three images below show scenes in the middle of the day with orange indoor situations mixed with day time outdoor blue.

Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

Using Mixed Lighting to Enhance Creativity and Add Interest

We hope this serves as some inspiration to get out there and experiment with mixed lighting.

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The photographs in this article are processed using using the SLR Lounge Lightroom Presets by Lin and Jirsa, Wedding Photographers in Los Angeles.

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Photo Profile: Simon Woodcock

July 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I’m a UK wedding photographer now based in Melbourne, Australia and loving every minute of it! Following 14 years of London life, where I worked in publicity at the BBC and as a picture editor and freelance researcher on various national newspapers and magazines I relocated here 3 years ago and set up my wedding photography business on arrival.

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© Simon Woodcock

I’ve learned an immense amount about photography, running a business and myself in those 3 years and have now reached the tipping point where I need an extra pair of hands to manage everything I would like to achieve in the next 3 years.

My influences have largely been the photographers I used to work with in the UK – I spent alot of time simply watching and observing them as a by-product of my jobs so I know what I need to do to keep my clients happy and get them spreading the word for me. It’s so much cheaper and better than traditional methods of advertising! In terms of well known snappers, I’m a big fan of Don McCullin, Stephen Shore and Martin Parr, who all have their own unique visions of the world. I always like to squeeze something Martin Parr-esque into a set of wedding photos if I can. The guests are great subjects for that!

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© Simon Woodcock

My style of wedding photography is fairly candid, low key and with minimal intervention. I like to let the day unfold and capture it as it progresses, rather than trying to contrive any awkward situations for photos.

In the coming year I hope to expand upon my event photography business which I’ve been treating as a sideline up until now. I think it’s good to have a variety of photography work to keep yourself challenged and to save your output becoming repetitive or stale.

One of my major motivations this year was to achieve as many 5* reviews as I could for the business, as well as generating some great word of mouth, both of which I have maximised Next season I aim to build on both and maybe take on some destination weddings – I can always handle more time at the beach, even if it is work!

Links

http://www.weddingsnapper.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/WeddingPhotographersMelbourne
http://www.twitter.com/weddingsnapper
http://pinterest.com/weddingsnaps/

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View more London Wedding Photographers

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So Your Bride & Groom Want A Website

July 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Follow this story…

You’re a photographer using the Photocrati WordPress theme, right?

A prospective bride and groom found your website at Best Of Wedding Photography and visit your website. The decide to hire you based on your portfolio, conversation and reviews from previous customers.

Great!

The couple is then doing research at The Knot and other wedding websites, looking for the easiest and best way to create a wedding website.

The-Wedding-WordPress-Theme

They use the tool that The Knot supplies because it is easy.  Wonderful…but you, as the photographer, could made an up-sell and created a wedding website using WordPress.

So the story ends and now you lost out on a big opportunity.

Now, selling a wedding website does take more time and resources on top of your photography work.  But, because setting up a WordPress website is fairly simple and straight forward, and many web hosting companies (like BlueHost) will do the setup for you, there is no reason to let the up-sell go to The Knot or any other competitor.

So you might be asking where to get a WordPress theme for weddings.

Fortunately, Nathan at WPMods wrote a fantastic article showcasing some of the best WordPress themes for weddings and WPLift published 30 Beautiful WordPress Wedding and Event Themes 2012. You might also consider setting up a site using Photocrati.

Think about it this way.

If you can up-sell a fun website to the couple for $500, when it costs around $40 for the theme, $10 for the domain name and use the same host as your own website, then you just made a good amount of profit.

So what is in it for the client compared to a free The Knot style website?  Extreme personalization.  Using a free wedding website from those competitors doesn’t give your customer much customization like you can do with a WordPress website.  You can also incorporate the NextGEN Gallery for wedding and engagement photos or Facebook for family interaction.

Now, I want you think about it.  Can you make that happen? Do you have the ability to make this kind of up-sell?

If so, what is holding you back?

Thanks for reading,

Scott

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Photo Profile: David Bellis

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Photography started off for me as a hobby in my teens with an Olympus OM-10 SLR, a truly basic camera bereft of all the multiple bells and whistles that adorn even an entry level, modern DSLR by comparison. Still, it seemed sophisticated to me at the time, even though all I could do was adjust the aperture (via a ring on the lens) and the ASA speed. I quickly realized that I needed full manual control if I wanted to be truly creative, and fitted a manual adapter to the front of the camera that allowed me to change the shutter speed in addition to the aperture.

© David Bellis


In contrast with the ‘auto-everything’ capabilities of modern DSLRs, I needed to – and did – develop a thorough understanding of how to get decent exposures with the aperture-shutter speed-ASA triangle. Which is a grounding every budding photographer needs, I feel, if he or she wants to fully understand how to create great pictures. Initially, photographers such as Bill Brandt and Henri Cartier-Bresson inspired me and I worked exclusively in black and white, as that was the only format I was able to print in with the dark-room facilities available to me at school. Mostly I was self taught, though I did do a photography module in art school and was encouraged by the tutor who described me as the mostly talented ‘art photographer’ they’d had at the college in years.

© David Bellis

However, I decided not to pursue a career in photography at that time and for various reasons went over twenty years without picking up a camera. Then in my early forties, a friend lent me his digital SLR – another Olympus as it happened – and I found myself completely hooked all over again. I was initially skeptical of digital, but found that the quality had gone up and the price come down sufficiently to make it viable for me to enter into this fast evolving new world of photography. I bought the best camera I could afford at the time, a Canon 450D and was on my way. Like many I suppose, when it came to making money from my hobby, I turned to the only real way to do so in your community, which is the uber competitive arena of wedding photography. I saw my sisters’ wedding photographs and was bemused at what looked like little more than competent snap-shots. There had to be a better way of doing it, and on discovering the work of Joe Buissink and Jeff Ascough, I found that there certainly was, and I set about emulating those great photographers.

As far as equipment goes, I use Canon ‘prosumer’ bodies – a 50D and 60D and typically on a wedding I will use these coupled with a Canon 17-55mm F2.8 IS and a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 OS. These are very high quality lenses that cover a wide range of focal lengths, giving me both the overview and the intimacy. Occasionally, if the light is very poor or for the portrait shoot of the bride and groom, I will use a Canon f1.8 85mm prime lens. I’d say 95% of my post-production work is done in Lightroom with trips to Photoshop only necessary if there’s some particularly complex cloning to be done.

Links

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bellisphoto
Websites: http://www.bellisphoto.com/ & http://www.bellisweddingphoto.com/

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