Jasmine Star Photography Blog

Andrew J. Filipowicz Hi girls, just s quick thanks to you all for this post. Got me thinking about more than just getting published. Inspiration is everywhere! Jasmine, thanks for giving back,..all the time. Best wishes to you all, Andrew 08.28.10 - 6:54am

roggersmith A wedding in bay area is always so much exciting for the couples. But bay area wedding photography has to be unique. Its approach has to be creative and documentary. And there has to be a natural approach in bay area wedding photography to the capture and editing of the photos to build a strong connection with the bride and grooms. 08.02.10 - 11:02am

Cathy Crawley What a brilliant post! I wish wedding planners were the 'norm' in Australia but on the up side we normally get loads of time between the ceremony and reception. If only our brides cottoned onto the details like the US ones did, I am trying to get that going though ;) Thanks for always being open and inspiring J*! 08.01.10 - 10:31pm

Jacque Dee So...I'm one of the blog-stalkers you talk about. But, I'm coming out!! Hi :-) .....information was great here, i'm an aspiring wedding videographer cautiously seeing if this is the direction i shall go. one day i hope to collaborate with other wonderful people as yourself, calder clark and lara casey - cheers! 08.01.10 - 4:03pm

Stacy Reeves This is why cocktail hours are CRUCIAL. If there's not a "holding area" for the guests between the ceremony and reception, there's just no way a photographer is going to get a solid collection of detail shots before the guests start flooding in. Every time I look at a schedule, if I don't see a cocktail hour, I'm super bummed because I know that more than likely I won't be getting enough details to make it publishable, no matter how beautiful it is. I'm really glad Lara pointed out that details are pretty unimportant, in the grand scheme of things. Sure, we as vendors love to have them, and the brides enjoy them too, but not at the expense of capturing great moments and emotional interaction between people. We have to always keep that in mind when we're prioritizing our time on the wedding day, and not let our love of getting published override the bride's wishes. 08.01.10 - 11:35am

Lara Hi Melissa - I get asked that a lot re: "What if the wedding has no details?" I'm sure Jasmine can answer better from a photographer's perspective on how to pull great detail shots out of very little design, but something to keep in mind is that not every wedding is publishable. It's important to keep that in mind with submissions. Don't submit everything... just your very best and what's appropriate for the needs/brand of that particular publication or blog. Some people submit hundreds of images to us (many terrible that they would never deliver to a client) on the "off chance" that we will like ONE. All I end up remembering is the 100's of terrible ones. Quality control is part of great brand development and successful submissions. So, again, not everything is publishable. Don't be disappointed if you show up to a wedding and there are no flowers/place cards/pretty details. You still have the most important ingredient: two people in love. 07.31.10 - 11:36am

Emily Heizer Photography Thanks for putting this all together ladies... Calder Clark's comments seem pretty off to me. What experienced photographer goes off a shot list? Do you really need a list to tell you that it's important to get pictures of the centerpieces at the reception? Really? And sharing work with a second shooter, sure... but why would I waste time walking back and forth between two sites to get the little details and leave my 2nd shooter the task of the broad shots? That's a poor use of time; a total waste. A well written schedule allows me the time to stick my head into the reception area and power through all of those shots in 10 or 15 minutes while the bride has hair clipped in front of her face and isn't really camera-ready yet. Hmmm. Great information though, always wonderful to hear the different perspectives from different "geniuses" in the industry. ;) 07.30.10 - 5:50pm

Melissa This is so great of you ladies to put your heads together and share your different perspectives. I'm curious if any of you has advice on weddings where there simply aren't a lot of details or the details don't show a lot of personalization? Thanks much! 07.30.10 - 4:46pm

Brit Tucker Thanks to all three of you for sharing. Lara's point about marriage and brides is such a solid one (as are all of the others). I think if a wedding is truly magazine-worthy, all parties must really work together, but keep that mindset of what this event really is - a wedding and a marriage. Not just a PR opportunity. Great tips ladies!! 07.30.10 - 4:29pm

Audrey Smit oohh how I loved this post J*! How you work with wedding vendors before and at weddings was pretty high up in my #1000 questions for the workshop......so super timely information for me! Can't wait for more :) 07.30.10 - 3:41pm

charlotte What a great post, Jasmine! Thank you so much for sharing this expert advice! I love how Calder suggested thinking like a commercial photog and how Lara reminded us to remember that the wedding is about the marriage. A balance of both + clear communication with the wedding designer = a perfect formula for success. :-) 07.30.10 - 2:46pm

Dana Fiorito Nik and I were just talking about magazine submissions. We live in a small Northern Canadian town where wedding planners are hard to come by. Should we be working more with the bride and groom and treating them as we would the planner? 07.30.10 - 12:59pm

Dallas Jasmine, Calder, and Lara, thank you so much for this wonderfully written and very helpful post. It is clear here (not that there were any doubt) that you three are foremost experts on this subject. Thanks for taking the time to share this information with us! 07.30.10 - 12:34pm

JL_DESIGNS also a thought...all major vendors (photog, planner, floral designer) should get on the same page about the submission and where it is being sent to...they should also somewhat collaborate on which images get sent...i cannot tell you how many blog posts i have seen go up (or magazine spreads published) where i feel like there were better shots of the florals than the ones that were sent...and then it sucks because i feel like i know my work looked better than that and the photog HAS the pics to prove it! they just submitted ones that, in my opinion, weren't the strongest...we all have different ideas on which pics are the best...a little pow-wow would be nice every once in a while instead of the photog just rushing into a submission and not consulting with the planner/designer first...i know that this added step takes time but isn't it worth in in order to not burn bridges?! i mean often times these planners and designers are the ones referring the job to the photog in the first place...so it would be a nice gesture for the photog to consult w/ them a bit before sending it off... 07.30.10 - 12:31pm

Desi Baytan Great blog post! Lara, thanks for the pointers on how to get published. I just recently had very similar conversations with blog editors who share your point of view. Jasmin, couldn't agree more on the first look; there is actually more time to savor the moments than seeing each other down the aisle, not to mention more time to spend with friends and family during cocktail hour. 07.30.10 - 12:27pm

Romonia I. Great post and so very true about details getting overlooked. Very informative!! I love details!! ;) Besides the ceremony, I love seeing the reception details, wedding details, etc! Thanks for the post! Have a great Friday!! 07.30.10 - 12:19pm