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I t's just after 6am and I'm sitting in bed, after having been awake for the past hour. I'm headed back to the second day of Escalate Live Conference in Newport Beach, and I can't fully express how thankful I am to have met so many incredible people yesterday. I had the honor of speaking about social media and it was a day filled with excitement and laughter. I adore meeting blog readers and fellow photographers in real life, so the day was like Baby Bear's porridge...juuuuuust right.
Many thanks to Katelyn James for shooting the following photos. My good friend Regis was on-hand to take photos for me, but then I realized I had to edit them myself. And then I was all, Work? I'm allergic to it today.
As a totally unexpected surprise, JD was asked to come on stage during the Q+A portion of my section...and a mic was passed his way. Now. Hold on. All I'm thinking is PleaseBeNicePleaseBeNicePleaseBeNiceAndI'mSorryIDidn'tIronYourShirtThisMorning... |
| Yes. Yes, I think JD is funny. But let's keep that between us. |
| Then I got the awesomest idea to pose like we did when we went to prom. Yeah. We all do lame things in life...but this time it was documented ON THE INTERNET. |
    
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FAQ : Abby Larson + Style Me Pretty
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© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad. |
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H appy Monday! Today is a great day and I'm so excited to share fabulous information from the one and only, Abby Larson of Style Me Pretty, a bridal inspiration blog. Abby is pretty much the Godmother of wedding blogging and drives one of the world's most successful inspiration blogs, so it's a distinct honor to share this tiny piece of cyber space with her.
Like always, these FAQ and Stargazing posts are intended to help people build their businesses...okay, okay they totally help me too! I emailed Abby a bit ago with a few questions on submitting a wedding for a blog feature, and I want to share her sagely advice here today. If you're a bride or a photographer wanting to submit your work to Style Me Pretty or other amazing wedding blogs, I hope this information helps... |
J*: Describe the perfect wedding submission...
SMP: Oh this is easy! Using our nifty new submissions tool, upload 50-100 image (full color, detail driven), a detailed description of the wedding (preferably from the bride) and a vendor list (as thorough as possible). For a long time, we were using a separate gmail account to track incoming submissions. It was the simplest solution and one that didn't cost us a dime. But submissions began to get buried and we were missing really beautiful weddings because of the masses. This tool keeps everything so ultra organized and allows us to respond to vendors quickly, import the images into our photo galleries and support the high volume of weddings that come in. It kicks butt really.
J*: In regard to blog submissions, what makes you cringe?
SMP: It generally comes down to wedding style. We always look for wedding with amazing details, that's a given. But to support those details, we want glowing happy couples, a chic bridal party and a beautiful backdrop. That can mean a great restaurant, a simple ballroom, a art gallery, a winery or anything in between. The weddings don't have to (and really shouldn't) fit a particular mold but should really reflect the personality of the couples. With that said, If you ever find me cringing, it's generally because of overstyled, overly cliche weddings. Stuffy bridesmaids gowns, an overabundance of shiny satin, a style that is boring and lacking personality. Cringe central.
J*: What's a general mistake photographers make when submitting a wedding?
SMP: There are a few mistakes that we see a lot. Submitting too many black and whites, which simply aren't good for showing ideas to our readers. Not submitting enough images so we have to keep requesting more. Submitting too many photographs that center around the people and not enough of the details that brides want to steal. And not including a description of the wedding. The less work we have to do, the faster the wedding will be published and the less likely it will get overlooked. Oh and one last tip...vertical shots work much better for a blog format.
J*: *Do you prefer when a photographer or a bride submits a wedding?
SMP: Either! The ideal scenario is when the photographer collaborates with the bride so that there is a detailed, personal description as well as the choice photographs that tell the story of the day.
J*: Is there a difference in wedding featured online versus in a magazine? If so, what are the differences?
SMP: Oh I could go on for hours about this one! Magazines have always been the gold standard for publication. Until recently. While there is still a strong place for them, the internet is kind of flipping that idea on its head. And this coming from a total magazine addict. Style Me Pretty has a larger readership than pretty much any major wedding publication on a monthly circulation basis. So in terms of reach, there are a couple of blogs that are very comparable to the best wedding magazines. Magazines are printed quarterly or monthly which means that your going to be 1 of only a few vendors featured in that magazine. That is pretty great. But, brides have to read the fine print, they have to earmark the page and they have to remember to take it to the computer and type your name in. That is a lot of steps to ultimately get the business.
With a blog, it's instant. Brides see your work, they fall in love, they click the link and voila. New customer. Not only that, your work will live on that blog forever. Brides, far after the publication date, will find you via search so new business and new exposure will continue long after your wedding has past. That's pretty cool.
So my general rule of thumb is that it's nice to have both. It's great for brides to see that magazines love you...but it's great for business to get your work up in lights on the best blogs with the largest reach.
J*: How many pictures do you like to receive in a submission?
SMP: As few as 40 and as many as 100. Honestly, the more the merrier!
J*: What's the best way to send photos (size, resolution, FTP, etc)?
SMP: We actually only request that images be sized to our blog at 600 pixels or greater. We don't define resolution as it's up to the photographer to determine how they want their images to appear. Every now and then we'll reach out when the resolution isn't crisp enough. Our submissions tool actually resized larger images so it basically does all of the work for you.
J*: What's a common element omitted from a submission you'd like to see more of?
SMP: Usually there aren't enough floral shots. There are always plenty of portraits, but we have to go back and ask for more details about 90% of the time. It's the detail shots that our brides love because they give them ideas for their own wedding. The flowers, the paper goods, the shoes, the jewelry, the bridesmaids, the tablesettings, the cake...I could go on and on!
J*: How many weddings should be submitted at once?
SMP: With our tool, each wedding should be its own submission. But vendors should feel free to submit as many weddings as they like. We realize that photographers often take a day or two to package up their weddings past and prep them for publication so it makes sense that they would want to send more than one. Totally fine!
J*: What's the protocol for submitting the same wedding to different wedding blogs? How long should a photographer wait before submitting the wedding elsewhere?
SMP: Please, please, pretty please don't do it! We absolutely won't publish a wedding that has been on another blog. And we'll pull a wedding if we discover after the fact that it has been on another blog. Blogs work very much like magazines in that the want complete and total exclusivity. SMP has a huge readership that overlaps a little bit with other blogs, thus we try really hard to always give our readers something fresh, new and unique. It's a BIG no-no to submit one wedding to more than one blog at a time. We need 4 weeks, generally speaking, to determine if we want to publish the wedding. With that said, you are always more than welcome to check on a wedding and let us know that you'd like to release it to another blog if we don't want it. That's usually the only push that we need to give you a firm answer.
J*: What type of pictures make the best submission? (i.e. Do textured photos work? How many is too many of B+G photos? etc)
SMP: My favorite style of photography is crisp, clean, without fuss. Every photographer has a different perspective and our readers vary in the styles that they love. Which we can more than appreciate. But in terms of personal preference, a clean, editorial approach always shines the brightest on our blog. And as a sidenote, a beautiful wedding doesn't always translate to a great blog post. Much of the time, a wedding is beautiful because of the emotion, the love, the pure joy. But a wedding that we choose, has to have that as well as gorgeous flowers, great details and a look that will inspire our brides.
Many thanks to Abby Larson for sharing her time and knowledge today...I'm so appreciative! I hope this post helped you as much as it helped me. Happy Monday! |
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Jasmine Star Workshop Mixer
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Y esterday I stepped back and stared at a room filled with incredible people. Yes, wonderful photographers, but, moreso, just incredible people. The thing I love the most about The Workshop is the community that is built by the attendees. The best of them create Facebook groups, stay in contact, and sharpen each other. Seeing their growth and interaction makes overwhelms me with appreciation.
Yesterday JD and I hosted an alumni mixer for attendees. I heard quite a few people were flying in for the Escalate Conference, so we thought it'd be a great way for people to connect with other attendees of past workshops. We had a blast and the afternoon was perfect... |
| Old friends catching up... |
| Proposing a toast to their past...and their bright futures... |
| Yeah...some of us are a little fuzzy...you can thank JD for shooting this at a f/1.2. Don't hate. It was dark in that room! ;) |
| I loved catching up and hearing all the amazing things (and funny stories!) that are happening in everyone's lives... |
I'm speaking at the Escalate Conference tomorrow (Monday) May 17, 2010 at 1pm PST if you'd like to watch the free broadcast, be sure to register HERE. I'll be speaking about harnessing, using, and leveraging social media for your business, so I hope to see you there on the web! ;)
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I know it's weird, but I block entire days on my calendar. I designate them as work days and I sit at my desk and don't get up. All day. I simply plow through my work and incentivize myself to complete tasks. Oh, like, if I get this done by noon, I can open Tweetdeck (no, I don't keep it open throughout the day because it's a total distraction). Or if I can that done in 20 minutes, I get to read my favorite blogs. Is this pathetic? Why, yes. Yes it is. But it's how I roll. And when I'm done with my work, I get to walk with a limp...because I feel pretty G scratching everything off my list.
After Monday's post about post-processing, I received a bit of email with questions. Lots of questions. And while I can't respond to everyone personally, I use these FAQ posts to connect the dots...at least I hope so! :)
The top question I'm emailed is what's in my bag and what are my favorite lenses...you can read more that in THIS POST.
The second most often asked question is what I use for off-camera lighting when needed and you can read more about that in THIS POST.
Raquel asked:
I know you like to shoot wide open, as do I, as often as possible. However I struggle with often time having one subject super crisp and clean and the groom just slightly out. I particularly noticed this on your last blog post and the last pic of that post. I noticed that you are at f2.0 and it was shot with a 50mm. They are no where near on the same plane as one another and yet, he still appears crisp in the background. Did you shoot this image from way farther back and cropped it down? |
I actually get asked about focus and focusing issues quite a bit...and to be honest, I know there are thousands of people who can answer a lot better than I could. And if you're one of them and you're reading this, feel free to do so in the comment box! :)
One thing to take into consideration is your reference to 'plane'...you have to note there's a horizontal plane, and there's also a vertical plane. In this particular picture, Eli is almost on the exact vertical plane as Cori, so that's why both subjects appear focused. Also note I was shooting with the 50mm, but I was about five feet from the subjects which gave me a nice amount of space to shoot wide and manage my focal range.
Lastly, I'm a big proponent of in-camera cropping, so I don't ever shoot wide to crop down later for a greater focal appeal. I hope this helps! :)
Renee asked:
You mentioned that you use Leather Craftsmen for your albums - and I've opened an account with them but there are just so many options... I'm wondering if there are a couple of albums/covers that are your "standard" and if you'd share that info with me. |
I'm stoked you signed up with Leather Craftsmen...I know you'll love them! And, yes, there are quite a few of amazing options. I prefer to keep my albums simple, yet classic. There are so many album trends these days, but I hope my clients' albums look great today, tomorrow, and as they celebrate their 50th anniversary and I think a classic approach accomplishes this.
I offer only Leather bound album options and I use the Top Grain Cowhide or the Distressed Leather only. And, like always, if you're new to Leather Craftsmen, you can receive a 50% Discount for your first print&bind sample album if you use the Jasmine50StudioSample. Also, if you're a new client, you can also receive a 20% Discount for your first print&bind client album if you use Jasmine20Discount.
Angela asked:
Do you photoshop every picture you take on a wedding day? Doesn't that take a long time?
Oh, lordy. No! I couldn't possibly edit every wedding photo...I average 900-1,000 wedding photos for my clients and it'd take forever to edit that many! The photos are enhanced in Lightroom (thankyousweetbabyjesusforadobe!), but I'm incredibly stoked to work with my friends at Photographer's Edit for the final result. After a wedding, I cull my images, back them up, place them on a hard drive, mail it to Photographer's Edit, and in less than seven business days, my photos are edited the way I like them, and are uploaded to my clients' online gallery for their viewing. Ta-Da! My clients are seeing their prettified wedding images less than two weeks after their wedding and I think it's a great reflection on how to run an efficient and productive business. And, to be honest, PE does it better (and faster) than I could, and I think that's in the best interest of my clients...I want to be a photographer, not a Lightroomer. Also uploaded is a Favorites folder of images I've already edited in Photoshop for their slideshow and blogpost, and any images that go into their wedding album are Photoshopped, but the key thing to keep in mind is that if you can shoot good images straight out of the camera, outsourcing to a company like Photographer's Edit simply presents the final edit in a way I'm proud to display to my clients.
If you're interested in trying this out for yourself, you can a 20% discount on your first order by using the jstar2010 code!
Tori asked:
Lately I am have been contacted by photographers wanting to help me and learn from me. I feel so blessed and overwhelmed. I don't know if I want to teach people in my own backyard all my secrets? Then where is my originality? I am so giving of my info and LOVE people!! I was wondering if possible I could get a little advise in that direction.
Well, Tori...you've probably asked the wrong person this question. I don't believe in secrets. I don't think I do anything that anyone else can't do. I'm sure there are others who have secrets and they have all the right to protect them, but I'm pretty open with how/what I do. I've been this way from the start of my business, and I have yet to see one negative thing transpire from my decision. In fact, it's been the opposite. I've made more friends in the industry and it's opened many doors for me. If you want my honest opinion, I'm going to tell you what my mom always told me: "Give...and then give some more...you can never out-give God..." |
Okay, so I've written way too much. But I have one more thing to say! There's been a ton of buzz around the iPad, iPhone, and HTML5 tools, and I'm really excited to say my website has been updated with Showit to now appear on mobile devices. Woohoo! It's super easy to update your website and now I've been given the chance to be completely unique anywhere on the web. This is a huge deal for me because now my dad can brag about his daughter in real time! ;)
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Trump National Palos Verde Wedding : Brian+Victoria
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© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad. |
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I say it again and again...but it's still true, no matter how many times I say it. My clients are truly amazing people. Every time I leave a wedding, I feel like one of the luckiest photographers. I am blessed to witness love, devotion, and forever throughout the year and the people who I document make me fall more in love. With life, with everything.
Victoria and Brian are such people. I blogged last week about their wedding getting published in Bride and Bloom Magazine, but I decided to dedicate a personal blog post because I wasn't able to do so after their wedding, due to publicity considerations. I've pulled a few of my favorites for this post, and included a slideshow at the end. The wedding was held at Trump National Golf Course in Palos Verde over Independence weekend last year and it was nothing short of amazing.
Vee and Brian, thank you for inviting me into your lives, and into your love story. I was honored to be a part of your day and it has been exciting to watch your lives grow stronger together. Congrats on your new son and I know wherever the present leads, the future is extraordinarily beautiful for you both. Much love and appreciation... j*
The day started with a little love for Vee's Priscilla of Boston wedding gown and uber fab Christian Louboutin's... |
| Victoria and her ladies in waiting...rawr... |
| Victoria made a stunning bride... |
| The sunset quite fast, and a sea haze settled over the sky at Trump National Golf Course, but we made best of the light on their wedding day...and they were so in love they didn't even notice! ;) |
| Carissa did an amazing job making over the Trump National ballroom for the wedding reception...her work always blows me away... |
| Cathy and Susan of Bella Weddings worked with their tirelessly worked with their team to ensure a perfect wedding day and all their work paid off... |
| The Lakers' Luke Walton served as best man and--if I was being totally honest--I almost died when I saw him. On a scale from zero to stupid, I ranked 13. I'm not ever starstruck, but put me in a room with my favorite basketball players and I get all Jonas Brothered. Ewww, I know. Either way, during the wedding slideshow, pictures of Luke, Brian, and Jordan Farmar during their time together with the Lakers were displayed and here's Luke's reaction.... |
| ...better yet...here's Victoria's reaction to her maid of honor giving props to USC, her alma mater... |
| Victoria surprised Brian with a groom's cake and asked all his basketball buddies to help with the honors... |
| ...but they took matters into their own hands... |
| The end to a perfect night... |
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