Not gonna lie, today is going to be a gnarly day. I shall remained planted at my desk and not move for hours. Lots-o-hours. Sounds like a game with purple giraffes and tiny wooden hearts, huh? Well, it's not a game. It's called BEING A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER. And loving it. I'm listening to my favorite music and writing this FAQ blog post. Like usual, these posts aren't meant to be authoritative and/or insinuate my way is the best way. It's simply my opinion and if one person gains one thing from it, I'm stoked!

Magalie asked:
I noticed you “rock” or “bounce” your camera when you depress the shutter…it's like a little bounce. What is that and how can I use it to my advantage. I have bad camera shake and am wondering if I should practice that too?

Okay. So. I've been asked this question at least 100 times via email since the creativeLIVE event. And I just have to put something out there: I didn't even realize I rock/bounce when I shoot. In fact, I thought the Internet was lying to me until I saw it for myself on film. Okay, so maybe what it looked like was rocking/bouncing, but all I was really doing was focusing, then recomposing the shot. For instance, during family formals, I placed the bride and groom in the center and then positioned family members around them. Yes, the bride was initially centered, but when I added a large group (perhaps with more people on, say, the right side instead of the left), I'd have to slightly recompose the photo in frame. So, I'd place the focal point on the bride, focus, then recompose the photo so that the photo itself was centered. That's all I was doing. If it looked like I was rocking, I blame it on my nerves. Entirely.

Allie asked:
Do you have any tips? How did you get started in the wedding industry (I would LOVE to be a wedding photographer as well!)?

I definitely don't have tips on how to get started in wedding photography because I made things up as I started! More than anything, practicepracticepractice with your camera. Become confident in shooting, then focus 100% on your business. If you'd like to check out my first blog (the good, bad, and very ugly) feel free to: check it out HERE

Craig asked:
How do you graciously deal with amateur photographers at an event who can interfere with your photos? This seems like an almost no-win situation to me.

I often get asked this question. And the truth of the matter is that I don't have to deal with it too often, primarily because I'm not merely in charge…I act in charge. That's a huge difference. When family members are standing around to take photos, I announce that family members will have a couple minutes to take photos (and then I usually take pictures of the family photographer shooting the family), and then I announce that I'll be the main photographer for the next few minutes, and will everyone in the group photo please look at me. I definitely need to give family members the chance to take a photo…it's their memories and they want to be owners of that particular frame. I need to respect grandma and Uncle Joe because they're special to the bride and groom. Remaining in control during this time, however, is of tantamount importance.

Danielle asked:
How do you determine what is too MUCH personal info for your professional blog vs starting a completely separate blog for your creative outlets of writing? In other words, where do you feel you should draw the line?

It's funny you should ask this because I'm a terrible drawer of lines. I'm all about the blur. And just to clarify one BIG caveat: Everyone had different levels of comfort. What I'm comfortable with may not be cool for thousands of other people. And I'm okay with that. At the end of the day, each person defines their threshold of dissemination.
A rule of thumb I adhere to when writing on the web is the following:
*Would I regret reading this 10 years from now?
*Am I comfortable with my mom reading this?
*If I blog about something, I need to be willing to publicly defend it.
*Is it a true reflection of who I am?
There have been posts that I've written that never made it into cyberspace…lots of them. Before hitting the publish button, if there's just s shadow of doubt I may regret it, I wait a day. If I'm still feeling the same way the day after, then I know it shouldn't go live and I move onto the next thing. But, again, this is just MY opinion and I have no doubt people can rock pretty much anything out, as long as they own it.

Melinda asked:
So, you seem to really know each of your clients….do you have some sort of standard questioning that you do?? I was wondering because I feel kind of weird sending them my little “survey”

To be honest, I just have to admit that I have the best clients. Ever. Their stories, their lives, their love…everything…is amazing. I don't send them a questionnaire. I simply listen. And when I want to learn more about their story, I ask. And then listen. To what's being said in between the lines, and to both sides of the story. There's always two sides.
During the engagement session, I ask how they met. Then I ask questions that'll help me understand the details. If they met in college, I want to know what college. If they met in a class, I want to know what class. I ask who liked who first. And then the details just flow from there. They, essentially, write their own story. I just dress it up with my words.

Happy Wednesday!