ast week I spoke at a conference (more on that coming soon) and I had the pleasure of talking about the 10 Biggest Mistakes I made when I started my business. Okay, maybe pleasure is a bit of a stretch, but I was honored to speak to a group of talented peers and I love where the photo industry is headed. Truly. One of the mistakes I made early on was showing up to a photo shoot and hoping things would work out for themselves.
I mean, wasn't that the way it worked for professional photographers?!?
When my shoots weren't faring the way I wanted, I realized it was no one's fault but my own. As a wedding photographer, I need to prepare my clients for success. This usually begins at the beginning of our working relationship, the engagement session. I realized I needed to prepare my clients for the type of shoot I wanted in order to get the type of photos they wanted.
This is best achieved by letting them know what I need in advance, but instead of merely talking about, today I'm stoked to show you how I do it. I filmed a recent engagement session to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how I work with my clients to plan for a delightful engagement session...
If you'd like to get more information on the detailed email I send clients to prepare them for the shoot, feel free to check it out HERE.
Happy Tuesday!
Shooting Star : Tips for Posing a Couple at a Wedding
01.30.13
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bit ago, I had the honor of shooting Sharon and Ivan's Houston Wedding at The Parador (which later got featured in the national issue of The Knot Magazine!), but what I remember most from the day is working with such an amazing couple. I truly loved working with people who were in love and trusted their wedding photographer implicitly.
The backstory to the day was that it was hot. Like, TEXAS HOT. The type of hot that makes your sweat, sweat. And yet Sharon and Ivan reveled in the time they had to take wedding photos.
The videographer for the day was Robert Harrington from Bella Vista Productions and he sent me behind-the-scenes footage of me working with the couple on the wedding day. I--of course--died of mortification when I realized just how weird I was in real life. After a round of CPR, my husband revived me and suggested it might make for an installment of Shooting Star.
So that's what today's about: Tips for Posing a Couple on a Wedding Day
If you'd like to check out in-depth photography tutorials, be sure to drop by theSTORE for more!
Happy Wednesday!
Shooting Star : Making a Same Day Wedding Slideshow
12.04.12
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n the past I've spoken about producing a same-day slideshow at a wedding. The slideshow is a sneak peek of the wedding day through the ceremony recessional. While guests are eating dinner during the reception, I quickly grab 30-40 of my favorite images of the wedding day and put together a slideshow to be displayed on my laptop (the how, location, and FAQs are discussed in the video). I love putting together a slideshow because it acts as a conversation piece on the wedding day and encourages guests to have a discussion about the bride and groom (as seen through my lens).
The results of these conversations are priceless. When guests see the photos displayed the same day, most often they respond by complimenting the newly married couple on how beautiful their day was and/or how lovely they look together. With technology being as quick as it is, the first wedding photos the bride sees are those she's been tagged in Facebook. And let's be real...dancing photos sometimes aren't the best reflection of a beaming bride. I, instead, offer the opportunity for her to see photos the night of her wedding and know everything came together the way it was supposed to.
Even if the bride doesn't see the slideshow directly, her guests have complimented her, assured her of the day's beauty, and (as an awesome byproduct) reassured her decision to hire me to document her day. In this installment of Shooting Star, I demonstrated how I made a same day slideshow at a wedding...
Oh, don't mind me...just adding a photo to this post...that flute-playing screen capture needs to be balanced out with some flower girl cuteness.
Shooting Star : Three FREE Marketing Tips
11.15.12
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hosted a photography workshop last week (more on that coming soon!) and one of the most common frustrations and/or worries I heard from photographers dealt with marketing and/or booking weddings. Apparently, I'm loving and/or today. More specifically, how can a wedding photographer market his services with very little money? We had some great conversations, so today I'll be sharing three marketing tips for photographers.
In today's installment of Shooting Star, I'll be talking about...
...marketing by using photographs from past weddings to connect with vendors...
...marketing by way of Facebook to allow friends, family and fans to endorse your services...
...marketing by way of your peers (if you'd like to learn more about this in depth, also check out this video)
If you have feedback, questions, or ideas for future installments of Shooting Star, feel free to holler back in the comment box below. Happy Thursday!
Shooting Star : Directive Posing
09.12.12
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couple months ago, I was really nervous before an engagement session. Like sweaty hand nervous, which is so who-will-ask-me-to-Homecoming, right?! I mean, how old am I and why would my hands think it's okay to revert back to the days when I thought blond highlights looked natural on me?! GET IT TOGETHER, JASMINE.
In light of this, I begged JD to join me for the engagement session (his inner chi could calm a hurricane) and he obliged on the condition I'd treat him to McNuggets afterward (this? This is a big deal because I think McDonald's is trying to poison Americans...yes, I watch too many documentaries). Once we arrived, I fell into my usual shooting groove and he was at liberty to shoot what he wanted. JD filmed a few behind-the-scenes moments, which demonstrate how I use Directive Posing during an engagement session.
In this Shooting Star, I'll discuss the following...
*How I start an engagement session by using explanations to set expectations.
*How to use Directive Posing to smoothly move from one pose to the next.
*How to create naturally posed images by instructing subjects to walk while simultaneously pose.
If you'd like to see more on the topic of Directive Posing, feel free to check out THIS photography tutorial for a more in depth perspective to how I work with my clients.
