Wedding Workshop Goodness

This weekend I was so fortunate to attend Julie Paisley’s Wedding Workshop.  Julie is an absolutely amazing photographer and as an added bonus, she shares my obsession with cupcakes (and she fed us plenty of them!).  The workshop consisted of two days’ worth of topics and discussions as well as three model shoots.  I have so much information from this workshop to process and I can’t wait to get started – some changes are coming to LSP!!  But before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to share my favorite images from the weekend.

Advanced Pro Workshop–Week 2

This week, Cami and Loren were my guinea pigs for my homework session with Brooke Snow’s Advanced Pro Workshop.  And they were wonderful guinea pigs!  They were awesome to work with and I loved watching them interact with one another as I introduced them to a Beloved inspired session.  Thank you so much, you two, for being a part of my learning experience…I am thrilled that I was able to share this experience with you!

Choosing your wedding photographer

There are TONS of planning resources for brides out there on the market.  When I got married almost two years ago, I bought a HUGE notebook full of information…probably ten times the information that I needed for planning my day.  One thing that was included in this notebook was a list of questions to ask every vendor.  I had a list of things to ask the florist, the DJ, the cake baker, the officiate, and of course, the photographer.

I went to meet wedding photographers, armed with my notebook full of questions, only to discover I really didn’t need it. Meeting each photographer was about meeting her, not about learning what type of flash she used and what her background photography training entailed. If her photos were as beautiful as they were, obviously she knew what she was doing with a camera and editing software. I needed to make sure her personality type would match up with mine because I would be spending quite a bit of time with her on my wedding day.

When it came down to it, the photographers’ images on their websites and blogs spoke for themselves.  Obviously I wasn’t going to go meet a photographer whose photos didn’t grab me.  When you look at someone’s photos online, you either like them or you don’t.  They style either fits you or it doesn’t.  Just be sure there are plenty of photo samples to look at that you like, not just one or two beautiful photos.

I chose which photographers to meet based on how their photos appealed to me.  Then I went to meet the contenders.

Based on my personality and needs for the day, I was able to choose a wedding photographer.  My decision was not based on who could better answer why she was the best photographer in Savannah.  It was not based on who had more equipment or more formal training.  It was based on who gave me the better feeling.  It was based on whose personality meshed better with mine.  For the record, I chose the photographer with less equipment and less formal training.

Even though your wedding notebooks will have you ask about what type of equipment your photographer uses, or what their photographic style is (this should be obvious from looking at the photos online before you even meet your potential photographer!), or “why should I choose you instead of someone else?”, don’t stress over these questions.  The bottom line is, you should choose someone who you can work with and who you will be excited to work with.

Here is what I would look for in a wedding photographer (or other vendor for that matter):

*Does his/her personality mesh well with mine?  Can he/she relate to me?  Will I enjoy working with him/her or will I be rolling my eyes at him/her all day long?

*Does this photographer have good customer service? – do I feel I can reach out to him/her at any time with questions (either photography related or not?). 

*Does this photographer have a genuine interest in my wedding?

*What is included in the wedding photography package? (if you want the photos on a disc, for example, be sure it’s included). How soon can I see and have my photos? And how many photos will I get? If the package doesn’t fit my needs perfectly, will the vendor work with me (within reason) to make it fit my needs?

And that is it.  I wouldn’t get bogged down with every single tiny detail out there.  Be sure you understand the packages and the contract – and then if you love the photos and you love the person behind the lens, go for it!  And if you are not getting a good vibe from the photographer, look elsewhere.  Planning a wedding should lead you to fun vendors who you look forward to working with, not to a stressed out process of interviewing vendors about every little detail.

Mary and John {couples}

I shared a few of my favorite photos from this session below, but I wanted you to see the rest of them too.  Here are my new favorite people, Mary and John!  (PS they get 4,236,083,174 bonus points for being Sox fans and inspiring the session in that direction).

The Advanced Pro Workshop–Week 1

 

Be forewarned…this is a long and wordy post…but I hope you will take the time to read it because I think you will learn a lot about me as your wedding photographer.

I am so fortunate to be taking a workshop right now with one of my all time favorite photographers, Brooke Snow.  She is an amazing lifestyle photographer out of Utah and I absolutely love and admire her work. 

It was quite a process for me deciding whether to post this on my blog or not.  This is a very personal journey for me, and it is a bit strange to put it all out there for the world to see.  Then again, if I can’t be totally honest about who I am and what I am doing to improve my photography, I’m not giving you the whole picture of who I (as well as Life’s Stories) am. 

To show you what led me to this decision, I have a short story to tell you that helped me reach my decision. 

Every photographer has to start somewhere.  When I was really getting into photography, I was so excited to delve into the world of weddings.  I had never shot one before and knew I wasn’t ready to just jump out there and do it.  So I took a mentoring session with an amazing wedding photographer who I admire in every aspect of the word.  I never gave this a second thought – I wanted to learn the ins and outs of weddings, and this was a great way to learn alongside one of wedding photography’s greatest.  [Quick side note – I believe in giving credit where credit is due – Teresa is a fabulous mentor – check her out at http://www.reallyfunworkshops.com].

Fast forward a bit…I had photographed a wedding with another photographer and my photos were featured as a ‘Real Wedding’ on a wedding website.  Like anyone would be, I was very excited and proud.  I posted this on my Facebook page with a link.  A response I received to this link really put a damper on my celebration though.  Sadly, it was from another photographer who I had always had a lot of respect for.  I was asked, “Is this the wedding you shot with Teresa’s other mentoring client?” 

This comment just rubbed me the wrong way.  Partly because I know this photographer and know that it was intended to downgrade me as *just* a mentoring client.  I felt like my work, and myself, were being devaluated…because instead of a photographer, I was *just* a mentoring client. 

But I am a mentoring client.  So why should this comment have bothered me?  Why did it make me feel so much shame?  I was never ashamed before, I had never even given it a second though.  So after a lot of stewing on this comment and reflecting on my feelings, I made a decision.  I will not be ashamed to be *just* a mentoring client.  I am proud to be a mentoring client.  And if you have any investment in my work and me, as a friend, family member, client, vendor, or other, you should be proud of me too.  Through mentoring with Teresa my confidence soared.  I saw a HUGE improvement in my work in more ways than one.  I saw a new depth brought to my work and learned many new skills to editing and streamlining my work flow.  Most of all, I learned that I could shoot weddings, and that I could rock them.

So I will continue to be a mentoring client.  I will continue to attend workshops.  And I will be proud that I am doing so.

When I was a teacher, I went through the process of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher (that’s right!  I’m Nationally Certified in teaching English/Language Arts in K-8!!).  This process taught me to always reflect on my work.  To always keep learning and striving to improve …because not matter what, I would never be the perfect teacher.  There would always be opportunities to step it up – and I had to seek them out.

This does not mean I have to be unhappy with where I am along my journey, either in teaching or in photography.  The fact that I’m taking workshops doesn’t mean that I’m not good enough.  It doesn’t mean that I need help.  It means that I’m passionate about my work.  It means that I recognize that there is always more that I can learn – both from others and from myself.  It means that I value my clients and want to give them the best experience and photos that I can. 

So when I continue to attend mentoring sessions and workshops…and post those journeys here…it is because I am a determined, proud, and active lifelong learner.  It is because I know that I will never be ‘there’ – I will never be above the need to learn more.

So, without further ado (did you make it this far?), here is my first homework assignment with Brooke Snow.

The assignment pushed me to really think outside the box and shoot my session from a different perspective.  There were a LOT of new firsts that I did during this session.  It definitely presented some challenges for me, but I am happy with the images and also with what I learned from the experience.  The other ladies taking this workshop with me will get to hear a bit more of my insight about this experience (it’s not that I want to hide it from y’all, but these ladies have paid for the workshop as have I, and I feel that I should be loyal to that in this respect).  We are to post our three favorite images from the session…so, I present to you, Mary and John. 

I LOVE this couple.  Truly love.  I asked them to adopt me.  But they already have 5 kids…so it was a no go.  This couple has such a strong relationship.  I love the way they relate to one another.  You can tell that they are so much more than husband and wife – they are best friends and soulmates.  In fact, I was so inspired by them that I will be doing another session with them next week because I want to try out more new tricks that I am learning with them!  Mary and John, thank you so much for being a part of this experience for me – you two were fabulous to work with!!

Embrace

I was inspired by fellow photographer, Ajira Darch, to choose one word for 2012 that embodies my photography goals for the year.  The word I chose is embrace.

em·brace

¹    [em-breys]  verb, -braced, -brac·ing, noun, verb (used with object)

**1 to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly: to embrace an idea.

**2 to avail oneself: to embrace an opportunity.

**3 to adopt (a profession, a religion, etc.): to embrace Buddhism.

**4 to take in with the eye or the mind.

So what does embrace mean to me in terms of my work? 

 

For meaning **1 it means to accept feedback open-mindedly.  I realize not every person will love my style of photography, and I accept that.  But I need to recognize the difference between people who are putting down my work just to be mean and those who truly want to help me.  I want to receive their suggestions open mindedly and reflect upon them constructively in a manner that will help me to continuously learn about and improve my photography.

For meaning **2 it means to accept the opportunities that come my way and make the most of them.  And more than that, to do what I need to do to encourage these opportunities to arise.  I believe that luck can certainly be involved, but I am an even a bigger believer in hard work.  I appreciate successes that I work hard for much more than those that just fall into my lap by chance.  Of course, none of these opportunities will mean a thing if I don’t make an effort to get something out of them.  Along the same lines, that means embracing my mistakes…because owning them allows me to learn from them.

For meaning **3 -adopt my profession.  I have already done this…I am a photographer.  Toward the end of 2011 I began specializing in weddings and engagements.  Before, I was photographing weddings, engagements, children, families, events, seniors…you name it, I would shoot it.  I decided that I would rather not be a jack of all trades, but a master of one.  This change began to come about toward the end of the year, but in 2012 I will continue to develop this specialty and be further known as an awesome wedding photographer.

For meaning **4 it means reflecting on my work consistently.  Looking at it objectively to decide what worked, what didn’t, and why.  Why are certain photos speaking to me?  What is it about them that I love?  When I take photos that are not my favorites, what are they lacking?  How can I fix this?  Before becoming a photographer, I was a teacher for many years.  One of my biggest accomplishments in teaching was becoming a National Board Certified Teacher.  This required constructing a portfolio in which I looked at my teaching and my students’ learning in a manner that allowed me to constantly improve my practices.  I plan to use these same principles to improve my photography throughout my career.  The NBPTS process required me to look at my work…what was I doing?  How?  And most importantly Why?  This is the same outline I will use to critique my work on a regular basis.

Embrace is my word for 2012.  I will embrace 2012 as Life’s Stories Photography continues to thrive.  I hope you will all embrace it with me!  And I’m leaving you with a photo from Mary and David’s wedding back in April…with a more literal sense of the word embrace.