I was having a bit of a chat with some friends in Bristol over coffee at the Cafe Du Jour on Whiteladies Road (great place, great coffee.) And we got in to sharing thoughts about how we conduct ourselves in a meeting with a prospective couple. I thought it would make an interesting blog post, so let me know what you think.

I can really only say what I do, so on reflection I find that even before the meeting you want the couple to love you, love your work and know you care about their wedding well before the meeting. You can show this from your website, your first e-mail and phone call.

I try and keep the KISS principle in mind because it can be very easy to overcomplicate things when it comes to discussing a wedding.

I try and keep the first 15-20 minutes getting to know the couple. I genuinely love meeting new people and making friends and so these meetings excite me because they are always fun. Getting to know someone and making a connection is crucial if you want to take the best photographs you can of them. Don't mention the wedding or bring out your portfolio until you have got to know them a little.

Don't over pitch especially when they are looking at your photos but don't just sit there either. I guide them through my work and tell them how I created the images and what makes them special. Make them laugh, keep it light and have fun and whatever you do try and make a connection. Show your passion, that's why you are in the wedding photography business. Your passion and people skills will win you clients.

If you sell albums, bring some so the clients can see them, having something tangible is a really nice plus and shows you are interested in quality products.

When you move on to the subject of weddings find out how they met, what mood or feeling they have for their images and the vision they have. Be interested in their wedding, the cake, dress, style and theme. This is the part where you need to listen more and talk less. Bring a nice notepad and pen with you and take notes, it shows you care and helps you not to forget. Tell them of your experience that there is no problem you have not faced. I ask them how their ideal photographer would fit in to their day and other such open ended questions, getting them to speak automatically will help them relax. It is important to let them know how you work and so I talk them through their day from my perspective. "When you are getting ready I will be doing this..."

Being nervous is normal, but if you show your nerves you won't be hired. Speak with confidence, after all you are a professional and you will know what you are talking about. Contrary to popular belief there are enough weddings to go around. I may not be what people are looking for and and likewise I don't have to photograph every wedding that comes across my plate. But couples who love my style and insist that I am exactly what they want are the ones I want to book. I don't take the stance that I'm trying to get them to hire me, rather I'm showing them what I do, how I do it and the results. Hopefully we will make a connection and our visions match we will make a great story and capture it with creativity and passion.

Finally ask them whether they have anymore questions, and if not ask them if they would like to book that date.

Your work speaks for itself, but the meeting is to decide whether they like me or not...

Labels: Bristol, Guide, Thoughts, Wedding Photography

I have owned my most recent ipod for the last 5 years. Unsurprisingly it is pretty worn out. Typically a 2-3 hour battery life on a good day, it only charges with Firewire and only syncs with USB so I have to use two cables. The unit crashes intermittently, and unless you plug it back in to the computer it won't restart...

So I was browsing Bristol's shopping district the other day and found myself in the Apple store... 30 mins later I walked out the proud owner of an iPhone (32GB, 3GS, Black if you care!) I was tempted to only get the iPod touch as I already have a phone, but having to carry around two devices is a bit of a pain. That and the fact that the rumour sites are saying a new iPod touch will be released in a month or two swung it for me...

Luckily the upgrade cycles for camera lenses aren't as frequent as iPods and when you buy a lens it tends not to deteriorate unless you treat it badly. So the next lens on my shopping list is the Canon 24-70mm L lens. Unfortunately I don't have the stomach to buy it as rumours have been circulating for a long time that a second version of this lens will be released with IS.

Deciding when to purchase new gear is always hard, but having to continually postpone the purchase because you think there may be something better coming out is a real pain Especially when you could he out there making great photos.

The problem is buying a new lens and have it fall in value by almost half because a new version is released. This is a big dilemma! I hate the feeling of buying something new only for a better version to be released within a month, and quite often for a cheaper price.

Personally I'm going to wait until the 24-70/2.8 II L is released and make the most of the gear I have. With a few lenses a good wedding photographer ought to be able to get a good shot out of any wedding situation. That doesn't mean I am happy about it though!

Labels: Bristol, Equipment, Gear, Thoughts, Wedding Photography

There are few opportunities to practise shots on the wedding day, but one of the few opportunities we get as wedding photographers is the cutting of the cake. This is a great opportunity to get some 'safe shots' in the bag with no interruptions. Another reason is that sometimes the photographer is only booked up to a certain time and so they need the photographs of the cake cutting before they leave. Since my 'second shooter' days I was always taught to do a mock cutting of the cake for these reasons. However, last weekend I decided against doing this. The reason?

These 'fake' shots never make it in to the final portfolio of images I hand to the clients. When they do the real thing the expressions are too priceless to miss capturing! I always stay until the end of the night so there is no chance of me missing this great opportunity. I also find the same thing when throwing the bouquet. It can be photographically challenging, but doing it live and capturing the real thing makes for better, emotionally charged photographs.

This is part of my plan to reduce the amount of photographs I take at a wedding and concentrate on the quality. This is a time consideration meaning less photos to post process and more highly rated photos.

The only other 'fake' part of the day is the signing of the register. Normally the priest doesn't allow this due to the distraction, but it is his house so his rules... Okay maybe it's God's house but I am sure you understand what I mean!

Photography is all about capturing the moment!

Labels: Guide, Techniques, Thoughts, Wedding Photography

Probably a bit of a controversial topic, but don't be afraid to delete photos that don't make the grade.

This may well be down to my shooting style as anyone who has seen me shoot knows I am 'trigger happy.' But having worked with quite a few other professional photographers I don't think it is uncommon to come back from a wedding with shots approaching two thousand for a full days shoot.

The positive of having a large selection available is the knowledge that you never missed an opportunity and to me this makes it worth taking so many photographs. The negative is the amount editing and rating you have to do, as well as the use of harddisc space used.

Now there is a rule that I never delete an image in the camera. Instead my workflow involving Lightroom is to do an import and render each image. I then make sure a time machine backup is done before the decision to start deleting photos. I then start the rating process.

I try to do this in one pass and rate as follows:

Reject: Out of focus or blurred images that aren't artistic. I also reject images in a sequence. So if I have five images of the same portrait taken in a few seconds I select the best one or two but reject the rest.

1 star is a shot that will not see the light of day. Typicially I won't delete it because it's technically not bad but neither am I proud of it.
2 stars are shots that I am happy with and I use two stars as the medium benchmark of work that could make it in to the portfolio. But only as a reserve, for instance I may be missing a nice candid photo of 'cousin Sally' or simply to boost numbers.
3 stars are my best images and ones which stand out as having potential for further processing.

A break is now needed as I like to clear my head so that I can come back to the next stage with a fresh and open mind.

I then make a final pass of the 3 star images and rate them:
4 star for ones which I really like
5 star for outstanding photographs.

I then make sure I have around 300 images rated as three and above that are not duplicates. If for some reason I don't have many photographs rated three or above I am more than happy to select a few images rated as two stars but I make sure they deserve a place in the final gallery. For instance they need to be artistically beautiful or contain emotion.

I then have a quick scan of the rejects to make sure I didn't make a mistake (although I have a timemachine backup) and then delete them FOREVER!

I used to hesitate before deleting images I wouldn't use but they only take up valuable space and I know I won't ever use them.

I was having a few drinks the other night with some photographer friends of mine in the Alma pub in Bristol. After a few ciders a heated discussion took place about whether wide aperture lenses were essential for wedding photography? Should you buy the 16-35/2.8 over the 17-40/4 when it is twice the price, for essentially a poorer lens in terms of image quality and focal length? This decision tends to come down to a price consideration because lenses with wide apertures almost always cost more. Although getting started in the photography business is probably quite cheap compared to other businesses good lenses probably still cost £600-£1000. When you need three or four of these, a good body, the hardware and software to process and print your photos we are not talking about a 'small' amount of money. So when it comes to making the investment the choice is never easy. So why are wide aperture lenses desirable?

They allow you to get a faster shutter speed in low light situations. In most weddings there is almost always a part of the wedding that is indoors. So a wider aperture lets more light in to the camera which means a faster shutter speed. Pretty essential unless you want blurry shots.

Secondly, wide apertures help create a smaller, more artistic depth of field. To many this can make an image seem more artistic and distinguishes the professional from the amateur point and shoot. A small depth of field is a harder thing to achieve here and is a technical matter due to the sensor size and quality of lens found on most point and shoot cameras.

Can you get by using a wider aperture such as f/4? Sure can can. It really comes down to the personal choice of how much money you are prepared to spend on your equipment. Personally I am of the frame of mind that you may as well buy the best - especially if there is a business need. I know myself well and if I buy something which isn't quite what I need to do the job, I end up spending more money in the long run upgrading.

Labels: Equipment, Gear, Thoughts, Wedding Photography