First posting

First posting

This is for wedding professionals. DJ, Photographer, Videographer, Hair & Make-up, Florist, Venue, Justice of the peace (any one performing a sevice at the wedding). Don’t steal the thunder from the newly married couple. Let them have first posting in regards to the beautiful photos i’ve just done. I explain myself better in the blog vs. this little summary.

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Dumb tricks that get photographers hired.

Dumb tricks that get photographers hired.

I don’t do bridal shows and I try and stay away from some of the practices of other photographers. If you’re going to make it in this business you can’t do the same exact thing every other photographer does. If we all used the same exact equipment, same “style” aka presets.. then we would be pretty hard to distinguish ourselves from the pack. Here’s some trends that I see and some of how I operate.

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Who steers the ship

Who steers the ship

You've hired a wedding photographer but on your wedding day you decide to direct them instead of enjoying the day, that's fine. But... how many weddings have you shot and do you have a method to get all the formals done in twenty minutes? 

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The flying photographer

The flying photographer

I certainly don't mix my lenses with my socks when I travel. Here's how I travel as a wedding photographer. I'm also endorsing ThinkTANK because they really rock when it comes to photography gear. 

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Why would you hire me?

Why would you hire me?

I've put together some ramblings of why you would want to choose me as your wedding photographer.  When you choose a wedding photographer you are choosing someone who you will most likely spend the day with. I'm fun and sometimes I bring donuts. 

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I made the bride's daughter cry

I made the bride's daughter cry

Soooo before you get mad at me, I didn't do anything wrong. While taking photos a waitress yelled at me and afterwards the bride's daughter (9 years old) was absolutely certain this waitress would kick everyone out and cancel the wedding. Here's the story.  

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It's not a Trump hat!

It's not a Trump hat!

So if you haven't seen my Facebook yet then you don't know the yuuuge news. I have a new hat, a red hat, like i've always worn, except.. it has white lettering. Make Mike great again, he's always been great. So the problem with the new hat is Donald Trump also wears a red hat. I guess the big difference will be my ability to write and speak full sentences without using small words and big small hand movements. Okay, enough writing, go and read. 

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Wedding workflow

Wedding workflow

So this post is geared towards photographers out there, specifically wedding photographers. This is my workflow. It's simple and it works. I basically import, sort and process. This is a little bit technical and you'll appreciate it this only if you know Lightroom or are planning on getting Lightroom. 

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Marketing

Marketing

So every once and awhile i'll ramble on to people about how I market. I really don't mind giving away my secrets if that's what you can call it. If i'm giving away my secrets and someone copies me then that only means I have to get better which I always welcome. Anyways here's some of my marketing plans that I usually work with. 

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Business cards and why mine is the best.

Business cards and why mine is the best.

So I posted the design of my new business card and everyone had great feedback on it. I wanted to write about my design choices a bit more and explain myself and not have it get lost within the thread. So here's some of my marketing choices and design choices wrapped up together. This blog has cost me two Venti Cafe Mochas from Starbucks btw.

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What a photographer's day is like.

What a photographer's day is like.

So I thought this may be interesting to some of you out there. Being a photographer is awesome but most of it is the hustle. You have to work your butt off and throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. On top of that is communicating with anyone who you may come across on social media, phone, e-mail, text message or smoke signals. It's being proactive and taking risks at times and other times playing it safe and doing things by the book and also knowing the difference of when to do which.  A typical day in most full time photographers lives means being flexible and nimble. Here's what a typical day looks like for me, give or take a few details. 

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Hoodie and winter cap.

Hoodie and winter cap.

Meetings should be casual. Imagine if you went into a bank to discuss a mortgage which is a very serious matter. If the person across from you was wearing similar clothes to you and was able to sit there and walk you through the process of a mortgage wouldn't you feel a bit more confident and relaxed? That's what I think at least. When I meet a bride and groom I want them to be relaxed and honest with me so that I can give them the best price possible and also get to know them a little bit quicker because I'm going to be spending an entire day with them later in the year. 

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Filters are for the lazy.

Filters are for the lazy.

Going to be pretty straightforward in saying that filters can ruin weddings. Look in your phone at the photos from a year for two ago at the filters you were using on your photos, some are pretty cringe-worthy. Some photographers use filters as a crutch or use it because they're lazy. Photographers who de-contrast and play with highlights / adding a yellow filter over a photo are a dime a dozen.  The goal should be correct color reproduction and using your skill as a photographer to produce compelling images through composition, knowledge and also being in the right place at the right time.   

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We're not going to get everything.

We're not going to get everything.

You're going to have your dream wedding, you've even selected what your wedding photos will look like via Pinterest, various wedding blogs and Google image searches. So you can have all of this but you may have to spend some time doing during your wedding. If you're getting married you'll want to read this. I'm writing this through my own personal experience. My number one goal is to make a bride and groom happy and also being very truthful with what I can offer.

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