Blog 2 to 3 times a week. Give 60% content. Ask 40% questions. Tag images. Titles w keywords. Act busy. Look busy. Follow the formula and ye shall find success.
Are you fucking kidding me? For the life of me I cannot understand why a creative industry is being driven by those telling us all to follow a formula. Did you ever notice who stands out at work or school or in a group? It’s the weirdos, man. The loud mouth, the funny guy, the sleeper, the jerks and the nose picker. Everyone else just sorta blends in.
It seems like everyone becomes a photographer so they can do their own thing but the message boards and Facebook posts are full of people asking for foolish advice, second guessing everything they do and looking for some kind of permission to do things. In the words of the wise and eloquent Spencer Lum, “Fuck Permission!”
You wanna know what I’m not very good at? Taking photos without reason. I find it REALLY hard to shoot for people ‘just because’. Engagement shoots in the park, for example, are so tough for me because I can’t find the Why. So, while it seems the entire industry is offering the standard engagement shoots with wedding collections, Steph and I decided we’re not doing our clients any good shooting for them ‘just because’. Photographing people is such a huge collaborative effort for us and ‘go stand over there and kiss’ is being done by, well, pretty much everyone. I quit my well paying job to do this…the least I can do is be honest w clients and myself about what we love to do.
Enter Jill and Tim (again). Our love for these two runs deep and not just because they bring 40s of Jagermeister to a photo shoot. Tim’s a man of the outdoors and Jill supports that in every way. Almost every story at their wedding was about hunting and fishing and how big a part that all played in their daily lives. So, after a few episodes of Duck Dynasty, it came to us…Jill was the Miss Kay to Tim’s Phil Robertson and ‘stand by your man’ was born.
When they pulled up to Sandy Lake in a huge truck w the 4 wheeler loaded on the back, Jill in her wedding dress, I realized the enormity of the shoot and how much they had to invest in just getting ready. We were trekking into the woods for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon for one shot. One single concept was all I had in mind and one single shot (ok maybe 2) was all I wanted. Of course there were variations in pose and looks and we may have even thrown in a few smokes as props for a few shots but the camera didn’t come off of the tripod and there are no other scenes from the shoot…and I love that.
“Put your foreheads together and close your eyes” just doesn’t work for me. I’d much rather shove my photographic finger right up my nose and hope the right people notice.
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4 Comments
i LOVE the two images.i think celebrating the love between two people is why enough for me! but that’s what make this business so awesome – everyone has a different approach and reason for shooting. having the guts to be you? amazing. i could learn a lot from your attitude! *high five*
Awesome post. I agree 100% with what you say. We want everything we shoot to be representative of our client, not just some people in some pretty setting. Great photos too 😉
Ugh… “Look busy” is the worst. I hate that my Facebook timeline is full of people trying to look busy.
Love the concept, especially the top one!
Liam, there is no question that you and Steph are leaders….better yet, game changers – in the wedding industry around here….because of the very passion, creativity and desire not to conform that you speak of in this post. An amazing team that sets the bar with every image you create.
