Incorporating our couple’s personal style with our own photographic style is something that is so important to us.  That’s why we were so excited to work with Jamie and Drew.  These guys have a very strong sense of self which makes them so much fun to photograph! You probably saw their engagement session and wedding a few posts back.  Here is the conclusion of their marathon shooting extravaganza!  We met up a couple of weeks after the wedding to get some great couple images outside of the time constraints of their wedding day and despite the fact that it was FREEZING, I’m so glad we did. :0)  I love this session!  Check it…

Her grandmother’s furniture, his grandfather’s old musket…family history meets a new life together…

I’m pretty much in love with Jamie’s Vera Wang gown.  The detailing is just gorgeous and it had the perfect feel for their vintage inspired wedding!

Warmth in the cold.

I can’t wait to share more of these once we’ve had the opportunity to premiere the whole shabang to Jamie and Drew!  Hope you’ve enjoyed them! :0)

4. Consistency is key

Make sure you are striving to deliver a complete high quality body of work for each and every one of your clients; not just shooting for one or two “money shots.” Think about it from the bride’s perspective; chances are that your clients have looked through featured galleries on your website of your favorite work; maybe they’ve met you in person and seen a couple of albums that are the best ones you’ve put together. This is how they view you and your work and this is what they hired you for. They probably aren’t thinking about the 99% of your work that they haven’t seen, and how maybe that might not measure up to what you’ve featured.

What happens when you share the images with your clients from their wedding day, and there are one or two shots that match the quality of what you presented before they booked you, but everything else is lackluster by comparison; when it’s all just “the rest”? It’s like buying an album with one good song on it. You usually leave that transaction feeling like it was a waste of money, right? It’s disappointing.

Take a look at iTunes and how $0.99 for picking and choosing just your favorite songs has completely turned the industry on its head. What if every song was the quality of the singles? What if every photograph was meaningful? What if every photograph was great quality?

Delivering a huge variety of fantastic images is really going to set you apart and your clients will love you for it. Is this tip make-or-break? Probably not if you’re at a lower to mid range price point—assuming that you are delivering a body of work that’s technically sound, of course. So no, this isn’t a must—but just remember: These are tips on “How to be a Successful Wedding Photographer” not tips on “How to Be a Decent Wedding Photographer”

For those of you on the Nashville Smug Mug mailing list, I sent out details last week for our February meet up.  All photographers are welcome–no need to be a member!  Just RSVP here to confirm your spot, as seating is limited.

We will be meeting in the theater of the Westhaven Residents club this month at 6:00. If you’ll be getting off work and can’t make it until 6:30, that is no problem–please come anyway! The residents club closes at 8:00, so we’re just setting the start time at 6:00 so that we have plenty of time for everyone to talk and meet each other before it gets started, and then get through everything and finish by 8:00. After that, we’ll probably all be going out for dinner somewhere nearby, and you’re all invited to hang out for as long as you’d like!

Part 1:

Please email up to 15 of your favorite images from 2009 to sean@mclellanstyle.com. We will be putting together a slideshow featuring everyone’s favorite work from last year and playing it beginning around 6:30 – 6:45.

Part 2 (Win a free one year subscription to Smug Mug Pro!)

Please bring a print of one of your photographs to this meeting, as well as a penny (please don’t put any identifying marks on the front of the image). We will be setting the images out and you will vote for the one that gives you the strongest emotional reaction by placing your penny on top. The image with the most pennies at the end will win a one year subscription to Smug Mug Pro!

Can’t wait to see you all again!

For any last minute updates/details, keep an eye on this meetup page, as well as Nashville Smug leaders Sean & Mel on twitter:

http://twitter.com/seanmclellan

http://twitter.com/melmclellan