Here For Help and Advice!

Davylyn · Mar 12, 2013

Hello,

My name is Davylyn and I'm new here. I came here for help and advice for our new photography business. My husband, brother and I have started Frame of mind Video and Photography here in Northern AZ. I am skilled with marketing, organization and design. So I handle the website, facebook, client communication, advertising, etc.

My husband is good with legal stuff and numbers so he handles our money and tradename, licensing, etc.

My brother is an extremely talented but young photographer and videographer.

Basically, I'm the one who is always looking for ways to improve us! So I came here.

We are primarily looking to do weddings, which I've heard can be very stressful. I hope there are a good few wedding photographers/videographers out there who can share some tips and tricks with me. I don't have a single shot of my own wedding, and it's quite sad. I would never want to dissapoint a bride and make her feel the way I do. So any advice to avoid this would be much appreciated!

Here are a few examples of our work:

I am looking forward to making a network here on your forum! Thank you!

IceCanAm · Mar 12, 2013

Welcome to the site. i am no expert but i suggest when you take pics of people to have the sun in your back. How ever you will get more feedback if you ask for help on the galleries below.

Big Mike · Mar 12, 2013

Welcome aboard Davylyn.

Welcome to the site. i am no expert but i suggest when you take pics of people to have the sun in your back.

If they did that, then their subjects would constantly be squinting.

The images shown have a lot of sun flare with low contrast. It's a style, but hopefully not your bread and butter.

Not many videographers here on the forum. The common advice is that someone shouldn't try to master both video and still photos...but concentrate on one or the other, and really hone your skills. But that being said, the 'fusion' (both video and stills) experience is becoming more and more popular...especially with the ability of today's DSLR cameras to shoot high quality video.

Weddings can be stressful, mostly because of the pressure to get the job done. Weddings are supposed to be a once in a lifetime event, you don't want to screw it up. Also, they are often hectic events where anything can and does happen. A true professional should be prepared and able to get the job done, despite awkward circumstances.
Experience is key. The more you do it, the more you see, the more you will learn, the better you should get.

shelby16 · Mar 12, 2013

Welcome to TPF!

KmH · Mar 12, 2013

Welcome to TPF's forums.

I've moved your thread to the Business District section of TPF's forums in the hopes you will get more of the help you seek.

tirediron · Mar 12, 2013

So what sort of help and advice do you feel you need? Are your area(s) of concern equipment-related, skill-related, business-related, or....

imagemaker46 · Mar 12, 2013

Not too many details to go on, but Big Mike is a good one for wedding advice. As far as the 2 images posted, while I am a big fan of back lighting, these aren't ones that I like too much. Do you have any other examples that you could post that aren't shot into the sun.

Greiver · Mar 12, 2013

Like previously said, the sun is super bright in those pics but at least it doesn't ruin them, they still look good. (Might be able to edit them a bit to tone down the brightness of the sun so you can see the people better.)

My advice is if your brother wants to do weddings, he should get at least 5 years of experience before he does it regularly, it takes a ton of skill, experience, planning, etc. to do one right.

orljustin · Mar 12, 2013

"So any advice to avoid this would be much appreciated!"

Don't take any work without a lot of related experience. So, you've got one guy who knows how to use a camera, and you're ready to go?

Davylyn · Mar 13, 2013

I suppose everything is a matter of opinion. I chose the 3 pictures I did because both I, the bride and groom agreed they were beautiful. The bride adored them, and that's what matters, I think. My own wedding photos were evenly lit and also taken by my brother, but personally I find the sunlight to be magical and was rather jealous of it haha. However, it isn't the only thing we do. http://www.facebook.com/FrameOfMindStudios/photos_stream

Mike, thank you for the advice. There are five of us on the team. Don is our main videographer and photographer, Josh is our secondary, we have another videographer who is also a professional, and I am in charge of the bridal "getting ready" shots, and manning our steady camera that will shoot the entire ceremony from one angle. We also have a backup photographer. We plan on practicing often before taking on our first wedding as a business. =)

orljustin -

Before everyone starts giving us advice not to do this - it is too late for that. We are constantly learning and shadowing two pro photographers. We are a VERY small town. There are only 2 wedding photographers within 300 miles. We easily measure up to both of them. Did you bother to ask how many events/weddings/engagements,etc my brother has photographed before deciding to start a business? This was an introduction thread, so I didn't feel the need to mention it. This thread was moved here =). If it makes you feel better, there are five of us. One professional videographer for years, my brother who has been a professional videographer and photographer for years before starting a business with us, my husband who is skilled with a camera, I am an amateur, and Tim who has been doing photography as a hobby for years. We did not jump into this.

hirejn · Mar 14, 2013

You did ask for advice. Orljustin was making a valid if uninformed point that might have been hard to hear. From the original post nobody could tell exactly what you had going on, and the phrase "looking to do weddings, which I've heard can be very stressful" wouldn't instill a lot of confidence in many people if you're presenting yourself as a wedding photography business. My advice is never stop learning and improving your craft and customer service.

pixmedic · Mar 14, 2013

Welcome to the forum davylyn. You didnt list much in the way of prior experiences, and your post does give the impression of someone relatively new to the photography business . This is a bit of a hot topic around here, so I think it is best if everyone tries to answer the OPs questions in an informative and non judgemental manner, and the OP tries not to get overly defensive over peoples varying opinions. There is a lot of great people here and many wedding photographers that are willing to help out with any questions you might have. If you would like any photos evaluated, or just want to share, feel free to post them in the appropriate section.

orljustin · Mar 15, 2013

Davylyn said:
Before everyone starts giving us advice not to do this - it is too late for that. We are constantly learning and shadowing two pro photographers. We are a VERY small town. There are only 2 wedding photographers within 300 miles. We easily measure up to both of them. Did you bother to ask how many events/weddings/engagements,etc my brother has photographed before deciding to start a business? This was an introduction thread, so I didn't feel the need to mention it. This thread was moved here =). If it makes you feel better, there are five of us. One professional videographer for years, my brother who has been a professional videographer and photographer for years before starting a business with us, my husband who is skilled with a camera, I am an amateur, and Tim who has been doing photography as a hobby for years. We did not jump into this.

Well, that's an introduction then.