One of my biggest secret weapons I use on a wedding day happens to be the cheapest things I own for photography! It's my 5-in-1 reflectors. I would say 80% of all the weddings photos we shoot are typically done during the "worst" lighting times (high noon). The first thing I always do before a wedding is arrive an extra hour early (it's usually closer to 2 because I'm paranoid I'm gonna get a flat tire or something). The main reason is so I can do my walk-around and plan out where the best lighting will be at what time (I get out my compass and see where the sun's gonna set because I'm no boy scout/have zero sense of direction and have to cheat). Shade is a huge friend, but without a reflector bouncing the light back up, that shade can get VERY muddled fast and can lose lots of great colors. That's one way the reflector helps the photos pop.
I know this is nerdy stuff and probably not the place to be talking about it, because hello, this adorable couple just got married, right? Well, this adorable couple trusted me with a very big day in their new lives together as husband and wife and we take that seriously. I keep seeing lots of posts trying to push the business side of photography to photographers saying that's all that matters. I literally saw a post that said, "you don't have to be good at photography to make a lot of money." While business is a huge part, try and take some pride in your work and continue to try and grow in your craft. Whether or not your client can tell the difference between a good photo and a bad photo is not the point. You are the professional and you're the one getting paid to make the difference. When I started, I saw a ton of photographers that would do AMAZING work but seemed like they were failing at the business side of things. But I also saw a ton of photographers that seemed like they were crushing it at the business side of things only to have photos that really fell flat. I'm in the camp that thinks you can do both and that you should try your very hardest at both. We are CRAZY blessed by the amazing couples we get to work with on a daily basis and it just seems wrong to give them a product that's not amazing, both in the business side of things and in the photo finish side.
If you're a photographer either starting out or have been doing it awhile and just feel like your work is not getting to that next level, I would LOVE to talk and swap tips. Message me and let me know how I can help!
Brad and Kelly's wedding photos at Aspen Lakes Lodge in Sisters, Oregon.
Venue: Aspen Lakes Golf Course
Flowers: Sweet Posy
Cake: Too Sweet Cakes Bakery
Food Truck: El Sancho--Let me just say, these guys that run the El Sancho food truck in Bend, were the coolest people to have at your wedding. Tacos are amazing to start but they were so fun how they interacted with all the guests going through the food line. Some people just have "it", and they have a lot of it.
