Our Creative Commune

Are your couples actually enjoying their wedding? When did the real wedding day stop being enough? Can we help couples see that their actual life is worth capturing over a day-long wedding shot-list?

This week Pete, Laura and Bee dig into a wedding in the Scottish Borders where the couple wanted no posing, no portraits and no social media, and why it made Pete work harder (and enjoy the day more) than ever. It leads into a bigger debate: are flat lays and long shot lists something couples really want, or something they’ve seen online?

How much should we educate couples about what posed photos cost them in time on the day, and when does guidance become patronising? And why does so much “documentary” wedding content look exactly the same? Our fear is that couples are seeing so many aspirational images that they can become focused on re-creating these perfect images at the expense of living their own unique moments (and taking a risk these are missed).

We also tackle editing. With couples asking for suits to be refitted, bags removed and bows fixed in every frame, how much retouching is now expected, and where do you draw the line?

Also this week: Liam is off learning to be a motorbike instructor, the never-ending editing list, and the return of midweek weddings. We turn down enquiries for Silverstone weekend, shoot a wholesome christening, and hear about Liam’s first roll of film (and the frames he wasted finishing it) and flash floods in Spain.

Pete explains how Claude rebuilt our LUTs and presets, while Bee sticks with ChatGPT and its slightly underwhelming Monday briefings. Plus highs and lows, including autumn TV, table tennis ups and downs, and the best flask ever made.

Our Creative Commune is four wedding photographers and filmmakers chatting about photography, videography and the wedding industry, just like we do over coffee most mornings.

Do you guide your couples on timings and posed shots, or let them lead? Let us know, and if you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe and leave us a review.

Timestamps

00:00 Coffee, Matcha and Where Is Liam?

02:28 The Never-Ending Editing List

05:56 The Rise of Midweek Weddings

07:12 Silverstone vs Wedding Enquiries

10:49 A Christening and a Portrait Shoot

12:51 A No-Fuss Wedding in the Scottish Borders

19:58 Flat Lays, Posing and the Flow of the Day

21:13 Should We Educate Couples on Timings?

22:21 Why Does Everything Look the Same?

25:30 Shot Lists and Moments That Don’t Happen

30:31 How Much Retouching Is Too Much?

32:13 Liam Shoots Film, Plus Spanish Flash Floods

37:15 Using Claude for LUTs and Presets

40:58 AI Briefings and Best Of Lists

44:21 Highs and Lows

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are those "best wedding photographers of the year" lists really the best, or just a list of who paid to advertise?

This week Pete, Laura, Liam and Bee dig into the backlash against a big industry list: accusations that it's pay to play, complaints that everyone on it shoots the same on-trend editorial style, and why the wedding industry seems to be splitting into bubbles that each crown their own favourites. Would we do any better if we made our own Top 50? (no, we'd never agree.)

That leads into a bigger conversation about being open-minded after 20 years in the industry. Why do suppliers keep telling couples what they won't want, especially when it comes to content creators? Is there such a thing as good light, or is it all taste? And are we allowed to call a photo unprofessional, or are we just turning into the grumpy old guard who once refused to do spot colour?

Also this week: Liam's trusty Canon 35mm dies mid-wedding and he upgrades to the RF 35mm VCM, we ask for your recommendations on where to get lenses repaired in the UK, Pete shoots two new Scottish castles, Bee and her mum stumble into a Blackpool bingo brunch, Laura's mum used to walk elephants on Blackpool beach, we discuss whether folding phones might finally bring landscape back, and the quiet winter looms as the wedding season winds down. Plus a robot cat litter tray, a last-minute booking bonded over fruit flies, and our highs and lows of the week.

Our Creative Commune is a relaxed catch-up between four wedding photographers and filmmakers, chatting all things photography, videography and the wedding industry, like friends over a coffee (or tonight, a glass of wine).

Where do you get your lenses fixed? Let us know!

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro and Blackpool with Bee's mum

07:43 Photographer meetups and filming in Blackpool

10:31 Pete's two Scottish castle weddings

15:02 Liam's Herefordshire wedding

16:12 Liam's Canon 35mm dies and lens repair woes

21:43 The robot cat litter tray

23:53 Are "best wedding photographer" lists just ads?

30:28 Does every wedding photo look the same?

32:59 Is landscape coming back with folding phones?

35:55 Should we make our own Top 50?

38:47 The long quiet winter ahead

41:10 Stop telling couples what they want

44:41 Is there really such a thing as good light?

50:09 Highs and lows of the week

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A pair of LA photographers went viral for all the wrong reasons with a post telling couples their wedding photographer is too old for them, and explaining why Gen Z couples need Gen Z photographers and videographers. It got deleted, it got apologised for, and it got us talking. Is there anything in it, or is it just generational nonsense dressed up as marketing? We are, as usual, about the last people in the industry to get round to discussing it.

We look into the claim that younger suppliers speak the same visual language as their couples, with the massive contradiction buried inside - the current wedding aesthetic is nostalgia for a time Gen Z never lived. We suspect they've mixed up age with cultural fluency. You can absolutely be twenty-five or fifty-five and be making exactly the same work.

Has age ever changed how we shoot or how we connect with a couple? Since starting at age 21, we've always just ended up bonding with the parents first. Maybe we're just old souls. There's also now this really annoying problem; we're proud of having shot weddings for over 20 years, but that also makes us sound sixty on our websites.

Before that we catch up after an accidental two month disappearance, compare backlogs (48 items on one to-do list, ten weddings deep), and run through a summer of travel including a wedding near Paris with a two hour ceremony, eight plus speeches, surprise fireworks and a boat trip that meant abandoning a full camera setup mid day. Laura shoots her first roll of Super 8 with a broken light meter and guesses the exposure all day long, we weigh up whether film only bookings are worth the risk, and we get into the TikTok row about couples writing wedding speeches with AI.

Plus tennis elbow, a dead boiler, no sleep, and Bee's spiky cucumbers.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome back after an accidental two month break

02:53 The run up to Christmas is the worst part of the year

03:23 48 items on the to-do list and ten weddings still to edit

06:01 Where everyone has been shooting this summer

07:12 The Paris wedding: two hour ceremony, a boat and surprise fireworks

11:03 Laura's first roll of Super 8 and a broken light meter

14:50 Are couples writing wedding speeches with AI?

16:24 Topic of the week: the "your photographer is too old for you" post

19:03 The nostalgia contradiction

22:00 Does saying you've shot weddings for 20 years make you sound old?

23:55 What experience actually gives you when things go wrong

27:00 Why generations are a lazy generalisation

28:58 Enquiries, bookings and how the diary is looking

31:47 Highs and lows

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the summer booking lull real, or is it all in your head?

This week the Commune is back in the garden (briefly) to unpick why enquiries seem to vanish in peak season, why couples always book the second you go on holiday, and why raising your prices might be the easiest win you're avoiding.

Along the way: whether the European heat is quietly killing summer destination weddings, a genuine ding-dong about how much AI belongs in a premium wedding business, the death of the hashtag and where Instagram reach actually comes from now, and Pete's theory that a COVID relationship gap is behind the quiet patch (and why the floodgates are about to open again).

Plus the anxiety that never quite leaves this job, a missing bride with no phone signal, a Japanese wedding pint race, and the hotel Liam booked without realising everyone else would be naked.

Honest, unfiltered chat about wedding photography, videography and running a creative business, from four people who actually do it for a living. Grab a coffee and settle in.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and a rare sunny garden

01:43 Air con obsessives vs the camping tent

03:48 A 40 degree wedding in Spain

04:38 Is the heat killing summer destination weddings?

07:56 The hotel Liam didn't realise was a naturist resort

12:36 The missing bride at Iscoyd Park

16:08 Why every wedding still makes you anxious

20:14 A Japanese wedding, a pint race and language shame

22:39 A weekend off and a run of last minute bookings

25:42 Is the summer booking lull real or all in our heads?

28:29 We raised our prices and nobody blinked

29:00 Instagram burnout and the death of the hashtag

33:32 Why we gave up on TikTok

34:30 Using AI in your workflow without cheapening your brand

37:46 Pete's grading mistake and staying vigilant

42:26 The COVID relationship gap theory

44:40 An uncertain but magical industry

47:05 Scotland this weekend and a secret celebrity wedding

48:19 Highs and lows

59:40 Sausages, St Swithin and paying witches for sunshine

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy birthday to us! Our Creative Commune turns four this episode, and Bee's marked the occasion with a homemade cake and a look back at four years and well over a hundred episodes of the podcast. But birthday chat aside, this one's got plenty in it.

The team compares notes on surviving back-to-back weddings in a proper heatwave (electrolytes, hotel rooms with zero aircon and one particularly ill-advised propped-open door), talks through why a hired zoom lens didn't live up to a trusty 35mm prime, and shares stories from a stretch of weddings that took in a sweltering Jewish ceremony in a listed barn, a sunny Tuscan estate, and a very loud town hall ceremony that got soundtracked by the bar next door.

The main event this week is a proper debate sparked by a TikTok claiming the wedding industry is "cooked" because photographers charge extra to keep couples' images out of marketing. The team breaks down what UK GDPR actually says about using wedding photos commercially, why consent matters more than most people realise, and whether charging for privacy is ever fair, alongside genuine reasons couples ask for it and why you some photographers never post photos of children.

There's also a chat about guests becoming noticeably more camera aware, a surprising discovery about eyesight and viewfinders, and the usual round of highs and lows, including a recurring ankle injury that's becoming a running joke.

Timestamps:

00:00 Birthday celebrations and four years of the podcast

04:41 Coping with a heatwave on wedding days

10:23 Why a hired zoom lens didn't make the cut

13:53 A run of weddings: Harrow, Spain and an old friend's big day

17:04 Bee's new (old) film camera

18:08 The town hall ceremony that got gate crashed by the bar next door

20:26 Convertible Mini chaos in Spain

21:22 A hot wedding in Tuscany

23:56 Getting wedding disco lighting right

26:06 Long daylight and a long drive to a Scottish wedding

27:16 Life with an electric car on wedding trips

28:13 Should couples pay to keep their photos private?

36:58 Why couples ask for privacy, and the no-child-photos policy

38:12 Shooting couples who are more camera aware than ever

41:59 A surprising discovery about eyesight and viewfinders

43:50 When the ceremony staging makes your job harder

44:35 Highs and lows of the week

55:41 Reviews, questions and a possible bonus episode

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drone audits, drizzle disasters, and the eternal question of whether putting your prices up is ever a good idea. This week Pete, Laura, Liam and Bee dive into Pete's upcoming CAA drone audit and the surprisingly strict "flying currency" rules that come with it, before getting into a deep discussion on shooting weddings in bad weather, including the bride who left a bad review because it was too sunny, and the violinist who nearly walked out over a bit of drizzle.

The conversation moves into the business side of things, with Bee and Liam unpacking a recent price increase that coincided with enquiries dropping off a cliff, and whether that's down to pricing, a fiddled Google Ads budget, or just a quiet patch. There's also a chat about website portfolios, ad spend, and Pete and Laura's attempt to make their photography site sound less negative without losing what makes it them.

On the gear side, Liam debates renting an expensive lens for a castle wedding in Spain, Pete and Laura talk through their new 85mm lens and a Lightroom preset fix using Claude AI, and the group ends up arguing about which AI chatbot has the best personality. Plus reunion highs, root canal lows, and a real-time cat-versus-bird incident that derails the recording entirely.

As always, it's highs, lows, and everything in between for wedding photographers and videographers trying to navigate the job, the business, and each other.

Timestamps:

00:00 Cold open: memory card chaos and a lost SD card

02:01 Pete's CAA drone audit and the flying currency requirement

05:51 Eyeing up a new drone after seeing one at a wedding

06:46 Liam's Scotland wedding at Dunglass Estate

07:55 The sock-on-the-smoke-alarm pub incident

09:49 Pete's rainy Watermouth Cove wedding in Devon

11:06 Handling bad weather and difficult outdoor ceremonies

12:42 The violinist who nearly walked out

13:54 The one-star review from a bride who wanted rain

16:00 Pete's wedding at Goodnestone Park, Kent

19:42 Working alongside an editorial photographer's 20+ group shots

22:14 Price increase versus a sudden drop in enquiries

25:34 Debating Google AdWords and Meta ad spend

29:22 How many photos should be in a portfolio

32:01 Upcoming trips: Pete to Tuscany, Liam's multi-country wedding run

35:28 Liam considering renting an expensive lens for Spain

38:55 New 85mm lens and adapting old Lightroom presets with Claude AI

42:00 Favourite AI chatbots and their personalities

43:11 Bee's 25-year school reunion

44:08 Root canal woes and charging for consultation Zooms

45:08 Hugo the cat brings in a bird mid-recording

45:59 Highs and lows: mountain bikes, finished films, and 2:30am starts

53:05 Wrap up

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it actually mean to care about your couples? Not in a vague, wholesome sense - but practically, between the booking email and the wedding day? This week the four of us are back together after a busy stretch of weddings (and one very long drive to Skye), and this question pops up in most of what we're talking about today.

Liam kicks things off with tales from the road - a 22-hour round trip to the Isle of Skye for a four-hour elopement, accommodation that shared a building with a funeral director, and a mid-ceremony nature emergency that he handled with more resourcefulness than dignity. There's also the heartwarming news that Bee's daughter Betty shot her very first wedding and, by all accounts, absolutely smashed it.

Pete and Laura relive their Paris trip - a 1920s indoor fairground, a ringmaster officiant, Britney-soundtracked backup dancers, and the "Inception bridge" - before the whole group spirals into debating whether they should all move to Scotland (Pete: no; midges: also no).

From there, things get deep: a recent opinion arguing that photographers and videographers should position themselves as "creative leads" on wedding days. The group picks that apart honestly - where the idea has merit, why it mostly doesn't work (for us), and what actually happens when the makeup artist is still doing BTS portraits while you're trying to shoot. 

Pete raises something that's been coming up in consults lately: couples are booking "editorial" photographers thinking the word signals a natural, unposed approach - because "documentary" now sounds old-fashioned to them - when editorial often means the opposite. The terminology has become almost meaningless. It's the same problem that existed when everyone called themselves documentary photographers but still whisked couples away for two hours of portraits.

And then: a TikTok from a wedding-industry bride saying no vendor made her feel cared about. Do we? Should we be doing more between booking and the big day - automated check-ins, WhatsApp groups, gifts? Or does showing up fully and delivering exceptional work speak louder than any amount of pre-wedding communication?

Honest, warm, and occasionally extremely disgusting - this is a good one.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro & welcome back Liam 03:45 How long can you leave an inquiry unanswered? 

04:10 Isle of Skye elopement - the drive, the cost, the hostel 

07:00 The wilderness incident (you'll know when you get there) 

09:25 Betty's first wedding shoot

12:30 Paris Musee des Arts Forains wedding - fairground, ringmaster, Britney

17:50 Filming vs. photography - why variety makes both better 

18:35 Should we all move to Scotland? 

20:00 Stefan sells up and goes full Viking 

21:30 Should photographers be "creative leads" on wedding days? 

27:00 The rise of content creators at weddings & its knock-on effects 

30:00 Editorial vs. documentary - the language is broken

33:30 The wonky camera trend & the Adlington Flip 

37:00 Do our couples feel cared for? 

38:50 Automated check-ins, WhatsApp groups 

42:00 The photographer who delivers nothing for months

44:00 Highs & lows of the past few weeks 

46:30 A funeral & finding joy in hard days 

48:00 What's coming up - Devon, Scotland, and Liam's eight-day gauntlet

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a photographer out there who has received 430 enquiries since January. We don't fully know how she's doing it - and that's kind of the point. Is this level of success replicable, or largely accidental?

This week Pete, Laura, and Bee dig into what's really going on in the wedding photography and videography market right now: why some people seem to break through while everyone else is fighting for scraps, whether your website might actually be working against you, and the uncomfortable truth about pricing: most of us haven't raised our rates in nearly a decade, even as everything around us has got more expensive.

We also get into a debate that's been doing the rounds on photographer socials: where does your responsibility end for how your couples look in photos? Should you be straightening ties, smoothing dresses, and fixing every wrinkle - or is that just not the job? With AI making clients think any edit is a simple fix, is that expectation about to get a whole lot worse?

Plus: Bee's extraordinary doctor's appointment, Pete and Laura reflect on what it feels like to shoot a wedding together again, Bee & Liam's daughter Betty is about to second shoot her first wedding, and Liam is, once again, somewhere on a motorway.

Honest, unfiltered chat for wedding photographers who are trying to figure it all out alongside everyone else.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro: post-yoga chaos and sweaty coats

03:00 - Saturday's wedding at Middleton Lodge - why it felt like the good old days

06:40 - The joy of switching between photo and video

09:00 - Upcoming schedule: Paris, half term weddings, and Scotland

09:59 - Liam's Isle of Skye elopement: 11.5 hours of driving, and the great mattress debate

11:19 - Betty's first wedding as second shooter

13:12 - Industry chat: the photographer getting 430 enquiries since January

17:00 - What's actually driving all those enquiries? Referrals, likability, and being flavour of the month

18:45 - Pricing: why haven't we all raised our rates since 2015?

22:14 - Should we be listing future year prices on our websites?

26:24 - More photographers, fewer weddings, less money - the market in 2025

31:26 - What Jade's four-page website tells us about friction and attention spans

33:57 - Who's responsible for how couples look in photos?

38:50 - AI retouching expectations: the bow on the dress that broke three pieces of software

43:50 - Highs and lows: no edits, Rivals, Betty's big debut, and a very confusing GP

Martin Chueng’s podcast with Jade Greenbrooke: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/430-enquiries-since-january-how-jade-built-a/id1685148348?i=1000767529953 

Jade Greenbrooke’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jade.greenbrooke/ 

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Half the episode was recorded before anyone noticed the mic wasn't on. That's the vibe this week.

Pete, Laura, and Bee (Liam is off conquering Scotland and London simultaneously) are talking about the real pressures hitting the wedding industry right now - and what, if anything, we can do about it. Bookings are shifting. Budgets are tighter. Midweek and shorter-coverage weddings are on the rise. And one person out there reckons full-time wedding photography might not even be viable anymore.

Then there's the ghosting. Bee's Instagram post on the subject got 30,000 views and 122 comments, almost entirely from suppliers saying same. So why is it happening - and is it actually couples being rude, or are we just making the booking process too hard? The Coda Podcast gets a mention, contact forms get a roasting, and Zoom calls are on trial.

They also untangle the word "editorial" - which apparently now means "natural and relaxed" to couples, despite meaning the opposite to everyone who actually shoots it. And when a content creator couple rocked up in a Lake Como wedding group claiming to be the only people capturing candid, in-between moments, the documentary photographers and videographers in the room had some thoughts.

Plus: Bee's Super 8 film comes back from the lab. Pete's British Gas bill arrives and it is not good news. Table tennis glory. And the completely startling realisation that this podcast is nearly four years old. Oh, and then we end with Pete being packed off to live on a narrowboat survivng on only Huel, and no cushions.

Timestamps

00:00 - Didn't record the first half, Pilates is evil, and Liam is everywhere at once 

01:50 - Work lethargy: the post-holiday slump is real 

04:07 - The Mandela Effect: both Pete and Bee have vivid memories of uploading galleries that never happened 

08:05 - The state of the wedding industry: midweek bookings, shorter coverage, tighter budgets 

13:25 - Is full-time wedding photography still viable? 

14:06 - Bee's viral ghosting post: 30,000 views and 122 comments 

20:50 - Is the booking process the problem? Zooms, forms, and friction 

22:15 - The Coda Podcast: what videographers discovered when they became the clients 

28:05 - Rethinking how we communicate with enquiring couples 

30:03 - "Editorial": what couples think it means vs what it actually means 

33:28 - The content creator controversy: who's capturing the in-between moments? 

38:35 - Highs and lows: Bee's Super 8 film and Lawson Film School 

43:05 - Pete's £1,400 British Gas nightmare 

47:25 - Laura's TV high and general tiredness low 

49:04 - The podcast is nearly four years old

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The busy season has officially arrived, and we are already feeling the heat (literally and figuratively).

This week on Our Creative Commune, Pete, Laura, Liam, and Bee sit down in the sun to catch up on a wild few weeks of local weddings, destination showcases, and the ever-changing landscape of booking clients. Are we all suffering from Zoom fatigue? We debate whether it’s time to stop video consultations altogether and build a brand enigma instead.

We also share some wild on-the-job stories, including a dream local shoot at Rivington Barn, the chaos of tracking fire-breathers in Spain, and Liam’s incredibly awkward encounter with a "secret" second photographer hired by the mother of the bride. Plus, we dive into some massive business milestones - including the joy of finally paying off that dreaded COVID bounce-back loan!

Grab a coffee (or a matcha) and join us as we chat through our highs, our lows, Pete's foray into the EV world, the heartbreak of airport security ruining analog film, and a surprisingly mind-blowing fact about apples.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast app - it really helps us grow the commune!

00:00 - Catching rays and the start of the busy season

03:20 - Zoom fatigue and changing client booking psychology

05:13 - A dream local photo & video shoot at Rivington Barn

11:10 - Bosh! Smashing out a one-week video edit turnaround

13:26 - Wedding horror story: Dealing with a secret second photographer

17:18 - A rapid road trip to France and scanning questionable family negatives

19:30 - Destination wedding showcase at Castell d'Empordà in Spain

23:22 - Photographing fire-breathers and a rogue drone incident

26:24 - Business strategy: Should we stop doing client Zooms entirely?

30:43 - Are jet fuel prices and logistics threatening destination weddings?

32:57 - Pete's new car: Buying an EV for wedding travel

37:22 - Pete's Highs: Disputing energy bills and paying off the bounce-back loan!

41:24 - Liam & Bee's High: Quality time in Spain and overcoming separation anxiety

44:43 - Liam's Low: Heartbreak as a driving instructor

46:55 - Bee's Low: Left-behind outfits and airport security ruining film

51:12 - Laura's High & Low: London museum trips and canceled Pilates classes

56:18 - Mind-blowing apple facts and wrapping up

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy

The British Wedding Film Festival

https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/

Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.