Our Creative Commune

How long did it take you to make work you were happy with? For us, about five or six years.

It's episode 20 and we're all back together after judging the Wedding Industry Awards, so we start with what entrants most need to work on: edit every image the same way, choose your ten with other photographers rather than your mum, leave out the detail shots and the blown out confetti, and remember that with films the edit matters more than the filming. Then two listener questions. What is good light? (Window light, soft on the skin, and shoot for skin tones rather than pretty orbs.) And how long does it take to get to work you're happy with? For Liam the turning point was a festival couple who asked for something weird. We finish by being honest about what we'd each still like to improve, and why you should trust what you're drawn to.

Plus free village fireworks with hot pot in the car park, driving home from Scotland in thick fog, Bee getting ID'd buying wine, and Laura on why she tries to take bad photos on her personal camera.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 It's episode 20!

04:05 Free village fireworks

06:09 Driving home from Scotland in fog

07:39 Should Liam and Bee offer video?

23:53 What judging taught us

25:24 What award entrants should fix

27:00 Judging films: the edit matters most

29:36 Listener question: what is good light?

37:15 Listener question: how long until you're happy with your work?

40:47 Standing out from similar photographers

48:36 What we'd each like to improve

54:16 Trust what you're drawn to

57:20 Personal cameras and the charm of bad photos

1:02:28 Highs and lows of the week

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Do you still need Instagram to get wedding bookings, or is it just the thing we all feel guilty about?

With Pete and Laura away on holiday, it's just Liam and Bee this week, in a cushion fort around the special microphone Pete left them. Liam catches up on a run of weddings: a three day Indian wedding in Spain where the haldi turned into water pistols, beer and ketchup and the groom arrived in a Ferrari, a bride who wanted to recreate a lake photo from Norway in Loch Lomond in October, and his first portraits in Glencoe, in the rain, with a stag called Fred. He also explains how he builds a simple landscape portrait around one strong focal point.

Then the business side. Instagram is moving to portrait grids, but most of Liam and Bee's enquiries come from search, venues and past couples (fifteen arrived in two days while Liam was up in Glencoe). And after nearly 30,000 frames from one wedding, can you trust AI to do the cull? Bee isn't convinced.

Plus TV recommendations, awards judging, and the hotel chambermaid who walked in at exactly the wrong moment.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Just the two of us, and a cushion fort

07:16 Liam's 17th wedding at the same Spanish venue

09:50 Underwater shots and a Loch Lomond recreation

13:28 A three day Indian wedding in Spain

16:39 A Ferrari and an hour of music before the ceremony

20:44 Why Scotland calms Liam down

22:14 What makes a strong landscape portrait

24:17 Portraits in Glencoe, in the rain

28:25 Fred the stag

31:57 Instagram's new portrait grid

35:01 Why Instagram isn't where our enquiries come from

39:09 Can you trust AI to cull a wedding?

43:18 Awards judging

46:24 Highs and lows of the week

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Why is it so hard to judge wedding awards, and even harder to pick your own best work?

It's just Pete and Laura this week, across the kitchen table. Having finished judging, we talk about how tricky it is. Ten images rarely show who a photographer really is, films are long, and do you reward the personality or the craft? One judge's tip helped: ask yourself which filmmaker you'd want at your own child's wedding. We also talk about why choosing your own portfolio is so difficult, and why any judge's view is only ever an opinion.

Then the backlog: eleven films to edit, a twelve week limit Laura won't go past (she'd love it to be three), and why editing takes as long as it does. Laura explains why she's happiest taking portraits, because with video all she remembers is what she forgot to do. And with 42 weddings this year, the first year we haven't shot every one together, we look back at why we started making films in the first place.

Plus filming a ceremony from behind a giant flower arch, Laura setting her hair on fire on a tea light display, and second shooting a three day Indian wedding in Spain where the dancing started at one in the morning.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Just the two of us

04:33 Portraits in Halifax, and why Laura loves photography

06:04 A Cheshire wedding at Dorfold Hall

08:36 Filming a ceremony on your own

12:15 Candles, electric fences and other hazards

14:49 Second shooting an Indian wedding in Spain

19:27 Dancing from one in the morning

22:31 The editing backlog and the 12 week rule

26:14 Judging the awards: photos first

29:18 Who would you want at your child's wedding?

33:29 Why choosing your own portfolio is hard

35:04 Writing your entry answers

40:06 Highs and lows of the week

48:04 42 weddings this year

49:37 Quiet winters and why we started making films

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Is it time to ditch flash on the dancefloor?

With winter weddings coming, Liam explains why he's switching from flash to small video lights. Flash is restrictive, the sweet spot is awkward, ceilings are either too low or too high, and he misses moments. Modern cameras let you push the ISO and light just enough to keep the atmosphere. Pete and Laura already film with cheap round LED lights, and reckon guests mind a constant light less than flash because they never know when the picture's being taken. Then our winter wedding tips: get your lights up early, use fast lenses, ask for an earlier ceremony, learn to white balance wood panelling, and practise at home by turning all the lights off at ten at night and photographing your cat. That's what the wedding will look like.

Plus Pete and Laura's film workshop (always bring a backup projector), a crowd applauding Liam's engagement couple outside Buckingham Palace because they thought they'd just got married, and Liam's shirt buying problem.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:00 Pete and Laura's film workshop

10:13 A London engagement shoot and an audience at the Palace

15:15 An urban portrait shoot in Halifax

17:17 Liam's new video lights

20:51 Flash or video light: which do guests prefer?

21:51 Ditching flash on the dancefloor

24:00 Lighting ceremonies and group shots indoors

27:03 Do we like winter weddings?

30:39 Top tips for winter weddings

32:12 Camera settings for dark venues

34:42 White balancing wood panelling

40:21 Highs and lows of the week

Liam's fancy new Nanlite Forza 60b lights:

https://amzn.to/3Sc4tOa

Pete's cheap Yongnuo video lights:

https://amzn.to/3s6Z7sN

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

What do our kids think we do all weekend, and how much do they reckon we get paid for it?

This week we hand the microphones to the two youngest members of the commune and ask them what mummies and daddies do for a living, how much a wedding pays, what a wedding cake costs, and what jobs we should be doing instead.

Also this week: we're all back together, and we've all booked more weddings since putting our prices up (everyone put your prices up). Pete spends three hours teaching a food business to take better product photos on a phone, Bee explains how she culls a wedding, and the cat has a close call with a car (he's fine). Plus Liam versus the Wi-Fi washing machine, and a French B&B that serves coffee in breakfast bowls.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 All back together

01:02 Liam and the Wi-Fi washing machine

09:16 More bookings since the price rise

11:50 A French B&B and breakfast bowls

15:27 A four hour engagement shoot in London

17:29 Teaching a business phone photography

21:04 Over to the kids

22:04 What do mummies and daddies do?

24:08 How much does a wedding pay?

25:10 What jobs should we do instead?

29:15 Liam's week as a solo parent

34:32 Planning our film workshop

36:05 An Indian wedding and how Bee culls

39:06 Highs and lows of the week

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

How do you win a couple's trust, from the first call to the last dance?

With Bee away this week, Liam, Pete and Laura talk about confidence: how to earn it from your couples, and where your own comes from. On the first call, barely talk about your work. Ask about them, and admit the call is mostly so they can check you're not a weirdo. Walk them through the day so they know they're being looked after. On the day, arrive early, chat to the parents, calm the nervous groom by telling him how nervous you were at your own wedding (wiggle your toes), and take charge after the ceremony with a friendly "ladies and gentlemen" voice. Then portraits: Liam stays in one spot and talks constantly, Pete keeps moving. And are any of us confident at all?

Before that, Liam spends seven hours on vintage buses across two weddings in one weekend, including one that turned up fifty minutes late to a distillery and another doing thirty up the M6, plus a 25 minute portrait session on Blackpool's Central Pier: dodgems, the big wheel and chips.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Recording one down

04:37 Editing and the backlog

08:41 A distillery wedding and a late vintage bus

15:17 Another vintage bus up the M6

17:18 Portraits on Blackpool's Central Pier

19:18 How to photograph a bus full of guests

21:19 How do you gain a couple's confidence?

23:53 Walking couples through their day

26:32 Talking your way through portraits

31:41 Arriving early and chatting to the parents

34:16 Calming nervous grooms

37:22 Taking charge after the ceremony

40:33 Are we confident? Fixing a failed recording

45:39 Highs and lows of the week

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Are wedding awards worth entering, and what are the judges looking for?

All four of us have just joined the judging panel for the Wedding Industry Awards, so this week is all about awards. Pete and Laura first entered just to get the "entered" badge and ended up winning regional and national titles for their films. Liam tells the story of his first BIPP entry, and how it went rather better this year when he won BIPP Wedding Photographer of the Year. Then the practical bit, from the judging side: use all ten images, make sure every one is technically clean (straight horizons, no blown highlights, and please no pictures of flowers), put your strongest film first, and be warm in your written answers rather than having a go at other photographers. We also talk about whether an award lets you charge more (Liam's butcher's sausage theory), the awards we rate, and what we make of the claims that it's all a clique.

Before that, Pete and Laura's flight to a French wedding gets cancelled, so they drive for 17 hours instead, via a wrong junction and an unplanned view of the Eiffel Tower. Plus a station evacuation, a Camden death metal pub, Liam's hat habit and our first merch.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Sleepy catch-up

01:37 Flight cancelled, so we drove to France

10:49 Liam's Edinburgh workshop and a Camden pub

16:28 Evacuated at Piccadilly station

19:33 Awards season, and we're all judges now

21:04 How we started entering awards

26:44 Liam's BIPP story

28:47 Do awards let you charge more?

35:27 How judging works

38:31 What makes an award winning image

42:04 What to write in your answers

44:07 How to order your films

50:47 Cliques and losing gracefully

56:01 Highs and lows of the week

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

It's the end of a long season and all four of us are running on empty. How burnt out are you?

This week we're honest about how we're feeling. Pete and Laura rate their stress at around eight out of ten, mostly down to the editing backlog, the travel and getting back into the school routine, while Liam and Bee are more tired than stressed. We talk about whether shooting or editing is harder, whether we take on too many weddings, why comparing yourself on Facebook makes it worse, how many weddings feels right for next year, and who does what at home. Then what helps: hot yoga, running, walking, lifting weights (badly, in Pete's case) and getting outside. We don't have all the answers, so send us your tips.

Before that, Liam drives eight hours for a four hour wedding in Scotland, runs a portrait workshop in Blackpool, and buys a slim fit suit for a London wedding that he can't lift his arms in. And a photographer at a wedding asks Pete if he's Peter Lawson, because he listens to the podcast.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Autumn arrives and we're burnt out

02:32 A high energy wedding together

05:37 Eight hours' driving for a four hour wedding

07:07 Liam's Blackpool portrait workshop

10:42 A London wedding and a suit that's too slim

16:49 How burnt out are we?

20:25 The editing backlog and our stress scores

22:28 Is shooting or editing worse?

25:59 How many weddings is the right number?

30:04 Travel, chores and who does what at home

35:10 What helps: yoga, running, walking and weights

41:19 This weekend: workshops and a French chateau

46:25 Highs and lows of the week

54:45 Send us your burnout tips

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Where do wedding enquiries come from, and how do you get more of them?

This week we compare what works for each of our businesses. Liam's answer is SEO, built up over years: county and destination pages, backlinks and, after a Google update, pruning a website that had grown to 1,200 pages. Pete and Laura's answer is mostly other photographers, which is why they end up passing on so many video enquiries. We talk about building a referral group when you're starting out (give more than you take), why most recommendations come down to how you were on the day rather than the photos, and what's working on Instagram, from short films posted two days after the wedding to collaborator posts. Plus blogging, Facebook ads, TikTok, giving venues something different, and how photographers and videographers can stay out of each other's way on the day.

Also this week: a Putney wedding with 32 nationalities, a handbag thief in Covent Garden straight out of Oliver Twist, and Laura slowly poisoned by caffeinated beans in the decaf bag. And a listener question: who would we book to photograph and film our own wedding now?

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro, and a Monday wedding in Scotland

05:01 32 nationalities and a Covent Garden handbag chase

08:01 A Herefordshire venue and the drone

10:04 Where do enquiries come from?

11:05 SEO and pruning a 1,200 page website

13:45 County pages and backlinks

16:22 Starting out: build a referral group

22:43 Repeat clients and being delightful on the day

25:48 Instagram: short films and collaborator posts

28:26 Blogging, Facebook and TikTok

33:34 Giving venues something different

36:05 Photographer and videographer etiquette

41:15 Highs and lows of the week

52:05 Listener question: who would you book for your wedding now?

56:43 Gifts, USBs and going fully digital

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Shoe shots, bouquet tosses, endless speeches and the vicar who won't let you move. Which wedding traditions could we happily lose?

We love weddings, we really do, and most of these things happened at our own. But this week we go through a wedding day in order and pick out the bits that make us sigh: bridal prep photos (why are we photographing the shoes?), vicars and their rules, group shots, horseshoes, wedding cars, bouquet tossing, speeches, cake cutting, sparklers, evening guests and enormous trains. Along the way: why is it still only dad who walks the bride down the aisle, and why do women so rarely get to make a speech?

Plus Liam gets grabbed by the arm and marched out of a church by a vicar, a bishop in the Caribbean couldn't have been more helpful, a registrar is lovely to Laura while moaning about Pete's tripod (not realising they're together), Liam reveals his first dance song, and we decide what we'd do if we got married now. Send us your own pet hates.

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.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro, coffee jitters and white rabbits

01:31 Why destination weddings need two of us

09:47 Pointless and annoying things about weddings

10:50 Bridal prep photos and shoe shots

17:33 Awkward vicars and church rules

23:39 Celebrants, church helpers and registrars

27:19 Why does only dad walk the bride down?

29:21 Bells, group shots and the bins

33:53 Horseshoes, wedding cars and hats

36:55 Bouquet tossing

38:26 Speeches, and where are the women?

43:32 Cake cutting, sparklers and evening guests

50:40 First dances, and our dream weddings now

54:50 Big trains, and what we love about weddings

57:28 Highs and lows of the week

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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