Our Creative Commune

Should you cut your prices and shoot more locally?

After a breezy half day local wedding in Yorkshire, Pete wonders whether that's the way forward. Liam isn't ready to become the local photographer, because he loves travel and destination weddings, but we agree travel costs have changed everything and booking season no longer runs from January to March. We also talk about couples who aren't happy with your editing style after the wedding (should you show your grey day weddings, or send full galleries?), whether people have stopped saying thank you since COVID, and Laura's prediction that retro camcorders are coming to weddings.

Before that, Liam goes back for a 400 guest Dutch party with a stage of famous singers (shot from the mosh pit), his flight home is cancelled and rerouted via Norwich, and there's a surprise baraat at a two day wedding near Bournemouth. Plus Liam hunts a leak by smashing a hole in his office ceiling. It was the shower sealant.

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 Cold July

04:35 A Dutch party from the mosh pit

05:05 A cancelled flight and a reroute via Norwich

07:15 An easy local wedding in Yorkshire

09:14 Should we cut prices and shoot locally?

11:18 A separate local price list?

14:56 Booking season isn't January to March anymore

15:27 Why destination bookings have dropped

17:30 A surprise baraat near Bournemouth

20:34 When a couple doesn't like your editing

27:40 Showing grey weather weddings in your portfolio

38:21 Have people stopped saying thank you?

41:55 Will camcorders come to weddings?

47:58 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 many weddings in a row is too many?

Liam has just done a Dutch couple's wedding in Haarlem, a private plane to Cornwall for the party, a dawn sea dip, a wildflower hike, a five hour train and then a 12 hour wedding in London the next day. It leads to the question of when you say no, and whether you can ever ask for a rest on the day. Then previews: Bee's biggest ever was 160 images ("I want them to cry when they first see these"), and we agree you should do whatever suits you. What do you say when a couple asks for thousands more images on top of a big delivery? And a newspaper article about wedding photographers with a headline that has little to do with what's in it: long days, demanding clients, and a planner complaining about photographer prices.

Plus a wedding singer who turned out to be a Dutch Eurovision act, Pilates in the shower for bridal prep, a seal that was a dot on the horizon, and why Bee shouldn't get a periscope (or a stethoscope) for Silverstone.

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

01:00 A Dutch wedding and a private plane to Cornwall

04:35 The singer was a Eurovision act

05:08 Sea dip, wildflower hike, lobster lunch

06:09 A five hour train and a 12 hour wedding

07:41 Pilates in the shower

10:16 Needing silence after back to back days

12:20 Can you ask for a break?

15:53 The seal on the horizon

16:25 How big should a preview be?

18:28 Two slideshows

22:34 A couple who wanted thousands more images

27:11 A clickbait article about wedding photographers

29:45 A planner on photographer prices

35:55 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.

Does a battered camera bag show years of experience, or just look unprofessional?

Laura and Bee say couples judge you by how you look after your kit; Liam and Pete think a bit of wear proves you've been doing this a while. Then the pressure to deliver faster and smaller: posts say couples now expect pictures on the day because of content creators, and that galleries should be under 500 images. We don't think you should chase either, and the under 500 fashion goes with the posed editorial look. Will documentary come back? We think so, as couples tire of the same glamorous style, and hybrid is the sensible place to be. Plus Instagram's mixed portrait and landscape posts, and the important question: are photographers hotter than videographers?

Also: Liam's half Iranian, half Scottish wedding with knife dancing in kilts and a Highland Games, a Jewish wedding where the uplighters turned blue, Liam's idea for a stripped back website, and some 512MB compact flash cards.

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

01:33 The tatty camera bag

05:08 Old memory cards

06:39 A simple website?

09:40 An Iranian and Scottish wedding

12:12 A Jewish wedding and blue uplighters

16:25 Thirty groups in twenty minutes

19:05 Photos on the day to compete with content creators

24:11 Instagram's mixed portrait and landscape posts

27:21 Should galleries be under 500 images?

29:53 Editorial style and short lived trends

32:28 Will documentary come back?

35:38 Are photographers hotter than videographers?

38:15 Highs and lows of the week

47:23 Pete's new small gimbal

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 you do at a wedding when nothing is happening?

With Liam away, Pete, Laura and Bee admit the downside we rarely own up to: sometimes you're really bored. Pete walks the room looking for someone about to laugh, Laura films a bird, and Bee tells Liam to make an informal group shot anywhere with decent light (or just back up your cards in the car park). We also cover managing expectations when one photographer can't get both the bride walking in and the groom's face (sell the second shooter), Pinterest boards full of sunsets, how to make group shots feel natural, whether to offer a cheaper phone based content package, Instagram's new "made with AI" label, and Lightroom's new generative remove tool (Bee calls it life changing).

Plus pre-wedding nerves that vanish the moment you arrive, Pete's gimbal dying just before the walk down the aisle, a staff kitchen full of shortbread at a Scottish wedding, and a post that hit 92,000 views.

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

00:30 Liam's away

03:02 Pre-wedding nerves and a Scottish wedding

06:34 The gimbal dies before the aisle

08:36 Too much footage

10:09 A cheaper content creator package?

14:50 Couples who don't want their wedding shared

20:35 Instagram's made with AI label

24:11 Lightroom's generative remove

25:44 The bride's walk and the groom's face

28:54 Pinterest boards and sunsets

32:01 What to do when nothing's happening

37:35 Natural group shots

42:07 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.

If a couple asked you to cover your tattoos, would you?

None of us would. Liam explains how he raises his tattoos up front with some couples, declines to cover them, and ends the day with parents telling him he's been an angel (and remembers the makeup artist who asked if he was in a triad). We also ask whether long wedding films are dead (a post says nobody watches more than 30 seconds; Pete gives features a couple more years, Laura and Bee think couples will always watch their own), whether you should ever airbrush or slim people (never, or very occasionally tuck in a corset ripple), and how many preview images to send. Bee sends around 120 as a slideshow, because she wants couples to feel the day again.

Plus Liam comes fifth in the dads' race and can't walk, a wedding in a library with a book printed in 1420, the Vicar of Dibley church, a ceremony with no photos allowed, a wedding budget that included cloud seeding for sunshine, and booking flights to Italy around a wedding.

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 The dads' race

04:41 A library, the Vicar of Dibley church and a big Jewish wedding

10:45 Are long wedding films dead?

12:18 A Scottish wedding and a friendly vicar

13:21 A ceremony with no photos allowed

16:53 Plans for the weeks ahead

20:28 A fashion brand's editorial wedding campaign

24:02 Cloud seeding for a sunny wedding

26:36 Would you cover your tattoos?

29:09 Are you in a triad?

34:18 Should you airbrush people?

37:24 Do you need to shoot bridal prep?

41:11 How many previews should you send?

45:58 Highs and lows of the week

49:04 Booking a trip around an Italian wedding

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Do Couples expect their galleries the next day when they can be edited by AI? Or are we all spending hours removing any imperfection and delivering even later?

A client from two years ago couldn't open a gallery that had been archived, and didn't have a computer. We land on a small optional fee and clear communication that backing up is the couple's job (Pete has since bought a USB stick). We also look at how bookings come in through the year (slow in May, then autumn and winter catch up fast, so don't panic before July).

Viral AI generated wedding photos are fooling couples, and does AI editing mean couples will expect their photos faster. Should we make them wait? Nobody has ever booked Liam and Bee's express one week turnaround.

Plus Pete has to put a microphone on a VERY famous guest at a Scottish wedding and is not cool about it, a wedding that felt truly transformative, Liam, Bee and Betty seeing the northern lights from a Welsh hillside, and Pete's backup drive dying.

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

01:01 Business news

03:05 How bookings come in through the year

08:40 A Welsh hillside holiday let

14:17 A Scottish wedding with a famous guest

19:22 A transformative wedding

22:26 A tip for the church exit

25:28 The northern lights in Wales

28:31 AI generated wedding images

30:38 Will AI mean faster delivery?

32:45 Labelling AI images

38:20 Charging to keep galleries online

40:56 The couple who couldn't open their gallery

46:05 Backups and a dead drive

47:40 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.

We go through a published list of "Cool Bride" Trends for 2024, after discussing what to do (again) when a wedding runs over your hours - do you stay for free or send an invoice?

Pete invoiced a London couple for an extra hour, while Liam has stayed well over his time at three of his last six weddings. Our fix: one line in the pre-wedding email saying overruns are billed by the hour, so nobody has an awkward conversation on the day. We also talk about the exhaustion and crash after a busy wedding, and Liam's coping trick of becoming the most sociable person in the room.

Bee reads out a newspaper's list of wedding trends for the cool bride of 2024: off-season dates, a bag instead of a bouquet, outfit changes, rave caves, VR and, apparently, videographers being out and content creators in. Plus rumoured paid Instagram tiers.

Also: Bee is back, Pete has a table tennis injury, we wonder whether we'd be covered if we couldn't work, a Star Wars bowling alley wedding is reached by a vintage bus full of diesel fumes, a bride wants a portrait walk with her bridesmaids more than with her groom, and Laura gets a new toy 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 Bee's back

02:05 Pete's table tennis injury

06:43 What if you can't work?

09:16 Too much work

10:49 Invoicing for an extra hour

11:54 Putting overruns in the pre-wedding email

15:29 A bowling alley wedding and a diesel bus

18:02 A portrait walk with six bridesmaids

19:03 Being sociable, and the crash afterwards

24:41 A tiny town hall wedding

28:18 The 2024 trends list

32:22 Videographers are out, content creators are in?

34:54 Bows, feasts and rave caves

41:33 Paid Instagram tiers

46:07 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 pre-wedding Zoom calls eating your evenings, and are they worth it?

Liam finds his calls running longer, but Pete and Laura defend them as the best way to relax a couple and catch timeline problems (like a plan that left half an hour of drinks reception after a bus transfer). Set limits on when you're available, and get a decent webcam. Then a listener asks how to survive four weddings in a row: don't book four, drink water, change your shoes and socks, and look like you're having a great time. Liam reports his rankings falling after Google's core update, and we answer a bride worried about her dress getting dirty (Laura: imagine dragging a duvet around all day. Liam suggests a hover dress).

Plus Liam versus the washing machine, a joyful Surrey wedding with two brides where there was "magic everywhere", Pete and Laura in ball gowns up a ladder for their own family shoot, and where we want to be in ten years.

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

02:03 How does the washing machine work?

10:05 A wedding with magic everywhere

13:06 Local weddings versus five hours away

15:38 Where do we want to be in ten years?

18:43 Our own family shoot, in ball gowns

23:28 Are Zoom calls taking over your evenings?

28:07 Spotting timeline problems on a call

30:39 Setting limits and a good webcam

32:11 How to survive four weddings in a row

40:56 Google's core update

47:41 A bride worried about her dress getting dirty

52:20 TikTok and personality led social media

1:01:00 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.

The contracted hours are up, and the couple asks you to stay for the henna. What do you do?

Pete, Laura and Liam debrief a two day Indian wedding in Devon that Liam and Pete shot together: a Haldi in a back garden, a Sangeet full of family performances, a baraat, then an Indian ceremony and an English one the next day. Liam stayed past his hours without billing (Laura suggests a business head might offer to invoice), Pete explains why filming a ceremony where guests wander freely needs three shooters and a drone (so never promise it), and they talk about three first looks in one day. Then a listener question: do you need planners to book higher budget weddings? Most of our planner weddings came from couples who found us first, and big budget couples are no different from anyone else.

Plus an AI written song about the four of us that ends on "a healing balm", Liam's hay fever emergency in the middle of the baraat, 850GB of footage, 30,000 photos, and Coda selling out in 72 hours.

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 An AI song about us

01:34 Back from a three day Indian wedding in Devon

02:04 The Haldi

04:35 Staying past your hours

09:38 The Sangeet

13:10 850GB and the fear you missed it

15:11 Three first looks

18:45 The baraat and a hay fever emergency

21:22 Filming a ceremony where guests wander

25:59 Day two: the English ceremony

36:43 30,000 photos and the dance floor

39:48 Do you need planners for higher budgets?

51:03 Coda sells out

54:06 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.

What happens when you're asked to speak at a wedding conference, and why might you say no?

Pete and Laura are speaking at Coda, a new videography conference in Birmingham, while Liam explains why he turned down a big three day conference in France: days away from home, a huge amount of prep, and the worry of giving people something they hadn't heard before. Then two posts from Threads. Do photographers under five foot five need a step stool? (We think you can step back and shoot differently, and we lost three stepladders at churches before switching to drones and windows.) And does switching Instagram back to a personal account help your reach? Nobody seems to know what the algorithm does.

Plus electric cars versus the miles wedding work puts on, Pete and Liam's two day Indian wedding in Devon, a Zoom call with a bride and her planner, and Liam's scalp, which turns out to be an accordion of skin.

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

01:30 Sleeping habits

05:33 Liam's wrinkly head

11:08 What everyone did this week

13:44 Electric cars and long wedding drives

15:14 Dealership upsells

17:48 Slow booking forms and an editing pile

19:19 Speaking at Coda in Birmingham

21:49 Why Liam turned down a conference in France

29:26 Do short photographers need a step stool?

35:03 Stepladders, drones and shooting from above

37:08 Does a personal Instagram account help reach?

39:48 New lenses and colour profiles

41:20 A Cotswolds wedding and an Indian wedding in Devon

47:34 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.