Our Creative Commune

A venue asks suppliers to pay a percentage of every booking to be on its recommended list. Would you?

We wouldn't, and this week we explain why. It isn't really a recommendation if it's paid for, it would push prices up for couples, it would make the venue's own marketing look the same, and the money would go much further on Google Ads. We'd also be wary of any clause that hands a venue rights to your photographs. Then couples who ask for their wedding to be kept private (the worst version is being told after the work is done), and a quarter of the way through the year, what marketing is working: Instagram's own advice, TikTok, a Pinterest audit, and keeping a finger in all the pies.

Plus Bee and Liam's Easter road trip round the North Coast 500 and Skye, and Liam's Spanish wedding where the hire car was too big for the medieval streets, the hotel was booked for the wrong year, and the car scraped a pillar in an underground garage at 3am. He should have got the Punto.

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 Back after Easter

00:30 The North Coast 500 and Skye

04:38 A six hour wedding near Toledo

05:40 A huge hire car and the wrong year's hotel booking

10:13 A quiet Easter and couples who go quiet

12:20 A venue that wants a percentage

14:26 What a recommendation should mean

18:02 Who owns the photographs?

19:09 Why it hurts the venue's own marketing

22:46 Couples who want their wedding kept private

29:59 What marketing is working this year?

30:56 Instagram's advice, hashtags and Threads

33:01 TikTok and Pinterest

35:40 A live 100th episode?

37:00 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.

Same money, no stress, nine to five. Would you swap?

A thread in an industry group asks the question, and nearly all of us say no. The flexibility, the creativity and the pride of earning every penny yourself outweigh pensions and paid holidays, even if the job is unpredictable and we're not sure what our transferable skills would be. (Bee lasted a month in a marketing job, and you can't watch Real Housewives at work.) Towards the end, filmmaker Jeff Wood drops in unannounced. He's tracked down a content creator to find out how she works (deliberately casual, more like a friend than a professional, delivered the next day), and now he wants to shoot a whole wedding on a phone.

Plus Liam books a hotel near a London wedding that turns out to be in Oxford (chase that questionnaire), engagement shoots that turn into micro weddings and a party in Rio, an after party in a cave at Middleton Lodge, and an older guest who wanted to know if Liam earned enough.

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

01:36 The London wedding that was in Oxford

06:44 An engagement shoot that led to Rio

09:16 An anniversary shoot at Tower Bridge

11:21 A road trip round Scotland coming up

14:23 A cave after party at Middleton Lodge

19:30 Would you swap for a nine to five?

22:01 Bee's month in a marketing job

23:32 Pride, routine and creativity

28:38 Do guests think we're doing alright?

30:10 Hours worked, and the verdict

33:12 Highs and lows of the week

40:53 Jeff Wood drops in

42:29 How content creators work

45:03 Shooting a wedding on a phone

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

An influencer couple asks for a discount, or a free wedding, in exchange for publicity. Is it worth it?

Pete and Laura said no once, then shot the wedding at full price anyway, and the posts that tagged them brought in exactly zero enquiries. Our view: it rarely works unless the person is genuinely famous and the work suits your brand, and free weddings come with pressure. Imagine spending the same on Google Ads for a few days instead. Then a venue bans smoke bombs, flares and confetti (fine on the smoke bombs, but a confetti ban is miserable), and a bride wants to pay her balance after the wedding. We'd shoot it but not edit until it's paid, and a friendly phone call beats an officious email.

Before that, Liam's back from Iceland after a Golden Circle tour with the wedding party, fermented shark (an ammonia hit, chased with Icelandic vodka), a waterfall wedding in weather that changes every two minutes, and an ultra-Orthodox wedding in London the week before. Plus eighteen Easter eggs won at school bingo.

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

01:03 A 13 hour wedding in London

04:11 Eighteen Easter eggs at bingo

06:12 Iceland: the Golden Circle with the wedding party

07:44 Fermented shark

10:20 A wedding by a waterfall

20:07 Should you discount for an influencer?

23:12 What happened when we did the wedding

27:18 Who really sees these posts?

28:21 Celebrity weddings versus influencer weddings

31:26 Free weddings come with pressure

32:26 A venue bans confetti and smoke bombs

39:39 Paying the balance after the wedding

45:13 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.

Pete and Laura lose a wedding to a content creator. Are videographers being replaced?

The couple never spoke to us, but were told we were the top choice, then booked a content creator instead. Bee's view: alongside, not instead of, because a wedding film is something you show your grandchildren. Do we all need to offer quick social content now? Then a venue drops its recommended supplier list and pushes just two photographers with a discount for couples. Is paying a venue worth it? Who does it lock out? And what's the risk of relying on one venue? The second half is about self-care in a busy season: gratitude lists, daytime baths, cross stitch, walks, a hobby that isn't on a screen, scheduling days off, and caring slightly less.

Plus Pete's camera bag anxiety dream, Bee's 1,500 image edit, a rude reply to a gallery request (this is not X Factor), a new networking hub for photographers and videographers, and the moment we realised we're old: a really nice jar of chickpeas.

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 Liam's not here

02:31 Wedding anxiety dreams

05:36 The edit backlog

12:46 Losing a wedding to a content creator

14:18 Do we all need to be content creators?

17:27 We'd love a content creator on the podcast

18:30 A venue that only recommends two photographers

21:35 Relying on one venue

24:36 Have you shot my venue? And a rude gallery reply

26:40 Self-care in a busy season

28:40 Fresh air, routines and gratitude lists

31:12 Baths, cross stitch, walks and hobbies

34:15 Scheduling days off

37:20 A networking hub

40:21 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.

Content creators are turning up at weddings. Should photographers and filmmakers be worried?

None of us has worked alongside one yet, and we're mostly relaxed about it. Couples want something to post on the day, which is fair, so we talk about AI culling a quick preview set for the night, strapping a phone or GoPro on, and whether anyone would pay for one week delivery (Liam and Bee offer it, and nobody has ever taken it). We also cover Liam and Bee moving around 90 website pages before their theme support ends, Liam's Google rankings slipping since an algorithm change while sites with hardly any backlinks jump to page one, and a webinar on expertise, experience, authority and trust. Plus the eternal question: should photographers eat the canapés?

Also: a two hour evangelical ceremony in London (nobody saved Liam a donut), a bride whose name kept setting off Laura's smart speaker while she edited, Liam's plan to get from a 300 guest wedding in London to a tour bus in Reykjavik, and Liam trying to sell his underwater housing live on air.

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 afternoon recording and a postponed dinner party

01:32 A two hour evangelical ceremony

03:34 Should photographers eat canapes?

05:07 Moving a 90 page website

09:15 Google rankings slipping

12:51 Is SEO dead?

14:51 The budget and the VAT threshold

18:30 A bride's name and a smart speaker

20:33 From London to a tour bus in Reykjavik

22:04 A new camera and an underwater housing for sale

26:08 An anamorphic lens at weddings

28:11 What do we think of content creators?

30:14 AI culling and instant previews

37:53 Speed, Gen Z and one week delivery

40:58 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.

Where do wedding photography trends come from, and should you follow them?

A listener asks whether the editorial luxury look (blur, direct flash, walking portraits) comes from photographers copying each other, planners, or couples, and whether ignoring trends makes you look dated. We point to celebrity weddings, think most trends are driven by demand, and land on: dabble, sprinkle, but don't flood your website, and shoot what you love. We also predict next year's comeback trends (spot colour, sepia and Dutch angles), and Liam hears why a couple chose another photographer: every photo emanated joy. Then second shooter etiquette after the wedding: sharing images, tagging, posting before the lead, business cards and reviews, and why it all needs agreeing up front.

Plus Liam drives six hours for a London portrait shoot with a couple marrying in Trinidad and Tobago (tip: always ask a portrait couple where they're getting married), and a wedding car that took everyone on a scenic route, leaving the group shots on tiny hotel balconies.

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

09:45 Bookings rolling in again

11:16 A London shoot for a Trinidad and Tobago wedding

14:21 A late wedding car and group shots on balconies

17:27 Where do trends come from?

18:29 What does editorial even look like?

23:05 Is it fine to follow a trend?

24:38 Dabble, don't flood your website

26:08 Every photo emanated joy

27:39 Direct flash for dancing and details

32:18 Next year's trends: spot colour and sepia

39:02 Second shooter etiquette

44:07 Reviews and posting before the lead

47:44 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 do you do when a vicar makes your job difficult?

It's just Pete and Laura this week. A radio phone-in about clergy being rude to wedding photographers gets us talking. Most vicars and priests are lovely, but Pete tells the story of the vicar who allowed him four photos and then told him off over the microphone mid-ceremony (on his 30th birthday). We've come round to feeling less responsible for winning people over: if the church ceremony matters to a couple, they need to check the photography rules first. We also wonder whether some vicar horror stories are an urban myth, since the same one keeps turning up almost word for word. Then the dates you book off: Silverstone, birthdays, school holidays, and a regret about missing friends' weddings in our first ten years because we were working.

Plus finishing the Lawson Film School workshops, a technical answer about one or two videographers that Laura calls a TED talk, Pete's first photography crush in years, and Pete falling over in a table tennis match and refusing the forfeit.

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

03:32 Formula One season and Drive to Survive

04:34 Lawson Film School workshops

08:09 A TED talk on one or two videographers

10:42 A new photography crush

17:58 The radio phone-in about difficult vicars

21:38 Negotiating a spot in church

23:40 The vicar on Pete's 30th birthday

30:49 Feeling less responsible over time

34:57 Are vicar horror stories an urban myth?

38:30 Should you refuse church weddings?

46:20 Which dates do you book off?

55:38 Missing friends' weddings

1:04:17 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.

Should you offer a discount for winter weddings?

Recording on a half term break in Shropshire, we admit we have this conversation every year and never do it. Instead we've picked up a run of micro weddings for February and March, and we think a quiet month price is fine as long as the package changes too. We also talk about fixed hours versus all day coverage, couples who ask whether you've shot their venue before (nobody asks the caterers if they've cooked in that kitchen), and requests to see full galleries. Then we read a 2024 wedding photography trends list: blur, disposable cameras, drones, film, direct flash, under the veil. Nearly all of it is retro, so why is everything nostalgic? And what does fully booked mean, now that so many photographers want fewer weddings?

Plus ghostly noises in the holiday house, a new EU travel authorisation for destination weddings, and Liam's mooing game: guess the region from the cow's accent.

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 Half term in Shropshire

04:05 Ghosts in the holiday house

06:37 Bookings while on holiday

07:08 Should you offer a winter discount?

08:41 Micro weddings instead

10:12 Is discounting fair?

12:13 All day coverage or fixed hours?

15:52 Have you shot our venue before?

17:55 Requests to see full galleries

22:00 New EU travel rules for destination weddings

24:01 The 2024 trends list

29:05 Film photography, then and now

33:09 Direct flash, and why everything's nostalgic

38:49 What does fully booked mean?

46:37 The mooing game

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

Every February the industry groups fill with panic about bookings. Should you join in?

Back after three weeks off, we look at the state of the market: January bookings, the people posting their enquiry and booking numbers, and why comparing yourself to the extremes is a weird distraction. If your diary is thin, do you cut prices or spend on ads? We hear about someone who booked sixty weddings over two years with Facebook ads, a short subtitled clip of a bride's dad that brought in instant enquiries, and why TikTok and Instagram are turning into search engines. Then being dropped from a venue's recommended supplier list, and why self-employed people take rejection so personally (if you sacked a window cleaner, they'd take it personally too).

Also featured - Liam's styled shoot in a Scottish country house with a piper and a falcon, Bee's night in a haunted chapel, listeners at our workshop who couldn't work out who was who, and a very large sausage in Bishop's Castle.

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 Happy new year, in February

03:02 A styled shoot with a piper and a falcon

06:38 A night in a haunted chapel

09:42 Who's who at the workshop

11:14 How the workshop went

14:50 An ask us anything episode?

23:31 The hardest person in the wedding industry

28:06 Nearly caught up on editing

31:50 The February panic

33:21 Don't compare yourself with the extremes

35:26 Cut prices or advertise?

38:06 Short clips that bring enquiries

42:13 Dropped from a venue's recommended list

45:49 Why we take rejection personally

49:22 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 do you do when a couple wants a say in your second shooter?

Bee spotted the question in a Facebook group, and we agree you stand behind your choice. You can't judge a second shooter from their online portfolio until you've seen their raw files, and plenty of couples assume a second shooter does half the day when the lead does nearly all of it. (Maybe call them an assistant? Laura suggests "the work experience kid".) We also talk about what goes in a preview (Pete sends 80 photos, Bee would never send 200), Bee blogging forty old weddings before Liam can do it with three photos of a flower, and a destination planner whose weddings run to six figures but who says she's not in the luxury bracket.

Liam arrives late from the gym (he's so busy), gets a new Instagram for motorbikes and landscapes, and loses a battle with a shed dehumidifier.

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 Where's Liam? He's so busy

02:04 Infrared blankets and acupressure mats

03:37 Previews and slideshows

05:10 Blogging forty old weddings

13:23 Liam arrives

17:29 A chat with a destination planner

21:36 Can a couple veto your second shooter?

23:37 When couples do ask

25:41 A second shooter isn't fifty fifty

27:50 Standing behind your second shooter

34:24 Website hosting headaches

36:57 A new Instagram for bikes and landscapes

41:59 The shed dehumidifier saga

43:29 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.