Our Creative Commune

When should you hand a wedding you're booked for to someone else?

In our first episode of 2024, we talk about working when you're not at your best. How ill is too ill to shoot? It used to be you would turn up to a wedding half dead. Broken ankles weren't a good enough excuse. Now Liam and Laura say things have changed since COVID, and now it's more acceptable to hand it off to a friend when you're ill or injured. We also cover taking bookings between Christmas and New Year, turning down back to back weddings at opposite ends of the country, the "showtime face" that doesn't always work, and a photographer who shot a wedding from a wheelchair. Then goals for the year: a few more bookings, a website rebuild, and an inflation calculator that shows how much less a 2019 price is worth now.

Plus Pete's New Year's Eve wedding where photos weren't allowed in the church (he caught the first kiss from the back row anyway), a last minute videographer floodlighting the walk from church, noise reduction at ISO 12,800, and Liam keeping Father Christmas alive with tinsel footprints.

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

03:06 Twixmas shoots and a New Year's Eve wedding

07:08 No photos allowed in the church

11:44 A floodlit walk from church

14:18 A black marquee reception

15:51 Culling dark weddings and noise reduction

17:57 Should you work between Christmas and New Year?

20:59 Back to back weddings in different parts of the country

23:33 The showtime face

27:06 Covering weddings for friends

30:11 Being ill at a wedding

39:59 Work goals for 2024

44:35 Tracking bookings and inflation

50:09 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.

Was 2023 the weirdest year for wedding bookings you can remember?

In our end of year round up, we agree it was the most uncertain year of our careers: no patterns, a long slow patch from March to September, then a rush. We talk about why holidays matter (our Jamaica trip around a wedding was one of the highlights), why working 50 or 60 hours gets less done than 30 or 40, how many weddings feels right, keeping a mix of photo and video, and our goals for 2024: more adventures, better balance, destination weddings, and maybe a camper van.

Before that, Bee is back from a yoga and surf retreat in Sri Lanka (she managed about thirty seconds standing on the board) that she says was like group therapy, and Liam and Bee recorded a two and a half hour interview for another 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 Bee's back from Sri Lanka

05:03 Learning to surf

06:04 A retreat that felt like group therapy

13:09 Two and a half hours on another podcast

16:10 Bookings this week

21:22 Our 2023 review

22:57 Working less and getting more done

24:59 The most uncertain year

26:29 How many weddings is right?

31:32 Highlights of the year

36:37 The hard parts of the year

38:40 Goals for 2024

48:01 Destination weddings for 2024

50:03 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 handle a bad review, and how do you avoid getting one in the first place?

With Laura and Bee away, Pete and Liam talk reviews. As one old industry book put it, wedding photography is basically retail, and sooner or later you'll get a crank. Their advice: if you miss something or make a mistake, tell the couple on the day and say sorry, because that's mostly what people want to hear. Use your pre-wedding questionnaire to ask about must-have shots and important people who aren't obvious (Pete learned this from a groom's sister he nearly missed). And if a stray one star review does land, bury it under genuine five star ones. They also compare next year's bookings, agree that cutting prices isn't the answer to the cost of living squeeze, and explain why one big directory ranks above everyone in search.

Then a kit geek-out: EF lenses on an adapter versus going all in on RF, why mirrorless is a lifesaver at dark winter weddings, the cheap plastic 50mm, and well-worn holsters. Plus a father who complained about shallow depth of field in a dark winter barn, how to get the groom's reaction as the bride walks in, and Liam solo parenting while Bee's in Sri Lanka.

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 solo parenting week

09:07 Next year's bookings

10:42 Why cutting prices isn't the answer

15:17 How reviews and directories dominate search

21:58 How a bad review feels

25:36 Be upfront and say sorry

29:11 Tell the couple on the day

33:21 Getting the groom's reaction

36:00 The pre-wedding questionnaire

41:38 A complaint about depth of field

46:42 Burying a bad review

47:15 EF or RF lenses?

51:26 Mirrorless for dark winter weddings

1:03:11 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.

A couple asks why you're a few hundred pounds more than the other photographer. What do you say?

Our answer: don't justify, and definitely don't run anyone else down. Ask which work speaks to them, suggest a Zoom so they can see who they connect with, and stay positive, because sounding defensive makes you seem less of a luxury. (Laura's version: book the one that sparks joy.) Then a less cheerful one. If something happened to you tomorrow, would your couples still get their photos and films? Who has the passwords, the tax logins, the files? And with Gen Z couples arriving and Instagram engagement falling, is it time for TikTok? Liam shares his five minute reel routine.

Plus Pete's science lesson on white tea, Liam winterising his motorbike with a spray NASA apparently uses, Bee's 117 open browser tabs, and Pete's wedding where both cameras silently stopped recording during the speeches (it was fine).

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 Hamstrings and flexibility

05:07 Matcha rules and white tea science

10:16 A last minute wedding in freezing weather

12:51 Motorbikes, hobbies and 117 browser tabs

16:28 True crime and old video games

20:31 How do you justify being more expensive?

22:04 Don't justify, ask what speaks to them

25:09 Suggest a Zoom

26:09 Where do you want to sit in the market?

28:13 What happens to your clients if you die?

34:46 Gen Z couples and falling Instagram engagement

39:52 Liam's five minute reel routine

41:28 End of season fatigue

46:35 Highs and lows of the week

57:17 Both cameras stopped during a speech

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 post your edit queue for couples to see?

This week Bee reads out the posts doing the rounds in the industry groups. Does sharing your edit queue (names and order) make you look behind, or is it just honest? Most of us like it, and you'll notice nobody posts one when they're behind. Are some videographers lazy and just riding on the photographer's portraits? We explain why filming is quieter and more observational than photography, and why the finished film is what you're paid for. Then deposits and payment schedules, how to show your prices (PDF, hidden page or in the email), and why your emails are landing in spam. Pete explains SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and we find someone has been sending emails pretending to be us.

Plus surviving a loud industry night out with five minute catch-ups, couples who never reply to their gallery, and the best group shot Pete ever took, from a church balcony.

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 Lost voices after an industry night out

03:03 How to survive a networking night

05:04 A four hour wedding at Holmes Mill

13:14 Should you share your edit queue?

17:23 Why we like edit queues

20:31 Are some videographers lazy?

23:03 Working alongside the photographer during portraits

26:06 Quiet filming versus directing

28:38 Changing gallery platforms

34:12 How much deposit?

36:18 How to present your prices

37:19 Why your emails go to spam

42:27 Couples who don't reply to their gallery

48:05 Group shots from a church balcony

51:45 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 shoot a wedding in the darkest room you've ever seen, for a couple who want no lighting and nothing set up?

Liam walks through the hardest light of his 21 years. Video lights would spoil the atmosphere, on-camera flash had nowhere to bounce, and off-camera flash would go off like a bomb, so he shot five hours at 1/60 and ISO 12,800 to 25,000. What would the rest of us have done? (Direct flash like a disposable camera, or a bit of everything.) We also talk about what we do after a wedding, Pete's own disaster at a rainy marquee wedding, and the money side: spreading payments in instalments, deposits for destination weddings that need flights booked early, and why Bee and Laura dropped card payments after adding up the fees.

Plus fake Christmas in the Yorkshire Dales, cheap vintage lenses, toy film cameras and a nineties Olympus, and a stack of lenses for "macro landscapes".

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

04:35 Liam's hardest wedding

05:42 The darkest room he's ever seen

06:43 Why video lights and flash wouldn't work

08:44 Five hours at ISO 25,000

10:15 What would we have done?

17:29 Pete's rainy marquee disaster

19:00 Fast primes and mirrorless

22:41 What do you do after a wedding?

27:47 Payment instalments

29:48 Deposits for destination weddings

31:18 Card payments and fees

34:00 Vintage lenses and toy cameras

40:05 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.

A couple's first question is how much you are. So why do so many photographers dodge it?

Laura thinks replying without the price is "so weird", and we all agree nobody has the patience for long emails anymore. We also talk about a regional awards night and a "best of" list that seems to be partly paid for (any list or award is only ever a few people's opinion, so call it "our favourites"), whether traditions like the confetti exit are turning into photo ops (fine, if the couple are enjoying it), and why Pete, Laura and Bee stopped sending welcome gifts to newly booked couples.

Plus a Tuesday wedding in Scotland and a 3am drive home that leaves Pete and Laura unsure what day it is, a new anamorphic lens, Pete's drone flying hours, ideas for Oscars-style video awards, and fake Christmas.

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 What day is it?

02:36 Crying with laughter on the drive home

05:36 A new anamorphic lens

08:40 Kit lust and a 360 camera

11:45 Logging drone flying hours

14:46 The regional awards night

16:25 A best of list that's partly paid for

18:27 Every list and award is just opinion

24:05 Oscars-style categories for video awards

26:38 When should you tell couples your price?

29:41 A brochure link plus a personal touch

31:13 Is confetti just a photo op now?

36:21 Welcome gifts for new couples

40:27 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's next year looking? And what can you do about it before engagement season?

Back after a few weeks off, we compare where we are with next year's bookings, and what we'd do before the November to January engagement rush: tidy your website and keep it updated, add micro wedding options, show joy rather than one look, and reply fast, because leaving an 8pm enquiry until the morning can now lose it. Liam and Bee explain what turned their quiet patch around (a quiet month brochure, being more open to a conversation, and a gentle nudge for enquiries that go quiet). We also look at a "top 20 photographers" list where every picture looks the same. What about the normal people?

Plus Liam hides in a tree for half an hour to photograph a proposal on Primrose Hill (the bride's first question: why is there a photographer in the tree?), a Riviera villa from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Liam's first elopement in the Cotswolds rain with two delighted Texans, and Pete's Scottish wedding during a red weather warning.

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 a few weeks off

05:41 A Scottish wedding in a red weather warning

08:45 A Riviera villa and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

11:15 Standing up for yourself at a wedding

15:22 Venues that don't feed suppliers

16:54 A misty Welsh mountain wedding

19:56 Liam's first elopement, in the rain

21:32 Hiding in a tree for a proposal

25:41 How many weddings are booked for next year?

28:46 Getting ready for engagement season

30:20 Reply to enquiries quickly

33:52 A top 20 list where everything looks the same

41:01 Highs and lows of the week

48:11 What turned Liam and Bee's bookings around

51:46 Enquiries lost to spam and ghosting

Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

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

A couple insists on their group photos in front of a grand doorway in harsh midday sun, then asks if anything can be done about the light. What now?

We argue about how hard to push on the day (offer a quick second take in the good light, or sell the shaded spot more dramatically) and agree group shots matter more than people think, because couples pick them for albums far more than prep. Then aphantasia. Bee can't picture anything in her mind while Liam sees every raindrop, so what does that mean for creative photography? And a warning for suppliers: be careful of advertising directories offering a free trial that turns into a big bill, and firms sending fake enquiries. (We once paid to be in a hotel brochure, hoping for twenty weddings a year. It didn't go well.)

Plus Liam's student camping trip that ended with mysterious lights on Formby beach and a night in a stranger's mansion, Pete's outdoor ceremony saved by a hidden mic, Liam planning his first proposal shoot (camera hidden in his coat), and a hearing test that's a good reason to wear earplugs.

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 A windy shoot at Formby Beach

02:33 Mysterious lights and a stranger's mansion

05:37 A ceremony saved by a hidden mic

06:37 The couple who insisted on bad light

11:17 How hard should you push?

12:17 Why group shots matter more than you think

17:18 Aphantasia: can you picture things in your head?

20:21 Does aphantasia affect creativity?

25:25 Be careful of free trial directories

27:29 Fake enquiries

29:03 Our hotel brochure mistake

30:35 Judging awards, and choosing your best ten

36:12 Liam's first proposal shoot

41:15 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 styled shoots dressed up as "micro weddings" selling couples something they'll never get?

A big wedding blog has started calling styled shoots micro weddings on Instagram, and we're not fans. A real wedding isn't controlled, so couples end up disappointed by their real galleries, and it's unfair on the photographers shooting the real thing. We also ask whether a blog feature brings in any enquiries anymore (it used to bring ten the next day, now it's tumbleweed), why influencers asking for free wedding films get a hard no, and whether a couple on an hourly package can object to you taking a break. There is no magical two hour break. Pete's is about 45 minutes, in between drone shots and courses.

Plus a wedding coordinator who brought Liam's couple a pint of Guinness mid portraits, Liam waking up to the smell of cottage pie in a pod hotel next to a pie factory, and the father of the bride Liam spent all morning calling Jim (his name was Les).

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, wine, and everyone's tired

02:04 A wedding where the groom read a letter and cried

03:36 A coordinator who brought Guinness to the portraits

06:08 Waking up next to a pie factory

11:16 Website platform worries and a winter rebuild

14:25 Styled shoots sold as micro weddings

17:29 Paying for blog features, and do they still work?

19:59 Influencers asking for free wedding films

22:03 Can you take a break on an hourly package?

25:38 Continuous coverage

28:14 Overruns and the delayed first dance

29:48 Is prep coverage worth it?

31:21 The father of the bride called Jim (who was Les)

37:02 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.