Our Creative Commune

What do you do when the platform your website is built on announces it's shutting down?

That's what happened to a lot of photographers this month, Liam and Bee included, when a popular WordPress theme for wedding photographers announced it would stop being supported within a year. With around 100 pages built on it, Liam explains the SEO risk, we talk through what to move to (WordPress, Squarespace, keeping your booking forms working), and Bee decides to use it as an excuse for a redesign. Then a debate: is culling during the wedding breakfast genius, or a hard no? (Liam would rather have a little stroll and a pint.) And how to cull so every bride looks her best.

Before that, Liam's Greek wedding: jellyfish like giant fried eggs, a church ceremony where everyone stands round the altar, Spud Gate (the DJs ate his dinner during the speeches), and a 3am pool party that started when the bride bombed in. Plus Bee opens the door in the dark and sees a floating face.

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 Up early for the Grand Prix

05:34 A Thursday wedding in St Andrews

09:42 Forty hours awake and fried egg jellyfish

11:44 A Greek church ceremony

12:46 Spud Gate

14:19 A 3am pool party

16:26 Bookings starting to move

18:30 A website platform shuts down

24:45 What to move to

29:22 Using it as a reason to redesign

30:54 Culling during the wedding breakfast

34:28 Culling for flattering photos

39:42 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 you miss a key moment, like the first kiss?

Tell the couple on the day, not weeks later, and if you can, ask them to do it again. Pete once plugged a lead into the wrong side during a bride's speech, told her straight away, and she happily read it again in another room. Liam once missed all the speeches after being told they'd be after the meal (the couple didn't mind). Then, how much should you share with venues and other suppliers? A curated selection, not the full gallery, ideally with the couple's blessing, and we talk about what to say when a venue wants your pictures but won't put you on its recommended list. And when couples try to haggle, our rule is only to discount if something comes out of the package.

Plus airport security confiscations, Liam's last destination wedding of the year in a Greek mountain village with no addresses, the napkin trick for a quiet dance floor, and how to get natural shots at a quiet drinks reception.

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 to school routines

02:34 Airport security stories

05:39 A Greek mountain village wedding

10:13 What if you miss the first kiss?

12:46 Tell them on the day

14:16 Asking for a second kiss

15:16 Liam misses all the speeches

20:22 Can guests see the back of your camera?

21:53 Quiet drinks receptions

24:28 The napkin trick for a quiet dance floor

26:30 Sharing galleries with suppliers

30:38 Venues that want pictures but won't recommend you

31:39 When couples haggle on price

39:53 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.

Can you go full time as a wedding videographer when you've got young children at home?

It's a listener questions episode, with Liam away shooting in Rhodes. A listener who has filmed weddings on the side for five years asks if he can make the jump with two small children. Our answer: weekends are the cost, you can't plan for three weddings every month, start local, block out family dates and stick to them, and check the numbers. Then, how do you handle guests who grab you for ad hoc photos outside the formal groups, especially in bad light? (Move them to better light, always take the picture, and walk off for a moment if it snowballs.) We also ask whether stripped back or cinema lens video packages are worth it (high end clients just want it simple), whether previews are worth the time (absolutely, the first post gets the most love), and would you rather be time rich or cash rich?

Plus a Scottish couple who married in lockdown with ten guests and finally had the big one, a drone grounded by the Edinburgh Airport no fly zone, Pete's battle with the giant spiders in the shed ivy, and a call to Liam on a beach in Rhodes.

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 in Greece again

02:39 Time rich or cash rich?

06:16 Can AI do our emails?

07:18 A second wedding for a lockdown couple

09:31 A drone in the airport no fly zone

10:33 Package extras and stripped back options

14:14 Cinema lenses and audio specialists

17:47 Going full time with young children

22:24 Stay local and protect your time

27:29 Ad hoc group photos in bad light

34:40 Are previews worth it?

39:19 When will my gallery be ready?

44:23 Which website platform for a first site?

46:25 Highs and lows of the week

51:58 A call to Liam in Rhodes

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 always speak to a couple before their wedding?

Back from the summer break, Pete describes a big Scottish wedding where he'd never spoken to the couple, no second shooter was booked, and the day ran at full pace: a drone entrance shot in the wind with the battery dying, five people to mic up, and speeches announced before he was ready. Then brides who are precious about their dresses (Laura: imagine dragging a white duvet round all day), why we all say pictures and not photos, whether vapes at weddings are a problem (Liam and Bee disagree), and whether you can shoot a whole wedding on a 28-70 (yes, as long as it isn't your only lens).

Liam rolls around in the surf in his boxer shorts with an underwater housing at a Devon cove wedding, the photographer flown in from America with 130,000 followers who turned out to be lovely, Liam's new Triumph arrives, and generative fill breaks after an update.

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 the break

02:30 An eleven day road trip

03:00 A cove wedding at Tunnels Beaches

04:32 Underwater in boxer shorts

11:46 A portrait shoot in Southport

13:19 A big wedding with no chat beforehand

15:22 A drone with a dying battery and five mics

18:28 Should you always talk to the couple first?

21:35 The photographer flown in from America

22:36 Brides precious about their dresses

26:12 Pictures or photos?

27:43 Vapes at weddings

35:19 Liam's new motorbike arrives

36:21 Can you shoot a wedding on a 28-70?

43:58 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.

Out of 800 wedding photos, how many should be of the couple?

A guest tells Pete that 600 of the 800 photos from a wedding were of the bride and groom (though the couple loved them). Pete reckons around 20 percent is about right, Bee isn't sure that's even possible, and Liam says only photographing the couple rips the soul out of a wedding. We also talk about phones at weddings (guests filming in front of the fireworks camera, a mother of the groom filming the whole speech about her), inspiration photos from couples (mostly sunsets), short notice micro weddings, and a viral post that's a reminder your second shooter represents you, so choose carefully.

Before that, Liam's St Paul's Cathedral wedding falls apart on the timings (buses, traffic, a burning scooter, fifteen minutes of drinks reception left), so he grabs the mic and calls everyone out for the groups himself. And at a Scottish castle, the best men throw their microphones on the floor and the groom pulls on a South Park T-shirt mid speech.

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 dog fiasco

02:33 Liam's St Paul's Cathedral wedding

04:39 Grabbing the mic to call the groups

06:41 A castle wedding in Aberdeenshire

07:41 Microphones on the floor

11:14 Audio backups and phones in front of the fireworks

12:15 Phones at weddings

16:21 An AI reel with giant iPads

17:22 How bookings are going this year

18:22 What your second shooter represents

26:21 Inspiration photos from couples

29:28 Group shot lists and short notice micro weddings

32:33 How many photos should be of the couple?

38:11 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.

What do you do when a couple asks you not to share their wedding online?

With Laura away this week, Pete, Liam and Bee talk about privacy requests. It happens once or twice a year, image sharing is in the contract, and you can't really charge a privacy fee, because people have a right to privacy. Liam says he shoots for the couple and for his own portfolio; Bee says we're there entirely for the couple. Then Liam and Bee keep being asked if they do video too, so they ask Pete whether to team up with a videographer or train someone up. And after a Mac Mini scare and a Time Machine that hadn't backed up since February, Pete runs through how he backs up 350 to 450GB of video per wedding.

Plus Liam's five hour test ride on a Triumph over Saddleworth Moor (he has to get the bike), wet weather portraits and window light as your get out of jail card, a military wedding at St Paul's where Liam may only photograph the walk down the aisle, and a lovely voice note from a listener.

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

03:39 Liam buys a motorbike

06:11 A Berkshire wedding and a ceremony led by friends

09:15 Rain all day on the Welsh border

11:52 Window light: your get out of jail card

14:58 Shorter booking lead times

17:06 Should Liam and Bee offer video?

20:10 Couples who don't want their wedding shared

22:15 Who are you shooting for?

24:18 Privacy fees and GDPR

28:28 A Mac Mini scare

30:35 How Pete backs up video

37:48 Why London is on the homepage

39:52 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.

Bookings are slow. Do you lower your prices, or put them up?

Liam messages Bee from a wedding: we are not reducing our prices. Part ego, part arithmetic, and a couple of new bookings soon after make it feel like the right call. Bee wonders whether going much higher would reach the couples the cost of living crisis isn't touching, though you can't leap there overnight. We also talk about venues as the best source of work, the ethics of retouching (a child's chicken pox is fine, removing a bridesmaid's tattoo or a guest's bald spot is feeding the monster), a mid season list of wedding trends (saxophonists, heart shaped sunglasses, pearls, blurry table details), and why rain is just part of a UK wedding.

Plus a wedding where the videographer was also the best man and the celebrant, Corfu, where Pete rolls his ankle and faints within an hour of arriving and the hillside catches fire on day two (it happens every year, apparently), and a Derbyshire wedding where the horse and carriage slid down the hill in the rain.

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 from holiday

01:00 The videographer who was also best man and celebrant

02:02 What we'd tell couples about the day

06:37 Corfu: an ankle and a faint

10:12 The hillside on fire

12:43 Booking weddings from a sun lounger

14:17 We are not reducing our prices

15:49 Should you put prices up instead?

20:27 Venues as your best source of work

22:28 Back to the editing mountain

23:58 Retouching: spots, scars and tattoos

27:39 Mid season wedding trends

35:18 Shooting in the rain

39:53 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.

Plenty of enquiries, hardly any bookings. Is it your price?

Liam and Bee have had lots of enquiries since their last big booking, but not many bookings. Most of the people who reply say it's the price, even with a starting price on the website. So do you drop your prices, ride it out until September, or hold your nerve? How much of it is ego? Does a higher price push you down a couple's shortlist, or does expensive look like quality (the 30 pound or the 250 pound perfume)? Then Instagram followers. Liam and Bee picked up thousands in a year, mostly other photographers, though overseas couples do find them for London engagement shoots. And should Pete and Laura offer joint photo and video packages? No, because it would knock down the whole house of cards built on photographers recommending them.

Plus a couple lying on Tower Bridge's glass floor surrounded by tourists, a bride who proposed from a wakeboard, Liam's Peckham workshop with Sam Hurd, and an AI posing app that sends poses to your phone mid shoot.

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 Driving home through the night

01:32 Photos on Tower Bridge's glass floor

02:33 Getting ready together or apart

05:10 Would Laura book a documentary photographer?

07:52 A proposal on a wakeboard

09:54 The Peckham workshop

10:55 An AI posing app

16:32 Beer and kombucha in the shed

18:05 A weekend off in Conwy

21:37 Is it price?

28:20 Dropping prices, ego and holding your nerve

33:55 Do Instagram followers matter?

40:33 Why we won't sell joint photo and video packages

44:05 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.

How much should you pay an associate who shoots a wedding under your name?

We don't all agree. Is half the fee fair, or does that ignore the tax, VAT, admin and marketing that got you the booking in the first place? We work through the maths, plus what second shooters get paid now. Then VAT: staying under the threshold or registering, what the flat rate scheme means for higher priced photographers, and whether to add it to new bookings. And when a real photo is disqualified from a contest for looking like AI, Liam asks why anyone would want fake wedding pictures of people who don't exist.

Before that, Liam catches the milk ceremony at a Sudanese wedding (he's ready for the ululating this time), fixes the toilet at a 700 year old haunted pub before the plumber arrives, and we spend a very long day at the British Grand Prix. Plus Laura turns 40, and should any of us bother with Threads?

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 break

01:33 Weddings since we last spoke

03:05 A Sudanese wedding and the milk ceremony

06:10 A day at Silverstone

09:14 Liam's verdict on F1

12:15 A haunted pub and a broken toilet

14:48 Laura's 40th

17:53 Should we join Threads?

21:25 How much to pay an associate

25:29 Second shooter rates

27:31 VAT: stay under or register?

33:38 Accountants and expenses

36:08 A real photo disqualified for looking like AI

39:13 Edit queues and the week ahead

42:22 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.

Blurry, motion blurred wedding photos are everywhere. Love them or hate them?

Liam says he can't stand blur for the sake of it, then explains exactly how to do it (slow shutter, low ISO, drag the flash), then admits he's shot some black and white paparazzi style frames for a London couple. We also take stock halfway through the year, talk about using generative fill to clear twenty five tourists out of a Big Ben engagement shoot (fifteen minutes a picture), and work through how to handle enquiries. Should the price go in the first email? How long should your reply be? Could couples just book online? Should Bee join the first Zoom calls? Plus how to deal with being turned down.

Also: Liam shoots a 14 hour wedding the day after landing from Jamaica, plans an iconic London shoot with no religious buildings in it, and a passport warning that nearly stopped someone getting to a wedding in Italy.

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 in the drizzle

04:06 Straight from the airport to a 14 hour wedding

08:08 Removing tourists with generative fill

11:11 What generative fill can and can't do

12:12 Iconic London, but nothing religious

14:46 Blurry photos: love them or hate them?

19:20 How to do motion blur

21:22 Lighting the dance floor

24:27 Halfway through the year

32:05 Dealing with rejection, and Zoom calls

37:38 Should your price be in the first email?

42:42 Could couples book you online?

45:18 A passport warning

46:20 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.