well hello there! I wanted to touch base before the month of December as its gonna be pretty crazy! Especially for me and my family, as we are preparing for the addition of our 3rd baby, and winding down work for the rest of 2017.
The last month has seen many, many hours of editing, meetings, and SO much time behind the camera; at the beginning of Oct I did 12 shoots in 10 days! It was awesome but I can honestly say, I probably overloaded my plate a little. I'm the kind of person who hates to turn down the opportunity to work, so I scheduled a ton while Jeff was home. I am thankful to have a partner who is so supportive, and doesn't mind doing ALL of the cooking, cleaning, and child minding so I can focus 100% on my work-Thanks Handsome Husband!
Thank you to everyone who reached out to me for wedding bookings for next year; it looks like I *might* hit my goal of 18, fingers crossed!
So, in all my meetings with potential brides and grooms, I started handing out Welcome Folders, complete with a letter to say hello, a questionnaire about wedding details, a list of Family Formal photos, and of course, my contract. I've just added a few more things in the last few days, but just doing that small thing, has helped keep me organized and feel like I have my shit together, at least somewhat ;)
In chatting with clients, I noticed a few things;
1. more than a few had mentioned that the reason they chose me (out of ALL the AMAZING photographers in this city) was because I gave my prices, right up front.
I have nothing to hide; I'm new, I'm cheap(-ish) and I certainly don't want to waste your, or my own time, going for coffee only to discover immediately that we wont be a good fit, either due to budget, location, or various other expectations that cannot be met.
2. my 'style' is not set in stone. In almost every photography group/forum I am part of, most pro photogs INSIST that you must find your own style, stick with it, and don't change it.
I completely disagree. I love ALL styles of editing. Some days, when shooting, I like to edit bright and airy. Other days I love dark and moody. Sometimes I'm all about super bold colors, and other sessions make me edit very muted colors and/or hazy mattes. For me, it has a lot to do with the mood I'm in, the feeling I get from the clients, the light that day, what I've been reading, what photographers work I've been drooling over that week....
I understand consistency is important, but can I be consistent in say...8 different ways?
Also, of course, I always ask what the client wants. I don't feel like I'm compromising myself by modifying to what they are looking for. On the contrary; being flexible in a profession in which trends are changing weekly, makes you adaptable, and therefor you will have a greater variety in clients.
I'm in love with photography, all of it.
You want bright and bold?
Sweet, lets do it.
You love hazy, muted images?
Awesome, I love that too.
Just bold, black and white?
Yesss please!
I feel like ONLY doing one type of editing for your work, is limiting, and I feel like for me, I would get terribly bored; I wouldn't be pushing myself to grow, to learn more, and my work would become stagnant. My career would be over before it even started.
3. some of the best feedback I've gotten, from all previous and even future clients, is that I'm friendly and easy going. Can I just say that, yes! thats true! I AM very easy to get along with, I'm almost always smiling, laughing, or trying to get you to smile and/or laugh.
Having a good attitude is one of the MOST IMPORTANT tools for a photographer to have in their repertoire. I want to bring good energy, smiles, happiness, and an overall feeling of love, wherever I go. I'm in love with my life; my husband, my kids, my family, my friends, and my job. I am genuinely a happy person and it shows.
I've been given some really great feedback from clients, mentioning all of these points, and the thing is, I didn't even think about how important that stuff reeealllly is.
I kind of took it for granted that all wedding photographers were like that; I mean, they only do it cuz they love LOVE right? They're hopeless romantics like me? They are married to the love of their lives and want to bask in LOVE all day long?
Megs and Tony
I know that Calgary is full of stellar wedding photographers, most better than me. What sets me apart is my ability to adapt, my openness, and my attitude. I am trying everyday to get better and better at this craft as its something I'm very passionate about, something I want to continue doing until my body wont let me.
Signing off for now,
giant Baby Belly in full effect,
me and The Chaos Crew
Reens SWP
xoxo