A shoot with Mason Kesner

I had the incredible opportunity to shoot with this engagement session with Mason a little while ago, and it definitely re-affirmed two key qualities I think photographers should have.



The first is make the client happy.  I cant stress this enough.  We all hear horror stories of bride-zillas or clients from hell, but if you please the client, they can easily become great friends.  That's one of the reasons we do what we do -- we love people and we love meeting people.


 The second is know WHAT you want and know HOW to get it.  If you go into a shoot not knowing how to work your camera, you may miss the perfect moments, especially when you're working with people.  I work with cars and automotive photography a lot, and even with an inanimate object, if I didnt know how to work my camera, I'd miss the perfect lighting for a shot. KNOW your camera.  And once you know your camera, you can spend even more time focusing on what you want, because you'll spend less time looking down at your settings and fidgeting around with them.

Darrah and Dustin were a fantastic couple to shoot -- TONS of energy and to say they were beautiful would be a vast understatement.  We always say when you're working with beautiful people, you're more likely to get a larger number of beautiful images!  So a big shout out to the lovely couple and to Mason -- can't wait to see the pictures from your big day!

The Importance of Social Media

I've been thinking recently, what's the significant importance of having a strong online, social media presence?  I know my last blog post was pretty long, so I'll try to keep this short.  I asked a couple friends of mine, both photographers, both successful, both changing the world one step at a time with their work, what they thought the importance of social media was and how it is changing the world.  Here's what they said.

Mason Kesner 

 Mason's blog.

Matthias Roberts

Matthias's website.

So there you have it, folks -- communication is key, social media is free, and it pays to be social.  Good communication skills help distinguish you and your work from others -- that's the way Jasmine Star got to be in the top 10 wedding photographers in the world -- she related to people and she communicated well.  People buy HER for their weddings, not just her photography.  Check out this video of Chase's creativeLIVE interview with Jasmine -- it's an AWESOME insight on some aspects of social media and relatability [I just made that word up, awesome huh?] 

In the words of Chase Jarvis, "social skillz help pay the billz." Nothing is stopping you from developing a strong online presence and brand -- get started, make something awesome!