Top 10 Lessons Learned from creativeLIVE's Jasmine Star Workshop

This past week, I was searching Twitter and stumbled upon a link to creativeLive’s wedding photography course with Jasmine Star, one of the top 10 wedding photographers. CreativeLive, the brainchild of commercial photographer Chase Jarvis, is a great concept – they broadcast free, interactive workshops to the masses. During this 5-day-long workshop, Jasmine held class with the five students (Sachin Khona, Nate Perkes, Stephanie Miller, Victoria de Martigny, and Audrey Belliard Smit) in the on-location class and the internet, and talked about how to set up and structure a wedding photography business and how to market yourself in non-traditional ways. Jasmine shot a real wedding with a real wedding party live on location (the bride and groom auditioned for an all-expense-paid wedding), all-the-while answering plenty of questions from both the in-class students and the web. It was truly amazing to have such a personal interactive learning experience, I want to thank everyone who was involved! For those who missed the live workshop, you can purchase HD downloads of the event (approximately 30-40 hours worth of video) for $149. Believe me, considering costs of traditional workshops (registration and travel expenses), it’s a great value! Here are the top ten concepts I took from the course:

10. It’s Not the Photos, it’s the Experience. Brides are choosing photographers, not photographs. From your online presence, to your on-day interaction, to the wedding albums and print delivery, the bride becomes a part of the “Jasmine Star Experience.” (Insert your brand name in place of Jasmine Star). Smile. When you’re not photographing on the wedding day, cater to the bride. Ask if she’s ok, needs water, or anything else. If the bride has a positive interaction with your brand on the wedding day, she’ll associate that positive experience with your photographs. When interacting with your clients on their big day, refer to them by name. When you remember the names of your clients, you’re no longer a business partner, you’re a part of the wedding.

9. 10×10 Challenge. If you’re stuck or want a challenge, when posing the bride and groom for formal portraits, try to come up with ten distinctly different poses in a ten by ten square. If you can get ten distinct shots in such a confined area, you’re well on your way to a visually-diverse shoot. Just by switching your lenses you can create a completely different shot. Move. Move your body up, down, left, right, compose a different shot, frame the subject in a different way. By moving around the subjects, you can frame them around a different background.

8. What We Do is 20% Photography, 80% Business. This all goes back to “the experience” of your brand. It’s all about making connections with your clients, your photography will follow.

7. Social Media is a Way for Clients to Connect and Start Conversations. These days, it’s all about social media. This non-traditional form of marketing builds personal connections between you and your clients in a way in which traditional marketing cannot do. By regularly blogging, you’re giving a more personal, inside perspective on your work. Blogging at least 3-5 times a week makes clients feel like they know you, so when it comes to choosing a wedding photographer, whether it’s for themselves or for a friend, it makes them feel like they’re going to be working with a friend, not a business. Use Facebook and Twitter to promote your blog, but also to encourage conversations. After all, social media is supposed to be just that – social. If people write on your Facebook wall or Tweet @ you, continue the conversation by writing and tweeting back.

6. You’re Either Attracting or Repelling. By being yourself, you’re either aiming to attract clients or repel them away. Don’t be scared to repel clients that don’t mesh with your personality.

5. Everyone Needs Their Own Personal JD. JD, Jasmine Star’s husband, is also her second shooter. Every wedding photographer needs a second shooter. When the first shooter is getting formal portraits, the second shooter should be getting candids. Always make sure you’re in control as a first shooter by being confident and not feeling shy about ordering people to pose. The second shooter should contribute to the experience of your brand by making the wedding party feel at home on their day.

4. Under Promise and Over Deliver. Surprise your clients by upgrading to a canvas print or giving them more images in the final edit than expected. This will be sure to make a lasting impression, and add to the overall experience of your brand.

3. Create an Emotional Connection with Your Brand. If clients feel like you’re a person, rather than a business, they will be more confident in referring you to friends and family members. Weddings are emotional experiences, become a part of the wedding rather than being a business sitting on the sidelines.

2. Use Natural Reflectors. Whenever possible, use natural light over artificial light. When shooting inside, look for window light bouncing off the floor, diffusing and bouncing up onto the subjects. Place your subjects one step behind where the light hits (rather than directly in the light) to create a glow. Besides the obvious “golden hours” when shooting outside, also look for cloudy days. The diffused lighting created on such days produce evenly-distributed light.

1. Keep it Real. Now this sounds like an expression taken directly out of high school, but it’s so much more than that. Simply put, be yourself. Don’t shy away from being the person you are. Let your personality shine through your blog posts and your social media interactions. This goes back to attracting and repelling. Feel free to be yourself. Your personality makes you different from every other photo business out there. Use this to your advantage.

~ Chris Mackler
chris@macklermedia.com