January was a good month at Emma Lee Creative. I booked a couple of new clients, and new business is good business for small business. I also stocked up on new gear for wedding season. I recently shared about the new products I purchased, but now that I have had a chance to use them, I thought I would review them, and share a little bit about how my gear benefits the clients I serve.
Read MoreCapturing the Moment // Etiquette for Wedding Guests
The topic of guests taking photos at weddings can be a pretty sensitive topic, and understandably so. You’ve been invited to the wedding because you matter to the couple, and because they matter to you, you come to the wedding. It’s an important day and you want to have fond memories of it. Vendors want to remember the experience fondly as well. By following these basic points of etiquette, we can all have our cake and eat it too.
Read MoreWork at Play // Inviting Play Into Your Craft
Last year I experienced burnout. I was doing work I didn’t enjoy and was taking whatever came my way. At Design Camp, I resolved to enjoy my work again. Over the holiday, my friend and colleague, Ben Easter, gave me some sound advice: play. I can’t do anything if I haven’t thought it to death, so of course, I spend an absurd amount of time thinking about what it would look like to play with my work. I decided I needed to withhold judgment and reconnect with that sense of curiosity that I had when I was a kid.
Read MoreOnward // 2019 in Review + Goals for 2020
Here we are: the end of a month, a year, a decade. I’ve been running my company for three and a half years. It was a hard year, but I have learned a lot. I guess that typically comes with hard experiences. There were days that shook my confidence and days that showed me just how capable I am of doing this. There were a lot of things that weren’t great about 2019, but I am in a great place because I have a fresh start ahead, and know what I need to do differently.
Read MoreYes, Dear Vendor, It's A Wedding
The internet is full of articles and lists telling you how to save money on a wedding. Some of the suggestions you’ll find are helpful, but many of them are either dishonest, or undermine what you really want out of your wedding day. One suggestion I’ve seen a number of times is to avoid telling vendors it’s a wedding. It’s a popular misconception that venues jack up the price simply because its a wedding. Let’s take a look at a few different vendors that you may hire for a wedding day and talk about why you may want to be honest about why you’re hiring them.
Read MoreYour Wedding Day: What to Expect From Your Photographer
Every photographer does things differently, but for the most part, we all adhere to these things to some degree. Most photographers work on a timeline, take snack breaks, care for their clients well, and dress for the job. None of these things are unreasonable to expect from your photographer, however, I have read horror stories and witnessed some professionals straying from them. For the best experience on your big day, this is what I believe you should expect from and for your photographers.
Read More5 Common Pitfalls To Avoid When Hiring A Wedding Photographer
Planning a wedding can be a stressful whirlwind. In the chaos of finding and booking venues, choosing color schemes and tasting food, it can be easy to make quick decisions and miss some details. Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life. It’s understandable that you want everything to go just perfectly. Unfortunately, things seldom go perfectly according to plan, but you can minimize major hiccups by avoiding these pitfalls when hiring your wedding photographer. I can’t save you from disaster with other vendors, but I can offer up my advice as a wedding professional.
Read MoreThe Value of Personal Projects
You know those nights when you go to bed and you almost dread going to work, and then you get to work the next day and you don’t want to do anything? You sit in your workspace exhausted. You’re annoyed that you’re even there and you’re unhappy with everything you’re doing. On every front, you feel beat down and stuck. For weeks on end, going through the motions has been the name of the game.
Read MoreCairn vol. 18 // Feeling Like a Fake
I’ve been a business owner for 3 years. I’ve been a designer on a professional level for 5. I’ve been a photographer for 11 years and doing it professionally for 7. I started my life as a creative in 2006, thirteen years ago. And you know what? I still sometimes feel like I’m not enough. I still feel like a fake and a fraud. This month, all of these feelings came to a head and I was forced to confront them. One of these moments came in the form of a creative breakdown where I realized that I hated what I was shooting, erased the card and went and cried my eyes out in the bathroom till I felt sick.
Read MoreThe Role of The Second Shooter
Wedding photography is hard work. We’re on our feet all day, sustaining ourselves on a nibble of trail mix here and a sip of water there, all while being the vendor closest to all the action. Many times we are responsible for keeping the timeline on track, and getting people where they need to be. This is one reason why we hire a second shooter: that’s a lot of work for one person.
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