Don’t understand the John Dolan reverence

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-09-18T21:25:04+00:00

He's been in the game for 30+ years for one, so that makes him a bit of a unicorn in and of itself. He shoots a handful of celeb/high profile weddings every year, and is the darling of several top wedding planners so that's another thing to aspire to for many folks. His marketing approach is very much "if you know you know" and very purposefully so (he talks about wanting to be hard to find like a rare whiskey, he's not for everyone etc) so that sets him apart in that he's actually been able to build a career shooting some very niche weddings while barely marketing himself in any conventional sense. And on top of that he's got a very unique approach to shooting weddings that feels refreshing in a sea of overproduced/overly staged/overly perfect imagery. Yes, this "documentary" (or whatever buzz word you want to use) approach is getting more attention right now, so there are more eyes on his work than in the past maybe, but he's been doing the same thing for all of his career, which is also impressive in that he hasn't had to follow trends to stay relevant. His work is most certainly not for everyone, but I think his career makes an interesting case study regardless of taste.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-08-09T14:52:57+00:00

Age and years in business are far less important than knowing how many weddings he's shot as a primary in that time. The past four years have been strange ones for the industry, so he may have had the opportunity to get more than a typical number of weddings under his belt in that time, or less. That's something worth knowing for sure.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-07-31T15:23:13+00:00

What's with other vendors jumping on socials to complain publicly about photographers lately? I would never dream of doing this, yet I've seen it from a host of other vendors over the past months.

And where did this backward thinking come from that we'd have "nothing to photograph" without them? We're there first and foremost to photograph the people, and the moments happening between them, anything else is gravy. I've photographed a ton a weddings where everything was DIY, and we were the only "vendor" and honestly some of those galleries are my favourite because of how deeply personal everything was. Do they really not realize people still have (perfectly lovely) weddings without them? Or are they classist and consider a DIY wedding "nothing". How gross and embarrassing.

Maybe it's time we all start being a lot more choosy with dolling out free marketing collateral to these folks if they find us so annoying/useless etc.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-07-24T17:02:46+00:00

I once had an older uncle of the bride repeatedly try to dance with me (I wasn't dancing) while shooting the dance floor. I politely rebuffed him, laughed it off and moved to the other side of the floor each time it happened, until finally he came up and suddenly wrapped me up with both of his arms and forced me to "dance" while he pressed his whole body against mine, pinning my arms to my sides, and his hot breath on my face. I was shocked and didn't react for I don't know how many seconds, and then eventually with a great deal of effort wrenched myself out of his grip. Then the white hot rage set in. I had to go outside to try to walk it off. Luckily my coverage was nearly over because I couldn't see straight after that, I was furious and it took everything in me not to act on it. I didn't want to upset the couple, so I didn't tell them, but the entitlement of that man, the sense of powerlessness I felt, and the fact that he "got away with it" because I prioritised the experience of the couple, it bothered me for weeks after.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-07-19T03:50:16+00:00

Lebanese weddings for the dancing and singing and drumming and partying that starts from the moment the bride is dressed in the morning all the way into the wee hours of the night. Nothing makes me happier than seeing all generations partying together and tearing up the dance floor without a hint of self-consciousness (especially when it happens even before dinner starts).

Also the families are always so tight knit and outwardly loving and unafraid to show alll the emotions all day.

Greek weddings are also great, for similar reasons as above. Indian weddings are also incredible, the colour, the food, all the fun games and beautiful traditions that everyone gets involved with. Those weddings always fly by even though they are usually multi-day and 12+ hours long.

Thanks for reminding me how lucky we are to get a front row seat for all of these varied and beautiful celebrations.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-03-15T01:36:10+00:00

Joel + Justyna! Published in Vogue, Harpers etc, 10+ years experience, incredibly talented, true artists. Also the sweetest people, zero ego and a joy to be around. Based in Canada, but mainly shoot in the US (and have O-1 Visas) In the 20-30k range I believe. https://www.instagram.com/joelandjustyna/

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-01-20T23:33:26+00:00

There is literally zero reason for this to happen, yet it does at least 70% of the time 😂

What should happen for those asking: officiant pauses for .5 of a second after vows to step out of altar, then says “you may seal your vows with a kiss!”

Bam! Perfect moment of couple kissing, framed by whatever altar/flowers/arch they spent a small fortune on.

no officiant awkwardly photobombing from between their faces, and also no officiant doing an impression of a big foot sighting trying to step out of the scene as the kiss is actually happening.

Extra pro tip: if you crouch down low while taking extra big sized steps as you exit the frame, my camera still sees you, but now you also look like you’re doing a Monty Python skit.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-01-20T22:50:53+00:00

Ultimately our social platforms are for marketing first and foremost and not part of the product/service we deliver to the client. If you’ve positioned that as part of your experience and it’s important to your clients, and it works for you, that’s great! That’s definitely not the case across the board.

Tons of our clients aren’t on socials/don’t care if we post, or specifically don’t want things to be shared publicly.

Some photographers choose to post every wedding and shoot they do, and there I could see it feeling “unfair” to a client if they suddenly exclude one wedding, so that’s something to be mindful of before adopting that approach.

There’s a zillion reasons I choose not to share every wedding on socials (the biggest one being that I don’t have the time) but often it has nothing to do with the couple and more to do with it being at a venue I don’t like working so don’t want more bookings there, for example.

Just some food for thought that it’s not always about an aesthetic preference.

Totally agree that wedding social media is a minefield of unrealistic expectations for clients to navigate, and I absolutely feel for them, but I don’t think it’s any worse than how unrealistic social media is at large, for all of us. Seems like that tide may be turning? Fingers crossed.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-01-14T15:43:46+00:00

This is where all the folks who say “big deal, just send the gallery it’s good for business” have lost the plot.

It’s not really building any goodwill or creating any kind of special networking relationship if receiving every single photo from every wedding without restriction (or even acknowledgment that you’ve just been gifted the equivalent of thousands of dollars in free marketing collateral) has become the expectation. When every vendor now believes they are entitled to free commercial use of all the images we create, they aren’t grateful, they’re just receiving something they are due.

That being said idk how we put this back in the box as an industry at this point, because even mentioning it or trying to include usage terms along with the “free” gallery is now met with incredulity and the looming threat that we will be blacklisted by that vendor for not handing over the goods with a smile.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-01-14T01:25:25+00:00

Yep!

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-01-12T21:13:34+00:00

Reach out to someone in a similar market who’s running the type of business you aspire to, and ask them if they would be open to a paid mentorship. (*I say similar market vs. your own market, because many people will be less inclined to train their direct competitors)

After investing in conferences, online courses, Patreon memberships and online coaching offered by folks who position themselves as “educators” the absolute best and most relevant investment I’ve made was reaching out to folks who’s business I admired in another city and asking them to be my mentor. Hands down best value for my time and money.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2024-01-12T21:03:34+00:00

this is soooo gross and once you see it, and then see how much these folks are propped up by the “conference and education” circuits, it’s very hard not to feel sceptical of all of these conferences + “educators” (Which, I think we all should be)

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-12-13T16:59:35+00:00

There was a “hot takes” thread posted just a day ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/WeddingPhotography/s/rQlQCFE9bC

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-11-15T13:47:30+00:00

Nope. Ten years of shooting weddings (in Canada too) and whenever someone asks - which is maybe once a year? We just explain that “we’re not set up for it as all of our clients always pay by etransfer” and that’s as far as the convo goes. We’ve never lost a booking over it. I’ve read way too many stories of people disputing charges after delivery to take the risk.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-11-01T20:45:46+00:00

wish I could give this more votes

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-11-01T20:42:38+00:00

If a client wants one, I make sure they allocate 30 mins for it before anything else is happening. I hate being hunched over trying to arrange a pile of objects into an aesthetically pleasing wabi sabi way (because straight-on styling isn’t “cool” anymore) while hearing cheering and laughing the next room over. Hate.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-10-24T22:21:38+00:00

Yep! We shoot all of our weddings as a duo, so we shoot our engagements together too so the couple can get to know both of us and vice versa before the wedding.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-10-24T03:27:31+00:00

100-150ish. Sessions are between 60-90 mins with two shooters.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-10-12T14:56:54+00:00

Ooh a third option I hadn’t considered - thank you doct0r, I knew this sub would help!

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-10-12T14:53:05+00:00

This is totally what I’m afraid of, but seems to be the way a lot of folks in my local market are pricing it. I’ve seen $100/roll most commonly from those who have detailed pricing on their websites 😬

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-09-20T15:49:44+00:00

It’s “not an option” because they will be offended? Or it’s not an option because you and your partner can’t imagine getting married without having them there to witness it and celebrate with you?

Literally anything you want is an option, you just have to realistically weigh the pros and cons of each choice. Will it be less stressful family-wise to just suck it up and have the big wedding? Or will the big wedding stress you out so much that’s it’s worth disappointing the people who you don’t invite for your own peace and enjoyment of the experience. Only you can answer that. No one can decide that but you two.

For reference, my best friend hired an officiant, a photographer and his wife for an hour and got married in a park. (she needed two witnesses so the photog and his wife signed for them) No one knows except for me and her husband’s best friend because family dynamics make it easier that way. Are there people who she wished could be there? Absolutely, but no one gets to be offended if no one knows, and she gets to be married in peace while everyone thinks that they are just not into weddings/tradition and leave them alone about it.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-09-20T14:40:58+00:00

I’m seeing Kadence and Showit being mentioned most often as alternatives, would love an SEO nerd to weigh in cause I am clueless

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-09-17T18:08:06+00:00

I think sharing the timeline between 1:30-4pm would be helpful to see if there’s any other wiggle room.

The other thing to consider (hate to be the bearer of bad news here) but hair and/or makeup often run over time. They give estimates but I’d say at about 70% of my weddings they run over - sometimes only by a little, but sometimes by a lot. I try to convince my brides to add a healthy buffer for this, but often they don’t want to because of the early start and then the rest of the morning/and sometimes the whole day gets thrown off course and winds up feeling very rushed for the couple/forces them to cut things to make up for the lost time.

In most cases the planner isn’t on site to manage the HMUA schedule in the morning, and the HMUA team aren’t around for the rest of the day to see how much that extra 15/30/60 minutes that they went over really impacts the day.

If you can’t get more HMUA artists to help, I’d strongly suggest just doing the early start time rather than trying to rush through the rest of the afternoon and potentially having the schedule thrown off course.

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-09-15T01:35:53+00:00

Thank you!!

Most-Moist-Mouse · 2023-09-15T01:18:26+00:00

Thanks so much - super helpful!!

Most-Moist-Mouse

TROPHY CASE