5 Mistakes To Avoid

Wedding photography is all about capturing the pure magic of a couple's special day. However, even seasoned professionals can sometimes stumble. Below, we’ve detailed 5 common mistakes and practical tips to artfully avoid them.

1. Lack of Preparation

Merely walking into a wedding venue isn't enough. Spend an afternoon mapping out the best spots for key shots, like the grand staircase for the bridal entrance or a quiet garden nook for first looks. Collaborate with the couple weeks prior to build a shot list, including their unique requests, perhaps capturing grandma's famous dance moves or the groom's secret handshake with his brother.

2. Poor Communication

This isn’t just about listening; it's about engaging. Host a pre-wedding meeting to understand their story and what they value most. During the wedding, maintain a balance between invisibility and approachability, ensuring guests feel comfortable in front of the camera. Confirm key moments with the couple beforehand, like a surprise serenade, so you’re poised to capture it.

3. Overlooking Lighting Conditions

A midday sun can cast harsh shadows, just as a romantic evening setting might lack adequate light. Master low light with the right camera settings and learn the moods of different times — like the gentle golden hour for soft romance, and the enigmatic blue hour for the party’s electric pulse.

4. Neglecting Backup Plans

Have a 'Plan B' for every piece of gear and for the whims of nature. Carry extra batteries, memory cards, and a second camera. For outdoor events, a set of umbrellas and clear tarpaulins can be lifesavers. Also, create a network with fellow photographers who can step in if an emergency pulls you away.

5. Lack of Editing Skills

In editing, a photo’s soul is refined. Develop strong editing skills, like fine-tuning contrast, balancing colors, and adding that personal touch that makes each album a storytelling masterpiece. Plus, don’t forget to maintain a consistent style. This will allow you to create a remarkable wedding album that truly reflects the couple's special day.

Remember, thorough preparation, effective communication, understanding lighting, having backup plans, and honing your editing skills are all essential elements in capturing the essence and pure joy of a couple's wedding day.

Community over Competition

Community over competition is a buzz phrase we've all seen a hundred times, but do we fully understand the concept? It's a positive mindset to keep and one that can revolutionize how you view your creative community. When you see other photographers as real people instead of competing businesses, you'll want them to succeed too.

So, how do we go about practicing it? Today, we have five actionable steps so you can live out the motto. 

1. Compliment and encourage one another. A thoughtful comment on Instagram or an email to let someone know how much you admire their work could make their day and start a beautiful friendship! A kind word goes a long way. You never know what someone is going through and how much an uplifting message could mean to them.

2. Celebrate their wins. If you can't share the joy of someone else's successes, how can you expect others to share in yours? You'll walk a slippery slope if you feel others' victories rob you of your own. Someone else's success doesn't prevent or take away from yours. There is more than enough room for you and others to succeed.

3. Remember that sharing is caring. Share your knowledge or resources whenever you can, in generous amounts. Be an open book, and don't be afraid to share freely. Imagine yourself in their shoes and how helpful it would be if someone took the time to answer a question or to lend a hand.

4. Be genuinely kind. In-person, online, and at the job, always treat people with kindness. It's one thing to post about being nice to others and promoting community over competition, and another to actually live it. 

5. Stay humble. Give back as often as possible, and remember where you started. Inspire others with your journey and help others in theirs. Continually learn and acknowledge that you don't know everything. Befriend everyone from newbie photographers to those very renowned. Everyone was a beginner at some point.

Valuing a community mindset over profit will get you further in the end. When hard times come, it's the community of kindred spirits you fostered and invested in who will be by your side to help you through. True friends are a rich blessing in life and the industry.

How to Speed Up Your Workflow

We've all heard the joke about creatives leaving the 9-5 to work 24/7. Some days that seems more accurate than we may want to admit, so today, we gathered five pieces of advice to help you speed up your workflow!

1. Stay organized. Keep your gear in the same designated spot to ensure it's always ready to go and easy to locate. Immediately knowing where everything is will save you time when preparing for jobs and keep you mentally organized. Maintain a detailed inventory of your memory cards and film rolls to account for if anything goes missing.

Categorize and organize your hard drives and digital files as well. You'll be able to find particular jobs faster, and it will make it easier if you want to share images from your archives.

2. Automate. In your CRM program, create and automate a custom workflow, so you'll never miss a beat. You'll be able to stay on top of everything without spending more time. Questionnaires, emails, and payments will automatically send on your set schedule, so you never have to think about it. Your business will be running like a well-oiled machine which will speed up the backend process.

3. Email templates. Create your own or find ones to purchase, but having email templates will save you the time of wondering what to say. You'll be able to reply to inquiries in minutes when you have a template to copy and paste. Keep them conveniently accessible on your computer or input them into your CRM program, and your inbox will go down in no time. Don't forget to personalize your messages when relevant!

4. Don't overshoot. When you're more intentional behind the camera and purposeful when you click the shutter, you'll also save time when culling. Imagine how nice it would be to have way fewer images to cull through from the start!

5. Outsource. You can outsource just about every aspect of your business that may be time-consuming or doesn't come easily to you. When you outsource, you're enabling yourself to spend more time on different areas and broadening your workload capacity.

At the Ginger Lab, we recognize that time is precious and that there are dozens of other things you'd rather be doing than sitting at your computer. That’s why The Ginger Lab was born – as an affordable and accessible resource to help photographers free their time for their favorite things.

We hope you take advantage of all the resources available to speed up your workflow and help your business run effortlessly!