While it's always awesome to see some of our favourite clients at each of our blitzes, it is also nice to meet some new faces. Shereka and her crew found us through a referral and we couldn't have been happier spending some time with them.
A lot of laughs were had as we toured the Le Marchand Manor capturing this family in a moment in time. Hope to see you all again soon!
Dave and I have been working together as a photography partnership for almost 7 years now. It has been a very rewarding venture. We both had our own photography companies prior to joining up (you can learn about our origin story here) but working together has been far more enjoyable and rewarding than working alone.
The only time we ever see photo partnerships is with married couples, never just two regular individuals. With this in mind, we thought we’d share some thoughts for those photographers out there who might be just starting out, or even for those who have been working at it a while and might benefit from what a partnership can do for you.
Sure, you are creative on your own. No one thinks otherwise. But imagine having another mind in the room that can come up with another angle, another pose, another concept right there on the spot. Someone who shares your artistic view in general but has a different way of looking at things as well. Someone who has an equal vested interest in what you are shooting. Well, that’s Dave and I.
When we work on a shoot together, there is no ego involved for either of us. We never take the approach of “I’m the main shooter, and you’re just the assistant”. If one suggests a different approach, we try it. The person holding the camera at the time may not see a subtle change that’s required to make the shot even better. While holding a light one of us typically spies a location or angle that seems worth a try. Many times instead of explaining our viewpoint, we’ll just grab the camera and do it ourselves. It’s very comforting knowing that the guy grabbing the camera from you is your equal, not just a photography student or something. I trust Dave - Dave trusts me. Simple as that.
This is a look at what Dave was photographing while I was standing on the log to the right, holding the light above them.
This is what I saw from my vantage point. Once Dave was done taking his photos, he tossed me the camera, he grabbed the light, and I took this.
Running your own photography business can be overwhelming at times. Answering emails from clients, booking photo shoots, managing your social media (Instagram, Twitter, your blog, Facebook), dealing with the finances, getting to shoots, and on and on and on.
One of the biggest advantages of having two equal partners is there are TWO of you! We have found that splitting up the day-to-day tasks makes it much easier to manage it all.
While we have assigned different business areas to one another, it doesn’t mean they are “the boss” of that area. Again, the advantage of two minds working together is that you always have an outside opinion close by that has your best interests at heart - because they are your equal partner. Having that second set of eyes literally looking out for you is huge!
One of the biggest perks of having a photo partner is being able to divide the photo editing duties. In the summer, at the height of wedding season, if I had to edit every single wedding by myself, that would be quite overwhelming. Dave and I have worked out a simple deal that works perfectly. We just alternate weddings. He does one, I do the next, he does the next one, I do the next.
For other shoots, we typically figure that out on a case-by-case basis. If I have a lot of editing on my plate, Dave might edit the next session, and vice-versa.
It is important to note that while we split the money from weddings 50/50, we’ve worked out a payment structure for other sessions that has worked perfectly. We divide the gross earnings by 3 and pay each photographer ⅓, and the remaining ⅓ goes to the one who edits the shoot.
For many photographers starting out, most of your clients are people that you already know. Friends, family, friends-of-friends, workmates etc. So you can certainly imagine the advantage of having double the network, right? Granted, Dave and I share many of the same network since we met while working at the same job, but I can tell you that we’ve each brought clients to the table that the other may not have been able to bring.
This also means our networking capabilities for getting new clients is doubled. We are both out there in the world meeting new people all the time. This can be as simple as posting a story on our Facebook page and each of us sharing to our own personal page as well. That works out to a lot of exposure!
For photographers who also work regular day jobs, scheduling for photo shoots can be a bit challenging. Dave and I both currently have day jobs as well, but having two of us means much more flexibility for our clients. There is seldom a time when one of the two of us can’t make a photo shoot. For sessions like engagement shoots or weddings where both of us need to be there, this advantage doesn’t exactly work, but for shoots like headshot sessions, or some types of events, it works out.
As previously mentioned, the fact that Dave and I are both professional photographers is a big advantage. This comes in very handy during our wedding shoots. Not only is it great to get images from many more angles during the ceremony, but when shooting the more formal photos of the couple and wedding party, it is fantastic to have two photographers there to capture the same setup from two viewpoints. It is nice to be able to provide a variety of different looks to our couples.
This wide angle shot is what I took of Krista & Brent using my 24-70 lens (shot at 24mm).
Dave was able to get this closer shot using a 70-200 lens (shot at 200mm). Two very different versions of the same setup. A photographer working by themselves would have to switch lenses in the middle of this setup to get these two versions.
Carrying gear is not the most fun thing to do in the world. But it is a necessary part of the job. As you can imagine, having another body there to carry things all the time is a nice perk.
Not only is it nice to have those extra shoulders, having an “assistant” on a shoot helps in other ways. If I was to do a shoot that requires lighting on my own, I would need to use a light stand. I would have to position it and reposition it every time I made a change to the setup. It also might blow over on a windy day so I would need to figure out a way to weigh it down (using sandbags can be a pain). But with another person there, the second person holds the light on a monopod and moves according to the needs of the shot. And since the other person is also a photographer (not just a lighting guy), they already have a good sense of where that light should be positioned. When we finish with one location, we just walk to the next spot. No need to pack everything up!
We just recently had a full day of shooting head shots for CBC. Started our session at 9:00am and finished at 3:30. It was great to have two of us. We alternated taking photos so neither of us got too tired. Having that other person to change flash batteries on the fly was nice as well.
Another great aspect of having two of us is that it makes it so much easier to test out our lighting for a shot before we get the subject in front of the camera. To be honest, 98% of my Facebook profile photos are test shots Dave has taken of me on various photo shoots. And vice versa.
With so many positive aspects of working as a photographic partnership, there must be a few things that would be considered negative, right? Sure. Kinda.
As stated earlier, we split the money fairly 50/50. That means half of what each of us could potentially be making on our own as a sole photographer. While this obviously wouldn’t be put into the pros section, it isn’t as much of a con as you’d think.
For all of the reasons mentioned in the pros section, our business is better as a combination of our talents, networks, and creativity. Yes, we’re losing half the profit, but we’re getting business from our combined quality that might not be there on a solo basis. Simply put: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Not often, but sometimes, we disagree. And that means that one of us will not get to do something “our way”. Again, this might seem like a definite downside to working with someone, but we don’t see it that way.
Dave and I are very lucky that, for the most part, we share the same vision for our business. So even if one of us doesn’t get to do things their way, it isn’t like it is miles away from what we wanted. And as pointed out, having a second set of eyes is a fantastic perk to have. I can admit that my way isn’t always the best way, and having that other opinion has clearly steered me in a better direction on many an occasion.
If you are going to go into a partnership with someone, there are a few things we recommend.
Find someone who shares the same (or similar) artistic style as you. This is the key to ensuring your images are consistent across the board, no matter which one of you does the editing. It also helps when out on photo shoots. I don’t think it would be ideal if each of you had a completely different vision for the shoot. A united front is a better approach.
Work with someone you respect. We’ve all heard the horror stories about friends who started working together only to end up practically hating each other. Dave and I started out as friends and our friendship is as strong as can be. We have always insisted on sharing our feelings with each other so nothing eats away at either of us.
Agree on a payment structure right from the start. What if one of you does a shoot entirely on your own? Does the other one get half of that? Spell it out from the start and there won’t be an issue.
Share information. Dave and I have shared Dropbox, Google Doc, and Google Spreadsheets, and especially important, a shared Google Calendar. This makes it easy to access our mutual business information and stay up to date on upcoming photo sessions.
There you have it. The pros and cons of working with someone in a photographic partnership. Joining forces with Dave was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I feel so lucky that I get to do this job with my best friend. I highly recommend this model to any photographers out there.
brad
Cassie was hoping for a snowy day for her wedding. As luck would have it for her, it snowed just enough for it to appear wintery without it being too cold out. It was still chilly, don't get me wrong, but it could have definitely been much worse!
As far as laid back weddings go, Cassie & Scott's pretty much takes the cake! They didn't have a Wedding Party, they were the only ones to give a speech at the reception, and other than a first dance, there weren't any of the typical garter toss, bouquet toss type events. But don't think that their wedding was not amazing, cause it was!
The couple shared a first look moment together in the alleyway next to Malt & Mortar on Whyte Ave, then headed in to the pub to spend some time with their immediate family. After a while the family left and Dave and I spent the remainder of the afternoon with just the two of them. It was great. They got to really experience the whole day together without any distractions.
After the formal photos we headed to the Old Timers Cabin for the ceremony and reception. The ceremony was beautiful, the dinner was fantastic, the dessert was even better. All around a great day for two great people.
We wish Cassie & Scott many years of happiness together, and thank them for letting us spend their day with them.
- brad
Since the first time we worked with Brandon and Shelby for their engagement session, and then through to their wedding, we have always looked forward to the next opportunity to work with these two.
Fast forward a few years, and two have become three. We were so happy to meet their little man. He was a trooper. Just so adorable. Can't wait to work with this family for years to come.
We realize that many couples get engaged over the Christmas and New Year's season. Over the years that we've been shooting weddings we've come up with some things that we would consider best practices so we thought we share some of these tips with those newly engaged couples now.
These are things that help couples get the best photos on their wedding day. There are things we recommend that help the couple enjoy the day more. We seem to constantly get positive feedback about how smooth their day went and how much they actually enjoyed the photos part of the day.
When we meet with our clients, we pass this information along to them of course. But we thought it might be nice to share these tips with everyone! So if you know someone who is getting married in the near future, share these videos with them. We're pretty sure they will find at least a few helpful things that they might not have considered.
Each video is around 3 minutes long so it won't eat up your whole day. We hope you enjoy them.
- dave & brad
What a great day this was!
After the great time we had with Cassie and Drew at their engagement session, we were pumped to get shooting their big day. The day started off at with a First Look at their house, then we headed to Iconoclast Coffee (a favourite hangout of these two), took some photos on the edge of the new Brewery District, before finally heading off to the Old Timers Cabin for the ceremony and reception.
Thank you Cassie and Drew for letting us capture your wedding. Here's to many awesome years ahead!
Working with Theatre groups is something we absolutely love doing. Check out our latest entry in the YEG Photography Webcast where we talk all about what goes in to building really cool promotional matertial.
Their new show, Bust 'Em Up Burlesque is opening tonight at the Citadel Theatre. We were so happy to be working with them to build promotional images for the fourth time.
For this shoot, we broke away from tradition where we shoot against a black wall, and went out into the real world. We first went to a house with an awesome claw bathtub, then headed over to the Mercer Tavern for the remainder of the session.
The Mercer was such a great fit because it has an actual large safe built right into the wall which fit perfectly with the 1920s bank robber setting of the show.
We will be there tonight for their opening. Can't wait to see it. You should see it too.
WORLD PREMIER
Bust ‘Em Up Burlesque
As Part of the Citadel's Made In Edmonton Cabaret Series
March 16-19, 2016
Citadel Theatre
RUNNING MARCH 16 TO 19, 2016 IN THE CLUB
8:00 PM
RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 18+
A day of lines and paper,
Better late than never...
Back in September Dave and I met up with this family to do their annual portraits. This was the first year we were asked to take their photos and we had not met them prior to the morning of the shoot so it was a bit exciting trying to think about where we would shoot and what we could do.
Upon meeting the family we knew we were going to be in for a good shoot. They were so laid back about where we went and what we did – and their son is such a cute kid! So stylish too!
We went on stairs, in alleys, sat on old chairs, posed in front of graffiti, you name it! They had no problem with it. We think the photos turned out great because of how willing they were to go wherever we asked them to.
Have a look at some of the shots from the day.
- brad
It's that time of year again! The snow has fallen, there is a jingle in the malls as you rush to get your shopping done, and back warming children's hearts for another year is the Snow Globe Festival of Children's Theatre, running December 18-22 at the C-103 (formerly the Catalyst theatre).
Promise Productions' annual gift to the city of Edmonton is back for it's second year. I had the privilege once again to handle all the graphic design and photography for this theatre festival.
If you have young ones, or are young at heart, you will not be disappointed with the awesome line up this year.
The festival is featuring:
Babes in Toyland by Rebecca Ryland
Robin Hoodby Kathryn Schultz Miller
and
Birdie on the Wrong Bus by the festival's own Ellen Chorley
Tickets are on sale now at Tix on the Square and more information can be found on their website:
www.promiseproductionstheatre.com or on their Facebook page.
Here are some of the shots I did for the festival.
Enjoy and hope to see you there.
- dave
What a day we had with Jamie & Nicole back in September! I've known these two for several years and was so thrilled to be photographing their wedding.
Dave and I were lucky enough to have the help of Emily - she was a bridesmaid from the Juniper & Adam wedding that we also shot in September. She is an aspiring phtographer with a keen eye and is great to be around. She was such a great help for this shoot.
The day started with the fellas heading to get shaves and haircuts at The Men's Room in Mayfield Common - that was awesome! What a great way to start the day (Dave even got a haircut while he was there!).
We all then made our way to Sherwood Park for the ceremony then it was off to the Muttart grounds for formal photos.
From there we headed back to Sherwood Park for the reception.
I have to say that I loved being so involved in Jamie & Nicole's big day - it was very special and I am so glad I was able to share it like I did.
Congrats Jamie & Nicole!
Here are some of the images we took on this great day. Enjoy!
- brad
What a way to cap off our 2012 wedding season!!
Ruth & Justin found us through a photographer on Facebook. Right from the moment we met them, we knew this was going to be a great wedding and a fun shoot. You may remember these two from our iron bridge engagement shoot we did with them earlier in the year. Their wedding day started at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald and the day just got more and more elegant from there.
We had such a great time in the Whyte Ave alleys, then moved on to the autumn leaves in the River Valley. These two were just naturals. The love they share just jumped into the lens.
The night capped off right back where we started with a slightly drizzling first dance amongst friends and family holding sparklers. It was a beautiful site indeed!
Thanks for having us along you guys. You are a very special couple!
Congrats!
- dave
Back on September 1st, Dave and I zipped off to Edson bright and early to photograph the wedding of Juniper & Adam. Up until that point we had only met Juniper – Adam could not make the trek to Edmonton to meet us to go over the details of their big day. Juniper’s cousin Jennine filled in for him nicely so it was all covered.
After a quick stop for breakfast as we got into Edson, we arrived at the salon where Juniper and her bridesmaids were getting ready. Dave was quickly whisked off to meet the guys so he could get shots of them getting ready.
The rest of the day was so much fun. I think our favourite part of the day was when we were getting the formal photos done after the ceremony and then it started to rain. We ducked into the chicken coop. Yup, a chicken coop! Instead of wasting time, Dave suggested we make use our location and we went into MacGyver mode and used the surroundings to the best of our ability. We ended up getting some of our favourite photos there (for sure some of our most fun photos!!).
Another stop on our day was at the Red Brick School. They are celebrating their 99th anniversary. It was a very interesting old building. We only had a very short time but we were very happy with the shots we got. That’s where the piano photos are from.
We ended up becoming friends with Juniper’s sister Emily (the Maid of Honour). She is an aspiring photographer and she later helped us on another wedding shoot. Dave and I love that we get to meet such great people doing what we do.
Please enjoy a sample of the images we captured from Juniper & Adam’s wedding day.
- Brad
It's one of those things. Being a photographer, I am constantly taking pictures of my family. However, looking back at the shots from the past year, it looks like at any given time there are groups of one, two or if we're lucky, three of us.
Since the birth of our son Elliott last year, we have yet to take a picture of all four of us together. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is where some of the advantages of a photography partnership kick in.
Brad graciously gave up an hour of his time on, up to that point, the coldest day of the fall and we headed for some downtown alleys, toddlers in tow.
Thank you, Uncle Brad for getting such fun shots of our group. We truly appreciate your time, effort and skill.
Check out what we got!
- dave
Taking a break from all the weddings we've been working on lately, we were thrilled when Robb Angus, formerly of The Wheat Pool, contacted us to do press shots for his new band, The Dungarees.
I love doing promotional shots. It is all about capturing the group in their element, doing their thing. We met the guys at their garage recording studio and didn't have to go farther than their back alley to find some cool locations.
Check out some of the cool stuff we got below and head over to the Promotions section of the site to see similar shots we've done.
- dave
When you spend only a few minutes outside this time of year, you get why people love having their photos taken in the fall. Joelle and Andrew just celebrated their son Henry's first birthday and it was about time to get some proper family photos.
What a cute little dude. This guy has no problem having his picture taken. He was hamming it up for the camera the entire time we were out. We basically went out to the same area where we had done Joelle's maternity photos, a little over a year ago.
Check out what we got from that beautiful autumn Sunday.
- dave
Here is a sneak peak of the beautiful fall wedding we shot last weekend.
Can't wait to share more!
Stay tuned.
- dave
Two weeks ago Dave and I were lucky enough to shoot the wedding of my good friends Jamie & Nicole.
I have known them for so long and was honoured that they asked us to shoot their wedding. I had such a great time!!
We were joined by an assistant for the first time. Emily (a bridesmaid from Juniper & Adam's wedding in fact) was such a great help to us and we look forward to working with her again.
For now, here are some teaser images from the day.
Enjoy!
- brad
We were hooked up with Danica and Ryan through our friend Chantal, whom we did a fun winter shoot with last year. We were asked to come take pictures at the engagement party for these two in Emily Murphy park.
What a fun night. We were fed awesome pulled pork sandwiches, met great people and even got a chance to steal the couple away to do a mini-engagement shoot.
Take a look at what we got from this beautiful September evening.
- dave
