We thought we'd kick off your TGIF with a lil' pancake session on album design. Some of the questions that we get asked most really come back to album workflow: which companies do we use? Do we hire an album design company or design in-house? Do either Justin or I do the designs? Do we do a first mock up or have our clients pick the images first? Do we try to up sell? Well, here are our answers for what works for us... but I'm sure there are a million other combinations out there that are just as successful. You just have to pick the one that makes the most sense for you!
First of all, neither Justin or myself do any of the album designs. To be honest with you, I couldn't even tell you how to open Photo Junction if my life depended on it. The reason for that, is that of all the tasks it takes to run our business on a daily basis (and there are TONS!), Justin & I try to keep only the few that we really want to be experts in. And then we hand everything else off to other experts that we trust. Even though we don't do the designs ourselves, we do manage to keep our album design in house because as it turns out Julia is the guru of all things book. And she can rock an album design like nobody's business.
What's also great about that, is that having it in house helps us define a consistent style for all of our couples. And because Julia already has very similar tastes to us, her designs are always spot on. As a company, we like to keep things clean, simple and design something that will stand the test of time. Something that lets the pictures and the story do the talking.
As far as workflow, if a couple has already included an album in their package then as soon as their blog post is up, Julia will get right to work on a first mock up. At that point, I send a little note to our clients saying I'm tagging out and Julia sends one saying she's tagging in. We like to start with a first mock up of images that we pick (the blog favorites) so that we get can get a story going. But once we have that in place, Julia will work with our clients to swap any images or tweak any spreads that they want. So after Julia finishes the first mock up, I'll give it a quick look over to make sure we're on the same page (but like I said, it's always 99.9% of the way there already) and then she'll send that out to our clients in slideshow form (AlbumExposure is a great one to try!) From there on, Julia will go back & forth with our couple until they absolutely LOVE their book. Anything less than that and we're not happy. Once we get the final approval, Justin, Julia & I will give it one last look with a fine tooth comb and then Julia will place the order. Once the album comes back in (6-8 weeks later), we inspect it, let it set for a few days to acclimate to the New England weather, and then package it up and ship it out with a note basically saying it has our stamp of approval. We'll be doing a follow up post on how we package everything, so stay tuned for that! :)
One thing that we don't do with our albums is try to up sell. We wanted to keep things very simple and straightforward with our clients so they knew exactly what they were getting. So we threw out the super confusing matrix of prices based on number of pages and images that we didn't even understand let alone our clients, and came up with one flat price for each album company that we offer. That way, our couples know that with that price, they can get any size, shape, number of pages and images up to that album company's limits, and they won't be hit with any surprise charges. That was really important to us because of the kind of relationship we have with our clients, who really become friends. I know there are a lot of other studios out there who have been very successful with the up sell and it can be a great way to do the albums. But it just didn't fit with us or our personalities, so that's why we do it the way that we do. But again, it's something you'll have to look at and then pick the one that makes the most sense for you & your business!
And finally, for album companies, we offer several different books that provide very different looks because I don't think every wedding fits in one particular style of book. So we currently offer Willowbook, CoutureBook, Queensberry, and we've just added Leather Craftsmen to the line up. We got our first book in from them a few days ago, and to say that we were blown away would be the understatement of the millenium. It is gorgeous! GAWH-geous! We all sat around for a good 20 minutes just drooling over the leathery goodness.
One of the things that had us most excited to sign up with Leather Craftsmen was the option to imprint your logo on the inside cover like a little stamp of approval. HUGE thanks to Jasmine for blogging about it and letting us and the world know about this awesomeness! It is the bomb.
I really believe that a book is the best way that the story of someone's wedding is told. Discs and slideshows are fine, but it's going to be that book that families are looking through for generations to come to remember that day. And we try to never forget that it's an honor that we're the ones who get to create that for them. I hope this has helped in some small way!
Happy Friday and be sure to check back in at 5pm to see who the winner of our Design Dilemma is!! There's still time to get in your vote!
M:)
After a double header this weekend (the first in NY, the second down in Philly), we took yesterday off to rest, recharge and regroup. And now we're back and ready to lay the gauntlet down on blogging! :) We have a bevy of posts coming at you this week on everything from engagement shoots to weddings to some house before & afters. And the only way we're going to get it all done is to do a couple posts a day, blog marathon style. So be sure to check in and check back often!
To kick it all off, we have a little short stack pancake session we wanted to do for you guys on the "info sheets" we give all of our couples leading up to the weddings. In just these few pages, we get all the answers we'll need to coordinate the family pictures in the shortest amount of time, help our couples lay out a realistic timeline of the day, and get all the contacts we need so we can be sure to hook our vendors up afterwards. But perhaps the most important question of all for us is on the last page where we ask about the details. Now we're pretty familiar with all the usual details at this point: shoes, dress, bouquet, jewelry. But we try never to take it for granted that a bracelet is just a bracelet. So....we ask. We ask our couples in person when we see them, but we also ask on the info sheet so we're sure not to forget. And you'll be amazed at what you'll find out if you'll just ask.
For example by just asking, we found out that the bottle of perfume our past bride, Miryha, was bringing with her on the wedding day had actually belonged to her grandmother who had made it all the way through the War with it. The grandmother had since passed away, and Miryha intended to wear it in memory of her. But about a month before the wedding that bottle had dropped and broken into several pieces and all the perfume had spilled out. So, heartbroken, Miryha was bringing the broken chards in a zip lock bag so that hopefully there would be enough of the scent left to wear it on her wedding day. Now because the bottle was all broken and wrapped in a plastic bag, it wasn't put out with all the rest of the details for us to shoot. But because of the info sheet, we knew about it. So we asked.
And we ended up getting one of our favorite shots that we've ever taken.
So we want to help you guys ask too! :) We've put up our info sheet in pdf form online and you are all welcome to print it off, save it, change it and use it as you will. We hope that it helps!
For the flip side of our pancake, we also wanted to let you guys know about an AMAZING workshop that is coming to CT that we will be hosting right here at Casa Marantz. Our friend Jared Bauman is bringing his "Business Made Simple" Workshop to New England *this* Thursday, May 20th. Jared will be speaking at our PUG the night before, where you can get a preview to all of this awesome content as well as $100 off the workshop. All are welcome!!
From Jared:
Are you a photographer who’s stuck not making money? Are you buried in the war zone of work, and not able to get out from under it? This is for you ….
The “Business Made Simple” Workshop is designed to revolutionize your photography business. This one-day workshop is packed with information specifically tailored to simplifying your business process and educating the photographer on how to have a successful business, covering:
- Automation and Efficiency: A step-by-step look at what and how to automate your business for success
- SEO – a top-down approach to understanding search engine optimization and social media
- Thinking like an Owner: A healthy examination of how to treat your business like you are the owner, freeing your time to grow and sustain it
- Packages and Pricing: A look at how to create tailored packages that will upsell themselves and maximize your profit
- Associates: Everyone wants them, but no one has them. Learn the “how-to’s” that make associates a successful branch of your business
- Six Figure Drill: See what it will take to make six figures this year …. And how it really isn’t that hard if you know what you’re shooting for
Beyond the topics, though, we will have the opportunity for open and honest discussions on the perks and pitfalls of advancing your business forward. In the end, every photographer struggles with many of the same questions, and we’re all in it together. Come invest in your business, to learn from someone who has once sat in your seat that will help advance you to the next level of you. This could be the most important day for your business – don’t miss out on it!
We've talked to a TON of people about what they need the most help with, and time after time they say it's the business side of things. But when it comes right down to it, no one likes to think about this stuff so we shy away from the exact information we know we need most. If that sounds like you, I encourage you to follow through this time. Justin & I know Jared, and trust me when I say he is an awesome person and an amazing businessman. Do this for business...you will not regret it.
And tune back in later today for some Brooklyn Bridge engagement shoot fun!
Ok, as promised, here's a short little pancake sessions (a short stack...get it? :) on that crazy off-camera lighting we were using to get some of those shots like these two:
Contrary to what you might have imagined, it wasn't some crazy-technical flash set up complete with a key grip and a boom boy or whatever you call them. Ok, so I'm probably the only one who imagined that, but how cool would it be to have your own key grip for real life? I like it. I'm gonna have to work on that.
Nope, it was REALLY off-camera! Our crazy off- camera light was actually provided by this:
The pendant lighting at Starbucks! I told you I loved that place!
I think some of the coolest lighting out there is what we call "found light." Think street lamps, Christmas lights, marquees. Well there just so happened to be a Starbucks in the lobby of the hotel and they were closing up, but they left the lights on a little longer just for us. No other flash set up was used. Justin placed the subjects (our awesome clients Sonia & Pankit and their family) in front of that column you see there because it did cool things with the light gradient left to right and it made for a nice background. Then he had everyone stand so the light was directional (coming in from the left and slightly to the front) and exposed for the highlights using spot metering. That's it. Took about 5 minutes and they turned in to some of our favorite shots from the day.
So....spread the love. What are some of YOUR favorite found lighting sources/stories?
We sat in the suite together and took turns shrugging our shoulders.
We looked through the menu for the seventeenth time, carefully scanning the chicken au jus and the butternut tortellini, but always coming back to page two. Three lines from the top on page two to be precise. To the white chocolate dolce french toast. Sure it was 10:00 o'clock at night and the chicken or tortellini would have been the more sensible dinner option. But this was Vegas, baby. And by then sensible had floated out of our 25th floor window and down to the strip below. Where it would likely take in a Cirque du Soleil show. Ka, I believe.
Besides that, Justin wasn't there to tell us we weren't being sensible. We had divided and conquered earlier that day, and he was still out to a fabulous dinner with an amazing group of people from Pictage. Meanwhile, all Julia & I had eaten that day was one of her gluten free, almond butter all organic protein bars split between us. I ask you.....have you any idea how appetizing a gluten free, almond butter all organic protein bar is? Trust me, it's not as tasty as it sounds. So....we were starving. Ravenous to be precise. And we did what any red-blooded twenty-something girls on the loose in Vegas would do. We ordered white chocolate dolce french toast from room service.
And we asked for extra syrup.
In honor of Vegas and white chocolate and throwing caution to the wind....I present to you the WPPI edition of Pancake Sessions!! These are the most common questions we got asked while at WPPI. Since these were mostly asked in person, I have paraphrased where need be. So there.
*** this is NOT our picture. Special thanks to myrecipe.com where we found it!
"How important is it to hire someone to help you out with your branding? Is that something I should do right away?"
Justin & I are not graphic designers. We're just not. And even if we were, I can guarantee you that there are people out there a lot better at it than we would be. I have always been a huge fan of figuring out what it is that you are best at in this world, and doing those few things. And doing them well. And then finding other people who are much better than you in ALL those other things, and allowing them in to your world to do their job. Which of course, is to make you look better. To make our house prettier, to make our site cooler, to make our taxes more legit. We definitely had a pretty clear vision for what we wanted in our brand & blogsite, but Brock & Dave at Infinet took that and made it happen in a way that we never would have been able to do on our own. And they rocked our cotton socks off.
That being said, I think the vision had to be there in the first place. We had to know who we wanted to be, in order for them to be able to translate that into a site. Which brings me to the second question. I actually don't think most people should hire a designer right off the bat when they are first starting their business. Because if you are anything like we were, you don't have a clue yet as to who you really want to be. Who you really are. And while a good graphic designer is amazing, they are not miracle workers. And they can't pull something out of you that's not there yet. The first year and a half of our business we just had our free blogger blog. And looking back that thing was UHHHHH-gly! But... it was free. And it gave us the time to really figure out what we wanted our brand, our lovemark, to be. So that by the time we were ready to invest a good chunk of money into that brand, we didn't end up hating it a year later and having to start all over. So if you're just getting started, my advice is do a freebie site for six months or a year while you figure out who you really are. Or do something like a Showit Sites that can grow and change with you. And use that time to figure out the things you love. The colors and designs that speak to you. The things that really feel like you. The things that make you different. And then when you're ready, you can take that and really run with it!
" I love all the packaging that you guys do. Where do you get all the bags, boxes, etc?"
Ah, we are full on obsessed with packaging! I think it's a huge part of what it is to be a Lovemark and to create that experience for your clients. We get most of our stuff from Bags & Bows. The boutique bags, shipping boxes and tissue paper all come from there and they have awesome customer service. We got the embosser from Acorn and the smaller brown boxes with our logo embossed on them are from DNL Photo. And the teal info box is from the Martha Stewart line at Michaels.
"What kinds of albums do you guys use? How does that fit into having a Lovemark?"
Everything that we put out there as an extension of ourselves and our company is an extension of our Lovemark. And that includes albums. We offer three different types of albums, but we chose all of them based on the questions we asked ourselves: does this look like the kind of book we would be willing to put out on our coffee table. Does it feel like us? Is it something we would be proud to show off at a dinner party? If the answer was yes, then that book became part of our line. The three types of books that offer are Leather Craftsmen, CoutureBook and Queensberry. They are very different albums intended for very different styles of weddings, but they share the common thread that they are all something we would be proud to own ourselves.
" How much is too much when it comes to putting yourself out there on the site? I know I'm supposed to be personal, but there is such a thing as TMI!"
I totally agree! I think sometimes that line between being personal and sharing your lives with others can blur into wayyyyyyy too much information. I really like what our friends The Youngrens had to say on the matter, which is that there is such a thing as "reckless authenticity." I think a good rule of thumb is to just keep the drama off the internet. Don't hash out your latest fight with a spouse, family member, client or vendor on the world wide web for everyone to see, if you wouldn't be ok with that coming back to bite ya. That being said, I do always lead with my heart and try to choose "personable" over "professional" when faced with the decision. I would much rather people get to know the real me, vulnerable flawed and all, than to hide behind our company logo. Because that's when you get clients who really love you for you. That's when you get a real connection. And I think that, more than anything, that's what we're all looking to have more of in our photography and our businesses. A real connection.
"I know where I want to be, but it just doesn't feel like I'm getting there anytime fast. When do things start picking up? How will I know if I'm actually building momentum."
Ugh. I know that feeling alllllll too well. I'm an "are we there yet" kind of girl. A right here, right now kind of girl. A "who cares about the journey, just get me to the destination" kind of girl. I can see it right over there., so you tell me why am I not standing there, basking in the glory yet. Ugh. I know that feeling all too well. But when I start feeling like that (and believe me, it is often), I remind myself of one of my favorite Seth Godin quotes of all time: "It takes three years to become an overnight success." See the thing that gets all of the glory about a "freight train of momentum" is to see it barreling down the tracks. To point to it and say, "wow that thing is going places." But the truth of the matter, is that the real miracle of the freight train happened the first time those wheels ever turned over. And all the work, blood, sweat and tears that went into making that happen. And then going back to work, and trying to get them to turn over again. And again and again and again. And slowly but surely, somewhere along the line...starting to pick up some speed. See we love to celebrate the freight trains when they're already barreling down the tracks. We can point to them and say, "that's success." But a freight train barreling down the tracks is just playing out a chain of events that started years ago, the first time someone decided to actually throw fuel on the fire. And that my friends... is the miracle.
Here's to throwing caution to the wind, sending sensible out the window, and ordering up what you really want in this life!
So much love,
M:)
** If YOU have a pancake question, feel free to shoot us an email with it at justin@justinmarantz.com.
I sat down at my desk with a gingerbread latte and an ounce of determination. No, no... two ounces. This was long over due.
Sitting idle in my mail box was a folder called "to do-photog emails" and it had been neglected too long. Way too long. It had been over a month and it was now overflowing.
I took a deep breath and I went to work. Except the thing is..."work" was the last thing that it felt like.
As I read through the emails one by one, I couldn't help myself from smiling back at my screen. A big toothy, goofy, yea you can see all my fillings smile.
And I felt so lucky.
Lucky because it's not your questions that you are sharing with us. I get that. It's your lives. Your hearts. Your dreams. Your fears, your failures, your strengths, your victories.
And you're sharing them with us. Little old "who the heck are they" us. And I thank you for that.
I want you to understand that I know the courage it takes to write someone and ask for help. To put it all out there, bare bones and all. To be vulnerable. To say you're on the brink. To risk looking stupid or reveal yourself as not having it all together. I know all to well because I've been there. I've asked for help. I've felt stupid. And I've had people make me feel so small.
But more often than that, I've had people reach out a hand and help me. And that's really what it's all about. So I just want you to know that I love each and every one of you. And I know that it's an honor for us to be the ones that you write to. So I never want to get too busy to be able to write back to you or to start taking what you're sharing for granted. Because it counts. With us, it always counts. We love you guys!!
And as always....thank you for sharing life with us.
Now on to the Pancake Session!! For those of you who are new to the blog, you can check out how the Pancake Sessions got started HERE, and you can also go under categories to pull up all the past Pancake Sessions.
KATE CARMACK: Wow, guys. Your photos are just breathtaking...every time. I look at your blog ALL the time...I don't know how you have the time to consistently crank out incredible imagery day after day. I am an aspiring photographer just out of college...and I'm not kissing ass when I say this--I aspire to be YOU. To be so successful doing something that you are passionate about...and to have such a strong partnership built on that passion...is truly one-of-a-kind. Thank you for all your inspiration. When are you coming to DC or Richmond? And can I still get a ticket? Also, just out of curiosity...what camera(s) and lenses do you use to shoot your weddings? I am about to buy my first REAL ($$$) professional camera and would love to know what equipment is responsible for that AMAZING sharpness and quality!!
Hey Kate!! Ooooh GREAT question!! We actually have a very exciting week planned around here as far as Spread the Love in concerned! I will tell you this: you're going to want to tune in tomorrow with your calendar ready! For our gear, we are 100% Nikon shooters (I got a Nikon camera....love to take a photograph!). Right now we're shooting with dueling D700's and a D2Xs as our back up. I think we'll probably upgrade again in the Spring to the D3s. For lenses we mainly use the 50 1.4 (my personal fave and it is tack sharp!), Justin's favorite the 85 1.4, the 70-200 2.8, and a Carl Zeiss 25mm 2.8. You can read more about our lenses in this Pancake Session HERE.
KATELYN JAMES Can I just tell you that you guys are officially on my favorite "gotta check daily" list!! You're right up with with j* and Jessica Claire :) I love your style and your spunk! It's so refreshing!! So I am a full time college student. I started InspiredDesigns one year ago and have had 23 weddings since then! I honestly don't know how it happened! It's like I had this blurry idea of a dream and step by step it has become clearer and clearer. I want to do this after I graduate in May! However, I'm still doing about 2 weddings a month while I am still in school full time and to top it off, I got engaged as of a month ago!!
:) Needless to say, I'm overwhelmed and I'm trying to keep doing what I love and delegating out other work. I want to try outsourcing and I would REALLY love to know if you guys outsource your weddings. If so, who do you use and do your tweek portraits afterwards? I don't know if this is a smart move but i really just need a way to cut my editing time! Thanks so so much for your time! You guys are an amazing team!
Hey Katelyn! First off, CONGRATS!!! Booming business, graduating school AND getting engaged? Uh yea, it sounds like you've been busy!! Holy moly! So you are definitely going to want to find a way to take something off your plate and I think editing is a great place to start! What we actually do is "in-source" all of our editing with a full time editor through our busy season. What's been great about that is that while she was already very familiar with Lightroom, we could "train" her in our style of editing and what we look for in color and exposure. It's been so amazing to have that off of our shoulders. But then what we do is keep our 100 or so faves from every wedding and really go through and fix those up for the blog. That way we feel like the best ones and the ones that really tell the story are getting our full attention. It's been great so far!
NELZ I'm a beginner in photography and i absolutely LOVE your work! Truly inspiring! It would be really nice to see before and after photos on here somewhere too. That always helps me understand the style of editing you conduct, and it may help me with my own style :)
HALEY: I follow your blog like crazy and have been wondering lately about what post processing actions or techniques you use? You are both extremely talented photographers - and although you probably already know that, its nice to be reminded right? :)
Oooh great questions!! Although I *will* admit that the idea of showing all the before's out there for the whole world to see kinda makes me wanna throw up a little bit!! I am definitely not the world's most technical person, so I tend to edit the way that I cook. A little of this, a little of that until it tastes pretty good. Or is at least edible!! Justin on the other hand is one of the world's MOST technical people having been taught that way, and tends to cringe at my total & utter disregard for all things histogram-y. But somewhere along the line, just like in our kitchen, we've found a common ground that has evolved into our style. But trust me, it was a process!! :) So....here goes!!
We actually shoot RAW so *most* of the work we do on our pictures for the blog is done right in Camera Raw when we open the files in Photoshop. Here's an example of a before. You can see all of the adjustment tools that Camera Raw offers, and we usually get the picture pretty close to where we want it to be with exposure, temperature, contrast and vibrance (vibrance is pretty cool because it's more subtle and natural than saturation. it's just a fun little boost!) Here's the before, with no adjustments at all. (Go easy on me now!!)
You can see that I underexposed it a bit, which I do tend to lean towards so that I have a cushion for the next set of processing coming up. I also cooled the picture down, added a smidge of green, brought the blacks down ever so slightly (that was more Justin with his histogram again!), boosted the contrast, and added a couple pinches of vibrance.
Once we have the picture looking pretty much where we want it, we'll do some fine tuning with some of our favorite actions. From the Totally Rad Actions set we love Pro Retouch for any skin retouching, Claire-ify (we owe this one 100% to our girl Jasmine for talking about on her blog. She's the bomb dot com!), Lux Soft, Oh Snap, Punch Out, Yin & Yang, and +Contrast. But we use all of those pretty sparingly.
For this one, I did Clarify at 23% and Oh Snap at 10%. For the Clarie-ify, we run the action and then add a layer mask so we can erase it off everything but the subject. I usually leave a nice circle around the subject rather than trying to perfectly erase around the edges because it ends up being less noticeable or looking like a bad dodge job. Here's the after:
CASEY FIGLEWICZ: Man your guys Black and White photos are amazing! Can I get some info on what you are doing in you post production to make them so amazing. Software? Plug-ins? Keep Rocking it and I hope to see you in Long Beach, Ca soon!
Hey Casey!! Thanks so much for that! For our B&W's, we're pretty much doing the same thing where we're making a custom adjustment in Camera Raw for each image. The first step, is to just take the saturation out! :) Then from there we play with contrast, exposure and black point until we're feeling pretty good. Here's the image with just the saturation taken out:
Again, underexposed a bit so that we can use Claire-ify later just on Nick. We get the exposure pretty close to where we want it to be (still a little under) and boost the contrast.
Then we'll polish it up with some Claire-ify (45%) & Punch Out (10%). And we always finish every image up with a healthy dose of Magic Sharp from Kubota's actions. And that's pretty much it!
Again thank you guys for writing SOOOO much! You guys are the best!
xoxo
M:)
Pancake Sessions
