I’m not ashamed to admit I have an obsession with wedding photographer Jasmine Star. Ever since I’ve come across her work and her blog, her wisdom has kept me going in my quest to set up as a wedding planner and continue posting on this blog. It also helps that Jasmine is a terribly down to earth person who will tirelessly reply to her followers’ questions via her blog and via email. She is real, human, genuine and exceptionally generous.

Just over two weeks ago I sat in front of my computer from Friday to Sunday, 5pm to midnight, to follow Jasmine‘s course on Creative Live ‘Getting Published. Shooting an Editorial Wedding‘. Incredibly I was not one bit upset to be spending my weekend in front of the computer. In fact, I felt so much more refreshed and determined by the end of it, that I selfishly wished Jasmine would do this every month (sorry Jasmine!).

Below is the aim of the course as described on the Creative Live website:

This three-day event will be packed with how-to and tips for wedding photographers. In addition to lighting, posing, and technique, Jasmine will photograph a bride and groom, and a gorgeous wedding set up that’ll facilitate a live demonstration how to photograph wedding details, elements, and moments with an editorial flair. The course will also address how Jasmine successfully submits her work for national publication and include discussions with editors on how photographers can approach a wedding day to maximize their publication opportunities. Be prepared for a smashing good time as Jasmine dissects her photography, online marketing, and teaches you how to create a fabulous experience.

Am I a photographer? No, I’m not. Did I benefit from this course? 100% yes.

As a blogger and a planner I feel this course has given me a better grasp of how wedding photographers like to work, how to collaborate on a shoot, what top wedding bloggers and magazines look for in editorial submissions, and how to turn a wedding that may not be most useful for my portfolio into something positive that I could be proud to show others.

I’ve written below some of the other lessons I’ve learnt during those three days – please forgive me if they feel random and disjointed, but I couldn’t possibly write everything down, so here are just a few key points:

♥ Strong photographers are stylists: Whenever you take pictures of details, at a wedding or at a styled shoot, use your initiative if needed and move things around (on a table, for instance) to make them look their best and ensure the shot feels editorial. This is a really important, I thought, because not all of us get a chance to shoot or organise weddings with perfect or super creative details. It happens, particularly at the beginning of our careers, that you get involved in low-budget weddings, which, with all the best intentions, may feel unsuitable for our portfolio; however attention to details and a little styling on our part could give that extra touch that will allow you to proudly showcase that wedding (for more on this watch the section ‘Shooting what you have Vs. Shooting what you want‘).

♥ Work those styled shoots: Soooo much to say about this section! The most valuable information I gathered from Jasmine was the importance of 1. working with a team of people that you can relate to from a professional point of view i.e. we are at a similar point in our career, or our prices are at the same level, etc., 2. ensuring the creative team is on the same page and share the same goals, 3. creating something that hasn’t been done before so as to increase editorial appeal.

♥ Over-communicating is better than not communicating: I am exactly like that! Within limits I like to explain things in detail and I actually get frustrated when replies are succinct and show that they have been written in a hurry. In your dealing with a creative team, taking time to communicate clearly with them will help you make sure that there are no misunderstandings and that you’re all working towards the same objective. I, for one, have just learnt the value of this by overcommunicating with one of the suppliers I was working with for a shoot, which resulted in us realising that we weren’t working towards the same goal. This has saved us time in the long run and has allowed us to depart in an amicable way. Read more…