Nigel and I heard about My Portland Photographer through our friend Randy Kepple. What a great idea, well executed: "A collaborative blog by Portland's finest wedding photographers". On the home page a charming image and post by Craig Mitchelldyer caught my eye. I followed a couple of links back to see if photographers were linking back to the blog from their own websites, but apparently no. I wonder why. You'd win some and lose some, but if you built the google juice together, wouldn't you win more than you lose? Don't know, just wondering. Love it anyway. Cheers, Ian To View More >>

You might remember a post called "the secret life of wedding photographers" on ISPWP a few years ago. Apparently photographers lead a great life – you get to spend your time taking pictures, travelling to exotic locations and partying like rockstars! Of course the sad reality is often quite different. This fertile little meme has got a lot more airtime recently because APE and now Seth Godin have posted about it. As always, Seth's post is well worth the read. He makes the point that everyone has a choice: get together the "guts and resources" too do what you were born to do, or spend your time To View More >>

The Image College in association with Queensberry, is bringing Johannes van Kan to Australia for a brief visit in August/September to present one day seminars in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The heart and soul of the high end wedding album Winner of the 2010 WPPI Album of the Year, and multiple winner of the NZIPP Iris Awards Wedding Album of the Year, Johannes van Kan is one of an elite group of world class photographers creating profoundly beautiful albums for his wedding clients. In this event Johannes will take you on a journey beginning with: - Why he does what he does - The thought processes To View More >>

Ian spotted a post by New Zealand photographer Isaac de Reus of Perspectives Photography on DWF recently. It was in reply to a thread discussing whether giving your work away free for referrals was good business practice. Isaac shared this great example of how he's leveraged something he can do in return for good quality referrals. The type everyone wants. High-end. It also shows the value of keeping your finger on the wider wedding market's pulse. Thanks for sharing, Isaac - Nigel A month or so ago we approached a very high-end, exclusive venue that only recently started booking and advertising To View More >>

That recent New York Times article caused a kerfuffle by highlighting the impact of digital imaging, photo sharing, stock photography etc. In a nutshell, how does a professional photographer survive and thrive when imagery is everywhere, and generally free or nearly so? Or as Seth Godin put it, how are "average photographers" going to make a living shooting weddings "when the guests can do almost as well and all the photos are going on flickr anyway"? Case in point... Our own Danny married Natalie recently. Needless to say they hired a photographer ... but if they hadn't? They have heaps of photos To View More >>

What could a shoe shine guy teach a wedding photographer about their business? I just came across the ratty old Youtube video below, which features one of the best salesmen ever. It's short, very funny (I think) and full of insight. RIP Zig Ziglar, who died recently aged 86. We all need to be salespeople if we want to get the prices we deserve Read Secrets of Closing the Sale. Cheers, Ian To View More >>

After reading over Nadine’s heartfelt description of her wedding day, it quickly became clear that Nadine and Pascal’s wedding was filled with a great deal of love and emotion. The entire day was a beautiful celebration of their love for one another  - a true love story! The wedding ceremony was held at Les Trois Glands in Luxembourg, which was a special moment Nadine describes very beautifully... “Discovering Pascal at the Trois Glands was a very big moment.” Nadine says, “I look at him already from far away… yes, this is the man of my life, looking To View More >>

Sharon and Dave were married on an early spring afternoon at the beautiful location of Jonah's Whale Beach in Sydney's famously picturesque Northern Beaches. Their photographer Luke Butterly from LB Photography says that "as a couple they're very easy going and the wedding was happy and laid back. The bride has a beautiful way about her which comes through in the photographs, her dress was very elegant and understated which suited her perfectly and set the tone for the whole event. We chose the pool area at Palm beach for the wedding photography and then went to Pittwater for sunset, where on To View More >>

When I realized that this album was for singer Katie Melua, I got a wee bit excited because she is actually one of my favourite artists - cool, jazzy and ever so sweet! Jo de Banzie has worked with Katie for over 8 years, touring with her, shooting for album covers, PR and video stills. Jo says that she has a huge soft spot for Katie so was delighted to be asked to photograph her wedding to ex world Superbike champion James Toseland. "They picked a glorious venue, the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, London, and in Katie's words, it was "'all about flowers"! The couple looked stunning, with Katie To View More >>

Jasmine Star had some advice for newbie photographers a few days ago. It was a good reality check, but it left an important question unasked. Basically she says: • It doesn't matter how good you think your photography is (or the guy's down the road), it's what the customer thinks. • It doesn't matter whether you think you're "worth" what you want to charge, it's what the customer thinks. • It doesn't matter whether you're entitled to charge what you're "worth", it's what the customer thinks. The takeaway? You're better off taking what you can, and getting some runs on the board. (Jasmine To View More >>