Our Why Behind A Team

I was on the phone with a prospective bride a few days ago having the most amazing conversation about her big day and all the plans and ideas she was envisioning. Within that conversation, there were a few questions I was asked but there was one in particular that I was really excited about answering!

Tell me about your team! Do you always provide a second photographer and if so, who is that? She was super curious on WHO this person was and I was elated to tell her about our team and our WHY.

It brings me so much happiness to know that I’ve set my business up to be able to provide this to our couples. This question really prompted me to blog about this and share with you our WHY behind a team.

When I first started photographing weddings, I always photographed them alone. Nobody really wants to photograph a wedding alone. I honestly felt like I could have provided much more service with two people. I was always exhausted after a wedding and could have really used an extra set of hands for things. That’s when I decided I was hiring my husband! I can’t tell you how amazing it was to get those second angles, have the help carrying gear + details, knowing at dinner I had someone to sit with and so much more. But the important thing – those second angles and more memories captured for our couples.

Well, Kale ended up going back to college. So I needed to secure another second photographer. I had two weddings that I needed to hire someone for. Although the second photographer I used for two weddings is absolutely amazing in her own craft, there were several reasons I knew I needed my own person/team.

* Our work wasn’t consistent at all. My style of photography didn’t match the second I hired. This was not the best thing for my couples. They would know just by looking at their gallery, that some of the images seemed different. Off. Not the same style. I didn’t love this idea at all. I edited them to my best ability and honestly, my couples wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. However, I did and it bothered me.

* Our camera systems were different. I use Canon and this second photographer used Nikon. Believe it or not, they yield different color characteristics which brings me to my third reason…

* Editing was such a pain in the rear. There is nothing worse than having to edit and edit some more because the coloring of the camera systems are so different. This made the editing and delivery process longer. I don’t want this for our couples either.

* Another reason I disliked using a random second – they own their own business. They book weddings the same weekends I book weddings. The thought of not knowing WHO will be your second is awful. You have to post that you need someone, you have to hope that their style matches yours {a little} and you are relying on someone else to secure that second photographer position. That’s an awful feeling. Are they reliable? Will they show up? Are they going to do the best job they can and be professional throughout the day?

There are too many reasons {for me and my business at least} why a team just made sense to me.

Hiring a team!!! This is what you can look forward to:

Consistency in all of your gallery. My team is hired by me and trained by me. Their work matches my work exactly. Literally, I can go through my images and Becca’s and often times I even have to double check – is this hers or mine! Our work is that consistent!

Professionalism – there is nothing more professional in my opinion than our couples knowing exactly who will be there on their special day. The comfort they feel already knowing that person is something I take a lot of pride in.

Emergencies – this is the worst thing to put out there and I always pray nothing ever happens to me or keeps me from being able to share in my couples special day – but hey, it’s not totally out of the question…if something terrible were to happen {I get into an accident, I break my ankle} I rest easy knowing that one of my team members will be able to photograph this wedding exactly how I would photograph it and my couple get to rest easy as well knowing that they have a team behind them for one of the most special days of their lives. That makes me feel SO secure!

Film. You guys know how much I adore film and know that I use film as much as possible throughout a wedding day. My team uses film and is trained to use film along with digital. I am actually the only film photographer in my area…so if I needed to hire a random second – they wouldn’t be using film which doesn’t help me at all. I deliver lots of film to our couples and we have several couples this year who have hired us BECAUSE they LOVE the look of real film. Knowing that our team uses film and if needed, they can fulfill the second position and incorporate film for our couples.

I love knowing that I can provide two amazing wedding photographers to every single one of our couples. More memories captured and our couples love that they have a small team working for them. Things happen. Timelines get pushed back, things run late – we always pray that this doesn’t happen but if it does…our couples know that we are ready to rock whatever situation comes our way. This brings me so much joy!!

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So there it is 🙂 Our why behind a team. And I loved sharing a little of our thoughts with you. Not all wedding photographers choose this and that’s ok! There are many couples and photographers who are loving the one photographer deal. Not everyone wants two photographers. But when two photographers are needed or wanted – this is how we decided it would be best not only for us but for all of our couples. Share your thoughts below! We would love to know if you have a team too!