Monthly Archives: June 2011
Travel Tips for Destination Wedding Photographers – Before, During, and After
Congratulations.
There are few milestones in your photography career as a destination wedding.
Granted not all your destination weddings will be in Paris or Cancun. But if your
hopping on a plane to do a wedding? – it means your good.
To get the best out of it – here are my tips for “Before, During and After “your
trips.
Before:
1) Do invest in a simple bag that you use exclusively for travel necessities.
I pre-stock mine with travel-sized toothpaste, extra set of contact lenses,
saline solution, toothbrush… Basically all the stuff you will need. And I
never use any of it at home. It just sits in a drawer and I grab it before I go
on any trip. It relieves the stress of having to do the “…did I remember to
pack this???”
2) Do invest in a good travel camera bag. You NEVER want to check in
your camera bag on an airplane. Because of this – my bag of choice
is the Lowepro Classified Sling 180 AW. Why? Its big enough to hold
two bodies, three lenses, two flashes with room to spare. But the more
important thing? It’s not only “carry on compliant” – it fits under the
airplane seat… even in that weird aisle seat on the smaller plans.
3) Do invest in an “carry on compliant” overnight bag that has room for a
laptop. Whenever I travel – I only bring with me two bags: my camera bag
and my overnight/laptop bag. That’s it. A tip for packing light? Bring along
a small bottle of “Woolite” to wash your clothes.
4) Do pack at least 5 blank DVD’s and a self-addressed sampled envelope.
More on this later…
5) Don’t cut your timing too short. The rule of thumb at my studio is arrival
two days before the wedding. You need one day to travel. And one day
just in case. Insist on this when negotiate your travel fees.
6) Don’t lose sight of your passport and or driver’s license before your travel.
Last thing you need is to be scrambling around for a misplaced driver’s
license before a big trip.
During:
1) Do scout out your wedding location before the event. Make sure you know
exactly where your going. Remember – you’re not familiar with local road
closings, traffic, etc.
2) Don’t think you’re on vacation. Granted, have some fun. But you don’t
want an “non-profitable” road trip. Take time to field your emails and bring
some work with you.
3) Do consider a your diet. Invest in good foods on the road. It is so easy to
get sick while traveling. Invest in nice meals. Translation: Avoid the fast
food joints. In fact, when possible – I go food shopping at a local grocery
store and cook my own food. On local “driving” road trips? I pack a cooler.
4) Do watch your passport and driver’s license while traveling. And if
traveling overseas (and you are an American Citizen) – know the name of
your U.S. Congressman. He/she is your contact with your home in case of
an emergency.
After:
1) Do download your wedding on to your laptop and burn at least 1 copy.
The DVD copy will be mailed BACK to you. In other words, if someone
steals your camera bag AND you lose your luggage – your wedding
will return to you in 5 days by U.S. Mail. Thus, the wisdom of the Self
Addressed Stamped Envelope. Your hotel will be able to mail it for you.
The second copy goes into your camera bag. At this point you have your
wedding in four places. One is still on your camera SD or Compact Flash
cards. A second copy is on your computer. A third copy is being mailed
back to you. And a fourth copy as a DVD in your camera bag.
2) Do find time to relax. Once your wedding is done – consider shooting
local landmarks. Half the fun of a destination wedding is showing off on
Facebook where you’ve been. Consider some neat photos of landmarks to
keep your photography fresh!
Gene Ho’s website is at www.geneho.com. His next speaking appearance will
be at WPPI U – at Atlanta: http://www.wppionline.com/storage/2011/wppi-u/
home.html
We’re Heatin’ Things Up!!!
Mark you calendar’s as busy on July 31 and August 1 for the Second Annual Summer Sizzler benefitting Professional Photographers of the Ozarks! Last year was a blast! This year is going to be even better!
Summer Sizzler ’11 is 1.5 days of intense learning from some of the industries best! Over the 1.5 days, you will learn from Whitney & David Scott on how psychology impacts every area of your business, from first impressions and powerful partnering to secrets of the sale and creating lifelong clients, you will leave this session empowered to take your studio to the next level. Check out Whitney & David’s website at http://www.whitneyscottphotography.com
As a social media maven, Elise Ellis will guide you through the in’s and out’s of social media and how you can effectively channel them to generate buzz for your business. Elise’s website is www.eliseellisphotography.com
Lastly, running a photography business can be so overwhelming that it’s easy to go adrift both emotionally and financially. Strike a balance in your life and build your business backbone with these essential tenets presented by Martha Dameron. View more of Martha’s work at www.vaughnportraitpark.com
Sunday night, we are planning an informal shoot in downtown Springfield and coffee shop discussions with our speakers. This is always an excellent chance to pick their brains!
We are ending Sizzler ’11 with a lab tour of BRI on Monday! This is a MUST! It’s always fun to see where your beautiful imagery becomes a metal print, a gallery wrap, a book or an album!
No matter what your level of photography is, the Summer Sizzler is THE place you want to be this summer! Registration is now open! Cost is $65 for an individual or $85 for a studio (if you are bringing a second person). Lunch is included on Sunday in the price of your registration!
For more information and the registration form, click this link to Black River Imaging’s website for the Summer Sizzler! http://www.blackriverimaging.com/summersizzler.asp
See you in July!
