1. When it comes to selecting features, editors are looking for subjects who are natural before the camera. Real weddings can be a challenge because your bride and groom are not normally professional models, and as we all know, standing in front of a camera can be nerve wracking and awkward. For starters, what are some things you do to prep your couple before they ever get in front of your lens?

The first time I interact with a couple is at their engagement session.  However, my preparations begin before this point, as I feel it’s part of my job to make clients feel their absolute best. Before the engagement session, I email the bride and give her what I call Love Tips.  These are basically a list of things to create an optimal shoot.  Afterall, I want their engagement session to be awesome just as much as they do.

J* Love Tips…

1.  Arrive on time.  Nothing kills the vibe of a shoot than showing up late.  The light changes, there’s less time, and more pressure.  That’s not fun for anyone.

2.  Be sure to check out the shoot location in advance.  Nothing’s worse than showing up for a shoot only to realize it turned into a construction zone just a few days before.  Once I heard of a photographer scheduling a shoot in Downtown Los Angeles without knowing the LA Marathon was taking place that weekend…needless to say, the shoot had to be rescheduled.  Scoping out the location a couple days in advance is always advantageous.

3.  Feel free to get hair and makeup done.  Not only is it a great way to feel extra dolled up for the photoshoot, it can also double as the trial run for the makeup/hair artist!

4.  Make sure the groom watches 2-3 engagement slideshows (I make a slideshow for every client) before the shoot.  Guys are less likely to work-it in front of a camera, but if they come to the session already knowing my intention is to make them look their best (i.e. strong poses, masculine forms, etc), they’re malleable.  This is only accomplished if the groom is aware of my style and my intentions in advance.

5.  Feel beautiful.  This probably sounds silly, but it’s true.  During a session, I want my bride to feel beautiful; like the best version of herself.  I let her know in advance that I want her to let her guard down and give me everything she has for an hour and a half.  If she’s committed to getting beautiful photos, then so am I!

2. As you begin shooting, how do you ensure your couple looks and feels natural in front of the camera?

At the beginning of each shoot, I state the obvious:  “You’re probably nervous.”  Once we get that into the open, it puts clients at ease.  I don’t show up to a session expecting my clients to act like models…it’s my job to make them look like models.

I start each photoshoot simply by talking.  No stress, no drama, no pressure.  We walk, chat, and I explain what I want them to do, but–moreso–how I want them to feel. That changes everything.

3. Despite your best efforts, do you ever work with couples that are just frozen in stage fright? Do you have to work harder at some couples than others? If so, how do you go about “directing” them to be natural?

Yes.  In fact, I’d venture to say most clients are frozen…but why would I expect them NOT to be? They’ve never done this before!  :)

In all truthfulness, it’s a photographer’s job to, literally, give their subjects something to do.  Directions, feedback, encouragement.  Some of the best photographers are the best directors in my opinion. Sure, it can be difficult at times (I’ve been known to cuddle with a groom to shown the bride, precisely, what I wanted her to do), but it’s something photographers work on to make the client experience better.

4. Do you have a set of standard poses that you like to use? If so, how did you develop this list? Is it fair to take cues from other photographers?

No, I definitely don’t have a set of standard poses.  If I did, I think the photos would begin to possess a generic quality about them.  Every couple is different, so every session should be a unique reflection of their love.  Some of the leading photographers create unique imagery without taking cues from others and this is a standard the industry should aspire to.

5. Editors often times notice standard poses that become a part of photographers’ repertoire—their photography can become quite stale because they rely on a very small bag of tricks. How do you keep things fresh and interesting, despite years of shooting weddings with the same elements?

The best way to keep things fresh–for me, anyway–is to let the clients dictate the pulse of the shoot. Sometimes photographers want to control every element during a session, but I’ve discovered when I take step back and let things unfold, pictures happen. Nothing forced, contrived, or packaged…just love. And, better yet, it’s love in the shape and form of two unique people, which never looks the same.

6. For brides out there, what is your best advice to prepare them for being photographed on the big day?

Own it. Let every worry or concern fade away and be prepared to have the best day of your life. If you feel like you’re happy, feel like you’re in love, and feel beautiful, a photographer can capture happy, lovely, and beautiful images as a true reflection of a perfect day.

*All beautiful images styled by Joy Thigpen

When it comes to submitting work to editors, there are a number of tips that will improve your chances for publication, keep you in the good graces of editors, make you stand out, and make it easier for editors to feature your work. Most established photographers who are published on a regular basis have these rules down, and it makes them much easier to work with—so if you are looking to start off on the right foot, these suggestions should help.

1.     Don’t be afraid to submit!!! I’m often surprised how many weddings I see that go unpublished. That said, if you are just starting out, be prepared for rejection—it can take a while to really get a hang of things. Don’t get discouraged if your submission is not accepted. As your work and weddings improve, so will your rate of publication.

2.     Submit with purpose! Publications work hard at trying to define a style for themselves. While most editors love anything really lovely, do your best to identify which weddings fit best for the publication.

3.     Use the right format! The two most preferable methods for submitting your photos is either a link to your own blog post or web size images in a zip file. This might seem obvious, but you’d never believe how many photographers have sent me up to 12 emails, all in a row, each with five high-resolution images in them. Awful! When it comes to online publication, editors rarely need anything wider than about 700px, so size down your images before sending them. I once spent two hours opening and resizing ridiculously huge images (yes, I was on an old dinosaur computer, but still). It’s such a huge pain. Make it easy for editors to throw your images into a post and send them at the right size.

4.     Name your files correctly! When naming your file folders, do editors a HUGE favor and name your folder with your name and the couple’s name. Everyone saves their files as “Archive” or “GreyLikesWeddings” or “Submit”. I’ll have like ten folders all that are named “Grey Likes Weddings” and I often can’t tell who sent over what. This sounds picky, but I’ve actually had weddings go unpublished because I couldn’t track down who sent me the images.

5.     The more the merrier. Send us lots of images to choose from. Often times, beautiful weddings and beautiful photography can go unpublished (or become delayed) because there aren’t enough photos to choose from. Every editor is different in terms of how many images they’d like to receive, but for me, up to 400 is totally fine!

6.     Orientation matters. Editors especially need to mix up photo orientation for their layouts, so you need to supply both vertical and horizontal images. Also, because most bloggers use a lot of diptychs, send plenty of vertical shots.

7.     Details, details, details! Your portraits should be no more than 20% of your submission. Send lots of pictures of details. If you have a few great shots of the bouquets, or certain details, it’s okay to include them all!

8.     Pick your post processing and stick to it! Don’t send us a big folder of images that have inconsistent processing. It’s a sign that may not have found your own personal style. When one image looks really saturated, and the next is sepia and the next is all vintage-yellow/pink, there’s no way those images will look good next to one another. It’s best if you find a way to express your style through processing and submit a cohesive look.

9.      Respect exclusivity! This is a huge one. Wedding blogs are dependent on supplying new content for their readers. For that reason, don’t submit something that has already been published anywhere else outside of your own blog, unless you very clearly state where and when the publication took place so the editor is aware. Also, submit your work to publications one at a time. Mass emailing bloggers makes your submission feel like an auction with the wedding going to the highest bidder and it’s extremely unappealing.

10.      Give editors a time limit. You want to get your work published and you certainly don’t want a big pile of awesome weddings floating around in unanswered submissions. However, it is terribly rude to submit to a blogger and receive an acceptance email, and then take back your submission because you submitted elsewhere too quickly. It’s also not okay to submit to a blogger on a Friday, and submit to someone else on a Tuesday because you haven’t heard back yet. Bloggers receive quite a few submissions and have to look through each one to consider not only the quality of the work, but the context of their publication schedule. To prevent the confusion, I think it’s okay make a note to the editor in each of your submissions (this may not necessarily apply to print editors, because you have to work with their schedule) that if you do not hear from them within X number of days (I suggest 5-10) that you will discontinue availability, withdraw the submission and submit it elsewhere. That way, every week or so, if you haven’t heard back from your first choice, move on to the next choice. Again, this won’t work for every publication, however most of the time, it will be very helpful, expedite your submission process, and will prevent you from getting in the bad graces of editors.

12.      Try online management! Two Bright Lights is a really great new resource created to respond to the need for photographers, editors and vendors to fluidly work together for publication selection. They have created an amazing service allowing photographers to upload their images to one site and select a list of publications. Editors are able to view submissions quickly, choose their selections, and, most importantly for photographers, automatically pass on submissions that aren’t right for their particular publication to the next editor in line. No resubmitting, tracking who you’ve sent submissions to, remembering to resubmit, waiting too long for a response…it’s all taken care of!

Following these tips should help get your started on the road toward publication.