Images: m.w.collective and @corbingurkin
Hey it’s LENSEL. Your weekly wedding photography kick in the pants.
Here’s what is on today:
Drafts: And how to NOT lose your creative energy
Film vs Old Digital Camera Comparisons
Side Quests at Weddings: Feature by Zara Staples
All the news to keep you ahead
Let’s go ⬇️
NEWS
Happening this Week
The Wedding Queen Mindy Weiss gave a hilarious interview this week “60 percent of my job is therapy”. The stories incoming. Read it here.
Party, not wedding photographer. This article explores how the world of party photography is growing AND why it’s becoming a lucrative new lane.
Back Up Revolution. Could this new device actually solve a photographer’s back up headache?
End of Bridal Trends. With New York Bridal Fashion Week just gone and the Barcelona version in full swing this week - The Bridal Journey writes about what they are seeing and notes how “For the first time in recent memory, there was no singular trend that swept the runway.” Read the report here.
Lumix announces a nice looking 40mm f2 lens to match the S9.
Very First Wedding Results. This photographer had never said yes to a wedding before, until this one. See the result here.
The New Content Machine. Last week DJI released their new Pocket Osmo 4, Mitch Lally’s great review tells all.
Tamron introduced a new way of connecting and controlling their lenses - with this nifty new LINK adapter.
THE BIG IDEA
✍🏼 Drafts: How not to loose your Creative Energy
Wedflow’s drafts got game.
Images by: bymadisonchilds and kristinpiteophoto
Taking photos. Making things. Creating. THAT is what we love to do.
It gives us energy. But somewhere along the way all of this turned into a business.
And then came the energy killers.
Time spent on the computer (hello bad posture.)
Emails, emails, emails.
Sending the same enquiry reply over and over (often copied from another photographer, please stop doing this)
Second guessing your tone of voice. Formal business or casual with emojis. Kind Regards?? I'm not sure....
Spending 20 minutes drafting that slightly awkward email to the bride who wants her RAW images?
The TRUTH is - admin and email is the silent killer of so much creativity.
Picture this. You come home from a wedding. You're buzzing. You shot something special today. YOU KNOW IT. The next day you open your laptop to get started on the edit…. and there are 14 emails waiting.
That creative buzz and excitement is gone in about 30 seconds.
The Draft Power.
Energy drain doesn’t come from pressing send on emails… It comes from starting them!
Sometimes all you need is a draft. And that’s the secret sauce of Wedflow.
Wedflow is a smart email draft assistant that:
Has a draft reply waiting before you've even finished reading the email
Lives inside your Gmail
Learns how YOU actually write - drawing from your exact pricing, packages and availability.
Keeps your inbox organised with tags so nothing slips
is the WAY smarter, wedding specific version of any other chat reply thing…
You just read your draft, double check it, tweak something small, and SEND.
Minimal creative energy block. WINS.
Images: @alex.prov and tomcoburn_
It’s more important than you think.
Protecting your creative energy in this game is vital. We know oh so many burnt out wedding photographers… A solid draft from Wedflow is seriously one of those tools that can actually easily help you right now.
You know, we DON’T partner with many products. But this one solves a real problem.
You can try Wedflow free first… then get 20% off by using the code ‘LENSEL’
Go protect that creative energy. For photos sake.
NEED TO KNOW
Film vs Old Digital Cameras: Ever wonder how they really compare?
Account: arnaud_barrault
This account shows you exactly how they do.
Arnaud compares older digital cameras, like the Canon 5D Classic, to different film stocks and cameras. And he does it right. With exact same frames. Side by sides.
It’s wonderful.
So you can see the character of different lenses, sensors, and film stocks.
Thanks to @danielknightharris for sending this into us.
WEDDING FEATURE
Side Stories at this Magical Wedding: by Zara Staples
FEATURED on lensel.com
Zara Staples captured this wedding masterfully on film. And we have the behind the scenes insight into how it went down.
“…I’m sharing this particular moment because it can be so easy to follow only the couples story but I feel it is just as important to capture these ‘side quest stories’ on a wedding day.”
HOW COOL is the thought of a side quest story on a wedding day. Yes, there’s the story of the couple. But what about ALL the other stories going on…
INSPO TO KEEP YOU FRESH
⬇️ Como but not as you know it. Proving Como doesn’t need to be just the classic boat drone shots and standing in front of the villa. LOVE.
⬇️ Landscape frames you need to study this week.
⬇️ Every frame in this set + the curation of the diptych pairs just wins right now.
⬇️ Group shots on film? Yes please, let’s see more.
NEXT WORKSHOP
Jack Henry: The ‘Anti Marketing’ Playbook
The inside word is in Lensel PRO.
EVERY month we bring incredible workshops to you, with community calls to debrief and dissect it all.
Join us next month for our workshop with the incredible JACK HENRY.
This workshop is not the lame business advice for photographers you see everywhere.
We will dive into:
• The moves that took Jack Henry from small local jobs to high-end bookings
• How to attract luxury clients without relying on social media (stealth mode)
• Why most marketing works against you at the top end
• How to position your brand so it feels premium before you’re there
• The subtle signals that shift perception instantly
• And the frameworks he’s used for years behind the scenes
JOIN LENSEL PRO to be there + join the inner circle of wedding photographers.
Alright, now go make some good photos.
