Images: thecurries.co and aalmkvist
It’s LENSEL. And we’ve got the news for the wedding photography world this week:
Photographer Chaos: The problem with vendors bringing their own Photographers/Content Creators
Why 24 hour previews might not be ‘best practice’
Shooting Manual Flash on Film - a real wedding feature
The 'Map Your Market’ Lensel PRO homework challenge
Let’s dive in ⬇️
NEWS
Happening this Week
Wise words in a fast world. This week a bride shared her insightful reflections on her experience waiting 2 months to see the first photos of her wedding day. (shot by the legendary John Dolan). This is well worth your time reading… “So the camera doesn’t just preserve the memory. It edits it. Slowly, over time, our recollection drifts from how we experienced an event to how the camera saw us experiencing it. The view from inside is replaced by the view from across the room.” Read it here and think twice about those 24 hour previews…
Belmond Hotel building their world with photography. Applications are open for the Belmond Photographic Residency and you can apply. Details here.
Thypoch might be a new camera lens brand name we need to know. Their new 35mm f2 lens is getting quite the reception.
The New Canon R6V and 20-50mm f4 released last week are obvisouly aimed more at video creators, but this great review dives into how photographers might also love this new offering.
Wedding Photography Experiement. In 1993 Norwegian artist Vibeke Tandberg recruited strangers from a bar, photographed herself as a bride with each of them, and newspapers ran the images as real wedding announcements. A wild story surfacing now. Read it here.
Camera Shy. The Wed launched a guide on how couples can feel confident infront of the camera on their day. Do you do all of these things?
Aftershoot’s ‘THE PREVIEW” event is happening on the 28th of May and there are only 1000 spots. Get a front row seat to see all the new culling, editing and retouching features and improvements Aftershoot are releasing. Hint hint - it’s freaking amazing stuff. RSVP to ‘The Preview’ here.
THE BIG IDEA
👉🏻 The Vendor Photographer & The Creative Lead
Image from Robert Marcillas
Every Vendor for Themselves
You’ve heard whispers about this happening. But this wedding season it’s FULLY here ⬇️
More vendors than ever are hiring their OWN content creators and photographers to come to the wedding and capture their own. And it’s becoming a big problem.
The florist bringing their own photographer to capture their set up.
The planner with their own full on content team.
The DJ needs their bts too you know.
It’s no longer just the photographer and videographer hired by the couple… it’s a swarm of six people with cameras and iPhone’s looking to get the content they “need”. It’s out of control.
No one asked the couple if this was ok on their wedding day.
No on asked the photographer hired by the couple.
In our Lensel PRO group chat this week Robert Marcillas shared a story of a planners content creator going rogue - directing the couple, getting in the way and then to top it off - even posting a reel the day after full of the photographers creative set up ideas. Even after Robert had pulled the content creator aside and told her to stop as she was not hired by the couple and she was “disrupting the flow”.
Vlasta Weddings also jumped on Threads this week: "Too often, these “extra” photographers don’t stay in their lane. They end up shooting everything, stepping into moments they weren't hired for. Because they're carrying cameras, guests assume they're with us. They're not."
Photographers are frustrated. The old boundaries are getting blurred and the wedding photographer is not ‘in-charge’ like they used to be.
So what’s the solution? Because this problem is not going away, it is only going to get more intense…
Images: benjaminwheeler and lukaskorynta
Complaining about it is just going to sound sour. This is a new reality. Every vendor wants their own content now. So trying to ban other photographers or other content creators with exclusivity contracts is not going to work. Other vendors won’t read them. Or they’ll just flat out ignore them.
So instead photographers need to re-frame this new reality and mitigate as much chaos as possible.
Introducing the CREATIVE LEAD role.
Fashion shoots have navigated this chaos for a long time. At a big production there is often the lead photographer, a BTS crew, a brand content team, a social person… all on the same set all with cameras.
The difference is that on a fashion shoot, everyone knows who is in charge. The main photographer is not just the photographer. They are the “Creative Lead.” The person with the vision. The person with the final say.
SO what if photographers claimed that title and role at weddings? Clearly hired by the couple themselves to be the creative lead on the day that all the other content/photographers fall in line with.
What a win that would be. And it surely would calm down the content chaos.
Here’s some ideas on how you could frame yourself as this creative lead:
Images: jamesharveykelly and @norwud_
Creative lead before the wedding
Make the couple aware. Most couples have no idea this content mess happens. Tell them in your pre-wedding call "sometimes vendors bring their own photographers to capture their work.” Talk about it with them. Once they know, they care and they will be on your side.
Email the planner and ask directly who's bringing content teams. Don’t let yourself be surprised on the day.
Take the lead. Email all vendors and their content teams before the wedding and show them your work and vision. Set the expectations clearly and position yourself as the lead creative on the day. Let them know they can take their content, but you take priority.
Prepare a seperate agreement. Prepare a seperate agreement to be signed by all vendors that details all the issues: use of content, priority when shooting, the scope of what other photographers can capture. An agreement that positions the couples hired photographer as the creative lead and priority for the day.
On the day
Introduce yourself to every person with a camera early. "Hey I'm the photographer hired by the couple good to meet you, what are you here to shoot?" Set the dynamic before anything goes wrong.
If a vendor photographer starts shooting the couple walk over and have the conversation right away. Don’t wait for it to get awkward.
Dress and act like a creative lead. How you show up physically with confidence, decisiveness, knowing the schedule already communicates authority before you say a word. Show off those leadership skills.
Bigger picture
Start talking ‘Creative Lead’ publicly. The more photographers who name it and claim it on Instagram, in communities, in conversations with planner the faster the industry develops some norms around it…
Align with planners who get it. The best planners to work with are the ones who want the same things as you. The best possible images on the day. Find them, work with them, not the ones that prioritise their own content…
YES, this is a new and big problem for the wedding industry. But it’s the new reality. What do you suggest the industry does about it? REPLY to this email and let us know.
WEDDING FEATURE
The Parthenon & Manual Film Flash Featured Wedding by Anastasia Shaydakova
Shooting manual flash on film during key wedding moments is not exactly the safe choice. But this wedding called for risk… Between the Parthenon architecture, cinematic styling, and a couple who clearly wanted something more editorial, Anastasia Shaydakova pushed the look instead of playing it safe.
“You have to constantly think about your distance from the subject, the power of the flash, your film speed… I used this setup throughout different parts of the wedding, but I specifically knew I wanted to use my Leica with a 35mm lens and direct flash during the cake cutting. It’s one of my favorite combinations to shoot with, and even though it’s always a bit of a risk during key moments, the images turned out exactly how I hoped.”
See this wedding featured from the photographers POV on lensel.com
JUNE WORKSHOP
Posing & Direction with BUSHWHACKED
In our June workshop in Lensel PRO, the incredible Rachel from Bushwhacked will break down her “Invisible Direction” process. You’ll learn about:
Building a frame then letting real moments fall into it
Adjusting one person to shift the energy of a whole scene
Keeping energy alive while still getting exactly the shot you want
Still using light as the entry point for every decision
How to control but not control a room
The subtle posing prompts that always work
You’ll learn practical tips, tricks and ways of thinking that will elevate your posing and directing game.
Join LIVE June 3rd - 5:30PM CET / 11:30AM ET / 8:30AM PT
- Q&A extended session included.
- Replay available the following day if you miss it
+ get access to 20+ incredible workshop replays and more.
INSPO TO KEEP YOU FRESH
⬇️ The Curries cooked with this one. Super clean flash frames. Poses. All of it. Dominating that dark, indoor wedding and creating something special.
⬇️ DIVE INTO THIS bridal inspired shoot. Handheld, no flash with a Pentax 67II at 30th of a second at f2.8. Complete with a few bts images in the carousel too.
⬇️ Impossibly dreamy tones in the full sun…. Plus we’re LOVING this landscape frame
⬇️ Curating a rooftop in Hongkong into this?! Mindblowingly clean work from Bring Me Somewhere Nice.
Want to submit a wedding to be featured here on Lensel? Send a small selection to [email protected]
Until next week,
