There's a photographer out there who has received 430 enquiries since January. We don't fully know how she's doing it - and that's kind of the point. Is this level of success replicable, or largely accidental?
This week Pete, Laura, and Bee dig into what's really going on in the wedding photography and videography market right now: why some people seem to break through while everyone else is fighting for scraps, whether your website might actually be working against you, and the uncomfortable truth about pricing: most of us haven't raised our rates in nearly a decade, even as everything around us has got more expensive.
We also get into a debate that's been doing the rounds on photographer socials: where does your responsibility end for how your couples look in photos? Should you be straightening ties, smoothing dresses, and fixing every wrinkle - or is that just not the job? With AI making clients think any edit is a simple fix, is that expectation about to get a whole lot worse?
Plus: Bee's extraordinary doctor's appointment, Pete and Laura reflect on what it feels like to shoot a wedding together again, Bee & Liam's daughter Betty is about to second shoot her first wedding, and Liam is, once again, somewhere on a motorway.
Honest, unfiltered chat for wedding photographers who are trying to figure it all out alongside everyone else.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro: post-yoga chaos and sweaty coats
03:00 - Saturday's wedding at Middleton Lodge - why it felt like the good old days
06:40 - The joy of switching between photo and video
09:00 - Upcoming schedule: Paris, half term weddings, and Scotland
09:59 - Liam's Isle of Skye elopement: 11.5 hours of driving, and the great mattress debate
11:19 - Betty's first wedding as second shooter
13:12 - Industry chat: the photographer getting 430 enquiries since January
17:00 - What's actually driving all those enquiries? Referrals, likability, and being flavour of the month
18:45 - Pricing: why haven't we all raised our rates since 2015?
22:14 - Should we be listing future year prices on our websites?
26:24 - More photographers, fewer weddings, less money - the market in 2025
31:26 - What Jade's four-page website tells us about friction and attention spans
33:57 - Who's responsible for how couples look in photos?
38:50 - AI retouching expectations: the bow on the dress that broke three pieces of software
43:50 - Highs and lows: no edits, Rivals, Betty's big debut, and a very confusing GP
Martin Chueng’s podcast with Jade Greenbrooke: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/430-enquiries-since-january-how-jade-built-a/id1685148348?i=1000767529953
Jade Greenbrooke’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jade.greenbrooke/
Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune
Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy
The British Wedding Film Festival
https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/
Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school
#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune
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