Our Creative Commune

Are your couples actually enjoying their wedding? When did the real wedding day stop being enough? Can we help couples see that their actual life is worth capturing over a day-long wedding shot-list?This week Pete, Laura and Bee dig into a wedding in the Scottish Borders where the couple wanted no posing, no portraits and no social media, and why it made Pete work harder (and enjoy the day more) than ever. It leads into a bigger debate: are flat lays and long shot lists something couples really want, or something they’ve seen online? How much should we educate couples about what posed photos cost them in time on the day, and when does guidance become patronising? And why does so much “documentary” wedding content look exactly the same? Our fear is that couples are seeing so many aspirational images that they can become focused on re-creating these perfect images at the expense of living their own unique moments (and taking a risk these are missed).We also tackle editing. With couples asking for suits to be refitted, bags removed and bows fixed in every frame, how much retouching is now expected, and where do you draw the line?Also this week: Liam is off learning to be a motorbike instructor, the never-ending editing list, and the return of midweek weddings. We turn down enquiries for Silverstone weekend, shoot a wholesome christening, and hear about Liam’s first roll of film (and the frames he wasted finishing it) and flash floods in Spain. Pete explains how Claude rebuilt our LUTs and presets, while Bee sticks with ChatGPT and its slightly underwhelming Monday briefings. Plus highs and lows, including autumn TV, table tennis ups and downs, and the best flask ever made.Our Creative Commune is four wedding photographers and filmmakers chatting about photography, videography and the wedding industry, just like we do over coffee most mornings.Do you guide your couples on timings and posed shots, or let them lead? Let us know, and if you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe and leave us a review.Timestamps 00:00 Coffee, Matcha and Where Is Liam? 02:28 The Never-Ending Editing List 05:56 The Rise of Midweek Weddings 07:12 Silverstone vs Wedding Enquiries 10:49 A Christening and a Portrait Shoot 12:51 A No-Fuss Wedding in the Scottish Borders 19:58 Flat Lays, Posing and the Flow of the Day 21:13 Should We Educate Couples on Timings? 22:21 Why Does Everything Look the Same? 25:30 Shot Lists and Moments That Don’t Happen 30:31 How Much Retouching Is Too Much? 32:13 Liam Shoots Film, Plus Spanish Flash Floods 37:15 Using Claude for LUTs and Presets 40:58 AI Briefings and Best Of Lists 44:21 Highs and LowsSay hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommuneGet a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935CyThe British Wedding Film Festivalhttps://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-schoolliamandbee.comlawsonfilms.co.uklawsonphotography.co.uk#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Are those "best wedding photographers of the year" lists really the best, or just a list of who paid to advertise? This week Pete, Laura, Liam and Bee dig into the backlash against a big industry list: accusations that it's pay to play, complaints that everyone on it shoots the same on-trend editorial style, and why the wedding industry seems to be splitting into bubbles that each crown their own favourites. Would we do any better if we made our own Top 50? (no, we'd never agree.)That leads into a bigger conversation about being open-minded after 20 years in the industry. Why do suppliers keep telling couples what they won't want, especially when it comes to content creators? Is there such a thing as good light, or is it all taste? And are we allowed to call a photo unprofessional, or are we just turning into the grumpy old guard who once refused to do spot colour?Also this week: Liam's trusty Canon 35mm dies mid-wedding and he upgrades to the RF 35mm VCM, we ask for your recommendations on where to get lenses repaired in the UK, Pete shoots two new Scottish castles, Bee and her mum stumble into a Blackpool bingo brunch, Laura's mum used to walk elephants on Blackpool beach, we discuss whether folding phones might finally bring landscape back, and the quiet winter looms as the wedding season winds down. Plus a robot cat litter tray, a last-minute booking bonded over fruit flies, and our highs and lows of the week.Our Creative Commune is a relaxed catch-up between four wedding photographers and filmmakers, chatting all things photography, videography and the wedding industry, like friends over a coffee (or tonight, a glass of wine).Where do you get your lenses fixed? Let us know!Timestamps:00:00 Intro and Blackpool with Bee's mum07:43 Photographer meetups and filming in Blackpool10:31 Pete's two Scottish castle weddings15:02 Liam's Herefordshire wedding16:12 Liam's Canon 35mm dies and lens repair woes21:43 The robot cat litter tray23:53 Are "best wedding photographer" lists just ads?30:28 Does every wedding photo look the same?32:59 Is landscape coming back with folding phones?35:55 Should we make our own Top 50?38:47 The long quiet winter ahead41:10 Stop telling couples what they want44:41 Is there really such a thing as good light?50:09 Highs and lows of the weekSay hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommuneGet a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935CyThe British Wedding Film Festivalhttps://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-schoolliamandbee.comlawsonfilms.co.uklawsonphotography.co.uk#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

A pair of LA photographers went viral for all the wrong reasons with a post telling couples their wedding photographer is too old for them, and explaining why Gen Z couples need Gen Z photographers and videographers. It got deleted, it got apologised for, and it got us talking. Is there anything in it, or is it just generational nonsense dressed up as marketing? We are, as usual, about the last people in the industry to get round to discussing it.We look into the claim that younger suppliers speak the same visual language as their couples, with the massive contradiction buried inside - the current wedding aesthetic is nostalgia for a time Gen Z never lived. We suspect they've mixed up age with cultural fluency. You can absolutely be twenty-five or fifty-five and be making exactly the same work.Has age ever changed how we shoot or how we connect with a couple? Since starting at age 21, we've always just ended up bonding with the parents first. Maybe we're just old souls. There's also now this really annoying problem; we're proud of having shot weddings for over 20 years, but that also makes us sound sixty on our websites.Before that we catch up after an accidental two month disappearance, compare backlogs (48 items on one to-do list, ten weddings deep), and run through a summer of travel including a wedding near Paris with a two hour ceremony, eight plus speeches, surprise fireworks and a boat trip that meant abandoning a full camera setup mid day. Laura shoots her first roll of Super 8 with a broken light meter and guesses the exposure all day long, we weigh up whether film only bookings are worth the risk, and we get into the TikTok row about couples writing wedding speeches with AI.Plus tennis elbow, a dead boiler, no sleep, and Bee's spiky cucumbers.Timestamps:00:00 Welcome back after an accidental two month break02:53 The run up to Christmas is the worst part of the year03:23 48 items on the to-do list and ten weddings still to edit06:01 Where everyone has been shooting this summer07:12 The Paris wedding: two hour ceremony, a boat and surprise fireworks11:03 Laura's first roll of Super 8 and a broken light meter14:50 Are couples writing wedding speeches with AI?16:24 Topic of the week: the "your photographer is too old for you" post19:03 The nostalgia contradiction22:00 Does saying you've shot weddings for 20 years make you sound old?23:55 What experience actually gives you when things go wrong27:00 Why generations are a lazy generalisation28:58 Enquiries, bookings and how the diary is looking31:47 Highs and lowsSay hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommuneGet a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935CyThe British Wedding Film Festivalhttps://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-schoolliamandbee.comlawsonfilms.co.uklawsonphotography.co.uk#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Is the summer booking lull real, or is it all in your head? This week the Commune is back in the garden (briefly) to unpick why enquiries seem to vanish in peak season, why couples always book the second you go on holiday, and why raising your prices might be the easiest win you're avoiding. Along the way: whether the European heat is quietly killing summer destination weddings, a genuine ding-dong about how much AI belongs in a premium wedding business, the death of the hashtag and where Instagram reach actually comes from now, and Pete's theory that a COVID relationship gap is behind the quiet patch (and why the floodgates are about to open again). Plus the anxiety that never quite leaves this job, a missing bride with no phone signal, a Japanese wedding pint race, and the hotel Liam booked without realising everyone else would be naked. Honest, unfiltered chat about wedding photography, videography and running a creative business, from four people who actually do it for a living. Grab a coffee and settle in.Timestamps00:00 Welcome and a rare sunny garden01:43 Air con obsessives vs the camping tent03:48 A 40 degree wedding in Spain04:38 Is the heat killing summer destination weddings?07:56 The hotel Liam didn't realise was a naturist resort12:36 The missing bride at Iscoyd Park16:08 Why every wedding still makes you anxious20:14 A Japanese wedding, a pint race and language shame22:39 A weekend off and a run of last minute bookings25:42 Is the summer booking lull real or all in our heads?28:29 We raised our prices and nobody blinked29:00 Instagram burnout and the death of the hashtag33:32 Why we gave up on TikTok34:30 Using AI in your workflow without cheapening your brand37:46 Pete's grading mistake and staying vigilant42:26 The COVID relationship gap theory44:40 An uncertain but magical industry47:05 Scotland this weekend and a secret celebrity wedding48:19 Highs and lows59:40 Sausages, St Swithin and paying witches for sunshineSay hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommuneGet a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935CyThe British Wedding Film Festivalhttps://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-schoolliamandbee.comlawsonfilms.co.uklawsonphotography.co.uk#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Happy birthday to us! Our Creative Commune turns four this episode, and Bee's marked the occasion with a homemade cake and a look back at four years and well over a hundred episodes of the podcast. But birthday chat aside, this one's got plenty in it. The team compares notes on surviving back-to-back weddings in a proper heatwave (electrolytes, hotel rooms with zero aircon and one particularly ill-advised propped-open door), talks through why a hired zoom lens didn't live up to a trusty 35mm prime, and shares stories from a stretch of weddings that took in a sweltering Jewish ceremony in a listed barn, a sunny Tuscan estate, and a very loud town hall ceremony that got soundtracked by the bar next door.The main event this week is a proper debate sparked by a TikTok claiming the wedding industry is "cooked" because photographers charge extra to keep couples' images out of marketing. The team breaks down what UK GDPR actually says about using wedding photos commercially, why consent matters more than most people realise, and whether charging for privacy is ever fair, alongside genuine reasons couples ask for it and why you some photographers never post photos of children.There's also a chat about guests becoming noticeably more camera aware, a surprising discovery about eyesight and viewfinders, and the usual round of highs and lows, including a recurring ankle injury that's becoming a running joke.Timestamps:00:00 Birthday celebrations and four years of the podcast04:41 Coping with a heatwave on wedding days10:23 Why a hired zoom lens didn't make the cut13:53 A run of weddings: Harrow, Spain and an old friend's big day17:04 Bee's new (old) film camera18:08 The town hall ceremony that got gate crashed by the bar next door20:26 Convertible Mini chaos in Spain21:22 A hot wedding in Tuscany23:56 Getting wedding disco lighting right26:06 Long daylight and a long drive to a Scottish wedding27:16 Life with an electric car on wedding trips28:13 Should couples pay to keep their photos private?36:58 Why couples ask for privacy, and the no-child-photos policy38:12 Shooting couples who are more camera aware than ever41:59 A surprising discovery about eyesight and viewfinders43:50 When the ceremony staging makes your job harder44:35 Highs and lows of the week55:41 Reviews, questions and a possible bonus episodeSay hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommuneGet a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935CyThe British Wedding Film Festivalhttps://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-schoolliamandbee.comlawsonfilms.co.uklawsonphotography.co.uk#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Drone audits, drizzle disasters, and the eternal question of whether putting your prices up is ever a good idea. This week Pete, Laura, Liam and Bee dive into Pete's upcoming CAA drone audit and the surprisingly strict "flying currency" rules that come with it, before getting into a deep discussion on shooting weddings in bad weather, including the bride who left a bad review because it was too sunny, and the violinist who nearly walked out over a bit of drizzle.The conversation moves into the business side of things, with Bee and Liam unpacking a recent price increase that coincided with enquiries dropping off a cliff, and whether that's down to pricing, a fiddled Google Ads budget, or just a quiet patch. There's also a chat about website portfolios, ad spend, and Pete and Laura's attempt to make their photography site sound less negative without losing what makes it them.On the gear side, Liam debates renting an expensive lens for a castle wedding in Spain, Pete and Laura talk through their new 85mm lens and a Lightroom preset fix using Claude AI, and the group ends up arguing about which AI chatbot has the best personality. Plus reunion highs, root canal lows, and a real-time cat-versus-bird incident that derails the recording entirely.As always, it's highs, lows, and everything in between for wedding photographers and videographers trying to navigate the job, the business, and each other.Timestamps:00:00 Cold open: memory card chaos and a lost SD card02:01 Pete's CAA drone audit and the flying currency requirement05:51 Eyeing up a new drone after seeing one at a wedding06:46 Liam's Scotland wedding at Dunglass Estate07:55 The sock-on-the-smoke-alarm pub incident09:49 Pete's rainy Watermouth Cove wedding in Devon11:06 Handling bad weather and difficult outdoor ceremonies12:42 The violinist who nearly walked out13:54 The one-star review from a bride who wanted rain16:00 Pete's wedding at Goodnestone Park, Kent19:42 Working alongside an editorial photographer's 20+ group shots22:14 Price increase versus a sudden drop in enquiries25:34 Debating Google AdWords and Meta ad spend29:22 How many photos should be in a portfolio32:01 Upcoming trips: Pete to Tuscany, Liam's multi-country wedding run35:28 Liam considering renting an expensive lens for Spain38:55 New 85mm lens and adapting old Lightroom presets with Claude AI42:00 Favourite AI chatbots and their personalities43:11 Bee's 25-year school reunion44:08 Root canal woes and charging for consultation Zooms45:08 Hugo the cat brings in a bird mid-recording45:59 Highs and lows: mountain bikes, finished films, and 2:30am starts53:05 Wrap upSay hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommuneGet a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935CyThe British Wedding Film Festivalhttps://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-schoolliamandbee.comlawsonfilms.co.uklawsonphotography.co.uk#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune