by Demothy Tien

As a wedding filmmaker, clients expect 3 key things. Speed, consistency, and quality. This is why you need to be using LUTs in your wedding films. LUT let you meet all three of these expectations when used correctly. But how? Well before we get into that, it’s important that we cover what exactly a LUT is.

What’s a LUT?

LUT is short for “lookup table.” When talking about color grading LUTs, they take color input values and convert it to your desired look. It mathematically takes specific color values and modifies them into new ones for the footage you’re working with. 

LUTs are essentially color grading presets. Much like how you use presets for accomplishing different transitions or effects, or different color presets in Lightroom to edit photos, LUTs are presets that let you achieve a specific look in your video. 

Why use LUTs?

Why not? LUTs offer a ton of benefits to your editing workflow. It provides you with speed...

by Courtney Tomey

If you’re running a successful wedding photography business, it’s likely you’re conducting in-person sales sessions.  And if you’re anything like me, you probably didn’t anticipate that your love of photography would somehow translate into you needing to be a sales person… the two skills don’t seemingly share much in common and if you don’t have a background in sales it can be really nerve-wracking.  But, there is a silver lining!  Sales don’t have to be scary, and there’s actually one trick that will not only help make you and your clients more comfortable in the sales room, but will lead to even bigger purchases.  We’re talking small talk.

The secret to being an excellent sales person is being able to make your clients feel at ease, and transcend the situation beyond an uncomfortable, high pressure sales situation.  The goal is to make it not feel like a sale at...

by Demothy Tien

When the Panasonic GH5 released in 2017, it was an incredibly revolutionary camera for filmmakers. It’s a 4k mirrorless camera that packs phenomenal video quality in a tiny form factor. It’s been 4 years now since the GH5 released and we’ve had several incredible cameras come out since then. Does the Panasonic GH5 still hold up for wedding filmmakers in 2021 or is it time for an upgrade?

Build Quality and Buttons

The Panasonic GH5 is an incredibly well built and intuitive camera to use. Ergonomics are fantastic, especially for a camera of its size. It’s incredibly compact and lightweight. The GH5 is pretty much the perfect travel camera.Button layout is also great on the GH5. Everything is easy to access and clearly labeled. There are a lot of buttons so settings and features are right within reach, without having to navigate through clunky menus. The GH5 also features dual UHS-II SD card slots which support relay and redundancy...

by Michael Anthony

Hiring models is something that we photographers need to do from time to time, whether you want to practice a concept, build your portfolio, or complete a client assignment, there will come a time where you need to hire a model for something.

So many photographers have questions about how to do this correctly. There is not a one-size fits all approach to hiring models, and it has taken us many years of doing it wrong in order to finally get it right.

First, understand that there are different methods of hiring models for different types of needs, so the ones I am going to discuss today can be applied depending on what the best need is for you. Second, understand that today I am going to talk about hiring models, meaning I am not going to discuss trade situations. There is a time for that, but usually that is when both parties can benefit. Today, speaking from a business owner’s perspective, there will be many times where your needs will outweigh what you...

by Jennifer Loizzi

Boudoir photography can be intimidating for both the photographer and the client.  Since boudoir photography is a more intimate style of portraiture, nine out of ten clients are nervous and often apprehensive.  It is our job to make our clients feel at ease and have a memorable and enjoyable experience. Here are a few tips that will prepare your clients for a successful boudoir shoot. 

Get to know your client. A great and easy way to get to know your client is to send them a booking questionnaire with a list of questions.  For example, ask them how revealing they want to go (nudes, implied nudes), or what feature they would like to emphasize or deemphasize. You will also spend some time chatting with your client before the shoot in order to get to know them a little better but also make them feel comfortable.  Find out the reason they chose to have a boudoir shoot done and if there is a certain date they need the photos by as well. ...

by Demothy Tien

 Lightroom can be really confusing if you’re new or unfamiliar with the software. Its complicated user interface paired with clunky optimization can truly make Lightroom a nightmare to navigate. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a lot of incredibly helpful tricks that can make Lightroom a significantly more pleasant experience. The problem is these tricks aren’t clearly labeled in the software. You have to either read through lengthy manuals or figure them out for yourself. That’s why we’ve put together a small list of hidden Lightroom tricks you might not know about!

 You can change your crop overlays!

Link to Reel: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIhChxXHP1o/

Composition can make or break your imagery. Bad composition simply looks amateur and unpleasant to the eye. You want to compose your images in a way that looks pleasing and leads the viewer’s eyes throughout the image. But your composition just right...

by Jennifer Loizzi

Are you struggling to build business relationships?  Are you wondering why other vendors aren't referring you instead of your competition?  Well, while being able to create beautiful images is important, it simply isn't enough.  I’m excited to share with you my tips on building strong vendor relationships. These vendors are not only a good source for referrals, but they are also business professionals we can bounce marketing ideas off of.  They have become our friends and make work so much more enjoyable. I know building vendor relationships is difficult, especially if you're a shy introvert like myself, but I’m going to tell you what we did to help us build these lasting relationships.  Here are five tips to help you connect and build relationships with vendors in your area.

Get out there and Introduce yourself!

Sounds easy enough right? So… why aren't you doing it!  I know it comes easier to some than others but...

by Courtney Tomey

When your clients are planning their wedding, they have hundreds of options of wedding photographers to choose from, and a list of factors to consider before they place their full trust in a studio for their wedding day.  In our case, we are competing against thousands of Los Angeles wedding photographers, and even when a client has narrowed down their list and come to our studio for a meeting, we still have a lot of hurdles to overcome to not only book their wedding but to keep them as clients leading up to the wedding day.  Especially during the time of COVID, when so many clients are being faced with the tough decision of cancelling their events, there’s even more pressure to retain clients and keep them loyal to your studio throughout the year-long process leading up to their big day and long after.

So, knowing that your clients have so many options when it comes to who they trust with their big day, how do you show your clients that they mean...

Sony A1 | My initial thoughts

The Sony A1 was just announced, and the concept behind the camera is that it combines all of the features of Sony’s Camera lines into a single camera. High resolution, blazing fast continuous shooting, upgraded AF, and incredible video features. 

The new feature that we haven’t seen yet is the Dual Drive Mechanical Shutter, as well as Flash Synchronization enabled electronic shutter. The DDMS allows up to 1/500th of a second flash sync in APS-C Mode (as well as 1/400th of a second in 35mm mode). The camera pushes some more boundaries by upgrading virtually everything incrementally about their cameras, such as the viewfinder, AF performance, and connectivity (10gbps USB C)

What intrigued me the most about this camera is it’s compatibility with Sony smart phones, the Xperia line can now be used to broadcast live over 5g. This could be something that would be incredibly useful as an educator….think about it….we could...

by Michael Anthony

Lighting is something, that I think any professional photographer can agree, can give your images a distinct look. For years, professional photographers have distinguished their studio utilizing light. In our own Los Angeles Wedding Photography Studio we have used lighting as our main point of differentiation for years. Doing this has helped our images stand out when viewed in an image search or a directory listing next to other photographers. 

So that being said, over the past few years, photographers have gotten more and more skilled at lighting, and as a result, their studios have also began to find more clientele. 

But there is a drawback to using off-camera flash, usually it means you sacrifice speed while out shooting with your clients. However after years, I have come to learn that there are three really easy hacks you can apply to your next shoot to create distinct images, in a short period of time. 

Tip #1: Color Shifting

I first taught...