by Michael Anthony

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Any photographer will tell you that wedding photography is an art. It combines various types of photography and makes them into a single type. Our job as wedding photographers is to capture meaningful moments that allow our clients to recall their special day for the rest of their lives.  

One of the most challenging art forms to master is posing, typically done after lighting technique and compositional rules. This is because to create a good pose. You have to follow a set of entirely different rules for males, females, couples, and groups.

Many posing guides for adults can be found on the web or in books but tend to emphasize recreating a specific set of poses. The problem is that all poses have to be designed to accommodate the shape, apparel, light, composition, and environment of the subject. You can understand posing by understanding its basic principles and breaking it down further...

by Michael Anthony

The professional photography market may appear saturated and highly competitive. Moreover, many photographers’ prices are so low that, to compete with them, you would have to work for less than a liveable wage.

One solution to this issue is not to compete with them but to offer something completely different. Considering yourself to be ‘different’ in a creative industry such as photography might sound like a cliché, but there are tangible things you can do to set yourself apart. For instance, improve your website, make your branding and logo consistent and communicative, and hone your business skills. Above all, create a portfolio that is different.

Quite often, a client will not be experienced in assessing photographic quality. They’ll not be able to tell the difference between a good photograph and an exceptional one. Therefore, to get a client’s attention ahead of all those photographers offering a cut-price service, your...

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 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...

By Michael Anthony

Well, we survived, 2020 was a bitch, there is no getting around it. For those of you that are wedding photographers, especially in the coastal states, you no doubt experienced a business disruption unlike anything that you had ever seen before. 

But like I have been saying since the beginning of the pandemic....there is not just light at the end of the tunnel.....there is a supernova of shining opportunity. The pandemic cleared the way for the businesses that were able to adapt and hang on, however all of the clients that have been waiting for it to end have been quietly fighting for dates in the latter half of 2021. 

So the opportunity is there for those of you that are willing to wait for it. But as with any other year, if we want to succeed we have to have a plan. So today I am going to help you write your 2021 business plan if you haven’t had a chance to do it. 

I am a creative, why should I write a plan?

Simple.....just as the old adage...