Katelyn's Mentoship Program
Katelyn's Goals
1. Social Media Advertising(You will acheive this goal by post on social media 2 times a week for three months)
2. Getting More Clients(You will acheive this goal by using the heck out of social media and giving your clients a great experince!)
3. Pleasing Clients( You will acheive this goal by getting to know your clients and what they are looking for in their pictures. You will ask these questions each time before a session. -How do you want to feel when you look back at your pictures? -What is the most important thing to you to have captured)
Picture of the month
I will pick a picture each month that you do that I believe shows your improvement and I will tell you why I am proud of it here!
I love this picture because the posing is perfect!
I love the eye pop you got!
I love the editing I loved the whole gallery editing
My Goals for you this month
1. I want you to edit one picture a week that you are really proud of the edit
2.I want you to do a session and then I want you to cull the photos and how every many you got you will -15 and that will be the number of photos you say you will deliever when a client ask
Advanced Mentorship Program
Month 1
Tough Situations and how to work through them
Bad Lighting
This might be any photographers worse fear! Understanding lighting and how it works can be very overwhelming but once you start to understand it more you will be able to handle any bad lighting situation.
1. Show Up Early- see what the lighting is doing and where we want to start. It is important to have a game plan in your head even if it does not go exactly how you thought it would
2. Keep Moving
– if you are in lighting that is just not working keep moving around. Take a picture in one spot and if you don’t like it keep moving
3. Good Lighting Don’t Move
– If you have found a great spot with good lighting stay there awhile and get a lot of poses in that way you at least have a good chunk of pictures in great light
4. Create Your Own Good Lighting
– Bring your own lighting! This has saved me so many times! Have your assistant or a light stand hold it for you and pop that light on them!
Only Have 5 Minutes
Sometimes you run into situations where you have very little time to get a lot of pictures in weather it is from a couple being late to a session, they didn’t do a first look and they just want to get into their reception or a freak storm out of nowhere is heading your way! Theses and more can all be reasons why you might have to work fast! I do not recommend working fast unless you have to! I want to show you that you don’t have to panic and that you can do it while getting great pictures!
1. Stay In One Spot- find great lighting and just stay there! You will not have time to go to different places to do all your work in one spot
2. 5 Minute Posing- Do these 4 poses each with a Wide, Medium and Close Up and you will have plenty of pictures!
• Cuddle up- Have them look at the camera and smile and then have them look at each other! That 6 shots already
• Cake Topper-Have them hold hands and look in opposite directions and then have them look at each other! That’s 12 now
• Basic Prom Pose-Have them go into a prom pose and tell the guy to whisper something funny into her ear! That 15!
• Walking- have them walk towards you and looking at each other and then have him lead her off! You will have AT LEAST 21 great shots from just that 5 minutes!
Location Is A No Go
This can be scary! Maybe the spot you have picked out for your session is blocked off or there are way too many people there or maybe you have a bride who doesn’t want to go anywhere and is missing out on a great location. Don’t worry because if you do these things it will work out.
1. Show Up Early- give yourself time to come up with a backup plan if a location is blocked off or just not going to work
2. Do NOT Panic- the first thing you are going to want to do is freak out but trust me that will only make it worse just take a second to breath and think about the next best thing you can do
3. Backups- before the session or wedding have a few backup locations in mind just in case. Do your research and know what is around you
4. It Is Their Day- if you have a bride or groom who is unwilling to go to a spot just go with it! Find the closest good lighting and just take them there. I know this is hard but at the end of the day it is about them and what they want
Awkward/Talkative/Grumpy Clients
Yikes! This is no fun for anyone when you have a couple who are any of these things but it is okay and I have had all of these and ended up being able to get great pictures!
1. Keep Them Moving- if you have a couple who is awkward in front of the camera it might be that they are nervous and what I do to keep them from looking awkward in the pictures is have a lot of movement poses and a lot of looking at each other! This can make it easier on them because they are not having to look into the camera
2. Build Them Up- be their hype person! When they do something good let them know! Give them lots of feedback! Complement them!
3. Enjoy The Moment- If you have someone who is talkative it can be hard to get a picture of them without them talking lol I have them face each other and go forehead to forehead and just close their eyes and tell them to just soak up the moment! Or sometimes I just flat out tell them in a nice way that they will look silly lol
4. Be So Happy- if you have a grumpy groom or parent do not let that get to you! Be so happy and so excited that is is very hard for them not to be happy around you!
Equipment Problems
Oh no this might be the worst one! This is the one that can give you nightmares! I have had cameras stop working, cards corrupt, and cameras almost fall to the ground! As easy as it is to say this but much harder to actually do YOU HAVE GOT TO STAY CALM! Going into panic mode will not help the situation anyways!
1. Have A Back Up- Alwayssss bring back ups of everything from cameras, batteries, cards everything bring a back up!
2. Test your Equipment
– The day before the session or wedding test all your equipment
3. Second Shooter- This will give you a peace of mind because at least you have someone else who is capturing it as well
4. Send Card Off- You can send a corrupted card off and 9 times out of 10 they can get the pictures back! It is not cheap but at least you will have the pictures.
5. Serve your client- If something happens and it can’t be fixed just offer them another session or just refund them.
5 Ways To Create A Great Experience Every Time
1. Be their hype girl!!
2. Email, text, message them on social media and let them know how excited you are any chance you can
3. Remember it is about them and not us
4. Complement them right away
5. Get to know them and what matters to them
6. Interact with them on social media
7. Be a nice person lol
8. Let them know exactly how everything will work
9. Offer to help anyway you can
10. Answer all of their questions even if they are silly
11. Love what you do
Challenge of the month!!
I want you to pick a week where you shoot everyday for a straight 7 days! It doesn’t have to be a session each time but get out there and shoot something for at least 30 minutes each day!! Then cull and edit one from each day and upload it to CloudSpot and we will go over it during our coaching call
Username: holley.wright11@gmail.com
Password Mentorship
Time to Practice
• I will show you spots I will pick and why I pick these spots
• I will go over my system (LBP)
• 5 minute posing
• You 5 minute posing
• You lead the session( now that you know you can get all the pictures you need in 5 minutes if need be I want you to slow down and think about your shots and I want you to give the couple a great experience)
Being Prepared= quality work
Send a questionnaire:
- Where are the bride & groom getting ready? (please provide addresses)
- Is hair and makeup coming to you or are you going to a salon?
- Do you plan on doing a first look?
- How many people are in your wedding party?
- How long do you expect the ceremony to last?
- Where is your ceremony taking place? (Please provide address)
- Are there any specific rules we should be aware of for your ceremony?
- Where is your reception, if different? (Please provide address)
- Are there any special/unusual parts of your wedding day I should be aware of?
- Bride’s parents’ name & marital status?
- Groom’s parents’ name & marital status?
- Tell me about how ya’ll met. I love these stories!
- What is the most important thing to you on your wedding day?
- Are you excited?
Set up a phone call with couple at least a month before the wedding or event!
I ask these three questions during a phone call and this helps me create key words and a mission statement for the couples wedding or session. Here is an example from a couple of mine:
- What are you most excited for on the day of the wedding?
They are most excited for the first look and to see the grooms reaction to the bride because the bride LOVES her dress!
- What is the most important thing to have captured on the wedding day? Besides the big events: Kiss, First Look , walking down the aisle.
The most important thing to have captured is their family! They don’t all get together a lot so it is special to have them all there!
- How do you want to feel when you look back at your pictures?
They want to feel like they can relive the whole day and that it was full of joy and smiles!
After I have had this phone call then I am going to write down 5-8 key words from the conversation
Key Words:
First Look
Dress
Family
Smiles
Relive the day
After we have our key word we will create a mission statement for this wedding.
Mission Statement:
To capture their wedding day in away that allows them to relive the whole day and to see all of their family in one place smiling and having a great time! To show off the brides dress and to make sure we really capture the grooms first look in away that will show of his reaction to her!
Must Gets! Dress, His first looks, family during reception/ceremony/in between moments
All of this is going to take the guessing game out of the problem!
How to Create a wedding day schedule
With a First Look
Details/make up hair – 1 hour
Groom getting ready shots- 20 minutes
Getting into dress- 15 minutes
First look -15 minutes
Couple pictures- 45 minutes
Wedding party pictures- 40 Minutes
Family Pictures- 30 minutes
Ceremony details- 15 minutes
Ceremony-30ish minutes
Sunset Pictures 15 minutes
Without a First Look
Details/make up hair – 1 hour
Bride into dress- 15 minutes
Bridals + Bridesmaid Pictures- 45 minutes
Groom getting ready- 15 minutes
Groom + Groomsmen- 25 minutes
Ceremony Details- 15 minutes
Ceremony- 30ish Minutes
Family Pictures- 15 minutes
Whole wedding party-15 minutes
Couple Pictures- 35 minutes
*Make sure you give yourself an hour before the ceremony to allow everyone to take a breather and for you to stop for a second and think and get ready for the ceremony
* First Look Ceremony time an hour before sunset (AS LONG THE CEREMONY IS NO LONGER THAN 30 Minutes)
*Without First Look Ceremony time 2 hours before sunset
How To Deal With Dark Inside Pictures
Getting ready space
- Open all windows
- Turn off lighting
- Add light if needed
- Put them in the window lighting
- Have a lens with a low f-stop
Raining and have to shoot inside
- Find that window or door
- Get create with your poses
- If its messy in the background move things or shoot at a low f-stop
- If the picture isn’t interesting enough that means you aren’t close enough
- NOT EVERY SESSION OR WEDDING HAS TO BE PERFECT
Reception
- Bring lights and set them on the dance floor!
Put them a cross from each other so you have a light on them and then light that is giving them a nice glow! I would suggest staying in one spot near the light and getting their faces as they turn toward you
Challenge of the Month:
Shoot indoors!! Do a session that is inside and I want you to practice finding good lighting!
Month 3 Get Dream Bookings
Creating Your Brand!
Style:
Show me the top 10 pictures you love and tell me why you love them?
I like the warm with pop of color! I like a mix of classic posing and interacting with each other posing! I like to make people feel beautiful and for them to see how I see them!
Tell me about your dream session? How does it go?
Golden hour at a beautiful French style mansion with a beautiful pound or lake that has a great staircase! The couple is dressed up classy and love having their picture taken! They are calm and just want to soak up the moments
Top three session you love doing?
Weddings, engagement and Bridals
If you could pick anywhere where would you love to shoot? (greenery, city, waterfall)
A beautiful historical mansion with a stunning open garden
Type of person you love to take pictures of?(Laid back, outgoing, fun)
Sweet, caring, easy to get along with, wants to be friends, loves having her picture taken
When people talk about you as a photographer what do you want them to say?
She is the sweetest and made me feel beautiful! Her work brings me joy
This is your brand!
I am a photographer who loves to make people feel beautiful! I get very excited anytime I get to have a wedding or engagement session at an historical home with a stunning garden! I love when I get couples who love other people and who understand the importance of pictures. My goal with every session I have is to make my couples feel loved and for them to see the beauty I see in them. I strive to create pictures that look like true colors with a pop! Ten years down the road I want your pictures to look timeless and that no one will be able to tell when it was taken.
Take your brand and tell and show your audience!
Social media
JK 5
Pick 5 main things you want to post about (Weddings, Engagement , Me, Videos, Details)
Monday
Which JK5?
Is it to Inspire, Educate or Entertain?
Who am I posting this for?
Why does it matter?
What action do I want people to take?
Will the caption Tell a story, Ask a question, Make a list or Short and Sweet?
Caption:
Wednesday
Which JK5?
Is it to Inspire, Educate or Entertain?
Who am I posting this for?
Why does it matter?
What action do I want people to take?
Will the caption Tell a story, Ask a question, Make a list or Short and Sweet?
Caption:
Friday
Which JK5?
Is it to Inspire, Educate or Entertain?
Who am I posting this for?
Why does it matter?
What action do I want people to take?
Will the caption Tell a story, Ask a question, Make a list or Short and Sweet?
Caption:
