SWP Episode 014
On this episode, Matt is joined by the other members of the photography team at MJ&Co. Stories - get to know the faces you'll be seeing on your wedding day! Crystal, Melissa, Darby and Matt chat about why having photos of your special day are so important and answer questions like "What makes a good photo in the first place?".
We tell your stories. This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at how we do that.
Transcription of the episode can be found below the photos.
TRANSCRIPT
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Matt: Hello, you are listening to The Sask Wedding Podcast. If you're bride to be or just love weddings, we created this show just for you. I'm your host, Matt Ramage. I'm the owner of MJ&Co. Stories, a photography and film company based in Saskatoon. On today's episode, I'm totally winging this 'cause we're on a roll, we have our whole photo team today.
Woo!
That is Crystal Ramage my wifey, Darby Ratzlaff, and Melissa Weir.
Melissa: Hi.
Matt: So we're all on today to talk about everything you need to know about wedding photography. Does that sound like a plan?
Melissa: Oh yeah.
Darby: Yes.
Matt: Thanks for being here. It's gonna just gonna fade that music out, nonchalant.
All right, so the whole episode is what are, what episode are we at with this one? Who knows, Like 15, We're over a year into this, and so one of the reasons we started this podcast was to show the inside of what the wedding industry is like, and maybe shed a little bit of light onto what the wedding industry's we're so in it, so we, we see it all. Weekend after week, and we see a lot of things that are very similar. But for you, it's your first time working with photographers, working with vendors, with venues, all that kind of stuff. And so we thought it'd be really cool to just give an inside scoop on to what the photography life is and what you can expect when you work with a photographer.
Does that sound okay?
Melissa: Sounds great. ?
Matt: Yes. Thanks, Darby
Melissa: Darby's first podcast. Welcome. Hi guys. Hi
Matt: There's a video of it. You should watch a video out of this. This is funny. Oh
Darby: man. I'm like, start to do sweat. I'm like so nervous.
Melissa: Okay.
Matt: All right, so I wanted to start wedding day. Imagine you're at a wedding day like we all have been in the last few weeks. , what's one of the things that couples or family come and say to you before you guys head out for the night, Kinda when you're wrapping it up?
No one knows these questions ahead of time. Just so our viewers and listeners know, putting
Melissa: us like, when you're like, at the
Crystal: end of the day, end of the day
Melissa: you're done.
Darby: You get the, Oh my gosh, you guys are so easy to work with. Everyone thing went so flawless. And then you also. The uncles that are like, Is this your career or is this your, is this
Melissa: your full-time job?
This is your
Darby: full-time job. But it's super cute. I don't know. I love it. Yeah. Thank you
Crystal: so much. You went above and beyond. Yeah. You're
Darby: so awesome. Yeah. I can't wait to see the photos.
Matt: So we have it's probably one of my favorite parts of the wedding day is just like we, we re as a team, like we really work hard on like our service side of what we.
So everything we do is based around making sure our brides feel taken care of, and that's backed by, It's really easy to take good photos of people when they're having a good time. And it's really hard if people are, if something's off on the wedding day or they feel flustered or something, And it's not nec, it's not something we did necessarily.
Maybe it's just like a guest or groom or something didn't go quite right. The flowers were supposed to be there, but they went to the guy's house instead of the girl's house. And now things are like a little bit. w We're trying to make sure that the bride feels okay, things are running late. Hey, you know what this is actually our last wedding.
Hey Brooke. This is our last bride, Brooke. Hey just so you know on time, weddings are 15 minutes late. That would be on time. On time is weird. If so, if you're feeling, And she was feeling a little bit rushed and she felt just good to hear that from me. And everybody in the room just took a deep breath and like relaxed a little bit.
And then their wedding was like, fine. It was like, I think it was 15 after. And she was walking walking down the aisle, which was really good. So because of that approach, we get a lot of at the end of the day, like bridesmaids and parents coming up to us being like, That was great. That was fun.
And I don't know, it feels pretty rewarding to leave and Darby was Darby shot. Which one was it? Matt and Kaylee's wedding. You went on the party bus with.
Darby: Oh yeah, I did. I did.
Matt: And at the end of the wedding they're like, Oh they're giving shoutouts like, in let's say in the speeches or something, they're shouting out to us or Matt and Kaylee was like, Oh, Darby, we're gonna have to have, you have to have you at our next party, or something like that, which is just awesome to still
Darby: waiting for my invitation.
Matt: Yes, . You actually, I think on our fridge in the studio, your name is referenced and the party bus times from their thank you cards. Barbie, our party
Melissa: bus queen. Yep. . Woo.
Darby: Love .
Matt: So those are some of the things like we, I think are a pillar to the way we think a wedding day and a wedding service should go.
But yeah, which is why I wanted to ask you that. I wanted to maybe go into what do you think. Great wedding photos. Each of you might have an answer.
Melissa: People that are really in love, people that aren't too, definitely when they're not stressed out, like if people are stressed on their wedding day, it does tend to show over in their photos.
And when people are a little more relaxed, and we've talked about this on another episode, and how important it can be to have a planner, just have a plan in general, but not being stressed, finding ways. To be relaxed on your wedding day so you can just focus on each other. I think that's my opinion. Yeah,
Darby: I agree with that.
I think there's so much anxiety that, couples can create for themselves on a wedding day that I like to always say. Everything happens in divine timing and whatever happens on your day is exactly the way it's meant to be. And stressing over the little details. Isn't always the most important part of your day.
The most important part of your day is just being with the person that you love and like really connecting and enjoying each other's company at the end of the, at the end of it all. So it's all about
Melissa: love. Best photos we get are people that are just focused on one another. Happy? Yeah.
Matt: Crisscross. Crystal
Put you on the
Crystal: spot I was looking at Josiah. Now I'm laughing. I don't, I would. I agree. And I think too, just Ila, when we can find time to just take the couple away from even their wedding party, just be like, Okay, it's just you two now. Take a deep breath, like how is your day going? Connect with them and you just see them relax and the vibe changes a bit and yeah, just telling them to remember to take time for the two of them and enjoy the day the best that
Matt: they can.
Awesome. What does it mean to you to tell people's stories? Like, why photography? We talked about this on the video only podcast. Or the episode we just recorded, and it was like, if people, if they're, if it's a choice between photography and video, they will do photography. So it's like everybody gets photography.
Why, why do peop like, why get us what makes us special? In your guys' words? We tell
Melissa: the story. That's our stick,
Matt: and what does that mean to you? We want
Melissa: people to remember what it was like to be there. And a lot of times I think when we're photographing and when they look back, even at the reveal session people are like, Oh, that happened.
I didn't even see it. I was so caught up in the day. So it helps them to. See everything that was happening when they're so caught up and they go, Oh, remember that? Ha. And, just remembering how it feels to be there.
Darby: Yeah. Especially since we shoot in, in pairs. So there's all of the little things that, one person might not see, but the other person experiences.
But when you look back at those photos, you can, understand how the other person may have been feeling or what they were doing that you feel like you missed out on at that very moment. But then you can look back and be like, That was great. That was a great
Melissa: moment. Yeah. Even like when sh, when one person's walking down the aisle and the other person's waiting up there for them, you can't shoot both of their faces at the same time.
So to have two photographers be able to get you. One person's reaction, the other person it's really cool.
Matt: Crystal, you usually, when we're photographing, you usually do the guys. And I'm usually with the ladies. Tell me what that's like to capture the one side.
Melissa: That's a good
Crystal: question.
It's good. I actually really like being with the guys. Usually you show up and they. Oh, I guess we should start getting ready. Hey, the guys are so much more laid back and so laid back and you can you just roll with it? I don't know. You're like, Yeah, you do your best to keep them on time.
Okay. When do we have to be at the church or wherever they're getting married. When does that mean we have to leave by? Yeah, You guys should probably start getting ready and, I don't know, it's just a more laid back vibe and usually they're all really good with timing. . They get ready when they should and
Melissa: yeah, I don't know.
It's less preparation, Less prep. Yeah. Yeah. We do a lot of tie. Tie. Yeah, you do and or like corsages. Yeah.
Crystal: You're like, Oh yeah. I guess we don't know how to put these on good booters squares
Melissa: ERs. Oh yeah. Not corsages. What? You wear the wrist? That's the wrist, Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I had
Darby: one wedding. That's the one, I had one wedding this year and he had a real bow tie and thank goodness, a clip on bow tie.
But I think we spent probably. Three hours of the day just trying to figure out how to tie the bow tie. , if you have a bow tie, make sure you know how to tie it. Got it. That's all I, that's
Matt: all I to say. I like what was, Yeah, you see some wedding, like we're in Saskatchewan, so like tons of people were in suits is like the first or second time in their life wearing a suit.
, these are brand new suits you. It's funny being there. It's especially with the guys, cuz you see like they still have the stuff sewn on the wrist. Like the brand and label or like what's the tail? The
Crystal: pocket. Like they'll have their pockets, not the sewing. Yeah, it's still sewn up.
Or another one's the buttons. You're like, Oh, you
Melissa: only
Crystal: do the top button. Oh, okay.
Melissa: There's two buttons
Matt: here. They always look at us like there's always one groomsman. I don't believe you. It's seriously, that's I didn't invent the suit, but I've seen a few, We have
Melissa: shot a lot of weddings. We've seen a lot of suits.
Matt: Yeah. Where the tails on the coat are always stitched. Oh, if like the slits on the back of the coat. There's usually two or one depends on the coat style, but, , Yeah. Often together. You haven't ripped the stitch. Yeah. . Yeah. But yeah, it's it's fun. We're there to help make sure. I quite enjoy it actually when it's like, what a single venue, let's say the barn at Wins Edge or a hotel where both couples have a room and we can go between rooms. I really actually I like being able to split up if we do need. . And then I also like, if we're in the same place, like maybe both of us can help get the bride getting ready.
Melissa: It's fun bouncing back and forth when everyone's in the same place and it's Hey, you're in here. It's fun. . .
Matt: It's a good time. Hey, you're in here.
Melissa: Hey. Hello. Hey, you're in this hook. I was fun to join you, .
Matt: The guy and the guys don't need as much attention as the ladies. Yeah. So it's it's nice, like being able to have everybody.
Whether it's Crystal and I or you two when you're on your on site on day, you can go, both get, maybe it's the first look of the dad to the bride. I really like that, especially when we're at those smaller venues where you're not doing so much traveling. That all being said, I don't, I do like also when couples get ready at a place that matters, maybe it's their family home or their parents' house, or maybe it's their first house.
We try to tell the story in a way where it's okay, they got a few pictures on the wall. Maybe they even have their invite on the fridge, or a love letter on a magnet or something. Or just something that makes it feel like they're home. Often if people have pets too, like that's the only time the pets are in the photos, unless they bring them in.
, like most people don't incorporate pets into their wedding day. And I find that's one good way to do it where you kinda. Get 'em in there a bit, but yeah. So let's go over like the whole storytelling process about what we do and then we can go about like why we do it. So every wedding we do we start off before a couple even books us with a, we call it a discovery call.
And what we go over with them is a few questions and then eventually we go over how we capture a wedding day. We do it a little bit differently than some people. Would do it, sit the same. And we have a rule about everything we do. We do it the way we would want it done for us.
And so we don't have any other packages other than like full day coverage. So what do you guys think about just that approach to wedding photography? Some, back in the day we were talking about this earlier this year we were talk, maybe it was today, we were talking about older photography styles where you'd go to the studio, , back in the seventies and eighties, there was that one place here that had, they had a little arch.
The guy had a garden or lady had a garden in her backyard. And everybody's photos were all on this like arch staircase and stuff. It's come a long way since then. Let's just talk about a little bit like that difference in the wave. Weddings are captured these days.
Melissa: I think especially in the last couple of years, people are starting to move way more toward.
Kind of a snapshot sorta look of their wedding rather than really super posed, formal. I don't know what's the best way to articulate that. Yeah, snapshot. Like they wanna see what's actually happening. They don't wanna just pose everything and make it artificial. They wanna actually.
Like candid style. Yeah. More candid too. Yeah. Or even
Matt: the flash photography. Yeah.
Melissa: That's made a big resurgence. Blurry photos.
Matt: Polaroid style. Polar. I even saw, I saw a wedding just few weeks ago, and it was like, Polaroids were a huge part of the way they captured their day. That's what they, Yeah.
They weren't sharing photos from their day. They were showing photos of Polaroids from their day and, , They were captured really like lofi. Like it was definitely a vibe and a look.
Melissa: Yeah. That's a big trend I think happening right now. I think
Darby: it's it's a trend that will ultimately stick because those photos not to say that digital isn't the best, but also those photos are the best just because it's such a raw, an authentic, candid moment that you can't redo, like what you get on that piece.
Of film is what you get. And so many people are so caught up in Oh, do I look like this or do I look like that? But as soon as you bring the film out, it's like you get your photo and it's like you just have to let that feeling of how you felt when that photo was being taken sink in. That was super deep.
love it. My
Matt: words are, but no, I totally agree. Yeah. And I. I think that might be part of just like the world we're in right now with Instagram and like just social media influencers, like everybody showing their their best side you could call it their highlight real well, Kate, and this is a funny story.
Instagram was just like messaging me and you know how like you update the app, we have a bunch of accounts. We have MJ and co studio d I have my own Matt Ramage TV personal. and then I go on Instagram and it's Oh, you should start a new account for just your friends to see. And I'm like,
Like even Instagram knows it's all like a fake show for a lot of people. That's how people perceive it. And I think it was just last week I saw Be Real, the new app was like one of the most popular apps on the app store last week or something like that. Anyway, it wasn't an article. And I think that's inspired because people are tired of the sham.
You go on Instagram and you just feel like it's just the
Melissa: best, The planned out post. . Yeah. Yeah. That
Darby: being said, the be real only counts if you're doing it when they're telling you to do it. Unlike Josiah, you can know, you can do. I'm gonna be real later at, at this certain time that I know is gonna be really cool.
Matt: Okay Here's what I think of it. I think it's like people like it. I especially like it because, Okay, fun fact about it. You can't actually see everybody else's be real from the. Unless you do yours, which I just learned today. . And then you only . The first post I made, I was like in my bedroom watching the office.
I didn't realize it shoots your front camera and then you're like, just your screen camera. I'm looking, I have a shot of my feet and like I'm watching the office. I'm like, Okay, this is what I'm doing. And then it takes a shot of my face, but I'm looking at the phone and I look like you got like tensions.
I look like a grandma who's trying to FaceTime their grandchild through their bifocals with their chin all tucked. Anyway, it was really funny. But yeah, I feel. . One of the things we've tried to do, this was my first wedding was 28, Sorry, 2008. So that's we're into like, I think finishing our 15th season.
Yeah, we are. Yeah. That's crazy. Or maybe 16th. I can't, what's the math on that? 2008 every year. It's 14 years ago. Cause we got married. Oh seven. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So this is our 15th season and I guess what I. I find really interesting as I've seen so many looks and styles come and go. Yeah. Especially in the way people edit photos.
, there was a big push right when I was starting, People would really put a lot of filters on photos and, filters aren't bad or yet they're just, they just changed the photo. But I remember there was this glowy. I don't know if you guys remembers or the, Yeah, it was like pulled from like an and hazy and Getty.
Yeah. Your whites are all like dreamy and bloomed. Yeah. And then your blacks are whatever, and then the colors are, a little bit hyper real. And then that was when film was just getting pop, or sorry, digital was just starting to switch. And then since then you've seen like tons of different styles too.
Like heavy film, grain styles. Heavy, like monochromatic styles. . And you just see them like come and go and like our approach has always been to try to make it timeless, which is like completely hard because you're trying to make it feel awesome and then still look what's the best way to put it?
Be on
Crystal: end with what the season is or
Matt: I don't wanna look at a wedding photo and cringe in 10 years. Yeah. Or 15 years or 20 years.
Melissa: Like you want it to be relevant, but you want it to be timeless to. .
Matt: So yeah, so like letting, for me, I think one of the things that's been a foundation for us is like letting the photos be the way we captured them.
So we're not doing heavy retouching and Photoshop on people. If you have a zit, for sure we'll take it off. But we're not doing boob jobs and butt jobs and making you have a six pack or taking
Melissa: No, we're not gonna change how you look. .
Matt: Yeah. And then as far as one of our biggest things we look at is like skin tone.
Does it look good? And we do try to make it look like film. But I don't know, like that balance of looking really good now, but also timeless is I find challenging. And
Melissa: I think, Did you ever do that? I'm backtracking, but did you ever do. The trend where it was like black and white, but then one thing was in color, like a red rose or something.
We have wedding photos of that blue eyes and just the eyes are blue and everything else is black and white.
Matt: Yeah. And Getty, I swear, .
Melissa: Remember
Crystal: my roses were red and then we're black and white.
Melissa: Oh yeah.
Would
Darby: love to see those photos one day soon. Preferably today we have an album,
Melissa: possible . Just dig it
Crystal: up.
Dig it up, and bring it.
Matt: It's funny, like how you like look back. Like I think when you look at a photo, the only thing that should make you smile or chuckle is Oh my dad. Let's say it's your kids looking at it. I remember your dad, your mom and dad's wedding photos. Your dad has like this massive throw
Yeah. And it was not giant. It wasn't like accidental. He wasn't born. He had it permed. . Yeah. This is what, late seventies?
Crystal: Yeah. He had some natural curl, but it was definitely accentuated.
Melissa: My dad had the most awesome mullet on his wedding day. I think I might even have it on my phone. I'm gonna look for it while we're talking, cuz it's
amazing.
Matt: And I think that's the things that you wanna . I think preserving that is exactly what we do and it's not trying to make it something that's not let it be what it is almost, yeah. I know back in the day in that era, a lot of filters were used. Like you couldn't Photoshop this like digitally very easily or, that didn't really happen until the late nineties and early two thousands.
But you had people painting on negatives actually, right? So if you, if had rough skin, they would actually take a little pin to the negative and rub it. Add some texture there and just smooth out any bags under your eyes. So you could go look at, you could go look at negatives and if you saw an enlargement, you'd see like manual scratching or they'd literally paint on the negative or maybe they'd make the enlargement and then paint on the print.
It was pretty, pretty different than now, obviously that was,
Melissa: Yeah, that's a whole other art form.
,
Crystal: That'd be scary. Like you would've to be very
Melissa: skilled. You have one shot.
Matt: Ugh. Yeah. Then you don't wanna wreck your negative either. Yeah, that's what I mean. Because That was the
Darby: thing.
Yeah. How many roles do you think wedding photographers used to shoot in a day? In a wedding? In one wedding? Cuz you usually get. 36. I'm assuming they'd probably shoot 36 exposures on one roll if they're doing 35. Is that standard? I don't think that many. 24 is I don't know, anywhere from 24 to 36.
Unless it's medium format. Yeah. Is it, You
Crystal: still be very much, you go to a studio too, right? Like you go to a studio, you get your
Melissa: portrait. I don't think it would've been anywhere near what we shoot now. With digital, you can just shoot like tens of thousands, which limited, which is typically what we end up with so many people at each wedding and
Matt: like we shoot probably 5,000 a wedding on average, like at least.
Yeah. What I found is the cameras we have that are faster, we sh whoever has those. Because we got that one new camera this year shoots a little slower than the other ones. That A 74? Yeah, that one shoots slower. And I actually find I shoot a lot less cuz it, it's just not as snappy. So I find any camera we have that's like really fast, like the most of 'em are 10 frames a second, and whoever's using those, it's like we're blowing through digital, like files like crazy.
But yeah, film, Here's what I know I apprentice under a photographer. They would shoot medium format for the portraits, 35 mil for the events. So you'd have, your reception was like 35 mil, black and white, because it could see, like you could get higher is ISOs, right? Most people actually still just, they just didn't photograph the reception.
Most people just had family photos and formals. That was it. And then if they added anything, they'd often add the ceremony. That was a bonus. And which is so different from today where you. Most people do storytelling, photography, where they're having the photographer there eight or more hours, like they're having a full day coverage.
Which, I don't know I don't know anyone who doesn't do that, yeah. Unless you just have a different day, maybe like elopement photography is very different where that's just like flying in on a mountain that's not quite the same you're not necessarily having a reception that day and stuff like that.
That's more like a portrait session.
Melissa: Wedding day photography now is a lot more photojournalistic than it used to be. I. Mostly like I'm sure there were lots of people that still shot that way, but I think from what I've seen, it was like, yeah, wedding day portraiture and that was it. And you just stop for the photos and you then you go above the rest of your day.
But now it's like we are there with the couple more than anyone else that day were there like for everything. So we catch
Matt: all the little, not ev, not wow. Guys
Melissa: Come down. We usually leave around one or 10 o'clock. .
Crystal: before things get too
Matt: crazy. That's the plan. Anyway, , I love a good party, but yeah.
People don't want photos once the clothes start coming off,
Melissa: once the tires start getting
Matt: undo. Yeah. Our friend at Belts, Yeah, our friend Nick or Miles as I know him from Miles Away Entertainment has told me many a story cuz he's there till the end, literally probably. He's literally there later than anyone else.
Cause he still has that an hour or two pack down. And he was telling me that like clothes coming off is so common at the end of the night. Oh yeah. Like it doesn't matter how fancy the venue, rainy, monitored, or part, Usually the
Melissa: women though, it's always the guys like taking their shirts off and stuff.
Yeah. We usually aren't there for that sometimes. Sometimes,
Darby: but yeah. Yeah. On a 34 degree day, I'm sure most men would probably take their shirts off during formals if we let them, but we don't . Yeah.
Melissa: Probably in everyone's best interest. Yeah. Yes.
Very
Matt: much we, let's talk about a bit about what we deliver.
And so we talked about the way we approach weddings and we start with a storytelling mentality or what would you call that? I don't know, Approach. Approach or creative approach. And so that a creative approach is it goes through the whole process. So before we photograph a wedding, we're asking couples, like literally on that first phone call we have that.
What's gonna make your day a 10 outta 10? And then people are a, answering that very, There's a few different answers I would say. There's some commonality and oftentimes it's we wanna have a good day. We want everyone to be relaxed, stress free. Yeah. And we want everybody to have a good time. And and then lastly We want really great photos.
Not everybody actually says that. I would say not, I would say it's common. Yeah. But the stress-free one's probably the most popular comment. Yeah. And then after that, yeah, everything go planned. And then some, then the couples who really are really all about the photography or video, it's then they get into yeah, the photography.
We want really good portraits and When we start that whole process and journey with a couple, the first thing we do is we ask 'em, Okay, have you had photos before as a couple? Usually they're like, No, we haven't. I would say nine outta 10 couples have never actually had a photo session before, so they don't know what it's like.
They've done. Maybe they've done a session with like their family like, and they were just like the kid, like an extended family kind of thing. But it wasn't like just their session. So we always include an engagement session. . And maybe do you guys wanna share some of your favorite perks of the doing an engagement session?
Melissa: Yeah, so it's, it's the best opportunity to get to know a couple before you photograph their wedding. And their wedding is such an important part of their lives that you wanna make sure that you know them a little bit before going into it if you can. Like we, we've showed up to a few wedding days where we haven't met them before, but very rarely do we do that.
Always we'll get to know them a bit at a session first, and that way it gives them a chance to see how we work and photograph and what we like to do, even when we're prompting them for a few different, poses and things like that. But we can get to know them as individuals as a couple and kind of see how they work together, and that'll be so much more beneficial on the wedding day just knowing how they are together.
Even some people. Are funny being photographed and they're like not super comfortable with it. But that way we can find ways that we'll bring them outta their box a little
Matt: bit. How many people do you hear say, Oh, we're so awkward. I'm so
Melissa: awkward. Yeah, and then every single couple , and then
Matt: they see themselves in photos and then
Melissa: they're like, Oh, how did you capture that?
I didn't even know you were doing that at the time yet. Every single time.
Matt: I think it's so awkward. . I think that there's like. People get worked up. Like they wanna look good, they don't wanna look, I say this about myself, I was like, I just don't wanna look stupid. Even when I go get my haircut, what are we doing today?
And I'm like, Same as last time. Unless you think I should do something different, I just don't wanna look stupid. But I think people just don't want to look silly or whatever. And I think that's where it's, that's one of my favorite reasons to do it, is just that's their first time in front of the camera.
They get, see what we do. And then it's another way to. I like it cuz it's like celebrating your upcoming marriage and your like unity as a couple. Yeah. Not on the wedding day. It's a little bit more of what your life's like now. Plus along, you're not showing up with a camera on their wedding day.
They get to build a little confidence into us as a team. I think. So lots of perks that, which is why we do it. Like no charges, like and
Melissa: we get to see them a couple of times then too often because we'll meet them and we'll hang out with them for an hour and a half for their session.
Matt: And that's usually the
Melissa: first time we've ever, Yeah. And then after that we have the anticipation of coming into our studio for an in studio reveal session. And then we get to experience that with them a little bit too, where we get to see what their reaction is to their photos and they're excited.
And then we get to share in that and talk about how it went and how much fun we had a second time. And then, yeah we get to know our couples really well here, which is. Often they turn into friends. So
Matt: literally Crystal was a bridesmaid in a wedding because of photography. Cuz we met them.
And we've connected with a lot of people over the years too that we've worked with. Yeah. Been really fun. Which I think is you don't need to do that. We, it's just like the kind of team we are and the people we are is like, we're very like, we like to invite people in, even just to the space to see their photos.
We like. Do things for them do planning meetings. We like to have them in for friends and family day and really just connect with them so they see that we're just, we're also just normal people. There's nothing to be intimidated with us as a team. We're just there to have some fun with them, celebrate with them, capture what it was like.
Okay, we got that part of the process. So obviously you see the benefits of an engagement session if you've, Yeah, self-explanatory. Then we get into the wedding day, which we do planning for which we have a podcast all about building your timeline, which you should definitely check out.
But we do that too, to just help them have a really good flow. We understand it too, so we can keep things on track. One of the things we do as a team is when we're on site on the day, where're like watching the clock, and we know how much like flex time we have and how much, like when we gotta start, like laying the ground rules of Hey let's start moving.
Would you say Okay, bigger part, bigger wedding parties, How big is when you start really slowing down?
Melissa: Probably like anything more than four to five people on either side. Then you start to need to herd people in a little bit. .
Darby: Yeah. That's when it's like everybody has needs and they all need to be met.
Whether it be one person's hungry, someone's
Melissa: gonna go to the bathroom. Bathroom and you're running around, got a breastfeed. Yeah.
Darby: Li literal new babies are endless, but . Yeah. Then you have to manage more time than only your own.
Matt: And yeah, moving. Yeah. And just we're very aware of that.
We're also trying to look at You pick these people cuz you love them. So it's obviously they're important to you. So we gotta I don't know. One of our things is just like a team is you are not an inconvenience. Like one of our clients actually I think it was our last wedding, they were like, Oh, I'm so sorry.
We're like taking so long here. I'm like, this is your wedding day. It's all chill. This is very normal. Yeah. And we're gonna get it for you. And I'm not even a few weeks ago we had a bit of a. Local pub they had the time for it. So we were like, Yeah, let's do it. If we get to this point in time, I'm gonna take you guys out.
So we just went on it and I was very aware of the time, very efficient. Everybody in the wedding party was really good about it. We were able to get everything we needed, plus they gotta have a really good time with their friends. And we just rolled with that that kind of change in the timeline.
Melissa: We're pretty used to, we've shot so many weddings that we're so used to just flying by the seat of our pants too. Like people kind of panic that, Oh, it might not be going according to plan, but we've always got our eye on our watch and we're very used to like improving, So it's, we're pretty relaxed on a wedding day.
We're not too worried about how it's gonna go. Even if it doesn't go exactly according to plan. We'll come up with
Matt: something. And that's even like our team just so when we photograph, Crystal and I are photographing together. Darby and Alyssa are shooting together. And it's one of the things for us is we like a bit of our own mental clarity.
Like I'm able to, let's say family photos. Crystal, you photograph most of the families. And what do I usually do?
Crystal: Usually you're directing them. You're like, Okay, you're posing, helping with that sort of end of things. And then I'm ready with the camera. Take the photo, Kate. Next. We
Matt: call it the, we have a pretty good flow.
We call it the Wrangler. So I wrangle and and then Crystal's, just making sure they look. I'm ki I'm a second set of eyes, but it's actually fun. I don't know. It's a good time. Like
Melissa: everybody's like wind up the grandmas that wander off, right? ?
Crystal: Yeah. Yeah. It's or we'll send like Uncle Joe to go collect the grandma, but we just get into a system.
Matt: Yeah. And one of the things we do for that even is we're trying to be like, quick as possible without a rushed feeling. Want feed people to feel like they're having a good time. Okay. You don't go too far. You're right.
Up next, we're gonna have you right in the next one. Yeah. And then we're like this, like bit of a, I wouldn't call it an assembly line, but it's pretty darn
Melissa: close where we're just, we've got a system. Yeah. I actually just heard back from a bride this morning that was like, Oh, thank you so much for, one thing that we really remembered from the day was that, , you made the family photos like so seamless and moved so like quickly and efficiently and yet still you had no pictures of people blinking somehow that they were just so surprised that how quick we were able to get through it and still get every combination and cuz the family photos can be painful for the couple cuz it's so many different, trying to wrangle everyone. But we try to make it as easy for people as possible. .
Darby: I find it funny when you're taking family photos and then people are like, Who needs that many photos?
Cuz you just take five 10 in a row and then it's you got one with no one blinking. .
Melissa: Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.
Matt: So true. It's funny too we can head swap a photo, but just kinda like holding that button down, Taking six, six or 10 shots. It's And then all of a sudden, then you can actually get the one like you're talking
about.
Melissa: It's yeah, you've got a group of 20 people. Yeah. You involve
Crystal: kids and you're like, You guys just look, don't look at the
Melissa: kids. Look at
Darby: us. I almost think their faces get face swapped more than anyone else's. But kids, Yeah. The parents of the
Matt: kids you mean? Or the kids? No.
Melissa: I don't think we've done a lot of face swapping this year though.
I think it's been pretty good.
Darby: Yeah. We shoot, We left at minimal. There's been a few interesting ones, but Melissa's really good at Photoshop, so
Matt: yeah, she's the heavy hitter. Nice. We had one wedding this year that was so windy. It was like, I just was like, We don't, I knew when we walked away, we didn't have the shot, but I was like, We have one of everybody.
At least to build it. Yeah. Which only I think two people got swapped to another photo, which was taken like seconds apart, but the wind was, . It was just like the hair was
over
Melissa: coming. Yeah. From every which way. And no one will ever know whose wedding it was or what photos of who it was cause we're that good.
Matt: And I think given back to that, the last part of our approach maybe is just like we photograph in a way where we don't have to like Photoshop. So like it's a waste, in my opinion, it's like a waste of money for people to invest in, like fixing things later when. We can find good light, we can find a good location whether it's windy or not, you don't want us to spend our time creative energy doing a head swap.
You want us to do it like getting all the photos you want. Like we would rather deliver way more photos to couples. That are just as good as some well edited ones because the well edited ones, we didn't shoot as cl as clean, I guess is what I'm saying. It's better to shoot clean and deliver more.
Like we, we deliver tons of photos to people. Yeah. And we use Photoshop as like a. a last minute kind of, Yeah. It's a spare
Melissa: tire. Yeah. For the most part we don't really have to, but then, things happen that are unexpected on the wedding day, like a crazy windy day, or maybe it rains or something.
And It's a quick fix. It's a backup.
Matt: Yeah. If it's the shot and that's it, then it's a
Melissa: tool in our
Matt: tool. Yeah. And even then we're still like, like I was actually just shooting a family on Friday. It was a busy park. We had us keep it close to the parking lot cuz mobility was not as easy for the father.
And so we kept it really close to the parking lot, but it meant lots of people. So I was like, I just was like shooting in away where you couldn't even see them. Like I was just hiding.
Melissa: Yeah. Just wait until the person walks behind them and then, Yeah.
Matt: Yeah. And I think, for us it's. I want, Again, we try to create what we'd want for ourselves, but we want like something that like brings you back and it's okay, more photos is gonna help do that.
If I can walk around at a wedding reception and capture, a bunch of candidates of people hanging out, people with their friends, people with new friends, maybe, I don't know. Instead of worrying about like small things, just be very careful when I photograph. Shoot a few extra frames, pick the best one, edit it in our style.
We try to have good light, good skin tones and everything right before we even get it in Photoshop. I think all those things help us create something that isn't so temporary. I dunno. Last thing we do give everybody a print credit when we shoot their wedding. We have our own print lab here that Melissa.
and that's one of the last things we do. I was like, we talk, we've talked about it a few times, where the idea of having someone be able to pull a photo out of a drawer in 20 years, it's not gonna happen unless they actually have a few prints. Yeah. And so we include, I think, a pretty significant print credit.
We do it all ourselves, do free shipping. And we do that because. , we know people wanna share stuff on like Facebook and like Instagram or whatever the new apps are. I don't think people are doing too much on TikTok these days, but not yet. They do wanna share them, which I totally get.
And I think there's like a huge place for that. Just the way the world works, but also something you can hold, something that you can stumble upon when you're cleaning. Yeah. We have tons of prints at our own house and it's. You know when we find them, Not every photo stays in the wall forever.
I'm just gonna be honest. But when we find that pile, move it over, it's Oh, these are good. Oh remember this? Yeah. . And they don't get tossed because they mean something to us. They get Yeah. Put somewhere and we need a little filing cabinet probably for that probably stage.
Melissa: I get excited when a print order comes in cuz, especially if it's from a wedding that I like that we photographed because then I was there and it's like that Much more exciting.
And being able to deliver it to the couple and have them be excited and see it all it's cool like being able to do the process right from the beginning when you photograph it through the editing process and be able to print it and see a tactile thing. afterward.
Matt: Awesome. Any other tips you wanna share with anyone?
I'm wrapping it up just because we're going over time here. Any perks to work in with us,
Melissa: we're awesome. Really fun.
Darby: We add value to your life. . We know what we're
Melissa: doing. We've done it a lot.
Darby: We tell stories. We give you great photos and You might get the Darby treatment if you hire Melissa.
So on the
Melissa: party bus.
Darby: I warm up the dance floor. Party bus. Darby say .
Matt: I would say the last thing is we definitely care and we wanna make something for you that means something to you, something that you love you. Thanks for listening. Chat soon.
