After reading most of the book, I realized that I need to re-focus on the service portion of my business.  I’m not just a photographer, but I’m in the business of delivering a quality service.  We always try to remind ourselves of that in the studio but it’s easy to get comfortable with the systems in place and to forgo change when you don’t think change is necessary.  This book made me realize that we always need to be adapting to the market and be aware that things can always be better.

At the least, the book was humbling.  It explains that when it comes to marketing our services, most of us believe we are better than average.  Beckwith warns we should be cautious of  the Lake Wobegone effect, that is, we should beware of overestimating ourselves.  He cites that “90 percent of professors believe they are better than average and that most men think they are good-looking.”  This illusory superiority is what keeps us from re-examining our habits and checking in with our clients to be sure they are satisfied.

It’s easy to think that most people hire me for my ability to shoot at a wedding or the hard work I put into editing and creating slideshows, but the truth of the matter is that most people never see 90% of what myself and my assistants do behind the scenes.  They will never know how much of our heart we put into our work.  All people know is how they feel when we deliver a service and when they get to see the final product…and hopefully along the way we have remembered to take care of them.  The point is, we all need to pay as much attention to our delivery and service as we do to our craft.

So big take-away lesson #1: Don’t overestimate your service or your marketing.  Try to stay fresh and always remember you can do better.

In response to my new revelation, I realize that there are a few areas in my business I have been sorely neglecting, ie. My blog!  I have tried so hard this year to consistently turn albums and images around faster than ever before…that I have neglected to blog most of my weddings and share some of the fun and interesting insights of my business along the way.

So big take-away less on #2: Blog more! (the proof is in the pudding…so here you go!)

There are quite a few lessons which I don’t have the time to detail here…but for those of you who are in business, whether it’s a service industry or not, consider checking out this book.  It will forever change the way you do business and may even get you so excited you’ll be blogging past midnight!

Flowers by Angleic Grove

Make up by Deanna Rene

I must also mention that Victoria from Victoria Canada Weddings and Events did the details…who, BTW, has a new, fabulous blog at this link.

The flowers: Table Tops, Etc

Videography: Serendipity Videography

The dress is Ramona Keveza

Below features their collages of the images.  To view the article and see more check out this link

Here are a few more of my faves that I wanted to add to the mix…

Article from Professional Photographer Magazine

A national magazine for professional photographers recently published three of my images in their recent article about tips for brides.  Along with the images of my beautiful brides, Deanna Rene, a top AZ make up artist lists her bridal makeup tips for a picture-perfect face:

From Professional Photographer magazine, March 2010

1. BLEND, BLEND, BLEND. You can use your everyday makeup, but use more than you normally use every day. Many makeup professionals use airbrush makeup, the method of choice for high-definition TV, because it’s lightweight, waterproof and gives flawless coverage.

2. SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE. Use less makeup for a day wedding and more for evenings. You can get dramatic with eye makeup.

3. DON’T SKIMP ON CONCEALER. Use a moisturized concealer on the thin, sensitive skin under the eyes. If your concealer isn’t moisturizing, blend it with a skin cream. For blemishes, first treat them with a natural or over-the-counter anti-inflammatory, then cover with concealer.

4. DO A MAKEUP TRIAL RUN. It’s the only sure-fire, stress-free way to make certain your makeup will look beautiful.

5. NOT ALL MINERAL MAKEUP IS CREATED EQUAL. Titanium dioxide, a chemical used as sun block, can reflect flash, giving the bride a ghostly appearance. In 2009 makeup artist Annie May launched a line of mineral makeup especially formulated for photography called Advanced Mineral Makeup. May promises it won’t white-out the bride under a flash.

6. USE WATERPROOF MAKEUP WITH STAYING POWER. You don’t want to spend your reception in the bathroom reapplying your makeup. Foundation, eyeliner and mascara all should be waterproof. And in case you cry (and you probably will), have a tissue or handkerchief handy to gently blot your tears right at the eye.

7. KEEP YOUR LIPS MOISTURIZED AND COLORED. Dry lips look dreadful in photos. Have someone carry your lipstick for you and touch up often. Matte and gloss lipstick both photograph well, and be sure to use blended lip liner for enhanced definition.

8. DON’T FORGET THE GROOM. If the groom is red faced due to too much sun (or drinking), a little powder can help. That goes for shiny heads, too. And it’s a good idea to slip a tube of Chapstick in the groom’s pocket for his dry lips, as well as a handkerchief to dab well-wishers’ makeup smudges off his suit.

9. DON’T SPRINKLE ON GLITTER. In photographs, it tends to look like little white spots, as if there’s something wrong with the camera.

10. REMEMBER to apply foundation and powder to your neck, shoulders and décolletage—you want your head to look like it belongs to your body!

There was visual drama as well.  The intense sun made it easy to take advantage of strong visual elements like shadow and back lighting my subjects.  After the sun had set, I pulled out my strobes to add an extra element of pop.  You’ll also notice that doorways were an ever present theme throughout the day as I used them to frame E&M in some of the candid moments.

At the end, I featured some of Julia bakers dessert details were were symbolic of Matt and Emily’s sweet tooth and as an added bonus, they were family recipes that Emily and Matt had asked Julia to bake for them.  Emily writes: “She did a FANTASTIC job and my dad was very happy to
have his favorite birthday cake (German Chocolate Cake) featured at the
wedding :)”

It was a mouth-watering, sugar feast that was torturous to photograph as I wanted to try everything.  Thankfully, they were kind enough to leave the recipes to share with guests.  I can’t say I’ll actually try to cook up one of the Chocolate German Cake concoctions (I’m not much of a baker), but it was an incredibly nice gesture and a special touch I’ve never seen at a wedding before.  The guests clearly appreciated it as they gobbled up the loose recipe cards as quickly as the desserts.

Thanks Emily and Matt for sharing such a wonderful day with me!

This was the first moment they saw each other before the ceremony.  Even though you can’t clearly see Emily’s face, you can sense the anticipation.

I love the framing element in this image, the diagonal lines of the roof, and the movement of wavelike folds in Emily’s dress.

This was one of my favorite images of the day.  It was photographed with my Infrared camera which creates a some-what surreal and etherial look.

I absolutely adore this shot taken by my second shooter, Courtney.  I wish I could claim credit, but she was the master mind behind this one…

It’s the hand on the back of the gentleman on the right which makes the shot for me.  I photogrphed it vertically and placed the heavier elements on the bottom of the image to help “weight” the image down allowing the trees to fill the negative space.  The image below was all about centering the bride between the two bridesmaids.  In a perfect world, the TV on the wall would be gone, but hey, it’s how the room looked, and cropping wouldn’t have done justice to the image.

There were a ton of images photographed from behind Matt and Emily during the ceremony that showcased the grandiose mountains and saturated sunset, however, it was the sun flare that won me over.  I always try to present an array of images which are a bit different than the norm.  In this case, the magic was shooting into the sun.

Oh, Heavenly shadows!  If you know me well, you understand how much I hate “hertical” shots.  Ie. a combination of the words Horizonal and Vertical, which is a camera angle that essentially makes the image look tilted.  It had to be done in this image to crop out unnecessary elements in the frame.  I think there are exceptions to every rule…this being one of them.

More fun with doorways…

The image of Emily tossing back her veil is another one of my absolute faves.  The whimsical nature of her gesture combined with the flowing movement of the veil makes this image come alive for me.

How lovely is this expression….

A few people have asked about this image, wondering if it was photoshopped, and I want to state for the record that it is 98% straight-out-of-camera.  The only extra touch was a slight vignette that I added around the frame to hold the image together and bring the viewers eye towards the subjects.  The magic in creating this image is the strobe behind the couple and using my shutter speed to underexpose the sky to create more drama.

Fun, side-lit, actions shots!!

Cakes and confections were provided by the fabulous Julia Baker

Location was at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club

Catering was Vincent on Camelback

Flowers were White House

Hollye Schumacher Photography from Serendipity Videography on Vimeo.

This video was put together by Taryn and Bill at Serendipity Videography.  They were kind enough to put together some out-takes of me in action at an Indian wedding and piece them together with one of my favorite tunes.  It covers scenes from both the rehearsal dinner and the actual event.

This is a series photographed for Richelle Melde at The Ultimate Body Bootcamp for their Arizona Foothills Best of the Valley win.  They won for the category of Best Alternative Exercise Option and Personal Training.   It was an incredible session with lots of laughs and gasps…”WHAT!?  You want them to throw me in the air!”  It’s nice when you can push the bootcamp leader to her limit for once. :-))

If you’re interested in their services, check out her website HERE and prepare for a great workout!