A brilliant and thought-provoking article by Simon Dewey Photography
I gave up on posing a little while ago. I stumbled across photographers like Tracy Jade & Naomi Goggin who were just letting couples exist in their own space. It was a lightbulb moment – I’ve also studied under Jesh de Rox and Luis Garvan and all sorts of photographers who have approaches to working with people and emotions. And whilst their methods usually produce something more natural, it always felt somehow manipulative and dishonest to do this on a wedding day – a day that should be filled with natural emotion.
It’s interesting how angry some wedding suppliers get about styled shoots – at least from the forum chats and Facebook groups I’ve seen. Anyone would think styled photoshoots were some kind of evil plot to dupe couples into booking dodgy suppliers. The reality is the opposite: all of the styled shoots I’ve been involved with have been put together by amazing creatives looking for a way to showcase their ideas and share inspiration with couples. Styled shoots as I see them are a healthy, inspiring, and bloody gorgeous way for the industry to show YOU how they make weddings look amazing. So if you stumble across one of those Reddits suggesting styled shoots are “disingenuous at best”… here’s a balanced view from me – as a wedding blogger and a wedding creative.
Header image by amazing Lake District wedding photographer Hannah Hall at https://hannahhallphotography.co.uk
Taking a little inspiration from an instagram comment that sparked joy for me last week! Thank you @hannahhallphotography for making me smile. So yeah, wedding blogs were MASSIVE back in the day – and then social media exploded, and apps like Bridebook launched, and everything changed. Mainstream wedding magazines collapsed (goodbye Wedding Ideas mag) and niche content or trending stories meant everything. But while everything “out there” changed, wedding blogs are still massively relevant for photographers, suppliers and nearlywed couples (even if you’ve forgotten us a little bit), and I want to tell you why.
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One for the businesses out there today! After I shared a series of articles about the importance of blogging for successful wedding businesses, Steven Briggs – a specialist in business and digital marketing – wrote to me to share his own expertise on the subject. Honestly, after 20 years of blogging my wedding calligraphy businesses, and 15 years of blogging on English Wedding, I believe so strongly that writing blogs for your brand is crucial to any marketing strategy. It’s great to hear Steven’s perspective, especially as he includes examples from his own work with wedding businesses. I hope you find this useful!