The Beginner Photography Podcast

Say "I Do" to Booking More Weddings with Jasmine Blais

• Jasmine Blais

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#336 Jasmine Blais is a wedding and lifestyle photographer based out of Prince Albert Saskatchewan. If you have been thinking about dipping your toes into the world of wedding photography,  Jasmine is here today to help you figure out what you need and what you need to know before taking your first booking. Jasmine Blais also talks about how to get started with booking weddings for the new year. She shares her story of starting to take photos as a teen and then gradually turning it into a business. She also talks about her experience as a teacher and how she balanced her teaching career and her photography career in her early 20s.

The Big Ideas:

  • Take risks, explore career options
  • Gain confidence and experience
  • Trust yourself and practice
  • Know your camera settings
  • Serve, don't sell
  • You will miss moments
  • Provide standout client experience
  • Provide client experience bonuses
  • Build a supportive community

Resources:

Time Stamps

  • 00:05:26 Take risks to explore creativity.
  • 00:10:51 Gain confidence through experience.
  • 00:13:07 Trust yourself and practice.
  • 00:19:25 Prepare and adjust settings.
  • 00:27:00 Focus on serving clients.
  • 00:37:08 Capture moments, don't miss them.
  • 00:42:45 Stay lighthearted and relaxed.
  • 00:49:17 Deliver quick sneak peeks.
  • 00:54:56 Build a support system.
  • 00:55:48 Find a photography community.

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Jasmine Blais:

There's definitely ways to put yourself out there. And I think that there's this idea of, if you put yourself out there, you might look dumb but it's like, yeah, they might say no, but what if they say, yes, what if they say, give me more information? want to know, and then if they say, have you shot a wedding before and you haven't, then you can say, I haven't shot a wedding before, but this is why I believe I would be great to shoot yours. and just having that confidence and being transparent as well. I think lot of people appreciate

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, welcome to episode 336 of the beginner photography podcast brought to you by Cloudspot. The easiest way to deliver and sell your photos on line. I'm your host Raymond Hatfield and today we are chatting with wedding photographer Jasmine blaze about how to get started with booking weddings in the new year. January, February, prime time, very busy time for wedding photographers as according to The Knot, 68 percent of engagements happen between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. So with the start of a new year, many couples get to planning their wedding and booking their wedding photographer. So this week, that's why we got on Jasmine Blaze, right? She's going to share with us how to know if we are even ready to start shooting weddings. And then of course, how to put ourselves out there if we do want to start booking weddings for the year ahead. We'll With that, let's go ahead and get on into today's interview with Jasmine Blais. Jasmine, when did you know that photography was going to play an important role in your life?

Jasmine Blais:

well, I always felt creative, but Like I can't even cut straight with scissors, like it's awful. And, um, I just kind of, you know, in the teens, you did the awful album cover photos. And then it kind of just went from there and, it evolved in my early twenties. and then it just turned into a business. And I kind of felt like this was a way that I could serve people. Because I'm not, I can't be a nurse. I don't do well with blood or anything like that. So I, uh, yeah, it was just a great way. I just kind of felt the joy of, capturing memories for people. And that kind of just evolved into a business and. yeah, the rest is kind of history.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay. So I want to go back to those early days. Cause this is, you know, it's the beginning of photography podcast. We want to know about those early days. A lot of the listeners are struggling in that moment right now. So when you're that teenager and you're taking those, album photos of stuff, when you go out and you use your camera, where did that come from? Did you just have a camera and you thought I could use this or was there an interest before that point?

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah. Well, I had those basic digital cameras when they came out back in 2000, dating myself a little bit here. And, like I said, it, it was just a way to, feel creative and create and feel like I was actually producing something that I felt at the time I was proud of. So that's kind of where that Kind of came from and then I enjoyed people's reactions after they saw the photos, all of the duck faces and all that kind of thing that was trending at the time. Like I loved people's reactions from that. and then when I started, taking photos of, people and, couples and things like that, I obviously started doing that all for free. It just, it allowed me to, again, have that creative outlet and as well serve people and be able to, make mistakes and learn and do all of those things because I wasn't being paid for it. And so it was really, really easy to fall in love with at the start.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, I agree. I like those. I kind of miss those early days. Sometimes it feels a lot freer when you're just like, let's see what happens. And, there's not really a lot of, pressure on you, but I've shared the story on the podcast before how I went to, film school, like to make movies. And then I transitioned into photography. You had a similar pivot at some point, you went to school to be a teacher, right?

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah, I did. So there's actually a lot of teachers in my family. it's funny, my brother in law's both married teachers, my mother in law's a teacher, my grandma's a teacher, and my grandpa was a teacher as well. and it was a natural path for me, I really enjoyed it. and I still do, right now I'm not teaching, but, it kind of, again, was another way to serve people and. Photography kind of just happened organically in the sense of it turning into a business. Like my husband, my now husband had bought me my first DSLR camera, back in the day when you used to spend Hundreds and hundreds of dollars on your, on your significant other and then you get married and then you just try to remember when the anniversaries are. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, like I said, it kind of just evolved from there. And then when I kind of realized that this was something that I could potentially do. poor people and then also, have an income and invest my time and money and stuff into that as well. it was exciting. It was really scary too at the time, like I didn't have any kids. And so it wasn't easier. it was easier to take risks, but my risks that I was taking, they weren't really risks when I look back at it at the time, you know, in your early 20s, you kind of, you're still trying to figure life out. So I was navigating my new teaching career while also trying to explore this photography career. So that kind of got put on the back burner while I was trying to get my. career, my teaching career, my salary and my benefits and all that stuff figured out.

Raymond Hatfield:

yeah, I think a lot of people, are going to be able to relate to that. I think, looking at the analytics of the show, I think that the average age of the listener is, in their late thirties to early forties. And I think because of that, there are a lot of people who did enter the workforce and now we're finding photography either as a creative outlet or a potential career as well. But you had mentioned, you. found that you kind of got to this point in your photography where you realized, Oh, this could be something, I want to know more about that decision to leave your career. you went to school to become a teacher. That has got to be a really scary decision to make.

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah, and actually, so I transitioned to a half time contract about six years ago. that in itself, I would say, was probably more of a scary route for me. Because the idea of, veering away from tradition and safety and, a salary and staff was very scary to me. and again, at the time, like we had no kids. So my idea was that if I was going to make a leap into, a halftime contract, now would be the time to do it without any kind of, dependence. Just my husband and myself, and then we had our first child and we had both of our kids in the midst of COVID and, so I was teaching from home at one point and then, after we had our second child and she's coming up on a year actually, just season of life and it just kind of seemed to, to fit. I invested a lot in education. I had a very big mindset shift, kids kind of do that to you, where you kind of see life in a different perspective kind of, you know, they kind of become your why in your business, this is, why I'm doing this, this is why I'm taking this risk or why I'm investing this money in it. And so I made the decision, this year actually to take a step back and really focused on my business. I invested in, a very great wedding photography business course called the business math with Jai Long. And, then I also invested in a great course called, the Jenny Maroney Mastermind. And that was all about course creation. And so I really took a leap and I really, financially as well as time and trying to figure this all out. And it's been very, freeing to feel like, you have this, You're the manager of your time, and it's a great feeling. And I think now seeing that transition and being able to do it. and I mean, I mean, I'm still in the midst of it. you know, it is new. It's still, I'm always coming back to my why on those hard days. And, that's my kids and my values and, it keeps you in check when those hard days come.

Raymond Hatfield:

That is awesome. What I picked up from that is that, even though you haven't been shooting for like, 40 years or whatever, you're still, in it and you have the experience, but being able to, have a community, like a support community around you, through the educational platforms that you have invested in, I'm sure that has got to help out a ton, especially sometimes when it feels like. Like I've said this before, I didn't go to business school. You know, like I had to figure these things kind of out on my own. So being able to have somebody who you can reach out to and ask questions. and I know that it does give you that confidence, which is extremely helpful. but from the photography side, that is still a big decision to take the leap to step back from teaching. guess I want to know a little bit more about, weddings, how long have you been shooting weddings? and kind of where you at in your business at this stage.

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah, so my first wedding was 2014 and, you know, as all first weddings go, I think it was around four or five hundred bucks. pretty sure I shot in program mode for some of the time, like, you know, just that, sense of, panic a little bit in certain situations, obviously wasn't like super prepared for it, that kind of just happened, and then it kind of evolved from there. and now I don't know if it's like when you turned 30, I kind of felt like this whole idea, this whole identity shift happened where you just kind of feel a little bit more confident in yourself and, you kind of, you know, what you want, your values are a little bit more clear. That is kind of when I felt like my wedding photography business started to take off, even though I had been shooting weddings since 2014. I turned, 30 in 2020. it felt like I was able to say yes to more things and take risks and, all that stuff. So I would say in the last couple of years, maybe three, three or so years, I've really fallen in love with wedding photography and just. Because, not to sound, I guess, dark or something like that, but, people only get together for weddings or funerals nowadays, and, people are so scared of capturing weddings, and I just kind of look at it as, it's just, it's a huge positive event that it's like, why wouldn't you want to? Take photos of it. I don't know. That's how I feel

Raymond Hatfield:

No, I get it. You're absolutely right. again, not to get too dark here, but I remember growing up I lived Relatively close to my grandma and some other relatives And we would see each other like every holiday, you know We'd get together and all that stuff and then as you get older You kind of move apart you drift apart and those are kind of those wedding years, right? so who knows how long it's been since a bride has seen her grandma or Whatever it is and this Sad to say, like this, could be the last time for a long time, or ever. So having somebody to be there and capture that is really cool. And it is a fun experience. I can say from my own personal experience, it is something, rewarding within that for sure. back to that first wedding, I want to know, you have more experience now, right? Where you are today as a photographer is in a much better place than where you were in your first wedding. when you think back to that first wedding. What is something that you wish that you could have told yourself, before you had showed up to, to shoot it, to have a better experience or capture better?

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah. I think the first thing that I would say would be like, calm down, relax. like I would say the biggest obstacle is, is yourself, you could know every kind of technique and strategy in the book. But I mean, if you just don't really have any confidence in yourself, you're not going to go any further because you're your own limitations. So I think back then I would definitely tell myself to just kind of relax and trust yourself and, practice using manual a bit more before you jump into a wedding.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, interesting. So My next question is that, well, I guess let's talk about your new training a little bit here. It is called keeping wedding photography simple. and within it, you have, broken down, I guess, booking your first wedding. I guess, Before I butcher it, can you tell me a little bit more about the program? No,

Jasmine Blais:

no, no, you're doing good. so yeah, so it's called, keeping wedding photography simple, how to book, shoot and deliver your first wedding. it can actually apply to more than just somebody that hasn't shot a wedding before. but it's basically It's for people that are trying to get into that wedding photography business and, they feel intimidated. They don't know where to start. how do you jump into something that you've never done before and have people trust you to shoot it kind of thing. and then, a lot of people just kind of rely on somebody just asking them, and you can just be waiting forever if that's kind of what you do. So this is all about, taking that initiative to book it yourself. And yeah, and I do want to say, also, with education and things like that, we live in this world where things need to be so, right now and happen right away. And I think that that is leading to a lot of people not getting to where they want to be because they just kind I guess quit, you could say, or they see a failure as not a lesson. And so I think, a lot of what I've learned in the last, three or so years of this whole mindset shift is that it takes a lot of work and, booking your first wedding. Might take some weeks might take some months, and that's what I kind of talk about in this course. Is that this is the strategies that I have used. These are the ones that I believe will help you, because I have learned from them, but this may take some time. And I think that is something that, a lot of people need to understand.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, that is a very big thing. I remember when I first, got into weddings thinking like, you get so excited during the booking phase, right? Hey, I just booked it. You know, somebody, trust me to, to show up and shoot their wedding. Now I have a year until the wedding and I just kind of sit around, you know, and it's like, what do I do? And that's a big question. You mentioned earlier about, how, one of the things that you wish that you had done before that first wedding is kind of study manual a little bit more and be more comfortable with it. so that question that I wanted to ask is, there's a lot of people. Who get started in photography, they fall in love with it and they Really want to get into shooting weddings, but they kind of don't know what they need They don't know how to they don't know what the litmus test is to determine whether or not they're ready to shoot a wedding so You know, maybe if you could spend a minute talking about what is needed, maybe from a gear standpoint and perhaps technical abilities as well.

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah for sure. Well, I mean, I think obviously the biggest thing is understanding how to shoot in manual because, in weddings you're putting all different lighting situations. So I think understanding manual, the photographic triangle, that's one of the biggest things that I would recommend for technical, um, uh, photography. You know, a standpoint, because obviously, every wedding is an outdoors, but despite what Pinterest tells you, but, um, you know, or what's, what's on Pinterest. So yeah, manual will be the biggest thing as for gear. And I do go over this in my course. it's a lot simpler than, what people think. And I was like notorious when I started for buying any gear that I thought. Would make my photography better when in fact, I just needed to learn things more, I was kind of those impulsive buyers like, well, I'm going to get this, flash because, Google tells me it's a great flash, but I already have a flash that I don't know how to use, but I'm just going to get this new one. I think that that's going to solve the problem of not understanding how to use a flash. So, you know, it was just one of those things where it's just like, Oh, I'll just get all this great gear and that's going to make me a great photographer. And it's like, that's not how that works. but like definitely some, having two bodies is a must. I don't shoot with two bodies all the time. But, you never know, obviously, when a camera is going to fail. So, having that, having a couple different lenses is always great for focal length. batteries, I always say, if you think you have enough batteries, get two more, because you just don't know. batteries fail, all that stuff. memory cards. again, dual slots. That's what I actually go over as well. because one of the things that I hear all the time is, what if we have memory card failure? What if we have this, so you're like, you know what, there's a lot of things that can happen in a wedding. There's a lot of things that can happen. when a pilot flies a plane that doesn't stop them from flying a plane, you know, it doesn't stop people from shooting a wedding. It's just about being prepared. And doing all the things in your end to, minimize the chance of any of that happening. So a dual camera slot is great to have. but I would say is getting, familiar with your camera. and in different lighting situations, fluorescent lighting, the dark, those dark churches, you know, stuff like that. because ultimately you don't really have a choice. Where people are getting married, you can suggest all you want, but at the end of the day, it's not your choice. So

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey raymond here and we will get back to today's show in just a moment. Do you want your photos to have more life? Do you want to know exactly what camera settings to use and why? Well professional photographers all over the world capture beautiful images by shooting in manual mode. Why? Because it unlocks your camera's full potential. But how do you know what settings you should use? Well, I want to break that down for you in my free ebook, Picture Perfect Camera Settings, which you can download over at perfectcamerasettings. com. Dot com. In the book, I'm gonna share different lighting situations that you'll find yourself in and photos that I've captured with real camera settings and how to know which settings to change to get the look that you want. So don't wait. Download your free copy over@perfectcamerasettings.com to unlock your camera's full potential. Now, let's get back to today's interview. I think it's, funny, I think we as photographers have this, We can have a self inflated ego of ourselves, you know, like, Oh, to get the best photos, you have to get married in a situation like this. And we got to do that. And we kind of get angry when we have to show up in the churches, like, it was like wood walls and it's like stained wood, it's dark. And then it's like the ceiling and you're like, what is going on here? And then the only light source is like a stained glass window and it's purple. And you're like, this has got to be a joke. But at the end of the day, like you said, I mean, we have to realize that Well, this is their wedding, like we can do our best to educate them, like to some degree, but at the end of the day, they are the ones making the decision on their wedding day. And we can't. Change those things. And I think that there has to be a level of, understanding not only on our part, but on the couple's part that this is what you get, you know? Um, totally just lost my train of thought. I was thinking how horrible it would be to shoot in another church like that with, uh, with the walls and everything.

Jasmine Blais:

Well, and I was, going to say, to like, yeah, obviously offering, suggestions and stuff because they do like to hear it. but yeah, don't come off as in if you don't do this, it's going to look awful or anything like that. and I mean, it's kind of like when that idea, like when people get upset about the weather during a wedding day, or I should say a photographer or vendors, it's like, Well, that's something you can't control. I mean, yeah, I'd be upset, I guess, for five minutes, but then get over it and, go to your plan B kind of thing. I actually always travel around with clear umbrellas in the back of my vehicle. I think I have about eight of them because I'm just like, you know what? Sometimes, stuff happens.

Raymond Hatfield:

And when you could do that, guess who's the hero? It's you. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I wanted to also bring up the idea or the question rather is that I know that, a lot of people getting into photography, maybe before they shoot a wedding, they're probably shooting with, and I know a lot of listeners have, a camera that they picked up at Costco. they're really excited to get into photography, but maybe it doesn't have dual card slots. Maybe it doesn't, you know, it's not. Perfect in, low light situations. So before we buy a second body, before we even know if we want to shoot weddings, is there anything else that we could do to perhaps bring a second body with us?

Jasmine Blais:

yeah, I mean, there's always, camera companies that rent. bodies or lenses and stuff. If you want to try out. I haven't just because kind of where I live and the timeline I'm giving them doesn't work. But I do know other photographers that have and they really enjoy that. just because I mean, it is an investment in, in, full frame cameras and things like that. but I mean, there's always ways to compensate for Great For things that you don't have in your camera. You're, you know, trying to get natural as much natural light as you can using a flash flashes actually, aren't that expensive. So, Attaching a flash in your camera and bouncing off the ceiling. That's always a great way to compensate for flash. Another thing that I should say, and if people don't know because I actually didn't know about this thing for a while. Everybody should know about, the Calvin auto white, or sorry, the white balance. So if you're on auto, that's fine. I shot on auto actually for years because it was just easier. But if you fool around with Calvin and that's just your light temperature, that will help you a lot, especially in those like fluorescent, buildings, those banquet halls and stuff that never have, any windows and one fire escape. You know, having that white balance, adjustment will really, really help you. And I'm pretty sure a lot of those basic cameras do have that. Yes. as far as I remember, my first DSLR was a T3I Rebel. those little buggers were great. I love those cameras. Yeah. They did a good job. Yeah. I would say there's definitely ways to compensate for that. For increasing your ISO, like I said, understanding that manual mode will really, really help you in certain situations.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, I completely agree. I remember for my first wedding, I was, terrified because I think I shot it on a, it was a Canon 40D, and I was worried. Obviously about the lack of dual card slots and all these things, but I was really scared that the camera was just going to die for no reason on me. Of course, you know, these irrational fears are entirely possible. And I brought an old film camera with me just in case. Luckily the camera, like the 40D didn't die, but I remember thinking like these photos wouldn't match up. They'd be terrible together. And then it was at that, I think it was at that next wedding where I ended up renting a camera. And even though I was more comfortable with the 40D. I found it a whole lot easier to use. I think I rented the 5d mark two at the time.

Jasmine Blais:

Oh yeah. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

And being able to use that camera, like as my primary body, I think really helped because obviously now it did have the dual card slots. It was better and had better low light performance. And then that just became the camera that I upgraded to actually after that next wedding. Cause I was like, this is so much better. I'm just going to do that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's, there should really be no excuse as to, why you can't get into it. But, this time of year. It's a new year. So hey, welcome to 2023. Right. this is always a very popular time for couples to get, engaged with the holidays, and New Year's as well. So I want to know, what can photographers do to capture that momentum and get in front of new couples, newly engaged couples?

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah, definitely Christmas and New Year's is a high, high season for engagement for sure. I think like, Obviously, the best way is to kind of put yourself out there and not in a, please hire me. I want to shoot your wedding kind of desperate way. but just like I said, put it bluntly, everybody kind of just thinks of themselves. And so when you're serving people, I think, a really important thing. Is having, just understanding that you're there to serve, your potential couples, what do you have to offer them? don't, stand back and look at the monetary value of wedding photography, because I think when you do that, the longevity of your wedding photography career. It won't really last because actually wedding is, you know, it's a huge task. so you really have to enjoy it and you really have to love it in order to do it. So I would say that are getting inquiries or if you want inquiries I would really focus on Showing people how you can serve them, you know versus then, just Reaching out for somebody to hire you kind of thing. So that's what I would, my biggest thing, there's always things like Facebook ads and stuff like that, that you could do. but there's also, you can directly reach out to somebody that got engaged and, talk about how you would love to shoot their wedding and all that stuff. So there's definitely ways to put yourself out there. And I think that there's this idea of, if you put yourself up, you might look dumb but it's like, yeah, they might say no, but what if they say yes, what if they say, give me more information? I want to know, and then if they say, Have you shot a wedding before? And you haven't, then you can say, I haven't shot a wedding before, but this is why I believe I would be great to shoot yours, and just having that confidence and being transparent as well. I think, a lot of people appreciate. Mm

Raymond Hatfield:

hmm. How important is it? Because obviously that is a fear, right? What if they ask, have you shot a wedding before and you haven't? how important is it to have a, portfolio of images? what can be in that portfolio if you haven't shot a wedding before to, to, try to, I don't want to say convince, but try to entice a couple to book you.

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And so that's, actually one of my modules. That's my first module in the course is going over, like, how do you shoot a wedding if you've never shot a wedding before? And the biggest thing with that is creating a portfolio. And, again, it's well, how do you create a portfolio if you've, you never shot a wedding. So it's about curating that work. And so it's like, creating, these styled shoes. And I think that there, people think that there needs to be this huge, extravagant styled shoes, but that's not literally not the case. Like you can go out and you can shoot a style wedding or allotment for 50 bucks if you wanted to. it's just about. having a couple, you can get a dress off Amazon or, you know, a local boutique or something like that and heading out in nice location and creating that portfolio, shooting details, getting, creating a bouquet out of wildflowers, you know, in the ditch, stuff like that. I think people just over complicated and At the end of the day, yes, all the details and all this stuff is great. But what people really want is for you to just capture the timeline of their day, you know, and, I just think that like that for this course, that's kind of what I do. Like it's a 90 minute course, six models. That's not meant to be this 30 hour intensive workshop. It's just, When I started shooting weddings, I felt very lost as to what direction I go. thought if I follow a trend. Somebody will just hire me, where it's just kind of like creating that portfolio, looking for the clients and just having that confidence, like I said, it's a, really a mindset thing. And, you know, it building community, with other vendors and all that stuff. And that's a great, way to get more wedding bookings, at the end. so I would say definitely start with. creating a portfolio, grab a, if you have a friend that, dating somebody or maybe they're newlyweds or make it a vow renewal or whatnot. Like it's very easy, very simple to do.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. There's definitely ways to figure it out. If it's really what you want to do, you don't have to just stand around and wait for somebody to ask, which, which is unfortunate because I know that a lot of people on the podcast, like wedding photographers who I've interviewed. That's what they have said, Oh, well, I have a camera and, people just asked, but, as you just pointed out there, there are ways to make it happen if it's really what you want, but you also said there, talked about the importance of confidence, having that confidence in yourself to go ahead and, do this, that I think is something that is hard to wrap your head around to have confidence in something that, you've never done before. and I know that a lot of listeners have said that one of the things that's holding them back is that they are. Introverts, you know, and that they don't think that weddings will work for them to be an introvert. I don't know where you fall on the scale, but, I would love to know. And if you have any advice for quote unquote, introverts.

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah. I'm kind of like a little bit of both. I always joke about I'm like, Jasmine, the wedding photographer, is like how I wish I was like 100 percent of the time. Because I'm just like on, you know, but, I know, for me, like, if I'm shooting a, 8 hour, 9 hour, 10 hour in a wedding, The next day or when I'm a couple days later, I need that same time to kind of be by myself and be in my own space and just kind of gain that energy back that I gave. and again, I think that's just goes with understanding yourself. And I think another way and I should say, like, if you feel like you're not really sure about it, you can always second shoot. and I go, over that in my course of it as well, as another way to kind of dip your toes into the wedding photography business, just to see if this is something that you would like to do, or even just like be an assistant. That might even be a better way to start rather than, approaching a photographer, a wedding photographer and say, Hey, if you need a second shooter. Because I think there's some people think that every wedding photographer wants a second shooter, which isn't true, but, if you come and you say, Hey, I'll come and assist you, I'll fluff the dress out, I'll carry your bag or, something like that. there's nothing wrong with starting there just to see how a day works, you know, and if you're exhausted after that day, I don't know, you need a little bit more stamina. I think that, but, I would say starting there and stuff would be a great way to see if this kind of works for you.

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, let me ask because I feel the same way about Wedding Raymond is a very different, Raymond. Was that intentional for you or do you find that it just happens kind of naturally?

Jasmine Blais:

It kind of happened naturally. mean, I would definitely say that, it's funny because I'm feeling that because when I'm at home, it's a very different, I mean, it's chaos, but I mean, kid chaos and adult chaos are totally two different things. but I find that. And especially this season, and I don't know why, but, or sorry, last season, I came home and I would be more energized from weddings. I think it's just maybe because I'm just taking in more of the energy rather than, giving out so much as I used to kind of thing. And also like I'm doing thing, you know, playing music when I'm taking photos and it's not soft music like when we're doing like bridal party photos, like I'm playing like the high school jams and stuff. And it's funny now that I'm in my 30s. My high school gems Are like, they're like 12 year old jam. So I'm like, Oh, I got to like, I got to up to like 2012 or something. Now that's like the, we're not the 08. So that is so funny. Yeah. and I feel like I'm finding different ways to exert that energy. And so it's actually, I'm finding a lot of, Um, the joy moments in the workday of a wedding. And so I would say that's kind of the Jasmine or the wedding photographer. Part of me, that I really enjoy because I'm able to find those Joyful moments in the chaos of a wedding day, I would say.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of it is, the more that you do it, the easier it gets as well. those first few weddings are really difficult. And as, I consider myself an introvert and coming home that next day, I mean, I would just be like, nobody talked to me today. Like I'm just going to hang out. I'm just going to sit on the couch and I'm going to do absolutely nothing. But now, like you said, I mean, I can come home the next day if there's like a, another family event. I'm there, and we make it happen, cause it, it just gets easier with time. So that's good to hear that. It's a, it's not just me, but I do have a question. from one of the listeners, because I just got an email yesterday from Mark who asked, he actually just shot his first wedding. So he second shot with another photographer, kind of as a, training ground, I guess, to see if he even liked it. And, He said that the thing that he was worried about most was missing a moment. What do you have to say about that?

Jasmine Blais:

I think that you need to realize that you will miss moments because, whether it's a 10 person wedding or if it's, a 400, guest wedding, that you will miss moments. I think there's definitely moments that, you anticipate and you know that you need to get, first kiss, walking down the aisle, those things. and then it kind of everything after those must capture moments are just extra, and I think that's allowing yourself some grace, like, if you're so worried that you're going to miss a moment, you're going to realize that you shot a 10 hour wedding day and you didn't even eat, you know, because you're so concerned about missing a moment and you'll be surprised You know, of the moments that you actually capture, like now, like you said, after you shoot weddings, it just becomes easier and things kind of just happen naturally. I know when I'm, shooting a ceremony, the photos that nobody, or the moments are that nobody sees is a parent sitting in the front row, reacting to a vows. Nobody sees that because nobody's paying attention. That's the photo that I want to get. That's the photo that my couple didn't know that they wanted, Getting ready photos. I know that, I want to get a picture of the mom. That's standing back watching her daughter adjust her veil in the mirror. Like I want to get that photo because nobody's going to be watching the mom. Everybody's watching the bride and things like that. And you won't get every moment and that's just. the reality. But I would just say, just think of the ones that are the kind of staples, first kiss, first dance, those moments.

Raymond Hatfield:

yeah, I feel like, it's so ridiculous almost to imagine somebody capturing every single moment, but, I think early on in for photographers, they think that we're being hired to capture those moments. So if I miss a moment, I didn't do my job and then I fail. So I want to know if we know that we're going to miss some moments, how do you quantify whether or not you did a good job at a wedding?

Jasmine Blais:

well, like, I mean, I guess there is, if you want to talk about like, guess, sometimes some people have, like a tangible, thing, like a list, you know, they have a shot list, I guess, if you've got everything on your shot list. Great. I did my job for the couple. Now I'm going to get all the photos. They didn't know that they wanted. You know that they needed. They're going to look back and then be like, yeah, I wanted that, you know, and, for me, I feel like I did a good job. If I made the experience, great for my couples, one of the things that I found, it's so heartwarming is at the end of the day, when I say goodbye to my couples, they hug me. And then they just talk about, how great the day was. With me, hearing things like, everybody said that you just rolled through everything so quickly or dah, dah, dah, or whatever, or, a parent goes out of their way because to say bye to you because they see you leaving and they want to, you know, they check in to make sure you ate. And I know that sounds, maybe that sounds like a little bit, you know, on a selfish part of, on my side, but I feel like, giving a client that kind of client experience is so beneficial for, you booking any more weddings on top of that. I also feel that like my job as a wedding photographer, isn't just a wedding photographer. and that's what I tell my couples, I'm your timekeeper. I'm your hype girl. I'm your best friend on that day because I'm there to make sure everything just runs smoothly, and I'm there for you. so I think for me, that would be the biggest thing, to know that I had a successful day because I know I can take pictures, you know, I know I can get the shot. sorry, this might go a little bit off past, are offside, but I think the whole idea of community and competition is that a lot of photographers are scared that if they Recommend another photographer if their book, they're going to lose business or anything like that. But it's like, there's so many photographers out there. But what makes You know, I think that's the thing that makes everybody different is the experience that you give. you and I could take the exact same photo but the experience that we give our clients are going to be completely different. and I think that's, a big part of the being a wedding photographer or just at any type of photographer especially people starting out don't understand is offering a great client experience.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, 100%. I could not agree with you anymore. but I think for some listening right now, they might be wondering, what does that mean? What does that look like? And I'm with you on the fact that like, if the parents are asking about me, like I'm doing a good job because they're trying to check in on me and they want to make sure that like I'm taken care of. If I'm doing a bad job, they're not going to ask me any questions. They're going to distance themselves from me. But how do we like, what do we do to provide a standout service to our clients?

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah, I think just making them laugh is a big thing, like, you can tell when somebody is stressed out, or, you know, whatever, it just, stress doesn't hide well on people, so you can see and it's just making things lighthearted and smooth, quick, and go and run through smoothly is a great way. use a lot of humor. mostly just making fun of myself or, reading the room kind of thing like that. making fun of groomsmen or whatever. just like I said, just keeping things lighthearted because if they see you stress, that is a whole nother ballgame for them, you know? And obviously, I still get, anxious and excited and nervous on wedding days because I think that's a normal human emotion. but, I kind of pull that inside and understand I have a job to do and if, listeners out there are worried, like I am so nervous to shoot a wedding. I'm so nervous to screw up. I run out of time, all that stuff. You can always bring somebody along on the wedding day. you can have a shot list. It doesn't make you look unprofessional at all. And I think that was one of my biggest things starting out was looking. Like somebody was going to find me out like I wasn't good enough to do this, you know, and so I think just realizing, you know, sometimes I still look at my phone if I jotted down ideas and I say that to them, if I need to adjust light, I literally stop and I say, hold on guys, I just got to adjust my light or I want to make sure, and that used to scare me because I used to be like, Everybody's gonna think I don't know what the heck I'm doing. but now I'm like, no, if you go to a doctor, they tell you what they're doing, And it, to me, I'm like, why does that make me look unprofessional? to me that reassures them that I'm making sure I'm doing my job,

Raymond Hatfield:

you

Jasmine Blais:

know,

Raymond Hatfield:

that is too funny I went through the exact same thing or what would be the worst is that like you'd set up a light and then You go to take the photo and be like, oh the light is all wrong Now they just watched me set up that whole light and now I have to go over there and change it to be something entirely Different. Yeah. Yeah, but I think that goes back to like keeping it light and just saying like, you know, I guys I screwed up. That light does not work right there. I'm going to move it over here to make you guys look good. I think that goes a long way, a

Jasmine Blais:

long

Raymond Hatfield:

way. Now there is this phrase, I don't know if you've heard it before. I don't know if it's even a thing or if I've just heard it once and it just stuck with me, but it's this idea that once you have a job, it's easier to get another job or a different job. don't know if you've heard this before, but how can we use our first wedding to book another wedding?

Jasmine Blais:

Yeah, so a big part of that is, asking for a review after, three to five sentence review after you send their gallery, I think. word of mouth is one of the biggest, ways to put your name out there. like obviously social media and all that stuff is great. You can reach a wider audience. but if somebody is giving a word of mouth review to somebody else, that is hands down, one of the best things that you can get, because it's a first hand, review, you're not seeing a little blurb on a website, which I think you should have. But, that I think. is one of the biggest ways is getting asking for that review, using that portfolio and then taking advantage of blog posts and using SEO. So that's search engine optimization. I sound like a robot when I say that, but, uh, But that's a great way. and to be honest, blog posts are not my thing. that is one thing that I'm working on. So don't feel overwhelmed with that. Especially in the beginning. Yeah. And one thing that I think I want to kind of just say for your listeners is that relying on social media to be your only way to, market yourself is not good enough because it needs to be, the thing is, is that it can shut down any moment. And if you only have an Instagram page to market yourself and to say, this is what I do, and this is what I can offer, you're at the mercy of an app. And it sucks because I've seen people's accounts get hacked. They've seen, Instagram shut down. Whenever that was earlier in 2022 or 21, I forget. And it was like the whole world shut down, having any, you know, building an email list, going, directly to venues and introducing yourself and, just things like that, I think, but I would say word of mouth and asking for review is the best solution. Route to take, and then again, just building that portfolio and then getting a review from actually the portfolio experience. So If you, stage it as a vow renewal or it can be a vow renewal, ask for a review from them after on the experience of them shooting. And that's another review,

Raymond Hatfield:

you know, one trick. I don't know where I heard this from, but it was somebody, and I use this and it helped me a ton for a while. It was, so after the wedding, I would ask the bride, like, Hey, you know, I would love to know how I did, can you leave me a review? Also. reviews are extremely helpful for small businesses. you mind asking one of your bridesmaids to leave me a review as well? And not saying that, you know, she's a bride, like she doesn't have to lie, but just say like, Hey, I was a bridesmaid at one of these weddings that Raymond shot. And. Holy cow, it was great or whatever. And then leave the review after that. And I think that also adds a level of, not only do you get additional reviews and more social proof, but, for it to be somebody. Not directly the bride, I think speaks a lot to potential brides as well. So that's something that if anybody's listening, Try it out because it definitely, it definitely works. Oh,

Jasmine Blais:

totally. and I will say too, another great client experience thing is giving them sneak peeks within the next like 24 to 48 hours. if you can, I know everybody has, you know, life happens, but if you do the next 24 to 48 hours, they're still surrounded by people from the wedding. So if you send them, even five images, and they pick up their phone and they see five images, they're going to scream and they're going to show everybody around them. And that's another, client experience, bonus, that they didn't know that they were getting. So

Raymond Hatfield:

that is a great tip, especially because like 24 hours after a wedding. They're looking to update their Facebook. Yeah. What photo are they going to use? Are they going to use Uncle Bob's from like, you know, down the aisle? The worst. Yeah. It might as well be yours. So if you can take an extra, even if it's an hour to get one or five photos out there, huge, huge, bonus for sure. Jasmine, I know that we are at the end of our time here, but I want to ask you to Two last questions. One of them. Is there anything that I didn't ask you today that you want to make sure our listeners know about getting into wedding photography? And then two, I want to know where we can find more about your course and where we can find you online.

Jasmine Blais:

Perfect. yeah, so I'll just close my course, because it kind of encompasses all of that. So my course, keeping wedding photography simple, how to book, shoot and deliver your first wedding. it's a 90 minutes, six module course. It's straight to the point. It's. Things that I have learned over the nine years I've been shooting weddings. It's for anybody that wants to start out in wedding photography, as well as anybody that kind of feels like there may be flag towing and they want to, you know, they want some direction on where to go. that is available and I think I sent you the link, but yeah, perfect. So the link's there and it'll bring you to my enrollment page with a little bit more details. As well as, how to enroll in the course as a digital course. So it's super accessible. You can do it, all at once or, come back here and there when you need to as well. So,

Raymond Hatfield:

perfect. And where can we find you say on Instagram, where are you on all the social platforms?

Jasmine Blais:

yeah, so my, business is JC photography SK, for Saskatchewan. Shout out. and then my website is www. jcphotographysk. com and I would love to hear from anybody that's listening and chat about Alton's weddings and love, love stories and capturing them. And, yeah, I guess just, I want to say that this course really, really simplifies it. The wedding photography business and just kind of helps you realize that it's not as complicated as you think. And it helps you be prepared to shoot a wedding because I think that, it's one of the greatest things that you can capture for people. and right now, if you think that you want to do it, but you're not sure there is a couple out there that is waiting for you to get into wedding photography, and you just got to take that jump.

Raymond Hatfield:

What did I tell you? Yeah. I have three big takeaways from, this interview today with Jasmine Blaze. The first one is the importance of learning manual early. as a wedding photographer, I can tell you not all venues are set up for photography. Oftentimes you find yourself in very, very difficult lighting situations. And as a wedding photographer, you are looked at to be able to create something beautiful and, pleasing to look at. given less than ideal conditions. So learning manual is going to help you to be able to achieve that, right? You're going to be able to see something. You're going to know how to use your camera because you know how to shoot in manual, and then you're going to be able to capture it the way that you need to. Now, learning manual doesn't mean that every photo is going to be perfect, but it means that you're not going to be relying on your camera to make decisions. And if it makes a wrong decision, you're not going to know how to fix it. It's going to give you the tools to be able to capture the photos that you need to capture to deliver to your couples. on a wedding day in difficult lighting situation that you might find yourself in on a wedding day. All right. Takeaway number two was to think about asking to be an assistant rather than a second shooter. If you are thinking about getting into weddings, as a wedding photographer, I would much rather Say yes to somebody who asked to come to a wedding, and, carry my bags, help out in any way that they can rather than somebody asking to be a second shooter. And that is because, when you are the lead photographer, when you have a second shooter, you just feel almost obligated to, if they're not experienced, to help them learn what it is that they need to shoot on a wedding day, how to shoot it, kind of, you know, then there's that awkwardness of getting to know this other person and how to work together. So asking somebody to be an assistant is much better because as the main photographer, you can focus on getting the photos that you need. And as the assistant, you can now learn the flow of a wedding day, how it goes, how to interact with your couples, with your clients, with, the whole family who they're being, maybe they're rowdy and how to take a great portraits in less than ideal lighting conditions. And it's going to give you a ton of experience that maybe you would even miss if you were focused on, being a second shooter and trying to get all the quote unquote great photos. So think about that, right? It's going to teach you how to best serve your clients in the future. And then takeaway number three is just having a support system to help build your, skills and your confidence, I've said it before that I think that the only external source of becoming a better photographer is through community for many reasons. The biggest one is because you're going to get eyes on your work and when you get eyes on your work, you know, the reason why I started this podcast is because I didn't go to photo school. I went to, film school to learn how to be a cinematographer and I almost felt like a, like a fraud, right? I had imposter syndrome being a photographer and I wanted to be able to talk to photographers and kind of get into their head and figure out, what is it that you're actually thinking? How are you doing this so that I can become a better photographer? And all that that is, is building community, right? Being able to ask those questions, getting eyes on your work so

that you can see is https:

otter. ai It definitely needs, improvement or is there anything that you're doing that you are just killing it at and then you can lean into deeper. So find a community, whether it is in person, in your town or online, it will work just as well online if you don't have that community close by, and because of that, I highly recommend that you check out the Facebook community for all of those reasons. safest place on the internet for new photographers, safe place to be able to share your photos, ask questions and get feedback on your work. So those were my three main takeaways from this interview with Jasmine blaze. Now, if you've got any questions about this episode, or if you have any feedback for the show, I would love to hear from you. I want you to reach out to me directly by heading over to beginner photography, podcast. com and clicking the contact. tab at the top of the page. There you can leave me an email or better yet a voicemail. Again, leave me that feedback, ask me your questions, and I will play it here on the show. So with that, that is it for this week. I want to thank you again for tuning into this episode of the beginner photography podcast brought to you by cloud spot truly is the easiest way to deliver and sell photos online. And you can sign up for a free account when you head over to deliver photos. Now remember, the more that you shoot today, say it with me. The better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. All right. Talk to you soon.

Outro:

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