I was doing a little spring cleaning of my email this morning over strong coffee and rediscovered this bit of news I wanted to share. A photo I made from Erin & Ryan’s wedding day in Denver, Colorado back in 2011 was featured on In Bliss Weddings blog in an interesting take on using social media on your wedding day. You can read the post here. I embrace anything that gets others to express their creativity. These new smart phones have replaced the traditional point-and-shoot cameras and have given access to photography for the masses. You can form your own opinion. I say if one feels inspired to snap a quick pic of a moment that inspires them, they should go for it. These days it’s a common sight for me to see guests in attendance or brides maids bust out their phones. Most commonly I’ll have a mob of relatives behind me as I coordinate a large family photo. I’m not worried about them. Have they ever gotten the same image that I deliver to my wedding clients? Nope. It’s not the camera that makes a good photograph, but the photographer behind the camera lens. I bring my own vision to the table. For the wedding couple, the beauty of hiring a talented wedding photographer is so they can simplify their wedding day to focusing on being with their loved ones.
I find that social media use at weddings depends on the crowd at the wedding. Sure. You see folks tune out a second to check their phones throughout the wedding day. It has become common place in our culture. I don’t think this wave of social media is interfering at weddings. It is just changing from the traditional ways we’ve experienced the union of two individuals. In the end, I think most wedding guests and loved ones remain present for what really matters….the marriage of two people in love. The more ways we as a society can document, amplify, share and spread the message of love, I say all the better. Share away! -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/GreenerVisualsInBliss.jpg6481080GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2014-03-28 18:35:202018-01-06 19:26:52Social Media and Weddings – In Bliss Weddings blog features Greener Visuals Photography
It is an honor to be recognized in the ranks of so many incredible wedding photographers throughout the world. The judges give their comments under the top ten winning images. I love good feedback. Check out all of the other winning images on their website. -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WPJAWinGreenerVisuals01.jpg9501080GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2014-03-26 22:22:232023-05-31 19:59:59Greener Visuals Wins in Wedding Photojournalism Association 2013 National quarterly Photo Contest
Last weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with Rachel & James and their excited young labrador puppy Deacon to make some fun engagement photos for them. These two lovebirds got engaged this past December and were planning their California Wine Country wedding later this summer from their home in Bozeman, Montana. While their wedding photos would be in the California sunshine, the two wanted to contrast their engagement photos with the beautiful snowy backdrop of Southwest Montana and hired me to help. Montana is no stranger to the cold. This winter has been an exceptionally chilly one here around Bozeman often times dropping into the negative double digits. A good thing if you are a skier, (I am) but it can be a difficult task when you are trying to make pictures of people out in the elements and not have them look like they are freezing. Our photo shoot was scheduled a couple weeks ahead of time and I found myself the day before the shoot looking at a thermometer hover around -10 F and thinking my clients will turn into popsicles. Alas, the weather gods were on our side and as we drove out to the Gallatin River Sunday morning, the sun popped out from behind the clouds to give us a balmy 20 F degrees. Rachel and James, unphased and all smiles, bundled up and were ready to go. I love it when couples embrace the unexpected. I think their enthusiasm shined through in their images. We had a great morning adventure exploring the snow covered landscape and making photos. Such a fun day. Wish these guys all the best! -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Greener_Mike_030114_RachelJamesEngagementSession_0836.jpg7111080GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2014-03-08 17:07:132018-01-06 19:29:57Bozeman Montana Winter Engagement Photos on the Gallatin River of Rachel & James
I‘ve been photographing weddings for the past nine years all over the country. Being a destination wedding photographer (now based in Bozeman, Montana) has been the perfect blend of my love for telling stories with pictures and love for adventure and exploring new places. Last year my wedding photography took me from the southern charms of Charleston, South Carolina to the mountains of Vail, Colorado onto San Francisco, California and to the rustic Bitterroot Valley in Western Montana. So much fun. I’ve been blessed to photograph some really wonderful wedding couples. What started out as a fun gigs for friends at weddings, has cultivated into a wonderful creative outlet I want in my future. Over the past decade, my wedding photography business has been running solely on word of mouth and organic searches on the interwebs. In all that time, I’ve never had an opportunity for a physical public display to showcase my wedding photography business. Last weekend given my first chance. I was honored to be apart of the Bozeman Bridal Affaire 2014 held at the Strand Union Ballroom on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman, Montana. It was the first bridal fair that my Greener Visuals Wedding Photography has participated in. It was important to me that it made a good first impression.
Working with a 10 x 10 ft space, we would need to get creative both in design and in how we would transport my photography display booth. Sometimes I can be stubborn. I was not willing to sacrifice visual impact for ease of transportation especially if my booth was to make a big splash with those in attendance. I’m a strong guy. But after a car accident years ago that left me with constant back aches, I needed to consider the weight of it all. My booth would represent my formal “Howdy!” as the new photographer in town to the brides of southwest Montana in attendance but also to all of the other wedding vendors in the area. Which made me ponder some concepts like what should my brand look like? What kind of feeling should my booth convey to wedding couples moving through wedding maze within the MSU campus ballroom? Being able to show fun, wedding photos is one thing, packaging it with the feel of my overall brand was another. I had never done anything like it before.
What a cool opportunity. I discovered it to be a wonderful exercise to get me to think differently. With my logo as the starting point of inspiration, I began piecing together the branding puzzle. I’ve always loved the old rustic feel of Montana that I experienced visiting family as a kid here every summer growing up. The color schemes of Montana are like no other place on earth. Besides the gorgeous mountain streams filled with trout and jagged rocky peaks, what stood out to me was always seeing the old abandoned barns or homesteads worn down by the environmental elements to the point that they grey out and become part of the Montana scenery. Rough around the edges. Beautifully imperfect.
I wanted to replicate that feeling so dear to me onto my future wedding clients. So, I sketched out some concepts and drove over to my parents house in Missoula to seek the assistance of my woodworking savy dad. Bonus that it was a fun father and son woodworking project. Together, we set out to build a display that would catch the eye of engaged couples and give a powerful, first impression showcasing my style and brand of Greener Visuals Wedding Photography. It was a great challenge. The display needed to have a big visual impact in size, great lighting and many large photos. We were still brewing up a concrete design, when we drove down into the valley and checked out Home Resource, an incredible nonprofit building materials reuse center in Missoula, Montana. Having “green” in my name, I decided “being green” would be a cool concept to incorporate into my new brand building project. We ended up finding a bunch of beautiful, old reclaimed barn wood planks, insulated sheet metal heating ducts and some really nice track lighting. Now that we had raw materials, so began our visualization of how it would all come together.
Many questions needed to be answered. How to showcase my wedding photography with a professional look but also make it stand out by being unique in my approach? How could I convey something personal? What feelings would brides experience from seeing my display? I had to figure out what my goals were. I consider myself a wedding storyteller. To emphasize that point, I knew I wanted to show my potential wedding clients an entire wedding story in pictures. The ultimate way to show them exactly what they would expect to get by hiring me as their wedding photographer. That meant I would need to show quite a few photos for just that purpose. Showcasing to Montana brides, I decided to feature Ashley & David’s Montana wedding story, one of my favorite weddings I photographed from my 2013 wedding season at the Teller Wildlife Refuge in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana. It was also important to highlight some of my best images to show the range of emotion, moments and range of my photojournalistic photography style. All good thinking but I was limited financially. Print costs can add up quickly. Rather than make the investment of expensive canvas prints (a very popular, beautiful option used by photographers for displaying photos), I decided instead to be more versatile and chose to print out regular photo paper images instead. To me there is still nothing more impactful than seeing a physical photograph in print. After all, every picture tells a story.
Over two weekends, my dad and I created a large four panel, self-standing, framed display where I could use rare earth magnets to hold my wedding photos across the framed metal backdrop. It was different and I was pleased. To add to the visual impact of my images, we fastened the track lighting to a reclaimed long barn wood plank and anchored it across the top to link the two large frames. We rigged the whole lighting system to a dimmer switch which allowed me to dial in the perfect light to accent my photography. Add a screw to hang my business sign and like that, a paper concept comes into fruition. I was very pleased with the ending results. The best part is that it all breaks down in size where it can be easily carried and will fit into the back of my Subaru Outback. Score! A big thank you to my dad, John, for all of his assistance and use of his tools.
Last Friday evening, I hauled it all over to the Bridal Affaire, and got it all set up in anticipation for the all day event on Saturday. My booth was a huge hit. Besides my build display I was able to display wedding albums and more information about my photographic services. I had an awesome time meeting a lot of excited, newly-engaged couples and hearing about their wedding plans. How exciting it must be for them. It was a really good feeling to see folks engage with my photography. I got as many complements on my booth as I did on my wedding photography. In the end, I’ll call it a big win for the day and a great stepping stone in my photographic journey. The best news is that my phone has been ringing. I’m already looking forward to the new wedding stories I will get to tell this year. -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/GVBridalAffaire2014Booth_02fix.jpg7131080GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2014-02-05 19:18:322018-01-06 19:31:16Brand building and the story behind creating my DYI photo display for the 2014 Bridal Affaire Bozeman Montana
Happy 2014 everybody! What a year! I feel very fortunate. Rounding off my second year being based back in Bozeman, Montana, I feel like I have really come into my own on many fronts – creatively, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Most importantly it was a year for me to realize just how much I love doing what I do. I had the great fortune to photograph weddings in Charleston, South Carolina, Vail, Colorado, and through out Montana. A big thank you to all of my wedding clients from this past 2013 wedding season. Wish you guys all the best and thank you for letting Greener Visuals Wedding Photography be apart of your wedding day celebration. Here are a few of my favorite wedding images from the past year. Looking forward to the new smiles and faces I’ll meet and photograph this year. Stay tuned! -Mike Greener
I’ve been excited to post these photos for a while now. A couple of weekends ago, I drove over to western Montana to photograph the wedding day of Ashley and David at the fantastic Teller Wildlife Refuge Slack House and Barn in Corvallis, Montana. Ashley has been a longtime friend of mine since our time together attending The University of Montana and the two are making a living in Butte, Montana as social workers. You would be hard pressed to find a cuter couple. I had an awesome time photographing the fun throughout their wedding day. Thinking back on it makes me smile. The entire time I was hanging out with them, you could tell their excitement by the big grins they had on their faces all day. It’s such a fun thing to witness two people completely head over heels for one another. I think that emotion really shines through in their wedding photos. Having photographed at the refuge years ago, I had a pretty good idea of where my best images would come from. This place was a Montana wedding photographers dream. I used the rustic Montana farm backdrop to it’s fullest by exploring the variations of color schemes and trying to capture the feeling of their wedding day. It is such a joy for me to document the union of friends. I’m thrilled for these two and wish them all the best! -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Greener_Mike_070613_AshleyDaveMontanaWedding_2165.jpg12011800GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2013-07-31 18:34:482019-06-10 16:46:33Ashley and David’s Montana Wedding Day at the Teller Wildlife Refuge Slack House and Barn in Corvallis, Montana
This past weekend, I traveled towards the Flathead Valley in northwest Montana to the town of Big Fork to photograph Cierra and Brian’s wedding day held at the beautiful Cougar Trail Ranch. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the fun photos I got to make on their big day! This is just the tip of the iceberg and I’m excited to show you all the rest. Many more photos to come. Check back soon. Congrats you guys! -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Greener_Mike_072013_CierraBrianMontanaWedding_4330.jpg7211080GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2013-07-24 06:27:192018-01-06 20:37:17Bigfork Montana Wedding Day at the Cougar Trail Ranch Photo Preview of Cierra & Brian
Happy New Year everyone! Well, I finally got around to editing down my favorite wedding images from 2012. It’s great to look back and relive all the fun memories of my wedding clients celebrations. I feel privileged and proud that I got to be apart of them all for that, I raise my glass to all of my brides and groom’s continued happiness. 2013 is already shaping up to be my best wedding year yet and the bookings are pouring in. If you know of any friends or family members that are looking for a unique way to have their wedding day documented, I hope you send them my way. Hope everyone had a great holiday and that you’ll continue to support my storytelling wedding photography in the new year. I feel very blessed. Cheers! -M
Last weekend I wanted to tap into my autumn nostalgia and celebrate the new Fall season by hosting a apple picking event and BBQ at my house here in Bozeman, Montana. Growing up in the Chicago suburbs of Illinois, one of my favorite activities was to go apple picking in the local orchards. So I invited some friends over for my First Annual Apple Pressing Party last Sunday. The idea was to all meet up on bikes and to go ravish the local Bozeman area apple trees then bring our bounty back for cider pressing, micro brews, BBQ and campfire into the evening. The reality was that this year was a lousy fruit year for the apple trees in the area and we ended up buying boxes from the local grocery store. Still, we borrowed a apple press from the good folks at Rocky Creek Farms and pressed about a gallon of delicious cider that everyone got to sample around the warmth of the campfire with nice rum and whiskey and smoked ribs. As part of the celebration, I also set up my photo booth over my cast iron yard tub/stationary hammock and we all went to town making fun, spontaneous photos throughout the evening. It was a great time! Here are some of my favorites from the evening.
Winter quickly approaches here in the Big Sky and I’m already starting to book wedding dates for my 2013 wedding season. If you or someone you know is in the market for a wedding photographer, now is the perfect time to be the early bird and book Greener Visuals Wedding Photography for your wedding day. I’d love to hear from you. Happy Fall everyone!
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/DSC3092.jpg7191080GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2012-10-17 19:19:062018-01-06 21:08:34Bozeman Montana Apple Pressing Party Photo Booth – A Celebration of Fall
Whew what a ride! The last month has been busy with weddings and traveling back and forth to California. It’s great to have a little destination wedding photographer adventure on my weekends and it allows me the challenge of photographing in new places. Northern California never ceases to amaze me with all it’s buried treasures. I just finished up my latest photo story of Jenn and Chris’ Wedding Day that took place two weeks ago at the Ralston White Retreat in Mill Valley, California. These guys were a riot and were an absolute blast to photograph. It was also one of the most unique weddings I’ve ever attended. Jenn and Chris found me through the recommendation of some good friends of mine that saw me in action at a wedding a couple years ago. We talked about what they wanted out of their wedding photos and were looking for my documentary approach. These two were a wise couple who booked me early almost a year in advance and it was exciting to finally get to photograph it. As their website boasts, The Ralston White Retreat, “Is an old 1913 wedding venue for group retreats or special events nestled in the slope of Mt. Tamalpais which is located on 43 acres in beautiful Mill Valley, California.” It was a place of so much old fashioned character. I totally geek out to photographing in places like this. It was a very personable wedding to attend. The two had their ceremony outside in the front lawn which was followed by a relaxing cocktail hour that flowed into a lovely dinner inside the large house. Right away the group had great energy and I give personel props to their friends for their creativity as a pirate/ninja attack skit ensued forcing the groom to fight back “nerf style” for his fair maiden. It was totally random and awesome all at the same time. You got to love a group who still use their imagination and can play like kids. As the evening progressed I documented the guests laughing and playing in the Greener Visuals Photo Booth or get heavy into playing late night Garage Band video games. A great time was had by all and it was a pleasure to be apart of their wedding celebration. Wish you guys all the best. -M
To see all of their wedding photos, you can follow this link here.
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Greener_M_072112_JennChrisWeddingMillValley_1650.jpg1080714GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2012-08-06 02:51:062018-01-06 21:19:09Ralston White Retreat Wedding Day Photos of Jenn and Chris in Mill Valley California
Well, this is always a fun email to wake up to. I found out the other day that a photo I made at Christina and Ryan’s wedding last summer placed in the the most recent Wedding Photojournalism Association quarterly photo contest. It’s a shot I made of Christina’s grandmother giving her toast. What a sweetheart. There is an incredible amount of talented wedding photojournalists in the organization and I’m thrilled that my work was able to stand out amongst them. My first wedding of 2012 is one week from today! I’m getting excited. Sonoma, California here I come!
God…I love what comes across your path on the internet.
I found this great unique groomsmen’s wedding toast the other day and wanted to share it with all of you.
I hope my friends are this creative when it comes to my wedding day. So awesome and so creative! Give the video a second to load then watch it all the way through. It’s just too funny.
I’m getting excited to start my 2012 wedding photography season. If you know of anyone looking to hire a fun, talented wedding photographer, send them my way! All the best, -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/makelovetoyourlove.jpg418668GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2012-01-05 07:34:272023-05-31 21:36:25Epic groomsmen wedding toast during wedding reception – A special beginning to the new 2012 wedding season.
What a year! I had the fortunate opportunity to photograph numerous weddings over the course of 2011. During the last couple of weeks, I’ve been going through all of my wedding shoots from this past year. It was so great to go back and relive those celebrations that I was lucky enough to photograph. So many fun times and way too many photos to choose from. I feel very fortunate. A big thank you to all of my wedding clients from the 2011 wedding season. Wish you guys all the best and thank you for letting Greener Visuals Wedding Photography be apart of your wedding day. Here are some of my favorite wedding images from the past year. I’m looking forward to making the 2012 wedding season even better. Happy New Year everyone! -M
A couple weeks ago I had the chance to return to Montana, my favorite place on earth, to photograph the wedding of an old college friend Christina and her new husband Ryan. I got to know Christina during my time tromping around the Big Sky state while attending The University of Montana in my pursuit of my degree in Photojournalism. In between my time fly fishing mountain streams and trying to make it to class on time, I came to know her through mutual friends and her involvement in the Missoula art scene. Christina, a Montana native, is a very talented painter and ended up getting her degree in the Fine Arts. From there, it was off to New York City for her where she eventually met her fiancée Ryan randomly at a friend’s apartment. Oddly enough it turns out that they both were from the same western Montana town of Whitefish located up close to the entrance of Glacier National Park. I’m always amazed at the curveballs of coincidence life can through at people sometimes. Two years apart in age, Christina and Ryan never new one another growing up but found each other in one of the biggest cities on earth. Go figure. As they grew closer in their relationship, the two parted ways with the “Big Apple” and have since made a life together living and working in Portland, Oregon. When it came to plan their summer wedding the location was an obvious choice.
On their wedding day, I awoke early to drive north of Missoula (where I had been visiting my parents) past the cherry orchards along Flathead Lake and eventually made my way northeast towards the entrance of Glacier National Park. Christina and Ryan chose a cute little 40-acre ranch just outside of Coram, Montana called Glacier River Ranch that was bordered by the gin clear blue waters of the Flathead River. There are few things in life more picturesque than a Montana backdrop and that day I couldn’t think of any. I arrived early so I could scout around the area and get a feel for the place. As family members were helping to set up, I decided to walk around the grounds for possible portrait locations. As I came around the side of a big ponderosa pine tree I startled a young black bear (about 30 yards away from me) and he quickly stood up on his hind legs to get a better view of the blond haired photographer that had interrupted his mid morning berry feast. Soon uninterested, it sauntered off until the delicious smells of a wedding reception food brought it closer to the wedding location so much so that the ranch owner had to scare it off with some warning shots of her deer rifle. Only in Montana. Love it. The rest of the day mimicked the visions of a good Norman MacLean novel. The late August weather was perfect and their afternoon streamside reception was stunning as the golden Montana light lit up the trees as it slowly made its decent behind Teakettle Mountain. Like any proper Montana wedding the rest of the evening was spent eating roasted pig, drinking fine wine and Montana microbrews and dancing to live music from a local string band. It was so great to spend the day photographing such a fun couple and an honor to be asked to photograph the wedding of a old friend. I wish them all the best. -M
You can view the very best images from Ryan and Christina’s wedding under my portfolio wedding stories section here. Or…
To see the entire wedding take you can see them all on my Photo Archive here.
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Greener_M_08202011_ChristinaRyanWedding_Review.jpg477477GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2011-09-11 06:47:222018-01-07 00:28:29Glacier National Park Montana Wedding Day of Ryan and Christina
I’m almost finished with my latest wedding photo shoot where I returned to the Big Sky state to photograph Christina and Ryan’s Montana wedding. Stay tuned for a big post soon.
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/RyanChristinaTeaser.jpg576864GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2011-09-07 08:24:472018-01-07 00:30:05Glacier National Park Montana Wedding Day of Ryan and Christina Preview
Sometimes it’s the little things that can make a wedding peak over the top of awesomeness. A couple weeks ago, I helped Erin and Ryan do just that by setting up a photo booth for their guests to play in and take photos of themselves throughout the reception. What I love about offering photo booths to my clients is that they are totally customizable by the fun props and backdrops clients provide and are limited only by the creativity of their wedding guests. I have yet to keep a straight face while editing a photo booth take. So often they yield hilarious results. Being a high up the totem pole in the marketing department over at Facebook, Erin really wanted step it up a notch and have a social media aspect to her wedding day. She approached me about a concept of having her photo booth photos posted straight to Facebook throughout the evening so her friends and family could tag themselves and share the photos. I thought it was a pretty cool concept that I had never tried before but was up to the challenge. Through the help of my trusty photo assistant and local Denver photographer Justin Edmonds, we were able to figure out a solution using presets in Adobe Lightroom 3. The result was a couple easy clicks (on my computer which was tethered to my camera) and the photos uploaded straight to her Facebook page dedicated to her wedding day. It was a huge hit with her wedding guests and a new challenge I was pleased that we were able to conquer. In the end I couldn’t resist and stepped in to make a couple photos of myself. Too much fun. Here are a couple of my favorite images that were made during Erin and Ryan’s wedding. You can view the full photo shoot here on my archive site. Stay tuned for their wedding shoot. Coming soon. Until then, -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/zzzzzzzzErinRyanPhotobooth-175.jpg574864GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2011-07-14 01:37:182018-01-07 00:41:27Colorado Wedding Day Photo Booth in Parker Colorado of Erin & Ryan
After all of the excitement is photographed on the wedding day, the long hours editing and the careful attention to make each photo look it’s best, there comes the point in the process of hiring Greener Visuals Wedding Photography that brings the experience full circle…the delivery of the photos to the bride and groom. For the longest time I would send my clients their DVD of images in a simple, paper based disc holder. My wedding photography business redesign offered me a chance to ferment on how I was operating things throughout my business and a chance for me to improve on them. I knew I wanted to make my presentation from start to finish stand out. I want my clients to be proud of their wedding photography and be able to show it off to friends and family whenever they want. I knew I needed to raise the bar. I found my answer in Jewelboxing cases. These high quality cases are durable, have a sleek, modern look and are beautifully designed. They are a perfect way to preserve my clients wedding memories for decades to come. I’m thrilled to have them as a new standard for my Greener Visuals Wedding Photography clients.
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JewelCaseMix.jpg4481040GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2011-06-07 19:17:512018-01-07 01:09:15New DVD case designs for Greener Visuals Photography
Greener Visuals Wedding Photography’s got a brand new bag…of business cards that is. In my ongoing effort to the spruce up the “storefront” of my wedding photography business, it was time to design a new business card to reflect my new look. I decided my design skills were up to the challenge. Obviously I wanted to emphasize my new business logo, maintain a professional looking card while providing all of my important contact information. I think I found a good balance. I opted not to put a photograph on the back side of the card this time around. It was good for a while on my previous cards but I noticed that my old cards started being picked through so that I was left with the images that everyone had looked over. The few left over, though good images, didn’t always work for selling my business services. If I only have one image to make that impression on someone I’d better hope it is going to be an image that that one particular person is into. The design amounted to being kind of a shot in the dark. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and individual photography tastes are no different. So with that in mind I decided to forego the photo and put only my logo on the back. Like all things in business, it’s an experiment. I’m a wedding storyteller and I hope that my card will peak the right bride and groom’s curiosity. I’m continuing to have my cards printed through Moo.com on eco-friendly 100% recycled card stock. These cards are awesome. I’ve gotten nothing but complements from folks I hand them to. The cards have a slightly larger size (than a traditional business cards) and thicker card stock. Moo cards make a great impression and I aim to keep that tradition going with this new batch. Now all I need to do is distribute them. Shoot me an email with your address and I’d be happy to send you a couple. All the best. -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/BizCard02.jpg576864GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2011-06-05 07:11:022015-09-17 19:41:21Hot off the Press! – New Greener Visuals Wedding Photography business cards
When my wedding planner friend Catrina, of Catrina Maria Designs asked me to speak about green wedding photography at last week’s monthly meeting of the Sacramento NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) I was both excited at the proposition and a bit panicked. It has been many moons since I last made a big public presentation and the thought of it made me pause. But the idea of “going green” has been on my mind for years now and this was a great opportunity to think about how I could make my wedding photography business even more sustainable. So…What makes a green photography business?
From film to digital and how it has changed photographer’s workflow. A very brief history.
Back in the days of film there was substantial waste. The whole photography workflow was comprised of a wide variety of chemicals used in film development and print processing. There was a lot of waste ranging from spent developing chemicals that usually found their way down a drain to scrape photo paper emulsions being tossed in the trash. It was the chemicals (developing baths, stop baths, fixing baths, and rinse steps) themselves that were the most problematic. Many of them had limited shelf life and also could be hazardous to your health over extended periods of time.
These days most photographers have gone digital both from an ecological and economical standpoint. Digital photography offers a paperless and chemical-free way to capture an event, including being able to view online proofs before deciding which ones to print if at all. The transition from film to digital has greatly diminished the amount of waste produced from professional photographers.
In many ways you can say that the professional photography realm has naturally progressed towards many of the practices the green movement. But what business practices make up a green photographer? In other words, how can one make their photography business greener?
Making your wedding business greener?
It comes down to a self-evaluation of how your business operates and identifying things that can be improved on. Start at the core of the green movement with the 3 R’s –Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The following is a list of things you can use to help green up your business.
Printing less stuff equals having less paper waste
You can help reduce this waste by using as little paper as possible, and being smart about the paper you do use. If paper is a necessity, using recycled paper can help. Evaluate your workflow and figure out how you use paper products. Is printing out emails and other documents pertinent to your productivity? Try keeping your digital files organized in their digital format. You can keep emails in your inbox but organize them in a way that makes them easier to find and reference. Many online email providers like gmail.com have made this step nearly effortless. It’s always a good idea to make back-up copies of important files and emails but instead of storing boxes of paper files, consider keeping them on an external hard drive. When you do need to print important documents, make sure you use a sustainable paper, and set your printer or copier to print on both sides of the page.
With unlimited storage online and the concepts of cloud storage system it is easier than ever to go digital with your documents and photography by merging that information into your online presence.
I try to have as much information on my website as possible. I have purposely chosen not to have my website based in Flash and instead have it based off of a WordPress CSS based blog format from Graph Paper Press. The open source code allows for faster load times and uses a fraction of energy consumption of Flash sites. Flash based websites consume a ton of energy to upload, are slow and worse of all they are invisible to search engine optimization algorithms like Google.
A great way to reduce paper use and get contracts and documents signed more quickly is to use electronic signatures programs. I am sold on ShootQ.com and I am slowly integrating it into my workflow. It’s a virtual studio manager that assisting me from the moment a prospective client contacts me through my website to the delivery of the photos. The program helps you manage the workload, stay organized, it provides a place for your packages and rates to be password protected online until the final images are delivered. Your entire business workflow is online with minimum to no paper waste.
The digital workflow also allows me to post the entire digital wedding take online for proofing instead of printing out a bunch of proof sheets for my clients. There are plenty of online photo archival sites that let clients search my full wedding take. It allows them to make print purchases, and/or download low-res images purchases for social media purposes instantly online. I use online photography photo storage company called Photoshelter but there are others like Pictage that can be good options.
Some other practices I’m integrating into my business are…
-Using rechargeable batteries in strobes to offset the waste of used batteries going into land fills. I’ve started using Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. They have a higher price tag than alkaline batteries up front but the price is offset by the amount you can use them. They can be recycled hundreds of times. This fact can take the cost down to less than couple cents per energy cell over time. Sure, it costs some money for the power to charge them. But that is minor compared to the cost of replacing an alkaline batteries over time.
-I’m printing my business cards on 100% recycled paper from a great business card company called Moo.com. For a less expensive option check out PSPrint.com
-I buy more energy efficient hard drives for storing photos
-I try to buy used camera gear when possible if it’s in good condition like my new, used Nikon D3 pictured above.
-I strive to keep all of my equipment clean and free from dust. This helps my electronics run more efficiently. This also saves me a ton of time having to photoshop out dust spots on my images.
I have all of my electronics – computer, printer, external hard drive, and other office gadgets plugged into one power strip. By turning it off you can ensure that none of your appliances are secretly robbing energy. I was surprised to learn through my research that cell phone chargers left plugged into a wall when you’re not using them still draw energy, regardless of whether there’s anything plugged into them.
So…in conclusion, how can you sell your clients on green photography practices?
-Encourage brides to buy prints of only the photos they really want.
-Offer your brides an option to buy digital wedding albums or if they want a physical wedding album have green album options made from recycled material. Plenty of great choices out there like Wild Magnolia Design Albums
-Offer the option of them receiving their images on flash drives for photo delivery instead of DVDs. They are reusable and double as a cool promo for your business. There are numerous companies out there that can do this like FlashBay
-If brides insist on a DVD, (which most do) design it so that it will be something they will cherish. I use Jewelboxing.com cases that allow me to create beautiful high quality jewel display cases. They are durable, they look fantastic and with the right design can really make an impression on your clients.
-Eliminate the need for lots of camera flash use by encouraging your wedding clients to have their ceremony/reception in naturally lit areas for the wedding which could also mean just having their wedding earlier in the day (having a venue with lots of windows saves energy and creates beautiful soft light for photos).
Remember that becoming green is not about being perfect on day one. Making a commitment to the environment is an ongoing process. Take it in small steps. It can be easier than you think. All the best. GoGreen.
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/GreenPhotographyBlogpost.jpg5701068GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2011-06-01 07:23:132018-01-07 01:13:14Learning to be Greener – Practices in Making my Wedding Photography business more Eco Friendly
I am thrilled to share with all of you guys my brand new logo for Greener Visuals Wedding Photography. For the past year I have been debating redesigning my wedding logo. My original homemade logo with the film canister shown down below was one I had designed myself but I felt it wasn’t conveying the essence of my business.
From the beginning of the creation of my wedding photography business, I had focused my attention on the basics of building a successful business; high quality photography, good customer service, business cards and a functional website. What I wasn’t paying attention to was the subtle yet important facet of having a solid brand and identity. One valuable lesson I’ve learned during the past year is that I can’t always do everything myself. Certain areas of expertise are worth paying for. I’m confident in my photography skills but I needed the help of other professionals to make this change while I juggled a wedding business and my daily newspaper job. With this season’s boost of wedding bookings that I have been getting, I decided it was a good time to rebrand myself. But, I wasn’t exactly sure how to formulate the identity of my business. I opted to go with the online company Crowdspring.com. The site hosts a network of talented graphic designers from all over the world who compete for job bids on the Crowdspring site. You start off by naming your goals for your logo, what your business is about, etc.
I wanted my logo to have a fun look, but still maintain a sense of professionalism, show that I am a creative photographer and wedding storyteller, and complement my style of photography. After posting my ideas to the site, designs poured in. I found a mix of really talented designers as well as some less than ideal ones. As each design concept came in, I gave detailed feedback about its components, from color schemes to typography. Like in so many things, I ended up succeeding in my hunt for the perfect logo because there was good communication between me and the designers. Here are some of the logo concepts I considered:
For two weeks, I sorted through more than 250 different logo concepts from designers all over the world. We played with the fonts, color schemes and symbol concepts. The trick was trying to figure out what logo identified with my business. It wasn’t an easy thing to to do and there were numerous times I was panicing that I wouldn’t be able to find the right one. Then I found Marc Griesinger, a German marketing professional and graphic designer. Marc came to me with the book pages idea with the oak tree. I liked the symbolism of a couple starting their new family tree through marriage and the subtle concept of conveying the idea of me being a wedding storyteller through the page concept. I liked it but it still wasn’t saying weddings enough. Through the great communication between Marc and I, we came up with the idea to put the grey couple under the tree. I knew right then and there that I had found what I was looking for. Marc is incredibly creative and worked with me to fine-tune the perfect logo for my business. He understood that I was a creative just like he was. I really appreciated Marc’s punctuality. There wasn’t a time when I could not reach him and he was very responsive to my requests. Building a logo was a very personal journey for me and at times there were disagreements between me and the other creatives. Marc is very proud of the work he does, yet he was willing to entertain my creative concepts and in the end I think my logo was stronger than it originally could have been. I appreciated that a lot and I can’t thank him enough for all of his hard work. I think Marc also felt proud of the end result because my logo is now included into his logo portfolio on his website. I couldn’t be happier. -M
https://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/NewGreenerVisualsLogo.jpeg500720GreenerVisualshttps://greenervisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Logo-Greener-Visuals-Photography-Horizontal_color_web-1.pngGreenerVisuals2011-04-18 00:15:242018-01-07 01:46:47Rebranding my Wedding Business – Greener Visuals Wedding Photography gets a New Look!
I welcome and support everyone
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Pinterest