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Edmonton Wedding Photographer { True to your gut-WPPI}
March 5, 2010

(Im sorry that the format on this text today is a little bit wonky. I have no idea why….le sigh)

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I know that a lot of the professional photographers who read this blog are going to WPPI in Vegas (as are we),

and we are so excited to be meeting up with as many of you as possible
(and do a little consulting in our free time)!
We are so excited to be going to WPPI! We feel that no matter what field of work you are in, growing & learning is something that should always be a part of your “job”. It feeds your passion & creativity & teaches you improved skills.

Something that comes up in our consulting, is photographers who feel “second rate” or that they

are doing “everything wrong” after attending a workshop or a seminar. They seem to disregard all

of the wonderful things that they do! As such, I wanted to toss out one suggestion to all of the

photographers who are going to WPPI.

Be true to yourselves. True to your gut.

In settings like WPPI, it is so easy to idolize the speakers to the point where you take everything that they say as “gospel” and lose your “gut” and

your critical thinking skills (do I sound nerdy?).

I challenge you to listen critically to ideas/tips/suggestions and ask yourself

“would that further my career/goals”?. NOT EVERYTHING WILL. There is more then 1

way to skin a cat (what a gross description). But the fact is true. One of the industry leaders,

Jasmine Star, uses “auto white balance”, much to the aghast of some of her peers. She bucks against

the norm and does what WORKS FOR HER. She listens to her gut & runs with that. I think that is key.

Learn, but stay true to yourself, and listen to your gut. If everyone is saying that you MUST offer

boudour photography to your brides, but you do not want to, you don’t HAVE to. It is your business.

Do what you love & only that! I promise

you that then, and only then (when you are doing what you love) will it show in your images.

If a company is telling you that their album is “the best” & it is very, very popular, but you honestly

don’t care for the look of it; don’t carry it for your clients! Only offer/carry/do/process what feels right for you.

What fits for you. If you don’t love it & see the value in it, your clients will not either. (this goes for anything

not just products)

Here is a quick example of what I mean. Right now it is trendy trendy trendy to be “all about”

prime lenses only and scoff at anything else. Especially popular is the 50mm. Is it amazing? yes. YES!

But is it the only lens worth using? Not to me. I love a lot of lenses, depending on the situation.

But that is just my personality. I have a colleague that went to a workshop where the gentlemen

teaching the workshop said that “hands down you would never get anywhere unless you exclusively

used prime lenses”. That is certainly his opinion, but it is just that. An opinion based on what FEELS

right with him (and that is totally valid!). That is all that I am asking of you. Do not feel the need to

jump on every trendy suggestion or question everything that you are doing. Leave WPPI with some

great solid suggestions, tips & ideas; but dont check who you are at the door & do not leave feeling like

you do not do anything right. Realise all that you do amazingly (a word?) and BUILD on that.

Just remember, even though you may not be on the stage, you are amazing in your own way and

your thoughts & insights & ideas are just as valuable as anyone elses. Honor them. Hold on to that.

Learn all you can, but be true to your gut.

Posted in FAQ For Photographers, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Edmonton Wedding Photographer| Good Service
January 8, 2010

Tonight I relearned the importance of service (& nice people). As a boutique photography studio, service to my brides & grooms is extremely important to me. I try to reply to emails so quick that it almost makes my brides wonder if I live online (I dont. I live in a normal house like the rest of you folks *wink*) , after a wedding I try to have a sneak peek online within 3 days…this because I think that if I was the bride, I would be dying to see some pictures, any pictures! Also, being an avid facebooker (I feel geeky even typing that, but alas it is the truth),

if I were a new bride I would want my profile picture changed pronto! When I am getting my clients

beautiful image DVD to them, I try, nay, I insist that my lovely couples have them in their hands within 3 weeks.

If my album designer is a day late with her design proofs for me, I am finding out why its late.

Its important to me that things are done in a timely manner for my amazing couples. As such, I feel that I

have 3 advantages in this business, a field that is often referred to as “saturated” and “over run with photographers”

and that is the following:

1) Excellent service. I treat my clients as Gold because I genuinely care. Them having the perfect experience

with amazing portraiture is extremely important to me. When I picture my artwork, portraying their love

hanging in their home ( a post on our lovely Gallery wraps coming soon),I seriously get goosebumps.

(the big ugly kind if you must know. Im not a pretty goosebumper)

2) Unique & Artistic Images. That tell YOUR story, not one that ive made up for you with cheesy poses.

3) A (somewhat *wink*) vibrant personality that puts couples at ease & makes for a fun time

& natural looking photos.

I think as professionals, it is crucial to know what our strengths are. What differs us from the competition.

One of the best things photographers can do this upcoming year is sitting down and writing what

their top 3 strengths are. Are your photos very very abstract & like nothing else out there?

Perhaps this will only appeal to a small portion of brides, however if you aknowledge your

uniqueness as a strength and something that makes you different & sets you apart, you will

do amazingly. However, if you as the professional photographer do not know what your

strengths are, how will your clients? It is not vain to learn what you rock at….it is crucial!

You must know what you have to offer & rock it out!

Tonight we had a consultation with a window supplier (we are building our dream home this upcoming year).

First of all, it must be said that I loved their website. I know, I know, how interesting can a window website be?

Well honestly, not that interesting…however it spoke alot about THEM as a company & what they were all about.

It honestly did not say a ton about what makes their windows unique, but rather what makes THEM unique.

I loved them instantly.

It was clear that they were extremely nice people, with excellent values. In fact they had their values

written on their website. When our consultant came out, I was blown away by how genuine he was.

He knew his product inside& out (and it is an excellent & superior product) and was very confidant in it.

He knew that it would make us happy & suit our needs. He seemed to really listen & care about what was

important to us. I felt that he genuinely cared about making sure that they windows would suit our needs.

I tell photographers in consultations that if you honestly do not feel that you can provide what that couple

is after, do not take the booking. It is not fair to you or them. I had a client ask me once if I can do a very abstract, edgy,

highly textured style like Jesh de Rox (who I totally adore) and I said “no”. Sure, I could attempt it & probably do a good job,

but im NOT Jesh and if that is the style they were really wanting, they really really needed him. Its his brand. He is what

makes that “look” so spectacular. Anyways, ive gone off on a tangent. The other thing that impressed me greatly

about this “window guy” is how quickly he returned my emails. If I had a thought pop into my head or a question,

I could fire it off…check back a couple of hours later (sometimes even faster) and he had a detailed and caring

response sent back to me.

I guess in summary, as someone who provides a service to people, the teacher was the student tonight.

I was blown away & like I said “relearned” how important it is to stand apart from the sea of competition

by having amazing wedding photography service. This is not something you can fake. You cannot fake to care.

You have to really care & really love what you do & when you do; your service level will be amazing & make

your precious clients have the experience they deserve.

Those are my 2 cents for Friday.

Tags: customer service, window guy
Posted in FAQ For Photographers, Personal | 1 Comment »

Unique & Romantic Edmonton Wedding Photographer| True Love & FAQ
January 5, 2010

3 Things I know for sure:

1) These are probably the two nicest people walking the earth.

2) Seriously the sweetest car ride of my life (thankyou for being so kind for taking me

for a joy ride! that was so thoughtful of you to offer & I LOVED it! I’m STILL talking about it!)

3) They are both tenderhearted & friendly and will use that influence (and their obvious

good looks) to make such a difference in the world!

ERP’s Lesson on “Style” (FAQ for photographers)

I think that this wedding is an awesome example of why we dont specialize in “one style” of photography.

We feel that as talented professionals, it is our job & privledge to capture YOU, your love & your personality

(and not have some lame list of the 20 typical wedding day poses).

If we came with a set style (say traditional or photojournalistic or some other limiting word) of photography

to your day, no matter how hard we tried, we would not fully capture you. and what YOU are all about.

So this is how we are able to go from (for example) a picturesque & romantic

golf course with lovely scenery and a veil blowing in the wind, to a funky back alley with graffiti.

Because our ultimate goals as your trusted photographer is to be in tune with you and your love.

We are capturing moments, looks & feelings & yes, we are guiding you as models.

So while we do help pose & direct you (we realise you are not likely professional models, but would LOVE

to look like ones) We are not “creating” your love, we are merely guiding you and capturing your love.

(picture this: ahem…ahem…yes Janelle, just drop your hand…no, more elegantly, and jake…a more happy look

please, and looking at the camera, okay looking happy & in love. good, got it”. BOO. We do not do that.

No one will look natural with that much guiding. But you wonder, well how will I look good with

no one guiding me? Excellent question! With much more savy moves. We are skilled in pose-ing you with

out making you look posed. Giving you an idea (through modeling it ourself & being fun) of what we

think would suit the surroundings & your personality and helping you run with that. Keeping the

attitude light & playful & tender, so that those emotions come through. We also think it is

key to be trained in “watching for moments”, having some trained intuition about certain

situations that will likely emit a very candid and real moment. One that isnt set up at all,

and one where the people involved dont even know that we are capturing it. Being skilled

enough with our cameras that we can nail such a quick & fleeting moment, is something

that is very important to us. Because you can never “redo” those brief interactions, and yet

they are the most important.

I guess folks what im trying to say is this: Photographers who we consult (we offer photographer consulting,

but are filled right up until April) always ask “what do you say your style is”? and we say, “we dont”.

If you puruse our work on our website, you will SEE our style & our techniques & what your photos will resemble.

BUT we do not let “a style” guide our day. We let your love & who you are guide our day & we

capture that. So, THAT is our style.

YOU are.

so that makes sense right? clear as mud?

We encourage all photographers to shoot from this point of view, rather

then go to a wedding or shoot with your main focus being on YOUR style. Get in tune

with your clients, & shoot their style.

Who they are & what their love looks like.

I Love the tenderness in this next one. So real. I picture this above their bed on a huge canvas.This sweet & real moment occured seconds after the walked down the aisle and out the church doors. I love this moment. JUST them.I love stylish groomsThis is my favorite type of wedding party portrait & love when I get a wedding party whose vibe is one of rock n’ roll.

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Eternal Reflections Photography is an International Award winning studio providing glamorous wedding photography for Fabulous People. With Roots in Edmonton, Alberta, Eternal Reflections photographs Edmonton (& area) Weddings & is an leader in International Wedding Photography. Eternal Reflections Photography also provides consulting and workshops for photographers wishing to grow their business & learn luxury wedding photography.www.eternalreflectionsphoto.com

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Tags: Edmonton Unique Wedding Photography, graffetti wedding photos., whyte ave wedding photos
Posted in FAQ For Photographers, Fabulous Wedding Photos | 3 Comments »
Edmonton Wedding Photographer| For Photographers
January 1, 2010
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For Photographers (a part of a FAQ segments)
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My 2 cents on New Years Goals.
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Goal setting is a powerful tool and as a photographer, I think that it is essential.
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If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I heard from Jasmine Star that 95% of all
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photography companies will fail in the first 3 years. That is just crazy! You
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want to have staying power and while there are many components to that
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(that we will discuss in future FAQ posts) one of the ones that we have found most
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 successful is goal setting.
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People often get their back up about "new years resolutions" as they feel that if they dont write any,
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then they will not fail. However,
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Ever notice how your life never really stays the same? You're either improving it or
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 damaging it, your actions aren't neutral. Tell me, would you plan a wedding without
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all the fine details? What about take an exotic vacation without first making plans?
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 So why is it that we go through life sometimes and not have a clear plan or vision as
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to what we want out of it?

By setting the goal and making the plan, this plants a vision in your mind and also your
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subconscious mind. During this process the subconscious mind is given a set of instructions
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 to follow and carry out.
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I am a huge believer in New Years Goals. Every year I write goals in my life in categories.
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"physical, spiritual, financial, just for fun/family, self sufficiency, Professional".
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I would say that in total I set around 70 goals. On average, I complete around 40 of these.
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Sure that is just over half (perhaps not THAT impressive), however, how many of them
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would I have accomplished if I didnt set any? Not likely very many.
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What has been very interesting to me, is that
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at the end of the year I have gone back and read them, and there are always alot that
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I totally forgot about, yet somehow accomplished.
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I think one of the key things, is as you are writing the goals down, really picture
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yourself achieveing that goal & imagine what it would feel like.
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I know that a lot of people will say pft its a waste of time. But I really feel that
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 it is worth your time & energy. It gives you focus & it has been proven that your brain
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works on the goals & finding ways for you to accomplish them; even when you have long
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since "forgotten" about them. Interestingly, I wrote goals 5 years ago for where I wanted
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to be in 5 years time. I accomplished every single one of those goals in 2 years and even
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blew some of them totally out of the water. While I am a goal focused person, I cannot say
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 that I was obsessed or really focused on getting them scratched off my list...rather I
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had put them out there, and they found a way to me. (if that makes any sense in sort of a hippie way).
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I now have 10 years goals....(yes owning an airplane is on them)...and im excited to see
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how quickly they will be accomplished. At the risk of sounding like a cheesey
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motivational high school guest speaker (although I would secretly love to be one)-----
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Deciding what you want is risky. Telling someone else can feel uncomfortable. 
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You might feel like you've got to preface it with something like, "Please don't 
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tell anyone, Can you keep a secret, I know it sounds crazy, but" But you know what? 
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People who set and achieve awesome goals are risk takers, they've learned to be.
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 They know that they've got the privilege and duty to design their own lives, 
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make their own decisions. They dare to dream, and dream big. So challange yourself,
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 set personal & business goals, FEEL them, and then get on with life being excited
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 about your future. You can be the photographer that you desire to be. You will be 
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amazed at all that you accomplish. 
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____________________________

Eternal Reflections Photography is an International Award winning studio providing glamorous

 wedding photography for Fabulous People. With Roots in Edmonton, Alberta, Eternal Reflections 

photographs Edmonton (& area) Weddings & is an leader in International Wedding Photography. 

Eternal Reflections Photography also provides consulting and workshops for photographers wishing

 to grow their business & learn luxury wedding photography.www.eternalreflectionsphoto.com
```
Posted in FAQ For Photographers, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Fall 2010 Workshop—Full
December 20, 2009

About a week ago we reached our limit for our fall 2010 workshop. We are replying to all of those photographer’s who inquired individually, however we have not emailed everyone yet, so we wanted to just put this on the blog & let you know that we will give you a personalized email with the option to be first on our spring 2011 workshop list.

In a couple of months we will be releasing details regarding the Spring 2011 workshop. If you wish to be on that email list (to recieve the details), email us & we will add you. love@eternalreflectionsphoto.com

Those of you who emailed after the Fall 2010 workshop was full, will get first dibs on the spring workshop in a first come first serve basis until it is full.

Stay tuned to a new blog post coming your way soon!

Much Love,

Adam, Radelle & Kari

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Eternal Reflections Photography is an International Award winning studio providing glamerous wedding photography for Fabulous People. With Roots in Edmonton, Alberta, Eternal Reflections photographs Edmonton (& area) Weddings & is an leader in International Wedding Photography. Eternal Reflections Photography also provides consulting and workshops for photographers wishing to grow their business & learn luxury wedding photography. www.eternalreflectionsphoto.com

Posted in FAQ For Photographers, Uncategorized | No Comments »

FAQ for photographers.
December 17, 2009

-By Radelle, Adam & Kari

FAQ photographers

Lindsay wrote, “your work always looks so fresh & original. How do you do it?”
Well Lindsay (& other photographers!), everything! Seriously, sometimes it is the mischevious glint in the ring bearers eyes, sometimes it is the style of the dress, sometimes it is a storefront ad (abercrombie for example) that looks emotional & raw. Sometimes it is visiting our grandparents, sometimes it is Rockwell. Stay tuned to your surroundings & feelings and you will be amazed at how inspiring your own life is.

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Eternal Reflections Photography is an International Award winning studio providing glamerous wedding photography for Fabulous People. With Roots in Edmonton, Alberta, Eternal Reflections photographs Edmonton (& area) Weddings & is an leader in International Wedding Photography. Eternal Reflections Photography also provides consulting and workshops for photographers wishing to grow their business & learn luxury wedding photography. www.eternalreflectionsphoto.com

Posted in FAQ For Photographers, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Edmonton Wedding Photographers/Edmonton Photography/Edmonton Weddings
September 18, 2009

Answering some email questions!

We get a lot of emails from Brides & Photographers asking us questions! We have a very great FAQ section on our site, but its still nice to answer some on here. So here it goes!

For the Photographers

Q: How do you get such great expressions out of your clients?

A: Be ridiculously funny. We’ve been known to make total fools out of ourselves to get our couples to laugh! No but in all seriousness, whether its the laughing-having a great time expression or the really tender moments that we capture, we credit it to our love of love. We are genuinely so excited to go to “work” and love being at the wedding and seeing the bride & groom in love. If you feel “meh” towards weddings or wedding photography at all, do your self a favor and the brides a favor and specialize in something else. You should be there with your full heart, and then that is when you get those really fantastic images. When we first started up a gazillion years ago, we also did family & newborn portraiture. Our hearts were not in it. We did not feel that same excitement as we feel when we are photographing a wedding. So we followed our hearts and now we only photograph weddings. Find what you are passionate about and specialize in that. Not only will you naturally produce happy, emotion filled images of your couples, but you will become an industry leader because all your creative energy is in one area. So in summary, find what you love, love what you do, and the art will create itself!

Q: What are two things that help to make photographing a wedding easier?
A: We are in love with 2 things at the moment. Our GPS & our shootsac.

Q: Can I pick your brain?
A: Yes. We offer consulting & workshops.

For the Bride & Groom

Are you awesome? yes.

Can you prove it? yes.

Watch this

(video by Nostalgia Media)

Much Love,
Adam , Radelle & Kari

Edmonton Wedding Photographers/Edmonton Photography/Edmonton Weddings

Posted in FAQ For Photographers, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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