In the last installment of the series I’m writing for husband and wife teams (or those who want to be!) we talked a little bit about some of the things that are important to think about when considering making the decision to work together. This time I wanted to talk about something that I think is incredibly important…making sure that above all else you are serving your clients well!

Photo by Katelyn James

Our business is a bit different from some husband and wife teams in that I started my business alone before we ever thought about becoming a team. So that’s had it’s own challenges in bringing someone new in who was essentially a rookie in all aspects of the business. Before I stared working with John, my second shooters were primarily other photographers who were looking to build their portfolios. These photographers knew their cameras well and were able to be a great support system for me during wedding days. I wanted John to be able to do the same, but I wanted him to be even better at it. It’s important to me that he not only be able to shoot well, but that he be able to shoot well in my style. Consistency is very important to me and having a second photographer who can create images that blend seamlessly with mine is a big priority. This can be tricky to achieve since we’re two different people who have two different ways of seeing the world, different styles, etc…but here’s what we did!

1. Setting time aside for “lessons” seems kind of natural to me since I was homeschooled for my high school years, but it might not seem like a normal thing to do for everyone. When John working with me was still just an idea we were tossing around, we started “school” on a weekly basis. I taught him what I knew about shooting in manual, focusing, etc and gave him assignments to help get him practicing.

We jumped straight into shooting manual because I shoot 100 percent manual and I think that as wedding photographers, knowing how to shoot full manual is essential. John picked it up pretty easily because he’s good at everything…okay, and because I’m a good teacher. (I kid, I kid).

Our first lessons covered basic exposure (how ISO, aperture, and shutter speed work together) and then progressed into talking about focusing, focus points, lens choices, etc. Once he’d had a year of solid shooting, we started talking about using flash manually, and Kelvin WB. I tried to keep it pretty simple and not bombard him with too much. It’s taken me years to learn what I gave him to learn in a few months!

2. Once he’d mastered the basics of shooting, we started shooting together little by little. After every wedding or shoot, I would go through his images and point out what he did really well and what could be improved on. I’d say things like “You did great on this image, but you could bump up your ISO and get a brighter version of this same photo” or “Don’t forget when you’re posing someone by a window to position them with the light facing them”. I kept my critiques simple and practical.

I think this is another part of the relationship that is helped by compensating your spouse. When you’re paying them, the employee/employer relationship is there, so that when you’re having these conversations it’s not as awkward as if you were telling your bestie/husband that his work could be improved…you’re telling your coworker. It’s a lot easier to have discussions like that with a coworker than a spouse! Keeping the relationship on business mode when having these kinds of discussions can be tricky but is so important.

3. We also talked at length about how I prefer him to shoot, where I’d like him to be when I’m shooting, etc. This goes back to the first post where I talked about expectations. I am HUGE on setting expectations, whether that’s with my clients or with my husband/second shooter. Setting expectations in any relationship is a big key to success. Maybe I’ll write a business book JUST about setting expectations…haha.

Anyway, before you start officially shooting together, lay out some ground rules. Talk about where you will be shooting, what you want your spouse to be shooting, etc. Good second shooters know not to hop in front of the main photographer for a shot or that they should be looking for things to cover that you’re not catching…but your partner ISN’T a professional already (unless they are, in which case you should still talk through a game plan for how you plan to shoot) so they aren’t aware of good second shooter etiquette the way someone who’s been second shooting for others on their own would be.

4. Like I mentioned earlier, delivering images that are consistent with my brand is super important to me. In order to get our styles on the same page, we did (and still do) a few different things. One thing that really helped was having John read my blog regularly. The more his eyes are on the work I’m sharing, the better an idea he has of what exactly I’m going for as far as compositions and light. I edit all of our work, so I handle that part, but the biggest component of style comes from how you shoot, not how you edit.

John also looks at each client’s Pixieset gallery after the wedding. This gives him a good idea of the images of his that I chose to use and it helps him see the overall story of the wedding day! Seeing all of our images together helps him be able to remember to visualize how his images will play with the full gallery as he’s shooting on the wedding day.

5. It’s a terrible, horrible truth that sometimes we treat the ones we are closest to the worst. I’m guilty of this from time to time, so I thought it was important to remind you guys that praise and encouragement is important. I’ve gotten impatient with John, or been a little too harsh and I realized that it takes time to grow as a photographer. It’s taken me five years to get from zero to here, so I needed to recognize how much he’s grown over just the past two years of photographing alongside me!

Those are some of the ways we’ve worked together to start shooting similarly over the past few years. If you have questions, feel free to ask! And, if you’d like a more in-depth version of this, be sure to sign up for a one-on-one mentoring session with us! We’re offering them to couples as well as individuals!