We were at a seminar recently. You know, one of those self-improvement ones. The theme was living with intent and Heather said, “You know what I am? I’m an ambassador of love and laughter! And you know what I do for a living? I make wedding albums!”

How cool is that? was her point.

How cheesy too, if you insist. But isn’t it true? Week in, week out, our clients venture out to record their clients’ love stories, and we make those stories into beautiful artefacts (receptacles of love and laughter) that over the years become family treasures.

In our opinion, to be successful, wedding photographers need three qualities:

• The ability to shoot great images;
• The ability to compete in one of the most competitive markets there is;
• The ability to express the connection they feel with their craft and their clients.

Without exception our clients are people who love taking pictures. How many people can say that about their work?

Our clients know that they perform without a safety net, with locations, events, models and schedules over which they have little if any control – and no re-shoots! They look at the day through the eyes of the families who hire them, not the eyes of critics, and they respond to the love and the laughter it is their job to record.

We talk a lot about the nuts and bolts of our industry on this web site and in our emails, at trade shows and on the phone - about workflow and productivity, the role of albums as marketing and packaging, about how much you need to charge, and how to charge what you need. But let’s not forget that we do what we do because we love it.

Ian Baugh