The "Secret Sauce" Used by Jobs, Musk and Every Chef in the World

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This issue will be a quick one because I just finished a wedding this evening, and I'm pooped. But despite my poopedness (if that's even a word), one thing came to mind that I really must share.

When you do something over and over in your business, at some point it will no longer feel new or fresh.

For wedding photography, “new and fresh” translates directly to creativity and messing with that is a no-no.

When the necessary becomes ordinary, it doesn’t become less necessary – it just becomes something you want done more efficiently. My recommendation,

Create a system for your business.

Like a recipe, when you do something repeatedly, the sooner you can put a system in place, the sooner you can focus on the finer, technical parts of the process, forget the mundane organizational parts, and be prepared for any curveballs that are thrown.

Systems also bring the creativity back to the routine.

Take packing your camera gear for a wedding. It's something you do every week.

Of course, it's just my recommendation, but I fully endorse packing your bag the same way for every wedding every week.

Same gear, in the same place, every time.

And if you want to be super nerdy about it, pack your bag for a wedding, take an overhead photo of all the gear in your bag in its proper place and tuck that photo into one of the pockets.

Now, if you have a week with some commercial shoots or a few family gigs, and you might’ve changed out some of your gear, you'll be prepared.

When it's wedding time, just pull out the photo of your wedding setup and put your gear in its place.

Now, there's no guessing if you brought this or forgot that. You could also make a handy checklist (my preferred method + the photo).

Thanks to a few regrettably forgetful moments, I have a few checklists in my bag - one for gear, one for essential shots for this particular wedding, one for creative posing options and the timeline of the day (not exactly a checklist but a visual reminder).

It's way too easy to get in the zone of shooting and forget something the bride mentioned earlier that week that's a bit out of the ordinary.

My checklists are a significant part of my system simply because they keep me organized.

Another system I rely on heavily is how I shoot the family and wedding party (More details in Issue #17.)

These are what I call my "core groups," and if I only shot this collection of groups, no one would be unhappy.

By having this system in place, I don't have to guess what to shoot first and what to shoot next.

It allows me to organize the assembly and shooting of the groups to flow from one to the next.

Here's my system:

• Just the Girls

• Just the Guys

• B&G with the Full Wedding Party

• B&G with Bride's Immediate Family (with and without Grandparents)

• B&G with Bride's Parents (family leaves and just the parents stay)

• B&G with Both Sets of Parents (bring in the other set)

• B&G with Groom's Parents (one set leaves and the other stays)

• B&G with Groom's Immediate Family (adding the rest with the parents)

• B&G together (multiple locations)

See how this flows from little to big to little and back again?

Of course, I know this is a simple system, but now, I can pay more attention to grouping up the families, ensuring everything is balanced and making sure Uncle Steve doesn't wander away again (that scoundrel!)

I've attended weddings where the photographer lets the family decide what they would like to shoot next, and it looked like a blindfolded square dance with people moving every which way and no one knowing what they should do (funny to watch, but only for me.)

When you create systems, even small ones for yourself, you don't have to reinvent the wheel each week.

You know what you need to bring and what you need to do, and you can focus on being creative.

That's why they're paying us the big bucks, right?

There are apps, card decks, and all sorts of cool tools photographers have created to help other photographers stay organized on a wedding day. They're all great...if you use them.

Don't make keeping things simple...complex.

You're here to serve your clients, be creative and have fun. Do whatever you need to do to make that happen, and you'll turn a huge corner on that road to being a successful wedding photographer.

Creating systems is one of the little parts of the "inner game of wedding photography." THIS is what I write about each week in this newsletter.

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Questions? Shoot me an email at [email protected]