“We’re on each other’s team.” That’s what we’ve been listening to lately – and if you haven’t heard the song Team yet from Lorde, well then by all means go and check it out here. As we began this year, one of the things we started thinking about is how few times photographers actually hang out together. And I don’t mean sipping wine together at the latest networking function. I’m talking about just sitting down together, one on one – and sharing life experiences. Having coffee. Getting to know each other. Being real and honest.
When we first started our photography business five years ago, we encountered a few cliques when trying to reach out to others in the wedding industry. Unfortunately, it seemed especially prevalent among photographers. We were eager to learn, but some seemed unwilling to share their knowledge, let alone just be friends. It made us sad that people in the same field as us were so competitive that they were afraid to share with someone who did the same thing they did. And we knew there had to be others out there feeling the same way.
Now, a few years into this, we want more than anything in our networking relationships to be open, honest, and friendly with other photographers. We don’t mind sharing our experiences in the field, and would love to hear yours as well. We can all learn from each other, and have so much to offer to each other! And, we’re not too proud to admit that we’re still learning too :) We really have no secrets to hide, and there are enough clients to go around that we all can succeed together. If we build a network together, we can do even more than just share experiences, but even refer work to each other when we’re too busy to take it on, or the client is looking for something just a little different than we offer.
So – this is our open invitation to all photographers who are reading this. It’s the slower season right now for us wedding photographers, so if you live in the Raleigh area or are just passing through and want to hang out with us, let’s do it. Comment below or write us and let’s plan a time to get together and just chat. We’d love to encourage you in some way if we can. And of course, we’d love to hear about your latest adventure or look at pictures of your kids or dog with you. Sometimes we all just need a friend who understands that high noon on the beach is NOT the most ideal time to do pictures of the wedding party, or that 10 minutes is not nearly enough time to rush through portraits on a wedding day. :)
xoxo, Brent & Anna
P.S. We had a great time meeting with Lauren last Friday morning at a fun little coffee shop in Raleigh and chatting about photography together + hearing about her fun mountain wedding last fall. That’s where the fancy latte artwork in the photo above came from too!
