team – John & Joseph – Wedding Photographer based in Los Angeles

4R

Reliability – this is binary. We rely on our team to always show up and show up early. Miss a wedding, we’ll miss you too.
Responsibility – The amount of responsibility you’re handing for us. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th shooting, assisting – they all matter.
Result – Solid results matter to us and this is where we notice you. This is also when we call you more frequently and bump you to the next level (translation: $$)
Relationship – Our professional relationship with you over time. You become our trusted partner (translation: $$$$)

You don’t get paid for the hour.
You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.
– Jim Rohn

ETIQUETTE

Be nice to everyone. Especially to all working vendors. Everyone knows everyone – if you are rude to anyone’s assistant’s intern’s assistant – we’ll hear about it. Never underestimate a person in casual clothing – they are usually the important ones.
Higher Standards – we’re premium photographers. Every performance must be at the highest level. We need to deliver perfect images and provide the best client experience.
Please do not talk or make comments to clients, guests, and other vendors. Be a professional and just shoot in the quietly in the background. Exception to the lead photographer, there is absolutely no need for you to say anything in the event space. Let the event unfold and do not inject your personality into the moments. If you are talking then you’re not shooting. This has never been our approach and it will never be.
Talk to us first. If you have any problems or needs, talk to our team first. We prefer to take care of all issues without bothering anyone else.
No Alcohol of any kind. Even if client offers, decline.
Be a photographer. You are not a stylist, planner, family member, therapist, or a lap dog. Don’t do anything else except what you were hired to do.
If a guest asks you for something (“can you take my picture?”) Then do it and do it nicely.
Eat in vendor room only. Do not eat any passed tray food or drinks. If you’re the type that needs to feed regularly, then pack some food bars.
No selfies with anyone or anything.
If you need to check your phone, go find a dark corner and do it out of sight from everyone.
No networking. We don’t need anyone to network on behalf of us either. Just focus on capturing memories for the client. Network at “Networking Events”. Advertising yourself at our event is the fastest way to eject.
Eyes and ears everywhere – at our luxury events, there are planners, planner’s assistants, client’s assistants, other vendors everywhere watching photographers. Hidden security cameras are everywhere. Be professional at all times.
Life happens – we’re all humans and have wonderful lives to live. Be honest and let us know if you need anything. We’ve supported our team through tough times. Become our trusted core and there will be more benefits than you can dream of.
Trust – Our business runs on 100% trust. Twist or bend it, it breaks easily. 99% trust is not trust.
What to wear
- Weddings and evening events: Black. Clean, professional black attire. No denim, no casual black, no athletic black tops, no yoga clothing, no dark gray, no dark navy, etc. Shoes can be comfortable as long as it’s black or pure white (i.e. white chucks or similar). White soles are OK.
- Daytime Events (Baby Showers, Birthdays, Kids Parties, etc.) or Wedding Rehearsal/Welcome Party Events – Neutral tone, clean business attire. Browns, navy, light blues, pastel colors, etc. Men in Brown, blue, gray suits with white shirts are ideal. Women in similar equivalent dresses, suits, slacks, or similar professional looking attaire. No denim, no yoga, no t-shirts or casual shirts.

travel

We love destination work and treat these as important milestone to our business. Therefore, there is more care and attention brought to our team when travelling together.
Keep in mind that we always have the option to hire local shooters that’s significantly economical – if we bring you – we are valuing your talent and company. Do your best work and we’ll keep flying you around.
Travel expenses – we’ll cover all necessary expenses. Luggage fees, meals, transportation, tolls, parking, etc. Just be sure to send a picture of your receipt for reimbursement. Receipts – please send itemized receipt, not just the credit card transaction receipt.
Be reasonable with your expenses. If you’re expensive to bring, we may consider another that’s cheaper. Simple economy.

photographers

No Format. Always format before the shoot. Once we start shooting, no formatting. Most unintentional image losses are photographer errors.
Dual Slot – always write to two cards at once. Simultaneous recording of everything.
Always shoot RAW. We only want RAW photos.
3×3. Shoot everything from 3 angles and 3 distances. 3×3 = 9 photos of every item.
Shoot a lot. We really mean a ton of shots. You could never give us too many photos. Overshoot everything and when you think you have enough – shoot it over and over again. Our principal photographers each shoots 10-30,000 images/wedding.
Photographers: Shoot Vertical. Horizontal only if there is a reason behind it. We love vertical photos – makes people look taller, skinnier and eliminates clutter on the sides. Also, John is allergic to horizontal photos.
Decor > People. For our work, photos of decor (flowers, setup, setting, furniture) are very, very important. If you are in a situation where you have to choose to photograph guests or decor, always prioritize decor photos. You can come back around to get those guests later but you cannot redo decor.
Shoot guests. Photograph everyone 3 times. (1) at cocktail hour (2) at dinner table (3) candid shot. Our clients care about the people they invite. Avoid “baseball card” photos – or tight headshot of a guest. Always include the context of what is happening – tell a story with your photos. Review this link for sample guest photos.
During the ceremony, never, ever walk across the aisle. Walk around the back where guests won’t see you. Be discreet!
During reception, be aware of seated guests. If you are shooting in front of them, squat down or keep moving so that you are not blocking the guest’s view.
Tag team – always ensure someone in our team is present with the client before going to the bathroom, vendor room, or checking your gear.
Be aware of our team’s camera angle so that you are not in their picture. Do not be directly across from our other shooters. Shoot from a complementary angle so that you are adding something to the collection, not yourself in client’s pictures.
Chimp very little. Photographers that “click then look” will often miss important moments and their images have little focus because their attention is not at the subject.
Never, ever delete photos. There is a good technical reason for this – if you delete one image, it only deletes from 1 SD slot but not the 2nd slot. After the event, when we download your cards, the two simultaneously recorded cards are seen as different cards by our downloading software. This causes a big headache later – not only we’ll still see which ones you deleted but we also have to comb through duplicate downloaded images. Trying to erase your mistake will only amplify it. Everyone shoots blurry, out of focus, and badly exposed shots – own it and freely experiment. If you shoot 100 images of one scene and give us one gold – we will keep calling you.
Pet Peeves
- We don’t like backpacks. Use a black satchel, sling, fanny packs, etc.
- Carry extra batteries with you all day. Only an inept photographer rely on in-camera battery for a wedding.
- If you must charge your battery at the venue, then tie the charging cable to your bag when plugged in. This way, you don’t forget to take it home. If you forget it, then you lost it. Do not contact the venue, do not contact the planner or any other vendor about it. Buy more batteries like a professional would do on long shoots. Plan on a 12 hour day with 2 cameras.

videographers

No Format. Always format before the shoot. Once we start shooting, no formatting. Most unintentional image losses are photographer errors.
Dual Slot – always write to two cards at once. Simultaneous recording of everything.
Photo is priority – always prioritize our photographers and their shots. Our clients add-on video to our team, so photos are more important.
Multiple Cameras – Always set up multiple cameras on tripods. Especially during ceremony and speeches. Gimbal on the floor during the speech is terrible. If you are too lazy to hold a gimbal during a 10 minute speech, then use a monopod or multiple tripod methods.
No to minimal lighting – we prefer none to little auxiliary lighting on our video at our events. It’s OK to increase ISO or change lens with better f/value.
Slow and steady – we love slow, steady, and long clips. We do not use or like any fast gimbal movements, encircling type shots, or tilting type shots.
During the ceremony, never, ever walk across the aisle. Walk around the back where guests won’t see you. Be discreet!
Tag team – always ensure someone in our team is present with the client before going to the bathroom, vendor room, or checking your gear.
Be aware of our team’s camera angle so that you are not in their shot. Do not be directly across from our other shooters. Shoot from a complementary angle so that you are adding something to the collection, not yourself in client’s pictures.
Never, ever delete footage. We know of a videographer that formatted awhile trying to delete a shot! We don’t care about junk footage – just keep shooting.