The Workflows Photography Podcast

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In this episode, Scott speaks with wedding photographer, YouTuber, and educator, Taylor Jackson about his photographic and photography business workflows.

Taylor started his creative journey with music photography, capturing images of bands he admired. However, his knack for photography didn't stay hidden for long. Friends started requesting him to cover their wedding days, igniting his passion for candid wedding photography, a niche he now excels in with over 90% of his wedding projects being entirely candid.

He's a trailblazer in the industry, being the first photographer in the world to offer both photography and highlight film coverage singlehandedly. It's no wonder then, that 80% of couples hire him for both services. Over the past 15 years, he has photographed over 600 weddings, primarily in the Waterloo area, and has also been featured in over 40 different wedding and photography magazines globally.

In his personal life, Taylor is married to the lovely Lindsay Coulter and is a father to named Richard.

• (00:00) - 024
• (04:16) - What is one thing that you do for the photographic process that has saved you time?
• (06:24) - What is one thing that you do for the business that saves you time or money?
• (11:53) - What is one thing that you do for editing that has saved you time?
• (13:37) - Imagen's new Lite Personal AI Profiles
• (18:28) - What is one thing that you do after a session that has increased business?
• (20:38) - Backup to Imagen Cloud
• (24:40) - Can you share an outlined breakdown of your workflow from lead to delivery?
• (35:06) - What does the future of AI in photography look like to you?
• (44:09) - What does the future of photography workflows look like to you?
• (49:54) - How did Imagen impact your life?

Decrease in stress after weddings and the importance of completing tasks
- Turning around galleries quickly as a game and its benefits
- Improved consistency and better customer service
- Clearing out workflow problems and reducing backlogs
- Sending preview images to couples soon after the wedding
- Relationship between online booking and all-in-one venues
- Desire for a camera that can automate culling, selecting, and editing
- Predictions for future camera technology and integration with smartphone platforms
- Services that generate headshot-style images from a few photos
- Use of AI-generated images by photographers and ethical considerations
- Changes in lead generation process by making pricing public
- Benefits of fewer but more serious inquiries
- Decrease in email communication with clients
- Use of video content to showcase authenticity
- Workflow improvements with Lightroom preset and AI Profiles
- Decreased popularity of engagement sessions
- Workflow for shooting and data backup

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In this episode, Scott speaks with wedding and portrait photographer, Nicole Ashley, about her photographic and photography business workflows.

Nicole Ashley is a Canon Canada Ambassador and is not only a passionate photographer who sees the world through her lens but is also an active educator in the photo community, leveraging her Bachelors of Education degree to mentor other photographers. Beyond the camera, Nicole's personal life is equally captivating. Married to her best friend, Jon, an incredible artist and father, and a mother to a beautiful daughter. Nicole has an infectious energy that many of her clients say makes them feel like they've known her forever.

• (00:00) - 028
• (02:47) - What is one thing that you do for the photographic process that has saved you time?
• (08:53) - What is one thing that you do for the business that saves you time or money?
• (12:54) - What is one thing that you do for editing that has saved you time?
• (15:33) - What is one thing that you do after a session that has increased business?
• (25:43) - Can you share an outlined breakdown of your workflow from lead to delivery?
• (33:41) - What does the future of AI in photography look like to you?
• (43:00) - How did Imagen impact your life?

In this episode, Nicole shares her secrets to creating an unforgettable photography experience for clients, from sending sneak peek photos within 24 hours of a session to surprising them with tangible film prints at weddings. She also discusses her recent dream come true experience, working with a big brand and a diverse team of artists.

"Looking at photos should evoke a sense of happiness and nostalgia." - Nicole Ashley

Mentioned resources

• Canva: A helpful tool for creating digital mood boards.
• Pinterest: A valuable platform for inspiration and gathering ideas.
• Instagram and TikTok: Platforms used for inquiries about weddings.
• Focal: A fantastic AI-powered tool that has streamlined Nicole's editing process.
• Pic-Time: An excellent tool for creating polished photo galleries and delivering stunning client experiences.

Want to learn how to create a memorable photography experience for your clients? Tune into this episode of Workflows and gain invaluable insights from Nicole Ashley's expertise! Don't miss the opportunity to enhance your photography business and create a lasting impact.

Key lessons in this episode

1. The importance of creating a date-like atmosphere for clients during portrait sessions.
2. Using digital mood boards to showcase textures, color schemes, and shopping for items.
3. The value of utilizing AI and automation tools to streamline and enhance the photography process.
4. Leveraging client portals for organized communication and professional presentation.
5. The positive impact of technology on reducing burnout and making photography more feasible as a full-time career.

Discussed in this episode

Sending sneak peek photos to clients within 24 hours of a session
- Carefully choosing and retouching the sneak peek photo
- Clients' appreciation for receiving the sneak peek and sharing it on social media
- Bringing a mini Canon printer and using the Canon Connect app for weddings
- Putting film prints in clients' seats as a surprise and tangible memento
- Being hired for one role but ending up doing multiple tasks on a large production
- Collaboration with different artists and learning opportunities
- Referring to sessions as "portrait sessions" instead of "headshot sessions"
- Mood boarding and discussing details with clients to reflect their identity
- Transition from physical mood boards to digital mood boards
- Emphasizing the importance of meaningful photos that can evoke emotions in the future
- Thoughts on AI-generated photos and the value of traditional photo shoots
- Mention of social media platforms for inquiries and directing clients to email
- Importance of creating a date-like atmosphere during photography sessions
- Capturing memorable photos that evoke emotions and happiness
- Valuing family and personal time alongside work
- Regret over not using a certain tool earlier to save time
- Enjoyment of photography and gratitude for...

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In this episode of Workflows, host Scott Wyden Kivowitz shares his personal experiences of losing his precious photos not once, but three times. These stories serve as lessons on the importance of having a quality photography backup workflow in place. From his camera's memory cards being corrupted to an external drive crash, Scott learned the hard way about the significance of safeguarding his images. Join him as he reveals the steps he took to improve his backup workflow and how he ensures the safety of his photos today.

Key Lessons:

1. Travel Backups: If traveling, backup your memory card to multiple places before returning home. Scott's experience with incompatible memory cards highlights the importance of selecting devices and types less vulnerable to corruption, ensuring the safety of your photos.

2. Invest in multiple backups: Losing all his band photographs due to a single external drive failure taught Scott the lesson of investing in backups. Having multiple physical and cloud backups is crucial to protect your images from permanent loss.

3. Develop a cloning system: Scott's backup workflow involves cloning his local drive to an identical RAID drive, which is then cloned to an offsite location. This system ensures redundancy and safeguards against hardware failures or disasters.

4. Utilize backup software: Using reliable backup software, like Carbon Copy Cloner, can simplify the cloning process and ensure that all your files and external drives are backed up consistently.

5. Combine high-resolution and low-resolution backups: Incorporating software like Imagen allows you to have high-resolution backups of your RAW files while also saving storage space by having low-resolution JPEG backups. This provides flexibility for editing, culling, and preserving your images.

Join the Imagen Community and share your own disaster stories and current backup workflows. Learn from each other's experiences and enhance your photography backup workflows.

• (00:00) - 025
• (01:10) - A mistake I couldn't avoid
• (02:54) - This mistake was totally my fault
• (04:15) - I hope you never make this mistake
• (05:20) - My photography backup workflow

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Discover the truth behind off-camera flash misconceptions with award-winning wedding photographer Bill Stank on this enlightening episode of Workflows. Learn valuable insights to improve your photography skills and elevate your photography workflow!

Bill Stank is an award-winning wedding photographer based out of Baltimore, MD and the Lehigh Valley, PA. He has been photographing weddings since 2012. He is a self-proclaimed Tikka Masala Enthusiast and lives with his partner, 3 dogs, a cat, and over 100 house plants.

In this episode, Bill Stank debunks common misconceptions about off-camera flash in photography. From addressing the belief of not being capable of using off-camera flash to exploring the pros and cons of this lighting technique in various situations, Bill shares practical tips to help photographers master off-camera flash and enhance their photography workflow.

"Don't forget to embrace the light that's there because it might be really beautiful." - Bill Stank

• (00:00) - 029
• (00:50) - Introduction and Guest Introduction
• (02:04) - Bill's Introduction and Topic Overview
• (03:00) - Misconception 1: Off Camera Flash is Too Difficult
• (06:05) - Misconception 2: No Time for Off Camera Flash on Wedding Day
• (09:33) - Misconception 3: Off Camera Flash Always Improves Photos
• (12:50) - Misconception 4: Not Using Off Camera Flash Means You're Not a Professional
• (14:59) - Conclusion and Final Thoughts
• (16:03) - Host's Closing Remarks

You can master off-camera flash with practice
- On a wedding day, prioritize using techniques you're comfortable with
- Understand the pros and cons of off-camera flash
- Embracing natural light doesn't make you any less of a professional
- Finding the balance between natural and added light yields exceptional results

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ImagenAI is an Israeli-born company that uses AI to improve photographers' workflows. This is our origin story and why we do what we do.

Once upon a time, there was a man getting married.

His name was Yoav.

He and his wife hired Nitzan to photograph their glorious day.

They had a magical wedding.

But for some reason, it was taking over 3 months for the photographs to be delivered.

Yoav, who had a background in artificial intelligence, was naturally curious about Nitzan’s workflows and processes, so they had a conversation.

Yoav decided he wanted to help Nitzan speed up his editing process so he can deliver work faster to his couples.

That is when Yoav and his college friend, Yotam, and Yotam’s childhood friend Ron came together to form ImagenAI.

The three worked together to build a mystical engine designed to learn Nitzan’s editing style.

That way, when Nitzan photographs another wedding, all the photographs are edited the same way he would edit them - but he can set off to do other important tasks he must do in his photography business.

It turned out that ImagenAI saved Nitzan over 75% editing time - and the photographs look like he edited each and every one.

This is the photo editing revolution. Say goodbye to presets and hello to your personalized editing profile with ImagenAI.

ImagenAI never stops learning your personal editing style. This is the future of photo editing.