Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to the Wedding CEO podcast, where we discuss all things marketing, sales and scaling so you can become the CEO of your life and business. I'm Elora Rochelle and I've been a Wedding photographer for over a decade and now I'm sharing all of my secrets so you can stop sacrificing your time and make more money like a CEO. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about how to elevate your portfolio before your next session, which is our program promise, and we stand by it. So many incredible students have DM'd me their progress in the course, their notes, their before and after images, even their portfolio galleries, and I have watched as they have evolved very quickly and, you've guessed it, by their next session or wedding, they've reported many, many times that they will never shoot the same way again, and that makes my mentor heart so happy.

Speaker 1: 1:01

The biggest compliment you could ever receive in life is that your students are getting results, but I'm positive that this is possible for everyone that takes this course because we teach everything. Like I mentioned in the previous episode, we will dive into composition, directing clients, storytelling, natural lighting and artificial lighting. It says if we set you up to succeed from like A to Z, and inside my masterclass, that goes live on the 26th. I show you my before and afters so you get to laugh at me and you get to see what I had the nerve to create. I also showed you my progress upon figuring out how to go from overly light and airy I guess I would say over exposed to strictly documentary style and then finally blending the two together and showing you really how easy and simple it is to do the same. And I also tell you some of my student success stories, and what they have been able to create, even just before and afters, are mind blowing. Humble brags, of course, but we'll let the students tell you how great this course really is and that they keep going through it for a refresher on the way to a session, which is the best way to stay sharp during busy season. You will walk away with the tools to master the wedding day, let alone any couple session you photograph. Imagine being the go to expert in the industry, clients going on your website and asking for specific images that they'd seen on your portfolio, on your website, from your Instagram. You'll never look to the competition again. You will never go on Pinterest looking to copy an image again. You will seek inspiration from other medias and you'll set the standard and shake the industry within, and I can't wait to see it and I love this journey for you. But I do want to give you a little bit of a tip on how easy it is to have a minimalist OCF setup.

Speaker 1: 3:04

So I am a self-proclaimed minimalist, sort of I like less things in life. But I mean, let's be real, we like things. And it's like can you be a maximalist and a minimalist, or like an aspiring minimalist? Let's call it that. I'm an aspiring minimalist, and when it comes to carrying equipment, I'm not the strongest person in the world. I don't go to the gym like that. I do cardio. I'm a cardio girl. I do lift weights, though, but then weights are like eight pounds at best. They ain't that strong.

Speaker 1: 3:36

So, anyway, I was doing my deep dive research when I was trying to look to get into off-camera flash, and I remember every single video I saw was like I have, you know, five different light stands and I have these different lights, I have continuous lighting, I have this, I have that, I have five flashes, I have all these triggers that triggered by this big old remote, and I'm just like ah, I was like well, that doesn't seem like the journey for me. So I was appalled because you know they were really lugging around two to three suitcases full of equipment and accessories like that's not, that wasn't all you know, or these huge light fixtures that got in the way of everything. And let's be real, on a wedding day we're running to and from, like once we photograph the bridal party or the couple, depending on how you set up your timelines we're running to the reception to set things up, make sure everything's good to go, make sure your second shooter is getting the images they need to get and everybody's good to go, and you're getting ready for the grand entrance. There was not a ton of time to set up five different light fixtures, connect all these different accessories, I mean, unless you have like five assistants or something. I mean you know, teach their own. But I thought to myself there's got to be a better way. That should honestly be the moral of this entire story of my life. But there was a better way and I'm very much a simplified, systematic person.

Speaker 1: 4:57

I don't like complex strategies. I don't like a ton of details. Give me the Cliff notes version, please, please. My attention span is not. It's not going to allow me much, much longer. So my equipment is pretty light and too fewer suitcases to carry around. I have one suitcase, but that is so I can put all of my gear in it at the end of the day and stop carrying cameras on my back. So once the day is officially over, I need to throw my cameras in the suitcase and leave. So anyway, I just have two 12 foot light stands. I have Godox 8200s and small accessories to accompany that. Of course, a trigger as well, but no worries that that sounds, you know, complicated or like what the heck is that stuff?

Speaker 1: 5:41

I will walk you through how to set them up, get the perfect cinematic image. Every time we give you OCF guides and diagrams so you know exactly how to set them up and where. Plus, I walk through a wedding twice just to show you how I did it with behind the scenes post edit walkthroughs. I have a barn wedding. In there I have an intimate small space wedding. I also even explain and walk you through how I did a museum wedding and, of course, more coming. I plan on doing a couple of like styled shoots to with like a voice walkthrough, trying to get my camera crew together. But either way, it's full proof. I walk you through it, I give you all the strategies. You'll learn my minimalist setup and it won't kill your bank account or, even worse, collect dust inside your closet because you never want to take it with you.

Speaker 1: 6:29

I remember buying so many lenses that I would never touch. I remember buying so many bags that I never took with me. I feel like, after a while at least, when you're first start in the industry, you just buy whatever people tell you and then on the wedding day you're like no, I'm not carrying that, I don't want to. Or I know I'm not gonna use that lens, so I'm not bringing it. Or for me it was a 7200. I just can't. It takes me way too long to carry that. I was terrified of dropping it. I just I know it was not the move for me, but I had it and it worked in some scenarios and I think it's good to have. But it was never the lens that I just said. Oh my gosh, I have to grab this. I'm gonna miss out on a moment. Like I had one and I never used it. I maybe used it for one year and I was like, yeah, I'm good. So definitely figuring out too.

Speaker 1: 7:15

I think if I could just one free tip, figuring out what your gear guide is for yourself, I feel like one of the biggest things is like trust yourself, like you know best. You know, and it's weird because you always feel like you're never gonna get there, or maybe you're never gonna be a pro, you know, or even just maybe that everybody knows better than you. But after doing this for some time I can think back on moments being like why didn't I trust myself in this situation? Like, why did I buy that, knowing that I don't like carrying heavy things like the 7200 anyway? Or having a 100 millimeter macro lens? Those ring photos like the close ups my clients don't print those, you know. So for me it was like that was my executive decision, being like, yeah, the macro is not coming back.

Speaker 1: 8:02

My clients like more stylized images to the point where I'd be like, hey, you know, have your florist, bring some florals, let's make some magic, and they would get so excited about it they didn't want the 200 millimeter specs of their ring. I mean, maybe they do, maybe your clients do, but mine didn't. So knowing your clients, maybe knowing your clients, trusting yourself, I feel like those are pretty good tips and I think, with that in mind, you will have the tools to elevate your portfolio by your next session. Don't forget to join the wait list for the cinematic editorial we open on the 26th, and I can't wait to see you inside and also see your before and after images. I'll see you in the next episode. Bye.