THE LATEST
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RUNNING A PHOTO BIZ
The Key to Crazy Awesome Engagement Sessions
Some people ask why we love engagement sessions so much, and the answer is simple: WE'RE TOTALLY SELFISH. The engagement session is the perfect excuse to hang out with our clients, get to know a LOT about them, and allow them to get used to being photographed by...
Our Two Favorite Lenses and Shooting Wide Open
In this Reader FAQ, we answer:
If you only could use one lens for an entire wedding which would you choose? And do you guys shoot wide open? The light is always so awesome in your pictures!!
Where Should I Host Client Meetings?
In this Reader FAQ, we answer:
Where do you meet up with clients or where would you recommend for photographers who don't have their own studio?
Three Daily Steps to Discovering Your Style
It can be one of the toughest challenges for an artist, especially a new one. It effects your branding, your marketing, your income, and your satisfaction in your work. It's not something you can force, but it takes work to develop. It's the heart and soul of your...
How to Produce Sharp Images
In this Reader FAQ, we answer:
All of your images have a special "crisp-ness" to them. What's the secret? What sharpening method do you guys use?
The Secret to Our Success
In this Reader FAQ, we answer:
What do you think is the biggest secret to your success?
What are the most important things you got from reading Fast Track Photographer, and how have you incorporated them into your lives/business?
What Album Company Do We Use?
In this Reader FAQ, we answer:
Who do you use to print your albums?
White Balance: Auto or Kelvin? |PLUS Choosing the Right Focal Point
In this Reader FAQ, we answer:
How do you set your White Balance? Do you use auto or Kelvin?
Do you worry about manually choosing a focus point or do you let the camera auto choose for you? Seems that manually choosing would be too time consuming.
Traveling the World with (Nice) Cameras
It's no secret - Jeff and I have nice cameras. And nice lenses. It's kind of a requirement in our profession. It's also no secret that we like to travel. In fact, back in 2010 Jeff and I spent two months living in Singapore and traveling through Southeast Asia,...
Ira Glass on the First Creative Years
For anyone who has ever been a creative, my question to you: When do those years of disappointment with your work end and satisfaction with your art begins? Does it ever happen? Or is there always going to be a (healthy) disappointment? Whatever the answer may be,...
Inside Your Pricing: It’s Not About the Numbers
One of the topics that we get asked most about (and I mean most by a long shot) relates to how folks should price themselves in their photography business. And I get it. there's an authentic felt need for photographers to "get everything together" in order to book...
The Dark Side of the Lens
I found this video a while ago, and if I'm being honest, I go back and watch it all the time. But only if I'm being honest... It's a promo video of sorts for the acclaimed surf photographer Mickey Smith, but honestly it's more of an art piece than an actual promo...
DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START?
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HOW DO I GET MORE (AND BETTER) WEDDING INQUIRIES?
Every wedding photographer desperately wants to know the quick answer to this one question: “How in the world do I get more wedding inquiries???" So in this mega-post, I’m sharing how to build a solid marketing STRATEGY – the same one that has continually brought high quality wedding inquiries to our business for the past ten years.
SIX EMAIL TEMPLATES YOU SHOULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT
A full inbox causes so much stress in my life that it’s the #1 thing that pulls me away from important work. So what's my single most effective weapon against ‘email overwhelm’? EMAIL TEMPLATES. Here’s my pick for the six email templates that every wedding photographer should have in their business and why.
HOW TO SHOOT BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS IN HARSH SUNLIGHT
When it comes to lighting, wedding days are totally against us as wedding photographers. Most of the time, we’re shooting the First Look, wedding party and family portraits ALL in the harsh afternoon sun. So how do Jeff and I handle the tough light to shoot soft, natural skin tones in super harsh sun? Check out my six technical tips…
CREATIVE RISING
the podcastA show about what it’s really like to run a PHOTOGRAPHY business
We teach photographers to build life-giving businesses that they absolutely love.
About Us
We're Jeff & Erin
We’re Jeff and Erin Youngren – and it’s our mission to help you thrive not just as a wedding photographer, but as a business owner. It’s time to set aside the stress and comparison of a hustle mindset, and build a life-giving business instead.
We met in college, got married, and started corporate jobs before we discovered (and fell in love with) wedding photography. But like many creative entrepreneurs, we were booking anything we could, strapped to our laptops and living dangerously close to burnout.
So we dug in and learned how to build a thriving business that supports our dream life – instead of a joyless business that runs a stressed-out life.
Today, we photograph only 10 Dreamie weddings per year, but we also run two other wedding brands plus a commercial studio in San Diego, CA. And we do it by only working the hours that fit into our life. The other hours? We spend those living a joyful life raising our two beautiful sons, James and Samuel.
hugs,
Jeff and Erin