Hey it’s LENSEL,
Just like that fresh, battery at 100% feeling - charged and ready to go. Here’s what we have on today:

• Why you should embrace mystery in your gallery

• The aisle dip you didn’t expect

• News and inspo to keep wedding photographers like you ahead of the game

PS. Lensel PRO is right around the corner and it’s coming for you.
Now let’s go 👇

NEWS

Happening this Week

• Freshly Rebranded. Leading wedding photographers Joel and Justyna announce a bold and fresh rebrand and website a few days ago. Check it out here. 

• The New Leica Q you might actually love.  We all need a ‘I’m not working camera’ and this week Leica announced a new version of the popular Q series camera. This time with a very nice fixed 43mm f/2 lens. Something a little different that seems to just work. See a full review here.

• iPhone 16 pro vs Canon R5. Can you tell the difference between these two images? Spoiler, it’s close.

• A wedding photographers worst nightmare. This photographer was super sick, like proper sick the night before a big wedding this week. And they had to make a call. What would you really do in this situation?

• Simple Directing. This photographer shows in this reel exactly how you can get the pose you want from your couple/subject without over directing and confusing them. Simple right.

• Will we all wear glasses? This week Meta announced Orion. Their new augmented reality smart glasses that Mark Zuckerberg is betting will be the next big tech medium after the smartphone. If you missed it, check it out here. 

• Backup Dreams on Kickstarter. This portable NAS/hard drive will have 16TB of storage and bunch of cool features that would make this THE PERFECT backup option for wedding photographers on the go.

CREATIVITY

🔎 Mysterious Photos

Not storytellers?
Photographers love to talk about how they are storytellers. But are we REALLY? Does simply capturing moments of a happy day in a sequence afford you the ‘storyteller’ title? Maybe.
10 perfect portraits and money shots all posted in a row? Maybe not…

Doesn’t a story need some element of tension, uncertainty, challenge? Where is that on a wedding day?

Enter MYSTERY. A tool us photographer have up our sleeves to create a bit of a story arc in a wedding day. Yes, with your framing, light choice and curation of your gallery, you can build anticipation, tension, and mystery…

The Art of the Reveal
Picture this: You have a stunning dress, or location to shoot. WIN. But don’t just take the ‘show off’ photo of it and be done with it. You can build a story around revealing it. 
Show parts of it.
Tease at it.
Shoot through things, behind things.
Hide it.
And then make a moment of revealing it.

A little story arc of tension and resolution. Mystery and then the solve. The pay off when you do finally reveal it - it hits. It feels like a good story.

It’s not all dark
When we think about something being mysterious, we often think it needs to be dark, moody, like using strong light and shadow. BUT think about it more like being selective with what you show and when you show it.

It’s your gallery curation and the order in which you put your photos. Maybe hint at something first with a long lens, before revealing the whole thing. (see the bottom left image of the garden).

YOU are not a storyteller simply because a story is happening in front of you. Enhance it. Play with it and TELL it.

QUICK TIP

🥀 The Surprise Aisle Dip

Surprise, surprise.
We hear it’s been catching a few of us out this wedding season. Thinking we nailed the shot of the happy moment coming down the aisle, turning our backs (so we don’t trip over backwards), ONLY to see in the corner of our eye the couple going for a big swooping dip kiss in the aisle. Dang, you missed it.

You can love it or hate it. But it’s back, it’s trending and happening more and more at a wedding near you! So this is your official reminder to stay on guard while walking back down the aisle and make sure you get that shot.

PS. Most couples are also doing this terribly. Facing the wrong way etc. Here’s exactly how they can practice and do it well.

INSPO THIS WEEK

⬇️ Just some non-wed inspiration from one of the best lifestyle photographers around. Different frames that somehow just WIN.

⬇️ SUPER WIDE is on the rise. See here for a few frames this week.

⬇️ moi.stas mastering the VIBE in those dimly lit receptions.

⬇️ How to pose the boys.

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