photos might be considered risky by more
conventional shooters, Dan takes no risks in
getting the right photos for a client – and he
does this by employing a second shooter for
every wedding.
“Having a trusted second shooter means
someone is always taking the safe shots, leaving
me free to create more imaginative images that
may or may not work.
“I’m comfortable with the non-linear way
I shoot and how I curate my galleries for
the client. Unlike a lot of photographers, I
don’t follow the wedding day story from the
beginning to the end when sharing the story
publicly.”
And, explains Dan, there’s the matter of
good taste. Many Instagram influencers have
lots of people following them because of what
they choose to post – they have good taste and
it makes their feed interesting. Similarly, there
are a number of wedding photographers who
have good taste and this carries into their work.
“I like to think I have good taste (maybe?) or
at least the same taste as the people I attract to
my work, the same people who will eventually
become my clients.”
So what exactly is good taste and how do
you acquire it?
“I’d say the first step is understanding what
you like. A good exercise is to create a visual
mood board of everything that you like. Grab
magazines and books, print out images from
websites and pin them on a wall in your house.
Postcards, brochures, photos – even colours
and typefaces can be used to generate a mood
board of what you like.FINDING GOOD TASTE
“But don’t second guess this. You actually have
to go through the process. Once you’ve filled
up a fair bit of your wall, you should be able to
stand back and look at what you’ve collected
and ask yourself if there’s a colour, a tone, a style
or a thread that joins most of the elements
together – that’s probably your taste coming
through.
“When you take the time and trouble to
work out what you like and who you are as
a creative, you will also have a clearer idea of
who your clients should be and what they are
targeting.
"Sadly, a lot of people will read this, think it’s
a great idea and do nothing. Only ten percent
of readers will actually take the time to create
a mood board. But I think they will surprise
themselves with what they learn and they may
watch it trickle into their branding.
“So, maybe it’s got nothing to do with good
taste, rather having the ‘right’ taste.
“And your taste should flow into your
branding. I think having a strong identification
is important in business. Whether it’s a colour
or a font doesn’t matter, but when you identify
it, it can set you apart. There’s not muchFEATURE