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Are those "best wedding photographers of the year" lists really the best, or just a list of who paid to advertise? This week Pete, Laura, Liam and Bee dig into the backlash against a big industry list: accusations that it's pay to play, complaints that everyone on it shoots the same on-trend editorial style, and why the wedding industry seems to be splitting into bubbles that each crown their own favourites. Would we do any better if we made our own Top 50? (no, we'd never agree.) That leads into a bigger conversation about being open-minded after 20 years in the industry. Why do suppliers keep telling couples what they won't want, especially when it comes to content creators? Is there such a thing as good light, or is it all taste? And are we allowed to call a photo unprofessional, or are we just turning into the grumpy old guard who once refused to do spot colour? Also this week: Liam's trusty Canon 35mm dies mid-wedding and he upgrades to the RF 35mm VCM, we ask for your recommendations on where to get lenses repaired in the UK, Pete shoots two new Scottish castles, Bee and her mum stumble into a Blackpool bingo brunch, Laura's mum used to walk elephants on Blackpool beach, we discuss whether folding phones might finally bring landscape back, and the quiet winter looms as the wedding season winds down. Plus a robot cat litter tray, a last-minute booking bonded over fruit flies, and our highs and lows of the week. Our Creative Commune is a relaxed catch-up between four wedding photographers and filmmakers, chatting all things photography, videography and the wedding industry, like friends over a coffee (or tonight, a glass of wine). Where do you get your lenses fixed? Let us know! Timestamps: 00:00 Intro and Blackpool with Bee's mum 07:43 Photographer meetups and filming in Blackpool 10:31 Pete's two Scottish castle weddings 15:02 Liam's Herefordshire wedding 16:12 Liam's Canon 35mm dies and lens repair woes 21:43 The robot cat litter tray 23:53 Are "best wedding photographer" lists just ads? 30:28 Does every wedding photo look the same? 32:59 Is landscape coming back with folding phones? 35:55 Should we make our own Top 50? 38:47 The long quiet winter ahead 41:10 Stop telling couples what they want 44:41 Is there really such a thing as good light? 50:09 Highs and lows of the week Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A pair of LA photographers went viral for all the wrong reasons with a post telling couples their wedding photographer is too old for them, and explaining why Gen Z couples need Gen Z photographers and videographers. It got deleted, it got apologised for, and it got us talking. Is there anything in it, or is it just generational nonsense dressed up as marketing? We are, as usual, about the last people in the industry to get round to discussing it. We look into the claim that younger suppliers speak the same visual language as their couples, with the massive contradiction buried inside - the current wedding aesthetic is nostalgia for a time Gen Z never lived. We suspect they've mixed up age with cultural fluency. You can absolutely be twenty-five or fifty-five and be making exactly the same work. Has age ever changed how we shoot or how we connect with a couple? Since starting at age 21, we've always just ended up bonding with the parents first. Maybe we're just old souls. There's also now this really annoying problem; we're proud of having shot weddings for over 20 years, but that also makes us sound sixty on our websites. Before that we catch up after an accidental two month disappearance, compare backlogs (48 items on one to-do list, ten weddings deep), and run through a summer of travel including a wedding near Paris with a two hour ceremony, eight plus speeches, surprise fireworks and a boat trip that meant abandoning a full camera setup mid day. Laura shoots her first roll of Super 8 with a broken light meter and guesses the exposure all day long, we weigh up whether film only bookings are worth the risk, and we get into the TikTok row about couples writing wedding speeches with AI. Plus tennis elbow, a dead boiler, no sleep, and Bee's spiky cucumbers. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome back after an accidental two month break 02:53 The run up to Christmas is the worst part of the year 03:23 48 items on the to-do list and ten weddings still to edit 06:01 Where everyone has been shooting this summer 07:12 The Paris wedding: two hour ceremony, a boat and surprise fireworks 11:03 Laura's first roll of Super 8 and a broken light meter 14:50 Are couples writing wedding speeches with AI? 16:24 Topic of the week: the "your photographer is too old for you" post 19:03 The nostalgia contradiction 22:00 Does saying you've shot weddings for 20 years make you sound old? 23:55 What experience actually gives you when things go wrong 27:00 Why generations are a lazy generalisation 28:58 Enquiries, bookings and how the diary is looking 31:47 Highs and lows Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the summer booking lull real, or is it all in your head? This week the Commune is back in the garden (briefly) to unpick why enquiries seem to vanish in peak season, why couples always book the second you go on holiday, and why raising your prices might be the easiest win you're avoiding. Along the way: whether the European heat is quietly killing summer destination weddings, a genuine ding-dong about how much AI belongs in a premium wedding business, the death of the hashtag and where Instagram reach actually comes from now, and Pete's theory that a COVID relationship gap is behind the quiet patch (and why the floodgates are about to open again). Plus the anxiety that never quite leaves this job, a missing bride with no phone signal, a Japanese wedding pint race, and the hotel Liam booked without realising everyone else would be naked. Honest, unfiltered chat about wedding photography, videography and running a creative business, from four people who actually do it for a living. Grab a coffee and settle in. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and a rare sunny garden 01:43 Air con obsessives vs the camping tent 03:48 A 40 degree wedding in Spain 04:38 Is the heat killing summer destination weddings? 07:56 The hotel Liam didn't realise was a naturist resort 12:36 The missing bride at Iscoyd Park 16:08 Why every wedding still makes you anxious 20:14 A Japanese wedding, a pint race and language shame 22:39 A weekend off and a run of last minute bookings 25:42 Is the summer booking lull real or all in our heads? 28:29 We raised our prices and nobody blinked 29:00 Instagram burnout and the death of the hashtag 33:32 Why we gave up on TikTok 34:30 Using AI in your workflow without cheapening your brand 37:46 Pete's grading mistake and staying vigilant 42:26 The COVID relationship gap theory 44:40 An uncertain but magical industry 47:05 Scotland this weekend and a secret celebrity wedding 48:19 Highs and lows 59:40 Sausages, St Swithin and paying witches for sunshine Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy birthday to us! Our Creative Commune turns four this episode, and Bee's marked the occasion with a homemade cake and a look back at four years and well over a hundred episodes of the podcast. But birthday chat aside, this one's got plenty in it. The team compares notes on surviving back-to-back weddings in a proper heatwave (electrolytes, hotel rooms with zero aircon and one particularly ill-advised propped-open door), talks through why a hired zoom lens didn't live up to a trusty 35mm prime, and shares stories from a stretch of weddings that took in a sweltering Jewish ceremony in a listed barn, a sunny Tuscan estate, and a very loud town hall ceremony that got soundtracked by the bar next door. The main event this week is a proper debate sparked by a TikTok claiming the wedding industry is "cooked" because photographers charge extra to keep couples' images out of marketing. The team breaks down what UK GDPR actually says about using wedding photos commercially, why consent matters more than most people realise, and whether charging for privacy is ever fair, alongside genuine reasons couples ask for it and why you some photographers never post photos of children. There's also a chat about guests becoming noticeably more camera aware, a surprising discovery about eyesight and viewfinders, and the usual round of highs and lows, including a recurring ankle injury that's becoming a running joke. Timestamps: 00:00 Birthday celebrations and four years of the podcast 04:41 Coping with a heatwave on wedding days 10:23 Why a hired zoom lens didn't make the cut 13:53 A run of weddings: Harrow, Spain and an old friend's big day 17:04 Bee's new (old) film camera 18:08 The town hall ceremony that got gate crashed by the bar next door 20:26 Convertible Mini chaos in Spain 21:22 A hot wedding in Tuscany 23:56 Getting wedding disco lighting right 26:06 Long daylight and a long drive to a Scottish wedding 27:16 Life with an electric car on wedding trips 28:13 Should couples pay to keep their photos private? 36:58 Why couples ask for privacy, and the no-child-photos policy 38:12 Shooting couples who are more camera aware than ever 41:59 A surprising discovery about eyesight and viewfinders 43:50 When the ceremony staging makes your job harder 44:35 Highs and lows of the week 55:41 Reviews, questions and a possible bonus episode Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drone audits, drizzle disasters, and the eternal question of whether putting your prices up is ever a good idea. This week Pete, Laura, Liam and Bee dive into Pete's upcoming CAA drone audit and the surprisingly strict "flying currency" rules that come with it, before getting into a deep discussion on shooting weddings in bad weather, including the bride who left a bad review because it was too sunny, and the violinist who nearly walked out over a bit of drizzle. The conversation moves into the business side of things, with Bee and Liam unpacking a recent price increase that coincided with enquiries dropping off a cliff, and whether that's down to pricing, a fiddled Google Ads budget, or just a quiet patch. There's also a chat about website portfolios, ad spend, and Pete and Laura's attempt to make their photography site sound less negative without losing what makes it them. On the gear side, Liam debates renting an expensive lens for a castle wedding in Spain, Pete and Laura talk through their new 85mm lens and a Lightroom preset fix using Claude AI, and the group ends up arguing about which AI chatbot has the best personality. Plus reunion highs, root canal lows, and a real-time cat-versus-bird incident that derails the recording entirely. As always, it's highs, lows, and everything in between for wedding photographers and videographers trying to navigate the job, the business, and each other. Timestamps: 00:00 Cold open: memory card chaos and a lost SD card 02:01 Pete's CAA drone audit and the flying currency requirement 05:51 Eyeing up a new drone after seeing one at a wedding 06:46 Liam's Scotland wedding at Dunglass Estate 07:55 The sock-on-the-smoke-alarm pub incident 09:49 Pete's rainy Watermouth Cove wedding in Devon 11:06 Handling bad weather and difficult outdoor ceremonies 12:42 The violinist who nearly walked out 13:54 The one-star review from a bride who wanted rain 16:00 Pete's wedding at Goodnestone Park, Kent 19:42 Working alongside an editorial photographer's 20+ group shots 22:14 Price increase versus a sudden drop in enquiries 25:34 Debating Google AdWords and Meta ad spend 29:22 How many photos should be in a portfolio 32:01 Upcoming trips: Pete to Tuscany, Liam's multi-country wedding run 35:28 Liam considering renting an expensive lens for Spain 38:55 New 85mm lens and adapting old Lightroom presets with Claude AI 42:00 Favourite AI chatbots and their personalities 43:11 Bee's 25-year school reunion 44:08 Root canal woes and charging for consultation Zooms 45:08 Hugo the cat brings in a bird mid-recording 45:59 Highs and lows: mountain bikes, finished films, and 2:30am starts 53:05 Wrap up Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it actually mean to care about your couples? Not in a vague, wholesome sense - but practically, between the booking email and the wedding day? This week the four of us are back together after a busy stretch of weddings (and one very long drive to Skye), and this question pops up in most of what we're talking about today. Liam kicks things off with tales from the road - a 22-hour round trip to the Isle of Skye for a four-hour elopement, accommodation that shared a building with a funeral director, and a mid-ceremony nature emergency that he handled with more resourcefulness than dignity. There's also the heartwarming news that Bee's daughter Betty shot her very first wedding and, by all accounts, absolutely smashed it. Pete and Laura relive their Paris trip - a 1920s indoor fairground, a ringmaster officiant, Britney-soundtracked backup dancers, and the "Inception bridge" - before the whole group spirals into debating whether they should all move to Scotland (Pete: no; midges: also no). From there, things get deep: a recent opinion arguing that photographers and videographers should position themselves as "creative leads" on wedding days. The group picks that apart honestly - where the idea has merit, why it mostly doesn't work (for us), and what actually happens when the makeup artist is still doing BTS portraits while you're trying to shoot.  Pete raises something that's been coming up in consults lately: couples are booking "editorial" photographers thinking the word signals a natural, unposed approach - because "documentary" now sounds old-fashioned to them - when editorial often means the opposite. The terminology has become almost meaningless. It's the same problem that existed when everyone called themselves documentary photographers but still whisked couples away for two hours of portraits. And then: a TikTok from a wedding-industry bride saying no vendor made her feel cared about. Do we? Should we be doing more between booking and the big day - automated check-ins, WhatsApp groups, gifts? Or does showing up fully and delivering exceptional work speak louder than any amount of pre-wedding communication? Honest, warm, and occasionally extremely disgusting - this is a good one. Timestamps 00:00 Intro & welcome back Liam 03:45 How long can you leave an inquiry unanswered?  04:10 Isle of Skye elopement - the drive, the cost, the hostel  07:00 The wilderness incident (you'll know when you get there)  09:25 Betty's first wedding shoot 12:30 Paris Musee des Arts Forains wedding - fairground, ringmaster, Britney 17:50 Filming vs. photography - why variety makes both better  18:35 Should we all move to Scotland?  20:00 Stefan sells up and goes full Viking  21:30 Should photographers be "creative leads" on wedding days?  27:00 The rise of content creators at weddings & its knock-on effects  30:00 Editorial vs. documentary - the language is broken 33:30 The wonky camera trend & the Adlington Flip  37:00 Do our couples feel cared for?  38:50 Automated check-ins, WhatsApp groups  42:00 The photographer who delivers nothing for months 44:00 Highs & lows of the past few weeks  46:30 A funeral & finding joy in hard days  48:00 What's coming up - Devon, Scotland, and Liam's eight-day gauntlet Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a photographer out there who has received 430 enquiries since January. We don't fully know how she's doing it - and that's kind of the point. Is this level of success replicable, or largely accidental? This week Pete, Laura, and Bee dig into what's really going on in the wedding photography and videography market right now: why some people seem to break through while everyone else is fighting for scraps, whether your website might actually be working against you, and the uncomfortable truth about pricing: most of us haven't raised our rates in nearly a decade, even as everything around us has got more expensive. We also get into a debate that's been doing the rounds on photographer socials: where does your responsibility end for how your couples look in photos? Should you be straightening ties, smoothing dresses, and fixing every wrinkle - or is that just not the job? With AI making clients think any edit is a simple fix, is that expectation about to get a whole lot worse? Plus: Bee's extraordinary doctor's appointment, Pete and Laura reflect on what it feels like to shoot a wedding together again, Bee & Liam's daughter Betty is about to second shoot her first wedding, and Liam is, once again, somewhere on a motorway. Honest, unfiltered chat for wedding photographers who are trying to figure it all out alongside everyone else. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro: post-yoga chaos and sweaty coats 03:00 - Saturday's wedding at Middleton Lodge - why it felt like the good old days 06:40 - The joy of switching between photo and video 09:00 - Upcoming schedule: Paris, half term weddings, and Scotland 09:59 - Liam's Isle of Skye elopement: 11.5 hours of driving, and the great mattress debate 11:19 - Betty's first wedding as second shooter 13:12 - Industry chat: the photographer getting 430 enquiries since January 17:00 - What's actually driving all those enquiries? Referrals, likability, and being flavour of the month 18:45 - Pricing: why haven't we all raised our rates since 2015? 22:14 - Should we be listing future year prices on our websites? 26:24 - More photographers, fewer weddings, less money - the market in 2025 31:26 - What Jade's four-page website tells us about friction and attention spans 33:57 - Who's responsible for how couples look in photos? 38:50 - AI retouching expectations: the bow on the dress that broke three pieces of software 43:50 - Highs and lows: no edits, Rivals, Betty's big debut, and a very confusing GP Martin Chueng’s podcast with Jade Greenbrooke: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/430-enquiries-since-january-how-jade-built-a/id1685148348?i=1000767529953  Jade Greenbrooke’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jade.greenbrooke/  Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Half the episode was recorded before anyone noticed the mic wasn't on. That's the vibe this week. Pete, Laura, and Bee (Liam is off conquering Scotland and London simultaneously) are talking about the real pressures hitting the wedding industry right now - and what, if anything, we can do about it. Bookings are shifting. Budgets are tighter. Midweek and shorter-coverage weddings are on the rise. And one person out there reckons full-time wedding photography might not even be viable anymore. Then there's the ghosting. Bee's Instagram post on the subject got 30,000 views and 122 comments, almost entirely from suppliers saying same. So why is it happening - and is it actually couples being rude, or are we just making the booking process too hard? The Coda Podcast gets a mention, contact forms get a roasting, and Zoom calls are on trial. They also untangle the word "editorial" - which apparently now means "natural and relaxed" to couples, despite meaning the opposite to everyone who actually shoots it. And when a content creator couple rocked up in a Lake Como wedding group claiming to be the only people capturing candid, in-between moments, the documentary photographers and videographers in the room had some thoughts. Plus: Bee's Super 8 film comes back from the lab. Pete's British Gas bill arrives and it is not good news. Table tennis glory. And the completely startling realisation that this podcast is nearly four years old. Oh, and then we end with Pete being packed off to live on a narrowboat survivng on only Huel, and no cushions. Timestamps 00:00 - Didn't record the first half, Pilates is evil, and Liam is everywhere at once  01:50 - Work lethargy: the post-holiday slump is real  04:07 - The Mandela Effect: both Pete and Bee have vivid memories of uploading galleries that never happened  08:05 - The state of the wedding industry: midweek bookings, shorter coverage, tighter budgets  13:25 - Is full-time wedding photography still viable?  14:06 - Bee's viral ghosting post: 30,000 views and 122 comments  20:50 - Is the booking process the problem? Zooms, forms, and friction  22:15 - The Coda Podcast: what videographers discovered when they became the clients  28:05 - Rethinking how we communicate with enquiring couples  30:03 - "Editorial": what couples think it means vs what it actually means  33:28 - The content creator controversy: who's capturing the in-between moments?  38:35 - Highs and lows: Bee's Super 8 film and Lawson Film School  43:05 - Pete's £1,400 British Gas nightmare  47:25 - Laura's TV high and general tiredness low  49:04 - The podcast is nearly four years old Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The busy season has officially arrived, and we are already feeling the heat (literally and figuratively). This week on Our Creative Commune, Pete, Laura, Liam, and Bee sit down in the sun to catch up on a wild few weeks of local weddings, destination showcases, and the ever-changing landscape of booking clients. Are we all suffering from Zoom fatigue? We debate whether it’s time to stop video consultations altogether and build a brand enigma instead. We also share some wild on-the-job stories, including a dream local shoot at Rivington Barn, the chaos of tracking fire-breathers in Spain, and Liam’s incredibly awkward encounter with a "secret" second photographer hired by the mother of the bride. Plus, we dive into some massive business milestones - including the joy of finally paying off that dreaded COVID bounce-back loan! Grab a coffee (or a matcha) and join us as we chat through our highs, our lows, Pete's foray into the EV world, the heartbreak of airport security ruining analog film, and a surprisingly mind-blowing fact about apples. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast app - it really helps us grow the commune! Chapter Timestamps00:00 - Catching rays and the start of the busy season 03:20 - Zoom fatigue and changing client booking psychology 05:13 - A dream local photo & video shoot at Rivington Barn 11:10 - Bosh! Smashing out a one-week video edit turnaround 13:26 - Wedding horror story: Dealing with a secret second photographer 17:18 - A rapid road trip to France and scanning questionable family negatives 19:30 - Destination wedding showcase at Castell d'Empordà in Spain 23:22 - Photographing fire-breathers and a rogue drone incident 26:24 - Business strategy: Should we stop doing client Zooms entirely? 30:43 - Are jet fuel prices and logistics threatening destination weddings? 32:57 - Pete's new car: Buying an EV for wedding travel 37:22 - Pete's Highs: Disputing energy bills and paying off the bounce-back loan! 41:24 - Liam & Bee's High: Quality time in Spain and overcoming separation anxiety 44:43 - Liam's Low: Heartbreak as a driving instructor 46:55 - Bee's Low: Left-behind outfits and airport security ruining film 51:12 - Laura's High & Low: London museum trips and canceled Pilates classes 56:18 - Mind-blowing apple facts and wrapping up Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Our Creative Commune, Liam is missing in action, but for a good reason: he is currently surviving a chaotic schedule of destination weddings, 16-hour days, and driving lessons. Pete, Laura, and Bee sit down with a coffee to discuss the very real dangers of the "hustle mindset" and why saying yes to every inquiry might actually be hurting your business. We also chat about the rising trend of analog wedding filmmaking - from Super 8 to 90s camcorders - and why "human-made" art is becoming the ultimate luxury in a world increasingly flooded with lazy, AI-generated content. Plus, we recap our recent destination wedding in Spain, talk through the painful realities of buying expensive new camera gear (hello, Canon R5 Mark II), and ask a question every creative eventually faces: at what age do we actually retire? Where is the line between a successful wedding season and total burnout? Finally, we wrap up with our weekly Highs and Lows, featuring wild podcast listener encounters, the isolation of solo parenting during wedding season, and why sleeping alone in a hotel room is the ultimate parent fantasy. Oh, and If you see us in the wild, come say hello! Getting recognised on the street made Bee's day! Timestamps 00:00 - Intro: Where is Liam? (The reality of creative burnout and extreme schedules) 04:30 - The danger of saying "yes" to everything and managing the VAT threshold 06:00 - Pivot to corporate: Why we still prefer the emotional connection of weddings 10:30 - Laura’s trip to the Wedding Videographer Podcast Summit in Glasgow 11:45 - The Super 8 revival and passing a 90s camcorder to a bridesmaid in Spain 16:45 - AI vs. Authenticity: Why "human-made" is the new luxury in the wedding industry 21:30 - Recapping our beautiful destination wedding in Spain 24:30 - Gear Talk: Pete’s broken drop-in filters and buying cheap grey market replacements 26:10 - Do we need the Canon R5 Mark II? (And the struggles of financing gear) 28:40 - Will we be shooting weddings at 68? Discussing the myth of creative retirement 34:25 - Divide and conquer: How Pete and Laura tackle a wedding day together 35:50 - Highs & Lows: Bee gets recognised by a podcast listener in the wild! 37:20 - Bee's new fine-line tattoos and her pottery wheel dilemmas 39:50 - The hidden loneliness and decision fatigue of solo parenting during wedding season 44:00 - Pete’s Highs & Lows: Booking weddings and the absolute nightmare of car shopping 49:30 - Laura’s Highs & Lows: The bliss of a solo hotel bed vs. the struggle of being away from home Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grab a cup of tea and join Pete, Laura, Liam, and Bee for another catch-up inside the Creative Commune. This week, we're diving deep into the frustrating reality of the modern wedding industry. Ever had a consultation where you absolutely nailed it, gave the couple amazing advice, shared a few laughs, and then... absolute silence? We’re breaking down the psychology of "ghosting," debating whether giving too much free advice on a Zoom call is actually hurting your booking rate, and discussing the exact timeline of when you should be sending your follow-up emails. We also take a hard, uncomfortable look at inflation. If you haven't significantly raised your prices in the last five years, you might actually be taking a massive pay cut without realizing it. We crunch the numbers on what a £2,000 wedding from 2010 should cost today. Plus, we talk about the pains of getting shooed away by wardens while shooting in London, why Pete absolutely refuses to set up those cliché "groom by the window" prep photos, and Bee shares the surprising results of letting ChatGPT dictate our Instagram strategy for a month. Finally, we share our weekly highs and lows—including the tragic loss of a local village legend and the anxiety of developing a six-year-old roll of film. Timestamps00:00 - Intro, morning coffee, and Pete’s table tennis heartbreak 01:17 - The secret joy of cancelled Reformer Pilates classes 05:40 - Upcoming destination weddings: Scotland, Spain, Italy, and Vietnam 09:33 - Getting kicked off private land in London and National Trust rules 13:30 - We let ChatGPT run our Instagram (and it's actually working) 17:33 - Marketing vs. Art: Should you post what works or what excites you? 18:50 - The ghosting epidemic: Why do couples vanish after a great Zoom call? 22:50 - Zoom strategies: Pitching and advising vs. just chilling out 26:15 - How and when should you send the follow-up email? 32:00 - The inflation calculator: Are you secretly taking a pay cut every year? 36:40 - How the photography industry hustle has changed over the last decade 38:50 - Highs & Lows: Developing 6-year-old film and the horror of wet leggings 41:29 - RIP Hilda: Mourning our 94-year-old village window-waving legend 43:40 - Liam’s Isle of Skye elopement excitement 46:27 - Pete's return to blogging and the debate over staging groom prep photos Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring has finally sprung, and the wedding season is officially waking up! In this week's episode, we’re back on the sofa to tackle some of the biggest shifting trends in the wedding photography and videography industry. Liam kicks things off by sharing his experience working alongside a dedicated content creator at a recent London wedding. Have content creators just become a normal part of the day, or is the hype starting to fade? We also dive deep into the latest Bridebook survey to find out what couples are actually looking for right now. Spoiler alert: they don't care about your social media following, and the "editorial" trend might not be as dominant as Instagram makes it seem. We also tackle the frustrating reality of getting "ghosted" by couples after seemingly perfect Zoom meetings. Are we making it too hard for clients to book us? We discuss the power of WhatsApp, ditching 20-page PDF brochures, and streamlining your workflow to capture leads while they're hot. Plus, Bee shares the wild ChatGPT strategy she’s using to completely retrain their confused Instagram algorithm, Pete questions if it's finally time to stop hoarding terabytes of old raw footage due to skyrocketing hard drive prices, and we wrap up with our weekly Highs and Lows—featuring magazine awards, film festival backlash, Reformer Pilates, and Pete's quest for table tennis glory. Grab a coffee and join the commune! Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro, spring vibes, and Laura’s high-maintenance gardening 03:34 - Liam’s first London wedding back and working with a content creator 09:08 - Bee’s darkroom update & Pete/Laura’s Spice Kitchen commercial shoot 13:30 - Pete’s table tennis championship (Rocky montage pending) 15:25 - Bridebook 2024 Survey: What styles and traits do couples actually care about? 22:00 - The ghosting epidemic: Why are couples disappearing after great Zoom meetings? 28:00 - Streamlining your booking process and the power of WhatsApp 34:30 - How to retrain a broken Instagram algorithm (and Liam's weird "zooming" theory) 42:00 - Skyrocketing hard drive costs: Is it time to delete a decade of raw files? 47:20 - Highs & Lows: Professional Photo Magazine's Top 50 list & Reformer Pilates! 53:30 - Handling complaints and backlash from the wedding film festival 01:01:48 - Liam’s shiny new mountain bike and driving instructor woes Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grab a coffee and join us at the holiday cottage! We're recording straight from our annual Shropshire retreat to catch up on everything happening in our creative lives right now. With the cost of living crisis changing how couples plan their big days, we dive deep into the rising trend of reduced-coverage weddings. Are these shorter, "smash and grab" days a refreshing change of pace, or do they rob us of the chance to truly connect with our couples? We also debate the modern relevance of bridal prep and detail shots - do brides really want a photo of their shoes on a tree, or are we just shooting out of fear of missing something? We’re also pulling back the curtain on the very first British Wedding Film Festival! We debrief on the incredible highs of the glamorous night at the Manchester Art Gallery, the financial realities of hosting a major industry event from scratch, and the controversy of international filmmakers dominating the final shortlists. Plus, we talk through our plans and category changes for next year. Finally, we share our weekly highs and lows, featuring the magic of Victorian tintype photography, the sheer terror of M6 traffic, the sting of buying four new car tires, and a painfully relatable vent about couples treating our Zoom consultations like interviews only to ghost us afterward. Timestamps00:00 - Morning Coffee & Shropshire Holiday Vibes 02:40 - Are Reduced Coverage Weddings the New Normal? 07:30 - The "Smash and Grab" Reality of Short Weddings 08:30 - Do Couples Actually Want Detail Shots Anymore? 14:50 - The Danger of Missing Crucial Props (The Pen Story) 16:35 - Shooting a Bar Mitzvah & Traffic Nightmares 20:10 - Our Worst "Late to a Wedding" Stories & Box Breathing 23:25 - Identity Crisis: Are We Still Calling Ourselves Photographers? 25:55 - The British Wedding Film Festival Debrief 33:00 - The Financial Reality of Hosting an Industry Event 35:00 - The Controversy of International & Destination Winners 42:20 - Highs & Lows: Victorian Tintype Photography in Shrewsbury 48:30 - Highs & Lows: £650 Tyres & Toddler Colds 50:10 - Why Are Couples Ghosting After Great Zoom Consultations? 52:45 - Dinner Debates & Wrapping Up Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it time to delete the app? In this episode, we tackle the growing sentiment that the golden age of social media is behind us. Inspired by industry leaders stepping away from Instagram, we debate whether the constant hustle for likes, reels, and algorithm appeasement is actually worth the mental toll. Can a creative business survive today without a social presence, or is that a luxury reserved for the famous? We also dive into the nitty-gritty of award season. Having just finished a marathon judging session for the Wedding Film Festival and following the results of TWIA, we discuss what separates a good film from a great one, the subjectivity of art, and the fleeting high of winning a trophy. Plus, we share our struggles with the "wintering" season, the art of dealing with online trolls, and why school sports still have a long way to go regarding gender equality. Grab a coffee and join us at the kitchen table. 00:00 – Intro: Coffee, sleep schedules, and morning chats. 01:00 – Behind the Scenes: Judging the Wedding Film Festival. 04:20 – The "Run and Gun" Trend: Cinematic vs. Messy. 05:43 – TWIA Awards: Winners, the Liverpool venue, and the post-win feeling. 12:15 – The Winter Slump: Struggling with creativity and slow editing. 14:05 – Unusual Jobs: Branding photography for dentists. 18:15 – The Big Debate: Is it time to quit Instagram? 21:00 – The Ethics of Content: Sharing private moments for public entertainment. 25:30 – The "Cringe" Factor: Why self-promotion feels inauthentic. 35:35 – Dealing with Trolls: Negative comments and blocking the haters. 40:00 – Highs & Lows: Developing film at home & iron deficiencies. 43:10 – Laura’s Obsession: Alex Honnold and climbing documentaries. 47:12 – Pete’s Rant: Coaching table tennis and sexism in school PE. 52:30 – Liam’s Low: A near-death experience in the driving instructor car. Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy 2026! We are back by the fire for our first chat of the year, and we have a lot to catch up on. In this episode, we dive deep into the current state of the wedding industry. After judging hundreds of films for the British Wedding Film Festival, we’ve noticed some polarizing trends - from AI-generated voiceovers to the resurgence of "home movie" Super 8 vibes. We also discuss the controversial return of the "Dutch tilt" in photography (thanks, Gen Z) and ask the question: are Content Creators actually taking over, or was it just a phase? On the business side, we open up about a recent painful client cancellation and discuss the ethics of contracts and refunds when things go wrong. We also debate a recent award-winning image controversy - where do we draw the line between photography, digital art, and cheating? Plus, we share some life updates, including Liam’s new career path, Bee’s Harry Potter-style darkroom, and why Laura is painting in her underwear. Topics: •2026 Trends: The rise of AI music and voiceovers in wedding films. •Gear Nostalgia: Why everyone is buying old DSLRs and 35mm film cameras. •Business Realities: Handling last-minute cancellations and protecting your income. •Ethics: The controversy of using stock imagery and composites in photo awards. •Life Updates: Darkrooms, driving instructors, and car breakdowns. Whether you are a photographer, videographer, or just a creative trying to navigate the changing landscape, grab a coffee (or a wine) and join the commune. Timestamps: 
00:00 - Intro: Happy New Year 2026
 01:05 - Judging film awards & the rise of AI Voiceovers
 05:23 - Photography trends: The return of the "Wonky Horizon"
 07:00 - The DSLR nostalgia trap
09:30 - Bee’s new cupboard darkroom & developing film
 14:55 - Laura’s new painting hobby
 21:50 - Liam’s now a Qualified Driving Instructor
 29:40 - Have Content Creators actually taken over?
 33:00 - Dealing with a major wedding cancellation
 36:40 - The Awards Controversy: Stock images vs. Photography
 43:00 - Will AI eventually eat itself? 
47:00 - Highs & Lows: Client testimonials & car breakdown nightmares
 57:30 - Bee’s health scare & 80s nostalgia Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ liamandbee.com lawsonfilms.co.uk lawsonphotography.co.uk #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.