Spencer Lum

Spencer is a storyteller with an indelible belief in the raw humanity of weddings. He is the founder of the photography journal, Ground Glass, and with 10 years of experience running Brooklyn-based 5 West Studios, he has developed a style that combines influences from fine art and photojournalism. He has also enjoyed time as a designer, creative director, and filmmaker, and he is a doting husband and father of two beautiful children in Brooklyn, NY.

On Being Present For Your Photography Clients

November 7, 2013 by Spencer Lum

Weddings are chaos.

No one listens to you. No one does what you want. Everyone will be in the wrong place at the wrong time, they won't stand the right way, they won't look the right way, they'll care too much or too little, and anytime you're about to get the perfect shot with the perfect mood, someone will step right into your frame and ruin it.

But if you believe in the power of a gaze, a glance, a curve of the neck, or a slope of a back – if you believe in warm bodies and beating hearts and living, breathing people, then know that this chaos is not only beyond our control, but it's really the best thing around, because it's the direct and inseparable result of people who are fully present.

And if you want images that live and breathe with people so full of life, they burst through the frame, here's the real secret: It's really about trust.

Not just your client's trust in you, though. Your trust in them. In yourself. In letting go and letting things happen and finding the something in the nothing and the perfection in the flaws. You have to accept what's in front of your eyes, because that's where you'll find the magic. The chaos is the surprise. The unexpected is the revelation. Presence is not the perfect look we've seen a thousand times before. It's the single expression we'll never see again.

Photographically, presence is as much a creation as it is found. In the simplest terms, it's matching. When the expression of the subject pairs effectively with the elements in the frame, our minds will fill in the gaps and flood the picture with meaning. It's not just about a good expression or a bad expression. It's about the right expression for the right circumstance. It's the effect of the entire picture. Sure, a lot photos capture the powerful and the evocative. But even more are about taking the ordinary and showing it in just the right way to make it resonate. Life, even at it's plainest, really is beautiful.

So if presence is more than some certain expression and any look can potentially be the look, then presence is life off script. Both for your subjects and for you, which takes us back to trust.

People say you need your clients to trust you. And you do need them to get along and go along. But that's only half of it. They may trust you enough to do the right thing. But do you trust them enough to go ahead and do it? You have to build the space to stumble. Even to fall. Because as much as we are building trust for our clients, we need to instill it in ourselves. We have to know we can take the chances living off script necessitates.

All too often, we undermine our own endeavors. From the moment we open our doors, launch our site, and start cashing the checks, we fall prey to a cycle of need. We sell from the mind and not from the heart. We show what we think will sell, and we say what we think people want to hear. Every time we do this, we build up the walls of doubt, severing our vision from the product we create, until the risk to take the road less traveled becomes too large a leap to make.

Trust is necessary from the very start. You have to open yourself up and invite people into your world. You have to let them see their own potential and your own dreams. You have to be willing to accept the rejection, because as important as it is to fulfill the needs of others and get the sale, it is no less vital that we do it the best way we know how.

Here are nine ways to create images that are full of life:

1. Show What You Want To Shoot

Nothing makes a shot more lifeless than shooting moments you don't care about in a way that doesn't matter to you. If there's something you want to do, you're not going to get people to hire you to do it if you don't show it. And while you're at it, share a little bit about who you are and what you believe. Sure, go ahead and explain yourself in a way your client appreciates, but make sure it's something you can get behind.

2. Let People Know What You Need

No one wants to spend their days trying to figure out what you're after. In fact, they won't. They'll just get lost in the shuffle. It's up to you to make it work. If you don't want everyone mugging for the camera, tell your couples how you work. If you want people to ignore you, let them know. When you let clients understand what you need to get what they want, they'll be happy to spread the word.

3. If They're OK, You're OK

Never make people self-aware. Never make them self-conscious. Make it clear you like your clients for who they are, being the way they are. There's no such thing as wrong. Great images, after all, reflect the true character of the subject, and that doesn't happen if we try to squeeze them into a mold.

4. Create A Good Schedule

There is no way possible to get involved too early in the logistics. Bad logistics kill wedding days. If portraits need 3 hours, start talking about it early. If you want someone in the dress by a certain time or to wait to get into the dress until a certain time, let it be known. The better the day stays on track, the less time people will spend thinking about how to catch up and the more they'll be in the moment.

5. Troubleshoot Now

Write out every problem you run into and every reason you don't get what you want. Now write out a way to solve each one. Go try them. Some problems can't be fixed, but many can. You won't lose anything for trying, but you might gain everything. Great people make things work. If you don't take shot lists, saying it sounds a whole lot better before someone hands you one. If you want a groom to act naturally with the bride, keep the heckling groomsmen away. If you want to keep people from hugging your couple all through your photo shoot, keep them away from the crowd, and if you have to snake through a crowd, let your couple know to get through quickly. Keep working on the best solutions, keep thinking of the best phrases to use, and keep building your playbook.

6. Relaxed Is Good For Posing

There's a reason fashion photographers say “beautiful” all of the time. Have you ever stood in front of a camera? Time feels like molasses, your hands feel like unnecessary appendages, you keep wondering how you look, and moving naturally becomes the most self-conscious act in the world. But there's an easy way out. Talk. Stay as connected with your couples as you want them to be with you or each other. Need to buy some time, while you adjust your camera? Ask them some questions. Need them to look at you? Share a thought. Need them calm? Have them think about something. And let them know they're doing a good job. That's doubly true when they really are.

7. Find Out Who They Are And What They Need

They say better forgiveness than permission, but that doesn't mean you don't want to see what your couples need. Letting people know they're cared for and learning how they see the world lets you think about an approach you're comfortable with before you're put on the spot. Learning about your client doesn't make them your creative director. It means you can trust them, because you know you're on the same page, and they can trust you, because they know you care. Remember, people gravitate towards what they already believe. If someone has doubts, they'll see everything that goes wrong. That can spiral out of control fast. If they feel secure, they'll see everything that's right, and that will keep them relaxed and happy.

8. Look Broadly

The body is fantastically expressive. It takes the smallest of things to clue people in as to what's going on. It can be a dangling arm, crossed legs, a tilted head, or a hand on a face. A small gesture can say it all, so don't just look at faces. Watch for the way people move. Watch for any clue that lets you know how someone feels.

9. Watch For The Light And Mood

Light is full of mood. Think moody. Think heavy. Think dreamy. Think weightless. Each one is associated with a certain look. Very often, you only need a hint of expression if you have a lot of feel. A viewer doesn't see a picture like a judge at the Olympics. It's not a breakdown of each individual element to see how they stack up. It's the total effect that counts, and the right atmosphere can carry the day. With that said, it's also very possible to drown real emotion in a sea of visuals. Always be aware as to how powerful and engaging the expressions are. Sometimes, simple and tight can say it all. Other times, you need more.

Let Your Vision Lead the Way

July 17, 2012 by Spencer Lum

Spencer Lum is a storyteller with an indelible belief in the raw humanity of weddings. He is the founder of the photography journal, Ground Glass, and with 10 years of experience running Brooklyn-based 5 West Studios, he has developed a style that combines influences from fine art and photojournalism. He has also enjoyed time as a designer, creative director, and filmmaker, and he is a doting husband and father of two beautiful children in Brooklyn, NY.

In the simplest terms and the most basic words, you are not your business. No structure, entity, or process could ever contain the complexities and beauty that you possess. As you become intertwined with the day to day burdens of living, life, and the baggage we acquire that makes pack rats of us all, remember that you must always let your vision lead your business and not the other way around.

A friend of mine has a lasagna recipe from the old world. Passed on through the years, it was tradition that each generation added one improvement to the recipe. The current iteration is a sight to behold. Laden with grease, muddled by complexity, and very clearly the result of more than one too many a generation, it is a beastly thing that no person should have to consume.

The problem wasn't that no one cared. It was that each person who added their special touch saw only the trees and not the forest. Lamb instead of beef? Yes! Three cheeses instead of one? Yes! More layers? Yes! And so it went. No lasagna should have to suffer so merciless a fate. Yet this is life in action. It's not just lasagna and cooking and generations of people. It is the day-to-day. It is us, running our business, trying to get by. We don't have time to think about what we are at every moment in every action. But never let it get too far away.

It is tempting to treat business like that lasagna. To break it all down into a series of isolated steps, where each thing we do becomes severed from the actual goal we're after. More schwag? Yes! More follow-ups? Yes! More previews? Yes! But no amount of more will ever match the power of a simple, meaningful gesture. Each act that truly expresses who you are – your care and your value – is worth 10 times more than any generic gift or email.

What you want is not more. But better. What you want is not for people to like you, love you, be happy with you, or even recommend you. What you want is to be essential.

The rest will follow suit, but it will not work the other way around. It is when you are essential the referrals don't stop. It is when you are essential that you create bonds, and no one else can replace you. This is when people go to bat for you. To do this, you must make your beliefs theirs. You have to seek out those clients who can share your vision, and let them become a part of it.

In other words, you have to stand for something.

You must have beliefs that you put into action and let them roam the world. No one will ever hire someone for their opinion who is unwilling to express it. Yet this is exactly what you want to be hired for. Not just to know the rules of photography. Anyone can pick that up from a few online tutorials. Not even for that finely-honed instinct about where to be when. But for our decisions about what to capture and how to capture it. For each choice we make when we press the button and say that this image we create – in our way with our abilities – is the best representation of the moment and the day. When we are hired for that, our clients give us the greatest thing possible. Their trust. They are believing in us and not just in our skills.

If you want to achieve this, do not fall into the trap of “yes.” Do not pit yourself against your client as adversaries, where you are deciding how much of yourself you're willing to give in exchange for how much money they are willing to pay. You're not a parking meter, where dropping in a few more coins gets more time out of you. Yet too many of us position ourselves that way.

While “yes” is an the essential quality of good service, you must remember that good business starts when two people find a common nucleus of need. It is about mutual opportunity. What is good for you must be good for them. What is good for them must be good for you. No business is sustainable when you drive yourself into the ground in sacrifice of your client. If “yes” puts you at ends with your client, if getting it done hurts you whenever it helps them, it's time to re-examine what you're doing.

Being essential and earning trust requires two things. First, you must offer true value to your client. You must establish that it is them you are looking out for and not yourself. This seems at odds with the notion of mutual interest, but it's not. When you put your client first, what you lose in time will be returned in spades in the form of respect, trust, belief, and opportunity. In a good relationship, you will not just feel better about who you are. You will become better. Money may will be a byproduct of a good business relationship, but it cannot be the foundation for it.

Second, you must be willing to offer your truest opinion. Sometimes, you'll even need to push your clients for their own good. This is hard. We fear rejection. We are afraid to offend. We think we'll lose the business. But you cannot shelve this part of yourself. An opinion forged by the pressure of experience and the intensity of belief is everything. You are at your most potent when you can stir this mix into the soup of the present. This doesn't mean diva behavior. It doesn't mean grandstanding, showing off, and being abrasive. It means you can only give all of you when you create an environment that lets you perform your best. And that never happens if you don't show people who you are, what you're after, and what they need to know to let it all happen. If you want people to believe in you, give them something to believe in.

In reality, both of these are just flip sides of the same coin. To look out for the client is to engage the full value of your experience and judgment. Or to put it another way when “Yes” works, art and service are aligned. It is too common a misconception that we create the art for ourselves and offer service for others. It is equally common that we should create art for our clients and not for ourselves. In one model we are too invested. In the other, not enough. Neither should be the case. Service needs to foster art. Art needs to foster service.

Service is an enabler. It doesn't just hide our mistakes and fulfill our obligations. Good service should relate to the product we deliver. Use it to tell your story. To paint the picture of you and your value. Not just the technicalities of what you do. Service should guide and cradle our clients. It can make them excited and get them on board with our ideas. How much more interested will a client be if they feel like they're participating in the same journey? How much more trust will they give? Service carves out the space you need to perform your best.

Too many people sit passively by until the wedding day, then scratch their heads wondering why no one gets them. Service creates opportunity. How would anyone know what to do and what to expect if we don't let them in on it? That is our responsibility.

Good art, on the other hand, powers service. Without it, there is no way to show an opinion, fight for a perspective, or to even find the meaning of what we do. It will determine the words we use in our brand, and it will tell us the things to ask as we prepare our clients. Art demonstrates the values we espouse. It is a foundation.

Neither art nor service should exist in isolation. If things aren't working, examine the relationship between service and art. If the art is too self-serving and disconnected, it becomes detached from the service. If the art is too mundane, it gives the service no fuel for the fire. On the other hand, if your service only fulfills the duties without crafting a fully-fledged process, it won't establish the value of the art. It will leave us positioned as a vendor and nothing more. It is the duty of the business to show the value of the art.

At the end of it all, you must not be afraid to share yourself. Don't be afraid of the person you are. Don't bury the very best you, while the lesser parts slave away for a few extra dollars. It's when each part of what you do aligns and points in the same direction that everything comes together. It's when you never lose sight of what you're after that things happen. That's the sweet spot. And the formula couldn't be simpler. Make people part of your world, and let yourself become part of theirs.

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