Wedding Storyteller Volume 1

In Wedding Storyteller, Volume 1: Elevating the Approach to Photographing Wedding Stories, photographer and educator Roberto Valenzuela delivers what so many of his readers have been asking for: a book specifically dedicated to helping photographers improve their wedding photography. A wedding photographer himself, Roberto built his business from the ground up based on high-quality imagery that tells a compelling and beautiful story of his clients’ most important day.

This is not a standard wedding photography book. In Wedding Storyteller, you will not find a collection of “looks,” which neither inspire nor teach you anything. You will also not find a wedding shot list—at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, this first volume of the three-part Wedding Storyteller series goes beyond the superficial and dives deeply into the truly important topics, themes, and subject matter you need to learn about in order to drastically elevate your wedding photography. Most importantly, Roberto stresses the crucial role that storytelling plays in creating compelling, meaningful, and unique photographs for your clients.

In this book, Roberto has created a unique approach that anyone can learn to implement. Roberto’s “wedding storyteller skill components” system is divided into four sections:

• Foundation Components: Location Techniques. Learn how to conquer the locations you encounter as a wedding photographer. Roberto teaches you how to work with light, context, clutter, walls, depth, and other compositional elements such as frames and reflections.

• Foundation Components: People Techniques. Weddings are often high-energy, high-stress environments; your attitude and behavior have a huge impact on your ability to succeed as a photographer. Roberto discusses the crucial people skills you need to know and also teaches his unique approach to “situational posing” and group posing.

• Storyteller Approach Components. Roberto discusses the five approaches he uses to build a “wedding story” for his clients. These five approaches are: photojournalism, interactive photojournalism, stylized aware posing, stylized unaware posing, and story development.

• Expert Components. The final section builds and expands on everything covered in the previous components, as Roberto addresses such topics as Emotionally Valuable People (EVP), lens choices, helper light, posing patterns (and when to break them), capturing “peak action,” achieving a unique perspective, and creating multi-layered stories within a single photograph.

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At a wedding, each photograph has the opportunity to convey a special moment and contribute to the rich, visual story of your clients’ most important day. As the photographer, you are both the director and the documentarian of that story. With Wedding Storyteller, Volume 1, by your side, you finally have a book that teaches you the skills you need to learn in order to create amazing images and craft masterful stories filled with beauty, emotion, and meaning.

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In Wedding Storyteller, Volume 2: Wedding Case Studies and Workflow, photographer and bestselling author Roberto Valenzuela uses wedding case studies extensively to teach you in great detail the entire Wedding Storyteller Skill Components system that he introduced in Volume 1. Drawing from his highly successful career, Roberto shares multiple case studies from numerous real-world weddings, covering the entire wedding timeline, from the beginning of the day when the couple is getting ready until the last portion of the reception.

Roberto goes into deep technical detail regarding how to apply the Wedding Storyteller Skill Components system to help you excel at photographing weddings for your own clients. Copiously illustrated with nearly 700 photographs and illustrations, the book covers:

•   The five key elements of assessing the getting-ready rooms

•   The four types of wedding party group photos

•   Roberto’s system for ceremony coverage, TARPP (The Action/Reaction Position Plan), which details the 10 crucial positions for the photographer to use to create the best and most cinematic story of the ceremony

•   The “situational approach” to bride and groom portraits

•   The three main locations for family portraits, and how to photograph “elevated” family portraits in each of them

•   And much more

Also included is Roberto’s invaluable advice concerning such topics as equipment preparation, wedding psychology, lens selection and usage, and the importance of including imperfect but “fun” photos in your wedding photography (your clients will love it!). In Wedding Storyteller, Volume 1, you learned the Wedding Storyteller Skill Components system, which provides the foundation for your wedding photography. Here, in Volume 2, you’ll learn how to execute that system to perfection.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Pre-Wedding Workflow Practices

Chapter 2: Implementation of the Wedding Storyteller Skill Components

Chapter 3: Working the Getting-Ready Rooms

Chapter 4: Bride and Groom Preparation

Chapter 5: Preparation Details

Chapter 6: Wedding Party Portraits

Chapter 7: The Ceremony: The Action/Reaction Position Plan (TARPP)

Chapter 8: Bride and Groom Portraits: A Situational Approach

Chapter 9: Elevated Family Portraits

Chapter 10: Reception Lighting and Execution

Conclusion

Learn how to confidently build a thriving and profitable career as a professional wedding or portrait photographer!

For nearly a decade, renowned wedding and portrait photographer Roberto Valenzuela has been sharing his vast knowledge and unique, systematic approach to making photographs as he has taught workshops around the world and written five critically acclaimed and bestselling books that cover composition, posing, lighting, and wedding photography (his Picture Perfect and Wedding Storyteller series of books). He has helped countless photographers improve their craft.

But the truth is that you can create the most amazing photos…yet still have a failing business. And what’s the point of being a great photographer if you can’t build a career, pay your bills, and feed your family? In order to create a thriving business, you need a different kind of knowledge and a new set of tools to succeed. In The Successful Professional Photographer, for the first time Roberto turns his focus on the business and marketing of your photography so that you can build and sustain a highly profitable business as a wedding and portrait photographer. Roberto shares all his hard-earned knowledge regarding finding clients, marketing and presenting your work, and getting paid what you deserve. Topics include:

• Best practices and strategies for Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook

• Being found through SEO

• Promoting yourself and your work

• The role that testimonials and reviews play in your success

• Creating long-term client relationships

• Forming personal connections with clients with promo videos

• Why you should feature your work in publications

• Pricing your work and the gentle art of the up-sell

• Understanding and conveying the crucial importance of selling prints

While the photographs you create are the core of your work as a photographer—being exceptional at your craft is a must—that’s only half of the formula you need for building and sustaining success. The other half of the formula is here, in The Successful Professional Photographer. Implement the strategies and techniques outlined here, and you’ll have everything you need to succeed and build a long, prosperous, fulfilling career as a wedding or portrait photographer.

Foreword by Luke Edmonson

Don’t miss the incredible, spine-chilling SHADES OF DEATH series from USA TODAY bestselling author Debra Webb, master of suspense! Serial-killer hunter Nick Shade built his legendary career chasing monsters—sadistic criminals with a gruesome thirst for death. When he rescued Montgomery detective Bobbie Gentry from horrific captivity and helped her reclaim her life, he didn’t intend to be a hero. Bobbie can’t forget the nightmares of her trauma at the hands of the Storyteller—or the man who saved her. Working with Nick to outmaneuver the person behind a deadly vendetta feeds her hope that there’s more to her world than ghosts and destruction. Maybe joining Nick’s search for a killer is about gratitude. Maybe it’s nothing more than cold revenge. But the only way they can protect themselves is to trust each other. THE BLACKEST CRIMSON originally published in 2016. NO DARKER PLACE and A DEEPER GRAVE originally published in 2017.

Book of the Week on Radio 4, and in the Observer, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Week 'Riveting, and immaculately written' Sunday Telegraph 'A superb psychological study of a literary genius' Business Post 'A rounded picture... and gets to Dahl's flawed, human core' Country Life 'Crisply done and well-judged' TLS Roald Dahl was one of the world's greatest storytellers. He conceived his vocation as one as intrepid as that of any explorer and, in his writing for children, he was able to tap into a child's viewpoint throughout his life. He crafted tales that were exotic in scenario, frequently invested with a moral, and filled with vibrant characters that endure in public imagination to the present day. In this brand-new biography, Matthew Dennison re-evaluates the received narrative surrounding Dahl – that of school sporting hero, daredevil pilot, and wartime spy-turned-author – and examines surviving primary resources as well as Dahl's extensive literary output to tell the story of a man who identified as a rule-breaker, an iconoclast and a romantic, both insider and outsider, hero and child's friend.

Imagine a universe constructed in layers: At the top is Heaven—where the gods live. Beneath is the Earth, where people dwell. And beneath the Earth lies a magical realm of witches, vampires, ghosts, and immortal foxes capable of assuming human form. This is the universe of Chinese folktale. The nine tales in The Chinese Storytellers Book show what happens when the worlds of Earth and the supernatural collide. The cast of characters, both humble and fantastic, includes: A young man willing to spend a night in a haunted mansion to prove that the spirit world does not exist Fox faeries wearying of their immortality and craving the uncertainty of human experiences A bored husband looking for excitement—but finding mortal danger instead Michael David Kwan first heard these tales told by street–corner storytellers during his childhood in China. He retells them through his own unique literary vision—through the lens of his own personality, experience, and imagination.

Learn how to confidently build a thriving and profitable career as a professional wedding or portrait photographer! For nearly a decade, renowned wedding and portrait photographer Roberto Valenzuela has been sharing his vast knowledge and unique, systematic approach to making photographs as he has taught workshops around the world and written five critically acclaimed and bestselling books that cover composition, posing, lighting, and wedding photography (his Picture Perfect and Wedding Storyteller series of books). He has helped countless photographers improve their craft. But the truth is that you can create the most amazing photos...yet still have a failing business. And what's the point of being a great photographer if you can't build a career, pay your bills, and feed your family? In order to create a thriving business, you need a different kind of knowledge and a new set of tools to succeed. In The Successful Professional Photographer, for the first time Roberto turns his focus on the business and marketing of your photography so that you can build and sustain a highly profitable business as a wedding and portrait photographer. Roberto shares all his hard-earned knowledge regarding finding clients, marketing and presenting your work, and getting paid what you deserve. Topics include: -Best practices and strategies for Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook -Being found through SEO -Promoting yourself and your work -The role that testimonials and reviews play in your success -Creating long-term client relationships -Forming personal connections with clients with promo videos -Why you should feature your work in publications -Pricing your work and the gentle art of the up-sell -Understanding and conveying the crucial importance of selling prints While the photographs you create are the core of your work as a photographer--being exceptional at your craft is a must--that's only half of the formula you need for building and sustaining success. The other half of the formula is here, in The Successful Professional Photographer. Implement the strategies and techniques outlined here, and you'll have everything you need to succeed and build a long, prosperous, fulfilling career as a wedding or portrait photographer. Foreword by Luke Edmonson TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I: How to Stand Out Chapter 1: Unleashing Instagram's Business Potential Chapter 2: SEO for Portrait and Wedding Photographers Chapter 3: Client Testimonials Chapter 4: YouTube and Facebook Live Broadcasts Chapter 5: The Effective Business Promo Video Chapter 6: Featuring Your Work in Magazines and on Blogs Part II: How to Get Hired Chapter 7: The Impact of First Impressions Chapter 8: Understanding a Prospective Client's State of Mind Chapter 9: Delivering a Skillful First Prospective Client Meeting Part III: How to Make Money Chapter 10: The Perceived-Value Tier System Chapter 11: Client-Centric Pricing Strategy Chapter 12: Anchored Collections Sales Method Chapter 13: A La Carte Sales Method Chapter 14: Final Design and Presentation Conclusion

Feisty wedding photographer Hannah McDermott has dealt with her share of difficult brides. But none can compare to the ultimate Bridezilla she's dealing with now. Still, she's trying desperately to impress Bella Neeley, Galveston Island's most sought-after wedding planner, so she can take the top spot in Bella's list of recommended photographers--a spot currently occupied by her arch-rival, Drew Kincaid. What she doesn't count on, however, is falling head over heels for the competition. With her contagious humor and cast of quirky characters, Janice Thompson gives readers more of the bridal business drama they want in a brand-new series all about those long-suffering people who make beautiful weddings happen. Readers are desperately waiting for more of Bella and this new series brings her back in a big way, while introducing new characters fans will love. Fans will laugh out loud as they experience this breezy and entertaining novel from a great storyteller.