Soooo it’s March 1st… impulse decision – I’m doing #MarchMeetTheMaker again!
It’s a project that all types of creators can participate in, to help their clients and followers get to know them a bit better.
Want to get involved too? Here are the prompts?
Each day I’ll be posting the images on here, on my Facebook page, and my Instagram story (& highlights).
1 – Brand Introduction
My brand – it’s me! I’m not trying to create a fake persona – it’s based on me and it reflects me, I believe.
My personality and photography style is bright and natural with rich colours, which I try to represent with my branding materials.
Chatty, fun, enthusiastic, that’s how I want it to come across.
I’m super chatty and involved, and I want my business to be approachable and inviting too.
2 – Style
Natural light ✔️
Something in the foreground ✔️
An authentic moment ✔️
Small depth of field ✔️
Using reflections ✔️
Rich colours ✔️
My style is the same no matter what I’m shooting – a wedding, business branding, family photos etc.
I edit consistently across my work and make sure it always represents my style!
I was once told “I saw your new post on Facebook and knew it was your image instantly!” – what a compliment!
3 – BELIEFS & VALUES
Okay so having your photo taken can be just AWKWARD, right?!
I do my best to relax you, put you at ease, and get you talking.
It shouldn’t be a chore, for you to get some cute photos of yourself.
I believe that it should be a fun process that results in some really lovely and authentic images.
Let’s document you as you are – amazing!
4 – ON YOUR DESK
Well, I don’t currently have a project on the go at the mo, so my desk hasn’t been getting much use!
When I’m sat at my desk, I’ve usually got my latest binge on one screen (currently it’s How To Get Away With Murder!) and my work on my laptop’s screen.
Also included – fairy lights, a hot chocolate or cuppa, a to-do list, and some super lovely thank you cards!
5 – NEWEST MAKE
I unfortunately haven’t photographed anything in WEEKS.
My camera has sat in my (gorgeous new (thanks mum!)) camera bag untouched.
I think the last time I used it was for Milly & Josh’s gorgeous wedding back in December!
I’ve done a whole rebrand but as that was featured in Day 1 of this project I thought I probably shouldn’t mention it again… for a day or two!
6 – FUN FACTS
Hellooooo!
For my lovely new followers, this is me and my boyfriend Matt.
I’m not the most photogenic so I have a few images I tend to use again and again 😂
6 random facts for day 6:
1 – I’m super proud of my recent rebrand 😍
2 – My favourite takeaway is Chinese
3 – I’m not a big fan of cheese, sorry!
4 – I wake up every day to my cat Doyle purring in my face
5 – Matt and I have been together for 7 years!
6 – I’m a big fan of musicals even though I have absolutely NO talent
7 – Trusty kit
This is my gorgeous new camera bag, it has movable sections and SO many pockets!
It will always have:
• 2x camera bodies
• 2-3 lenses
• Fual camera body harness
• Flash
• Spare batteries
• Spare memory cards
• Tissues
• Anti bac
• SNACKS.
8 – WORK IN PROGRESS
I’ve recently been attempting to blog 2020’s weddings, in between organising postponements!
Here is the most recent one I’ve done, from a gorgeous wedding in September.
With the obvious COVID restrictions in place, and as we’re in a lockdown, there are obviously no weddings taking place, therefore I am severely bored and have never watched so much TV in my life!
I’ve also taken up puzzles, reading more books, and an annoyingly addictive game on my phone called Ball Sort. Don’t get it as it’ll take over your life.
9 – LEARNING CURVE
Learning curves… LIFE is a whole learning curve!
We learn as we go, we get better, we stumble and fumble a bit, but we are always improving and advancing ourselves.
At the time, in 2016, I thought “WOW this photo is so good, I’m so proud of it!” and looking back – what was I thinking?
Why that blueish hue on the image? The distance from the couple? How small was the f/ stop?!
But at the time, I loved it, and I kept working and pushing myself and am now at the level of the gorgeous image on the right.
I’m really proud of where I am right now (literally speaking, I’m at the kitchen table, but 🤷) and how far I’ve come.
Keep pushing yourself!
10 – SMALL DETAILS
The little details in your wedding day are SO important!
It all creates this incredible day and contributes to your happiness. colour coordinated nails, super sparkly shoes, your grandmother’s old necklace.
It’s all so important and special.
It’s truly an honour to be chosen to document these special items and moments for you on your big day ❤️
11 – PORTRAIT
As well as weddings, I love to photograph couples on a regular day.
These two are due to get married this year! So exciting. I love documenting love.
Couple shoots are really fun to do even if you’re not engaged or are already married.
Get some cute photos of yourselves! What’s stopping you?
12 – IN USE
My laptop, phone, and a to-do list. Absolutely vital to my business! These 3 are always in full use.
My laptop – editing, emails, website maintenance, branding materials.
Phone – Instagram, Canva, phone calls.
To do list – everything else! Keeps me sane 😂
13 – Favourite moments
One of the best parts of any wedding is most definitely the speeches!
This is when the best and the worst of stories come out.
SO many hilarious, embarrassing, loving and truly brilliant tales come to light.
And better than those?
The reactions!
14 – FLOWERS
Flowers and cake – LOOOOVE them both, especially together!
This amazing cake is from Milly & Josh’s wedding, by White’s Cake House which perfectly matched Milli Fleur‘s gorgeous floral displays and bouquets.
Weird fact – flowers were originally used at weddings in the 15th century to make the brides smell nice, as didn’t bathe all that often – I’m so glad the tradition has changed for the better!
15 – FOCUS & PRIORITIES
As amazing as a wedding day is, with all of the love and support of your family and friends, the main part of the day is the two of you.
You are my priority, and it’s your day!
I want to document the two of you and how you have experienced the day – not just photograph what happens.
16 – FROM THE ARCHIVES
One of my favourites from 2017, from Glen & Ysella‘s wedding at Tavistock Town Hall & Hotel Endsleigh with RAB Photography.
Even 4 years ago, at the beginning of my career, I was in love with shadows and light!
Plus, how amazing is Ysella’s feathery fascinator?!
17 – PROCESS
Interested in booking me to document your wedding?
Here’s the process!
1 – Send me an enquiry or drop me an email with your names and date.
2 – I’ll respond and let you know if I’m available on your big day, ask questions about venues and which package you’d like, and send a questionnaire.
3 – Usually, we’d meet up for a coffee, buuuuuut times are different, so a phone call or video call will have to do for now! I’m super enthusiastic about weddings and love a good natter.
4 – If you want to book me, let me know, and I’ll send you a contract and invoice. I ask for a 25% deposit and the contract signed in order to book you in officially.
5 – Sign the contract (online – super easy! And accessible whenever you like for future reference etc, same with your invoice) and pay the 25% deposit.
6 – You’re booked in! 🎉🎉🎉
7 – If you’ve done the questionnaire by now, you’ll have given me your address, so you’ll receive a super cute card in the post as a thank you for booking me.
17 – COLOUR
The use of – or lack of – colour and totally change an image!
The colour version looks very warm, crisp and happy, but the black and white version is so much richer, I feel. The tones are deeper and it suits a more dramatic and almost striking look.
Which do you prefer?
19 – SILVER LININGS
Weddings can often be super hectic, especially with a large amount of guests, lots of things to do on the day etc.
Busy weddings often bring out the best and most helpful of people, it shows you who is there for you and who wants to do their most to help you.
This wedding was gorgeous, and the amazing bride had made her own cake the day before!
Her friends and relatives helped decorate it on the day, icing it, and brought it out to decorate it in the garden.
It was so lovely to see a group of women decorating and working together to perfect the cake!
And, I can confirm, it tasted amazing.
20 – FAMILY PORTRAITURE
Documenting families is always such a joy.
I like to encourage them to embrace the chaos and be their version of normal.
Yes, we can get some more standard images with them all smiling at me – that’s what Nan would like on the mantlepiece, isn’t it?! – but I also think moments like in the image above are just so important to families.
Kids are so chaotic, fun, and wild. Let them have fun! I’ll document the joy for you.
And I always try to encourage you, the parents, to get involved too. They won’t be this small forever.
21 – UNIQUE TWIST
I looooove super personal bits in weddings.
“We’re now allowed to get married on Saturday, will you still photograph it and be a witness please?!”
YES!
Holli & Jack got ready together, helping each other with cufflinks, zips, shoes etc.
They then went on to get married, with no guests, just the two of them, with me, the registrars, and the venue owner (who was a witness, along with me!)
It was so touching to be a part of their special and intimate day.
Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE my job?!
22 – HANDS ON
I feel I was pretty hands on last summer.
I was SO bummed with the lockdown and regulations, especially for my clients.
2020 was supposed to be my first ‘big’ year of weddings, weddings that were my own bookings rather than second shooting for other photographers.
I had free time, I had the resources, and I had the need to do something.
I posted on a local Facebook group asking if anyone would be interested in photos on their doorsteps, and it honestly snowballed from there.
There were about 70 responses to the one post!
I started the project, photographing families around Tavistock, every day.
I photographed 114 families for free, walked over 33 miles, and raised some money for charity!
I was bored and needed a project, and I am SUPER proud of this one.
23 – JOB/S
I’m not just a photographer – I’m also…
• A balloon-assembler (as shown above 😂)
• A dress holder
• Buttonhole fixer
• Hair fixer
• Shepard of drunken guests
• Leaf remover (from dresses, suits and hair, not in general!)
• Hype gal/cheerleader, and
• Friend.
Also, obviously, a website creator, admin, editor, excel spreadsheet queen, and personal assistant 😂
24 – WRAPPED & PACKAGED
These cute little USBs come with any of my wedding packages, and are an add-on for all portraiture packages!
They’re a lovely keepsake of your day. I love sending these off in the post!
I get the box lid engraved locally with your names on, and the lid is MAGNETIC! Super snazzy.
25 – STARTING POINT
Back when I first got into photography, it was allllll about the conceptual style for me!
I used to LOVE photomanipulation and creating all of these weird and wonderful ideas I had.
I’ve come quite far, to be honest!
I still love editing but I’m much more into the natural and authentic moments.
26 – FAVOURITE
My favourite moment of the wedding day is most probably the bridal or groom prep.
There’s excited anticipation in the air, everyone is all bright-eyed and exuberant.
There are often quiet moments alone, too, when a bridesmaid is putting on her shoes while the others are finishing off their hair, or while the bride is doing a lipstick touchup while the bridesmaids are getting zipped up.
It’s lovely – everyone is in a good mood and looking forward to the activities of the day.
27 – DREAMS
I’d absolutely LOOOVE to photograph a proposal.
It would be so incredible to be involved in such a special moment!
If you, someone you know, a friend, a family member, a colleague etc, are thinking of proposing – PLEASE think about having it captured!
It would be hilarious to photograph it from a distance – behind a bush like a right stalker! – or as an actual shoot and then BAM a spontaneous proposal!
Let’s hope we can get back to some lovely shoots soon.
28 – Artsy fartsy
As you most likely know by now – I love the more artsy/less traditional images!
There’s something so telling about the non-direct images.
I love how your shadows fall on the floor, or how you stand so close to each other, or how you’re all fidgety with excitement.
I love documenting these little details in context of the moment. I think they’re precious!
I’m also a big fan of placing myself behind objects slightly, such as a doorframe or a plant.
(Can you tell I went to an artsy uni?!)
I feel that this creates a sense of looking in on a moment, not just capturing it playing out in front of you.
Keeping my distance in situations like those has enabled me to capture some truly gorgeous moments!
29 – REEL
Since I don’t have any reels of my work, I thought I’d post a cute GIF of Katelyn finding a MASSIVE strawberry!
What do you think of GIFs being made from still images? I think it’s pretty snazzy!
30 – RANGE
I also dabble in a bit of branding photography, too!
I quite enjoy representing and narrating a brand’s style through my images.
The packages can include images of your products, staff and members, workspace, documentary images, or a styled photoshoot.
You choose a time-based package, work out what you’d like to get from our session (eg just images for social media, or headshots and product shots, etc), and we cram in all that we can into the time!
Let me know if I can be of use to you 😊
31 – LOOKING FORWARD
10 DAYS UNTIL MY FIRST WEDDING OF THE YEAR!
I’m so so excited for all of my amazing 2021 weddings coming up.
So much brilliantness to come!
This year will (hopefully) be safer, happier, more successful, confident, and content.
Thanks for reading, this March!
Wedding photographer based in Tavistock, Devon. Capturing life as it happens.
Lauren Dillon Photography 
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