As you can see from the video, we did spend a little bit of time shooting so we thought we’d share some behind-the-scenes images and some of the shots of our fabulous models Meghan &  Matt and Katie & Justin.  We’ve had the honor of shooting the weddings of both these couples and they have truly become wonderful friends.  We were so thrilled they could take time out of a busy Thursday evening to hang out with us.  They were all totally awesome and not at all nervous even though they were being photographed AND filmed at the same time.  In case you hadn’t noticed, they’re also ridiculously good looking so that was also very helpful :-) LOL!

The always adorable Meghan & Matt . . .

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Tee hee! This one makes my insides happy :-)

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Katie & Justin are SO sweet together! After each pose they’d kiss and giggle :-) LOVE!

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Love Justin’s “Come on honey! We don’t want THAT in their video!” face here! LOL!

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When it wasn’t their turn, Meghan & Matt were peaking around corners being silly :-)

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We also got the chance to catch a few shots of Chris in action! He looks so serious, doesn’t he?

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You’d never know from looking at these two lovebirds that there was a camera under them!

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You know that scene in the video where I’m on Ryan’s back?  Here’s a little taste of the cuteness I was getting from up there on my human perch . . .

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And yes, we were actually shooting each other in that opening scene!

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The boys!

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With this group, there was a good deal of silliness on the sidelines . . .

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Thanks so much to Matt, Meghan, Justin & Katie for being such awesome friends! We love you guys!

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Let’s put it this way, our reasons were 3 fold . . .

ONE:

Simply Knot Photography is kinda hard to communicate. We learned a few months into our biz that the name was one of those “good on paper” kinda ideas.  Since day one, we’ve struggled with having to literally spell it out for people. Sample dialog:

Person on Phone: What’s your company name?

Us:  Simply Knot Photography

Person on the Phone: Not Photography? So … do you guys take photos?

Us: Yes.  We take photos. Its knot like “tie the knot.” K-N-O-T

Person on the phone: Oh! I get it. Like weddings? That’s kind of clever.

Us: (sigh)

We can tell you from experience, if your idea for a company name is clever, but you have to explain it save yourself the time and run the other way as fast as you can. This dialog is much less delightful after the hundredth time. LOL!

TWO:

We ARE our business. When our couples and favorite vendors talk about us, they say, “You have to check out Ryan & Denise! Oh yeah, and their website is Simply Knot Photography.”  (Enter sample dialog from reason one.)  LOL!  When we launched our ShowIt website back in April 2011, one of our main goals was to make our branding more about US.  When we started out, we kinda thought that people were booking us because we were good photographers.  What we didn’t see at the time was that when you’re a bride looking for a photographer, everybody’s website starts to look the same to you, even if some photos are better than others. What stands out about us is who WE are. When people connect with us as people and as a couple, they are much more likely to remember us and think about what it would be like to have US as a part of their wedding day.  Over the last year, we’ve accomplished what we set out to do with our brand.  Making the leap to Ryan & Denise Photography brings this transition full circle.

THREE:

Last month, we went to an awesome photography conference in Vegas and had the opportunity to hear an AMAZING business coach named Jeff Jochum talk about the state of the photography industry.  Jeff said that putting your own name on your business instills confidence in potential clients.  If you’re willing to put your name on it, you’re saying to the world that you’re all in.  If you don’t deliver on what your brand is all about, you’re not only sacrificing your business, your literally giving yourself a bad name.  That statement rang really true to both of us and helped solidify the idea that was already in our minds.

So there you have it. We’re biding a fond farewell to Simply Knot Photography and welcoming in the new era of Ryan & Denise Photography with open arms!  That of course means that there will be a lot of changes going on around here for a while . . . new logo, new website url (ryananddenise.com), new emails and all kinds of fun things.  The next couple months will be a time of transition for us, but we’re so excited to finally just do it!

Our huge thanks to Mike  for asking us to be his guest.  We can’t wait!

And in the mean time, a little peek at our new name and logo :-)

Feast your eyes on the album goodness.   This is one of our wedding albums.  Supple Italian leather cover.  2mm thick lay-flat pages printed on Fuji Crystal Archival paper.  And it smells like a new pair of shoes straight out of the box ;-)  If an album were a type of food, we’re talking about a decadent, super rich, chocolate desert.  Yum-my.

Next up, the chic little brother of the wedding album – the engagement session Guest Book.  Don’t be turned off by it’s smaller stature, this little baby can still hold it’s own.  This thinner, linen covered version of the wedding album still has the same gorgeous ability to showcase your most precious memories.  Since there are a lot more images from a wedding than an engagement session, it’s usually about half the number of pages.  These albums are created with a clean, spacious look, leaving lots of white space for guests to write messages to the happy couple.  Now, there’s a guest book that won’t get thrown in a box as soon as you get back from your honeymoon!  We offer this same style of album for portrait sessions too, although the designs are usually a bit more traditional.

So that about does it!  And if you’ve every wondered about the value of buying a wedding album we invite you check out this great post from our blog archives: FAQ: Do I Need a Wedding Album?  Have a great week everybody!

1. We bought our house – this room was actually one of the biggest selling points for this particular house because we knew we wanted to start meeting clients in our home.
2. We bought most of the furniture within a few weeks of moving in.
3. We spent weeks agonizing over what images to put on the wall and then we finally ordered canvas prints.
4. We found an awesome deal on a TV.
5. Ryan & his Dad spent about 3 weekends installing the recessed lighting, putting in a bunch of outlets and mounting the TV.
6. We hired a contractor to come patch up the big hole in the ceiling where the fan used to be.
7. Then we spent a few weeks adding all the little decor touches.
8. A month later we actually got around to shooting some photos of it and blogging about it. LOL!

Step 2 took place in July 2010 so the whole process took about 6 months.  Considering that we spent the bulk of September and October out of the state shooting weddings, I’d say that’s not half bad!  A little longer than we’d hoped, but it was totally worth the wait :-)

Feast your eyes on the goodness . . .

We wanted the space to feel like a comfy living room with a hint of modern gallery mixed in.  Our guests will be invited to view our work and get to know us while enjoying a glass of champagne and soaking up all that makes up the Simply Knot brand :-)

Here’s what the view will be like for the couples that come to meet with us.  (Picture the two of us sitting on the Chase talking to them – kinda like the image at the top of our blog, hint hint ;-)  There will be a slideshow of images and a presentation using our iPad on the TV.  Then they can flip through some sample albums while resting their drinks on our handy custom coasters.  ”It’s gonna be grand” if I don’t say so myself.

And of course, they can also request an introduction to the real head of our family, Miss Molly . . . who has recently claimed the studio as  her favorite room in the house.  Probably because of the rug.  She misses the better traction of a fully carpeted house :-(  Sorry pup.

YAY!  Can’t wait to meet with our first couple in our finished space!  Hope you all enjoyed the tour!  Don’t forget to leave us some comment love!

For some time now Denise and I have been talking about making our business more focused on the experience of shooting with US.  We thought, “How can we differentiate ourselves from the mass of people out there in our industry?”  In Seth Godin’s book The Purple Cow, he talks about making your product remarkable.  He writes,

“The old rule was this: Create safe, ordinary products and combine them with great marketing.

The new rule is: Create remarkable products that the right people seek out”

We have learned over the years that our “product” is not just our photos, albums and canvas prints.  It’s more than that.  It’s us.  So, how the heck can WE be remarkable?  We are just a happy couple that likes to shoot other happy couples.  (Thanks to our awesome former bride Lilia for summing us up so perfectly!)  There’s a reason we like to be BEHIND the camera.  We don’t always want to be the center of attention. It took some time to adjust to the idea, but when it all comes down to it, we came to the conclusion that it made sense to target clients that identified with us on a personal level. We want clients that want US – Ryan & Denise. The best part of the Simply Knot experience is building a relationship with our couples. That’s how we are able to tell their love story through our images.

Once we decided to move forward, we knew that the first thing we needed to change was our website and blog.  Our website is, most often, the first impression a potential bride has with us.  So, without further adieu, we are so incredibly excited to announce the launch of our new (much more personal) website! Not only does our new site show off our work, it also lets people really get to know “Ryan & Denise”. We’d love it if you would stop by and check it out.  (And if you’re reading this post, you’ve probably already notice many of the redesigned blog features.)

By the way, we are by no means claiming to be the inventor of this business philosophy, just an adopter. You can thank Seth Godin and a ton of other great photographers that paved the way for us.  We’ll close with one more quote from The Purple Cow:

“In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing.  In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.”

What makes you standout and be remarkable?

-Ryan

Every canvas is hand stretched on a custom built 1.5″ wooden frame and spray sealed with a UV inhibitor to prevent fading.

There’s only a couple of teaser images in this post because we wanted to save the reveal of which photos we picked until we post shots of the finished studio :-)  Sorry guys!  You’ll just have to wait to see them in all their glory.  If you have any guesses on which images they are though, feel free to leave them in the form of a comment below.  Some of these aren’t disguised THAT well in that last shot ;-)

Having these gorgeous images in our house has totally made us wish we had at least one canvas worthy photo from our own big day to hang on our wall (sigh.)  Oh well.  Guess we’ll just have to renew our vows someday and hire an incredibly awesome photographer.

(Ashley & Jesse’s Wedding – Sept. 2010)

I love this one of Ryan shooting AND demonstrating a pose at the same time.  As you can see, that hubby of mine is pretty entertaining to shoot with!

(Smart/Collins Portrait Session – Aug. 2010)

“I know it sounds weird guys, but seriously, it’s gonna look awesome!” – Ryan

(Katie & Justin’s Bridal Session – Oct. 2009)

We really do cherish the special moments we get to share with each of our couples.  Ryan loves the times when he gets to “chill” with the groom while he’s waiting to see his bride for the first time.

(Lilia & Lou’s Bridal Session – Oct. 2010)

(Audrey & Aaron’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

Not only are we photographers, we also come with a long list of other talents as well.  Like dress fluffing.  I’m an expert dress fluffer.

(Amanda & Caleb’s Bridal Session – March 2010)

And Ryan is an expert bouquet holder . . .  what a stud, am I right?

(Shaina & Matt’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

Now THAT’s talent :-)

(Jennie & Scott’s Wedding – Nov. 2010)

Perching on random objects is pretty much normal for us.

(Shaina & Matt’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

(Vanessa & TJ’s Bridal Session – Nov. 2009)

(Amanda & Caleb’s Wedding – March 2010)

And once in a while you have to get down and dirty to get the shot.

(Amanda & Alex’s Wedding – May 2009)

(Amanda & Caleb’s Wedding – March 2010)

(Lilia & Lou’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

This one’s extra special since Ryan is shooting his cousin Allison for her senior photos :-)

(Allison’s Senior Session – Jan 2010)

The ability to sneak up on people is also a must.  Sure, it may look like we’re stalkers now and then, but believe me, we’re not as creepy as we appear.

(Katie & Justin’s Engagement Session – Aug. 2009)

(Lilia & Lou’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

And yes, I did almost fall in the water several times during this ceremony!

(Shaina & Matt’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

This shot was actually taken by Flo’s maid of honor Tracy- she was kind enough to send us her “photographer in action” shot.  Love it! And BTW . . . we weren’t shooting Flo’s butt.  The back of her hoodie said “Mrs. Hettle September 18, 2010″

(Flo & Brad’s Wedding – Sept. 2010)

“Ok guys, how about a kiss?” – Denise

(Katie & Justin’s Bridal Session – Oct. 2009)

Cocktail hour = Gotcher photo op time :-)

(Shaina & Matt’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

(Shaina & Matt’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

(Renate & Carlos Engagement Session – Dec. 2010)

(Renate & Carlos Engagement Session – Dec. 2010)

And once in a while the stars align and we manage to snag a shot with BOTH of us in it :-)  This one just makes me smile.  Nice shot sweetie!

(Ashley & Jesse’s Wedding – Sept. 2010)

We just couldn’t pass up this self portrait opportunity :-)  Please excuse the bizarro house of mirrors affect.

(Audrey & Aaron’s Engagement Session – April 2010)

Testing lighting is always a good time to grab an “in action” shot.

(Lilia & Lou’s Wedding – Oct. 2010)

That’s typically when things start to  get a little silly too . . . like Ryan showing off his russian marching dance?  Is that what you’d call this?

(Dasia & Scott’s Wedding – Sept. 2010)

What can we say?  The party bus was calling our name.  Well, at least the pole in the party bus was calling Ryan’s name :-)

(Dasia & Scott’s Rehearsal Dinner – Sept. 2010)

(Dasia & Scott’s Rehearsal Dinner – Sept. 2010)

At pretty much every reception, a guest asks us what our Fong’s (the Gary Fong Lightsphere Diffusers) are for.  In this case, I probably told them it was a cup holder.

(Amanda & Alex’s Wedding – May 2009)

Sombrero anyone?

(Amy & Bryant’s Wedding – Oct. 2009)

Hope you all enjoyed a little behind the scenes look at Simply Knot Photography!  There’s a whole lot more silliness in the slideshow below so make sure you take a look!

A few days ago our new business cards arrived in the mail and now we get to check an item off our 101 in 1001 list!!! The thing that we like most about our new cards, is that they represent who we are as photographers much better then our old ones did.  When it all comes down to it, we are all about having fun with our couples.  That’s really who we are and what we want our branding to emulate.  While our old cards were nice, our new ones are so much more focused on that aspect of our business.

Denise and I have been trying to come up with a design that we both love for way too long now.  We even went as far as ordering a box of cards just to throw them away because we did not like the finished product.  Finally we sat down one night at my computer, and decided we wouldn’t let ourselves go to bed until we had it.  I can’t tell you how happy we are with the results!  Fun, simple, and professional.

We have learned a lot of things in the last 3 years that could totally help out someone else who’s trying getting a handle on things.  Now keep in mind, we’re not saying that all of the tools we use will work for everybody, they just happen to work for us.

First on our list of awesome Photo Biz tools . . .

ShootQ is an online studio management tool that’s designed to meet the needs of photographers.  We refer to ShootQ as our office manager cause it pretty much does all the work a real live office manager would do for us!  It contains our contact list, accounting information, client records and a ton more.  And the best part?  It’s all online so we can access it from anywhere, even our iPhones.  It’s an A-MA-ZING program and we were up to our ears in outlook folders, excel spreadsheets, file folders and lots and lots of paper before we had ShootQ.  Now we’re so much more organized and can lend a nice nod to the environment since our studio is almost entirely paperless :-)  Here are some of the features that we use the most:

Calendar Management & Appointment Scheduling

ShootQ syncs our personal and business calendars so we can have an easy snapshot of what we’ve got going on and what’s coming up.

When we need to set up a meeting with a client we can actually send them a meeting request by defining just a few easy fields.  Then the client can choose what date and time works the best for them.  It factors in any conflicts on our calendars and only allows them to choose from our available dates and times.  So much easier than trading dozens of emails back and forth just to schedule one meeting!

Email Templates

I love writing the same email over and over again, don’t you?  I THINK NOT!  ShootQ has made us a ton more efficient when it comes to keeping our inbox under control and streamlining our correspondence.  We just set up a bunch of templates and then do our emailing from within the ShootQ interface.  Every email is tracked and linked to the client or lead, which is extra nice with there being two of us.  This way we don’t both accidentally email someone about the same thing!  A simple click of a button now creates the email we used to retype every time.  After applying a template, you can still customize the message based on your relationship with the client or any specific questions they have.  Using a template is just a great way to avoid having to retype all the standard info over and over again.  The templates can even be designed to fill in the name of the client and other important details for you :-)  ShootQ takes such good care of us (sigh).

Lead Management

When ever someone inquires about our services through our website or blog, the ShootQ contact form automatically sets up a lead profile with all the wedding/session details and alerts us via email so we can go check it out and respond to them.

The lead tracking section of the site allows us to categorize each lead, track our correspondence and set up reminders to follow up with them after a certain amount of time has past.  Easy peasy :-)

Shoot Details

Once a client books us, their lead profile is converted into a client profile where all the information for their wedding/session can be kept in one place.  Contact info, notes and correspondence, workflow tasks, package and billing information and even other vendors related to their shoot can all be accessed from one easy place.  There’s A LOT of information to keep track of for every client and this flawless system makes it so easy to make sense of it all.

Client Sites, Surveys & Contracts

Every client gets there very own password protected client site where they can update information about their wedding, track the progress of their album, make payments and interact with us in a variety of ways.  The very first thing they do on this site is sign their contract & pay their deposit.  No more waiting for contracts or checks to come in the mail!  It’s all in one quick, easy, online process that’s super convenient for us and for our clients.

We also use the client sites to send surveys.  These surveys are an easy way for us to gather information for planning a couple’s engagement session or confirming all the logistical details, portrait list and schedule for the day of their wedding.  There’s even a handy feature that asks our wedding couples to enter the contact information for their other vendors.  When they do, it’s automatically entered into our ShootQ contact list, making it really easy for us to connect with their vendors before and after their wedding day.

Workflow (Task Management)

I’m a total checklist person – mostly because I’m naturally pretty forgetful!  The only way I’ve found to combat my forgetfulness is to be very organized.  Before the days of ShootQ we would spend hours creating tasks in Outlook for each of our shoots so we wouldn’t forget to do anything.  It was horribly tedious, difficult to share between both Ryan & I and a huge waste of valuable time.  ShootQ allows you to create workflow templates with all the typical tasks related to every shoot.  We have one for portrait sessions, weddings, engagement sessions, album production and a few others.  You define how many days/weeks/months, etc. a task should occur in relation to a shoot or booking date and ShootQ does the rest. During the process of booking a new client we apply the appropriate workflow and BAM!  All the tasks are created for us.  No muss, no fuss.  And every day when we log in, there is a lovely little preview of what needs to be done and what’s right around the corner so we never miss a beat :-)

Seriously, we don’t know how we were getting by before investing in ShootQ.  It has made our business better in a thousand ways.  We’re more professional, more organized and can provide much better customer service to our clients because of it.  And for us, it’s worth every single penny.  Now in case you’re wondering, ShootQ didn’t ask us to write this post.  I’m sure they don’t even know about it, but we feel so strongly about what they’ve done to help our business grow, that we felt inspired to share it with you.  We highly encourage you to check them out – just click the link below and take a tour!

If you have questions about how we use ShootQ feel free to leave us a comment or email us.  Or if you have another photography related question you can ask us over at our Formspring page. Thanks for reading and we really hope that you found the information helpful!