W/ Taylor: From Barista to Wedding Photographer, and Planning Her Wedding | Ep. 12

Kevin interviews his guest, Taylor, with Tay's Photos and Beauty, an experienced wedding photographer based in Edmonton, Alberta. We dive into her story of getting into wedding photography plus her wedding planning process from a photographer’s perspective.  She started her business during the crazy year of 2020 where she transitioned to full-time photography and jumped quickly into the wedding industry.  With a background in photographic technology from NAIT, Taylor runs a successful wedding photography business and runs her own studio. Hear her story of how she got started in photography, working in the wedding industry, and marketing yourself as a photographer.

Timestamp Summary

00:00 – Intro and Who is Taylor from Tay’s Photos and Beauty

02:20 - Taylor’s Journey from Barista to Photography

13:23 - The Early Challenges of Starting a Photography Business

19:44 - How to Get into Wedding Photography

26:12 - Marketing Strategies for Photographers

34:54 - Taylor’s Photography Style

44:15 - Wedding Planning as a Photographer

Follow Taylor:
IG: @taysphotosandbeauty
Site: www.taysphotosandbeauty.com

Visit Us: https://www.sfphotographyox.com/
Follow Shayna on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sfphotographyox/
Follow Kevin on IG: https://www.instagram.com/kevinfearn7/
Community in the works: https://www.photographysuccesshub.com/

Transcript

 Okay, we are live. Welcome to the SF Photography Podcast. I am very excited about today because this is the start of something new. It's not just going to be me talking about my business and my wife's business. I'm here with Taylor and I'm going to give Taylor a quick introduction and excited to chat with her. She's a photographer here in Edmonton, wedding photographer, boudoir photographer, and she's been in business for quite some time. So I'm curious to learn more about what she's been doing, how she runs her business, and just hear about that. One thing I want to say first though is I got to take a breath. I'm excited. One thing I want to say first is I want to say thank you to because you may not realize this, but you actually are the one who got me into wedding videography because last year my wife was like, she told me, she was like, Kevin, you got to do wedding videos. And I was like, okay. And then instantly my wife is like, gets things done right away. She messaged you, I think you were one of the first ones and you had a wedding coming up and you're like, yeah, Kevin can come. So you actually helped me get into wedding videography just by coming along. I got to see how you worked that day. That's why you're one of the first ones that I wanted to get you on the podcast. So welcome to the podcast and give us a quick introduction about who you are, your business, and let's get into it. Okay. Yeah, that wedding was super fun and it was awesome having you along and seeing the final video after too was like so much fun and my clients absolutely loved it. They loved it. So they were very, very happy for you to come along as well. Yes. Yeah, that was fun. A little introduction just like about myself is, hi, I'm Taylor. I'm a wedding and the dwarf photographer, like Kevin said, from Edmonton, Alberta. I've been in business since 2020 officially is when I like kicked off my business. I know, I know such a great time to be starting photography business, which is a little crazy. So yeah, and then fast forward five years, I'm now full-time in my business. So yeah. That is exciting. Yes. I want to dive into some of that because I didn't know you started around COVID. I want to hear about that too, because that's like the, like, yeah, a little, like you said, the worst time to get started in photography, but you did it and you got through it and you have a business now. So walk me through Taylor before photography and kind of how you got into it, because so many people do it differently. And for those listening as well, for anybody who's like getting a start in photography, I want you to hear different stories because how my wife got into photography is going to be different than probably how you got into photography. So walk me through Taylor before and why photography? When did you even get like your first camera? How did that come about? So walk me through you before and then like that first step and we can dive into that a little bit. Okay. So I have always loved photography. Like ever since, I mean, camera phones came out when I was like in grade seven-ish, seven-eight. So ever since like my parents and even I got one of those, I just immediately started taking photos. But in high school, I took a comp tech class, which really like kind of paved the way for me because it's it's a lot of photography. It's a lot of digital design. I learned a little bit of photo shop and lots of like screen printing and stuff like that. And I took that all three years of high school. So that really kind of just like, yeah, sparked my interest. And then I bought my first real camera when I was 15. It was a Canon Rebel T3i and I'm still with Canon to this day. I'm a Canon girl through and through. But I always took photos of my friends in high school, like my friends and family. Like my brother had a baby when I was in high school. So I always took photos of them. Once I graduated high school, though, it kind of like hit the back burner for a while. And even in like in that stage of my life, I never even crossed my mind that like this could be a career. So that was never a thought, never a thing. It was strictly just a hobby for the longest time. Fast forward six years later, I'm managing a coffee shop full time. And I just wasn't feeling super happy with what I was doing. I wasn't feeling very fulfilled. And I just remember talking to one of my friends that worked there with me. And we were just like talking about this spitballing on like things that we love that we could turn into career. Because you know, you always hear when you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. So we're like, what can we, what do we love that could be a career? And I vividly remember telling her that, well, I love wedding. And I love photography. Like, what if those could be put together? So that was kind of like the first spark of like, actually wanting to start my business. And I probably went home that exact same day and ran up into my spare room, dug out my old T3I that would have been like six or seven years old at this point, see if it would still work. And I probably made my Facebook and Instagram pages just like that same day with excitement. And then I started taking just like courses, I really started to dive into like the research part of it of like, literally what, what do I do first? How do I even learn how to work this thing? I took some classes of like how to shoot your camera and manual and things like that. So, and then probably about six months into like starting my business and kind of just getting my toes in there, I decided to go to Nate for photographic technology. So I did that for two years and graduated with a diploma in 2022 in photographic technologies. Gotcha. Okay. That's awesome. No, it's neat to hear because like some of the talk, like Shana, Shana, actually she's met with you a few times, I think to like figure out like how to work her camera because she, that's something she never did. So for you having gone to school for photography, how do you find that that helped you? Like did that, do you find that that made a difference? Was there a ton that you learned?



 Side note, I wanted to say that your Instagram reels actually where you do the how to's of like, here's how to do flash and you're starting to do this. I actually love those. You should make more of those because I feel like that's such a neat way to stand out. Cause it's like this girl knows how to work a camera. Like I can't even do those types of videos. Like just wanted to put that out there. But yeah, walk me through, like let me know. Like, yeah. Did that make a big difference for you? Like starting out, did they give you like boost confidence for like, for getting into photography too? Yes, definitely. I've always said that I excelled in my two years at Nate in my business. Then I think I could have in a decade on my own. I'm a very like, I'm a very hands on learner. And if I'm not being like forced to learn something, I'm not going to do it. So like having that extra piece of like having to go to school and I have to go to my classes, I paid for this. And like, even though I loved it, you know, it's just like, it's challenging teaching yourself something and that's just not how my brain works. So having people in front of me actually teaching me like all the things was so, so, so helpful. And like, while you're in photography school, you're basically learning from five to six mentors at one time. Well, now if you're self taught, you can obviously hire a single mentor, which is great. And I do recommend, I still do to this day. But having like industry professionals teaching me at like a very, like a high level was so helpful. And lots of the things that we learned in school was very, very technical, which I personally find that like when you're teaching yourself, you don't really learn quite as much of like the technical aspect, right? If that makes sense. Yeah, I do feel like it was extremely helpful for me and my brain, especially like learning wise.



 Gotcha. Okay. Yeah, because I think that's a way a way that somebody, especially in the beginning stages, like, like Shana was like, I'm just gonna go take a camera, I'll go take pictures of people and like kind of figure it out and like she kind of just like found a thing that worked. But I feel like coming into it and actually having like a good like technical grasp on your camera would be a great way just because it gives you confidence at the beginning. So when you got started and you, you made the Instagram page, you made that Facebook page, did you jump into full time? Like you're like, I'm done, I'm going right into photography? Or did you kind of like, was there a transition period? Like after you kind of got started with those pages and started promoting yourself?



 Yeah, so there was definitely a transition period. I started part time while I was still working at my coffee shop full time. So I was doing weekends, nights, you know, just here and there kind of just practicing and stuff like that. But then I jumped in full time once I graduated from NAIT in 2022.



 So, so yes, there was a period probably of about a year and a half, maybe two years where I was still working a part time job, as well as doing like photography part time as well.



 Gotcha. So how did you, how did you get your first client? How did that come about? Did you, was it through family or referrals? Was it how did, how did you do that? Yeah, so after I started my Facebook page, that was kind of the first thing that I dove into first was Facebook. And my first client was actually one of my, like a person, my sister went to high school with their family had reached out to me for family photos. So that was kind of the first, the first one. And I think that might have actually been in November of 2019. So that was like, really before like I started really much of anything. And then I actually went forward and like made my business legal and stuff in 2020. Gotcha. On that first session, do you remember, do you remember how you felt like going into it and like, like any nerves or I was a while back. I don't even know if Shayna remembers her first session, but do you remember how it was? Yes, I, my memory is not very good, but I do remember that it was, it was in the winter. There was snow midday because that was when I thought you were supposed to be shooting at that time was right in the midday. Luckily it was a little bit cloudy. So the photos actually, aside from my editing, which I don't even want to talk about back then, the photos honestly weren't that bad. Like when I look back at them, I did like a few of like the corny family photos, but I did one where they were like the holding like the, the picture frame. Like, so I had the kids like holding the empty picture frame, like looking through at their parents, which I mean, now when I think about it, it's like a little bit cheesy, but like back then I think everybody was doing that. I think it looked kind of cool. So yeah, I was definitely, yeah, exactly. I was very nervous. I remember being like so, so, so nervous, but the fact that I kind of knew the people a little bit already made it easier. So, so it kind of helps having a little bit of knowledge of who they were. They weren't just like complete strangers for the first ones. Right. Yeah. That helps. I know, Shayna was kind of the same way for it. So when that happens, obviously you just probably kept promoting yourself and then kept getting on, getting on more sessions that way through your social media. Yeah. Yeah. Social media was huge. I probably didn't have a website for the first like four to six months of my business. I was strictly just going off of social media, Instagram, Facebook. And then I was like, okay, we, things are starting to pick up. We need to be a little bit more professional. And then I made my website and all of that stuff. Gotcha. Okay. No, that's fun. When you had your Canon at the beginning, did you, did you find that that worked for you for a period of time? Like you were fine with that. Did you eventually upgrade later? Like I know you're still a Canon, love it. But did you, when did you upgrade and what were your next like lenses and stuff like that that you got into? Yeah, I probably rocked with my T3I and the nifty 50 for almost a year of my business before I was able. I then upgraded to a used Canon 6D and I use that for like maybe six months or so. And then from there I had enough traction. I was getting off clients that I could upgrade to mirrorless. And I think 2021 is when I made the jump from my 6D to my two Canon R6s, the mirrorless versions. Gotcha. Way later too. It helps. Yeah, yeah. From my 6D I had a 24 to 70 lens on it too from Sigma. And I swear that thing was like 20 pounds. So now when I carry around, I have like, I shoot on two cameras. So I shoot on one Canon R6 with a 35 and one Canon R6 with an 85. And I do that for literally every single thing that I, I shoot, whether it's engagements in studio open door weddings. That's like my bread and butter combo. But yeah, before when I just had the 6D with the 24 to 70, like it was so heavy. So my back is thanking me these days. Right? That's awesome. Yeah, I remember when we were at the wedding, when I was with you, you were rocking the harness with the two cameras. That's pretty sweet. I like that. Yeah, that's my go to. So nice. Okay. So when you were, when you're in the beginning stages, let's say like the first one to two years and you're in that, like you're still in school, you're not yet transitioned. Maybe you're at that point. What would be, what were some of like your biggest struggles or was it, or were there struggles for you or was it more of like an excitement of, you know, hope that there's going to be a full time business? But what were some things you were working on that you were trying to figure out? Walk me through some of that in the early stages. Yeah. So the biggest struggle that I think that I faced was just like trying to figure out how to make your business legit and legal, because I feel like there's not that much info out there about like how to actually start a photography business. Like, yes, you could make Instagrams. Yes, you can make a Facebook page, but like, how do you actually make it a legal business? So trying to figure out just like completely on my own, like how to register my business, how to apply for a business license. When do I need to start charging and remitting GST? Like, how do I create contracts? How do I make invoices and like, don't even get me started on how to do your taxes as like a sole proprietor photographer. But yeah, the back end stuff, I feel like that was the biggest challenge, because photography always came very naturally to me. Like, I feel like I always had like a a knack for photography. So I knew all that stuff and I was good at learning that stuff. But yeah, like the back end, the legal stuff, the insurance, the licensing, like, even now sometimes it's a little bit crazy. So that's definitely the biggest challenge for sure. No, that's a good point. Actually, now that you mentioned that, like, that's probably where a lot of the time that I spend with Shana is spent, like over the years, like that's because she's just like, I don't want to figure that out. But you're right, because there actually isn't a lot of resources. Now that you say that, I'm not thinking about it. But yeah, there's so many moving parts in the back of, you know, making sure you're a legal business. I actually like that you brought that up, because I think that's overlooked quite a bit because it is, it seems easy to just like, oh, yeah, go grab a camera, go take pictures and like run your business. But you're right, even for example, I guess wedding venues, like they're like, Hey, do you have your liability insurance? Like, Oh, what? Like yours back? It's like, Oh, yeah, that's right. I need liability insurance. Like those little things. You're right. Yeah, there's lots of venues that will require liability insurance. If you shoot at the U of A, you're supposed to have a permit. If you shoot in any of the national parks across literally anywhere, you need to have a permit and insurance and all of these things. And yeah, lots of people don't know that. And that's what goes into like a lot of pricing as well. And that's why you see such high prices on these like a lotment photographers and BAMF wedding photographers, because there's so much licensing that goes into it. So Yeah, good point. Good point. That's it. That's a good point. Okay. So when when you transition then, so now let's go like a little bit ahead. So you're like kind of in the early stages, you're figuring it out. Now you finished, you finished Nate, you're ready to jump in full time. What did that look like? And how did you know that you were ready? Or did you know you were ready with jumping in at that stage? And at that point, did you have have, you know, leads coming in and current clientele walk me through kind of like that when you're full time now? The scary stage for lots of people. Yes, definitely. So the way I was thrown in to full time like wasn't 100% my choice. Okay. So I had been working at the coffee shop for almost 10 years. And without going into crazy detail, some things happened that forced me to leave.



 So then I obviously had, I had just graduated from Nate, I had almost a full calendar of weddings coming up the next season. So I felt it was scary not having like that second source of income coming in. But I had the full calendar of weddings. So it made it a little bit easier of a decision to make. But like I said, like I was kind of, it wasn't 100% my choice. I was kind of just like thrown into it. If I, I mean, I, if I could have maybe still been like, I loved my job at the coffee shop and it was just like irreconcilable differences that kind of caused us to part way. But if that didn't happen, like, I'd like to say that I'd maybe still be working there part time and just like done photography full time instead. And then that'd be my part time income. But yeah, I was kind of just thrown into it. But I did have a calendar. So I did have a little bit like it wasn't just like, I had nothing. I had a little bit of substance and I was I was getting inquiries pretty frequently. So I felt decently comfortable saying that like I'm now a full time photographer.



 Gotcha. That yeah, those stages, those stages can be scary for people. But, but I think almost like when you're forced into something like that, especially when business like and you just kind of like run with it. I love I love that you did and you went full time into it. That's I yeah, commend you for that. I love it. Yeah, it forced me to like really like obviously I was working very hard on my business. But because I had that other job, like, it was almost like a crutch. Right. So like, when that crutch was gone, it like really forced me to like hone in on my marketing and, you know, upgrade some of my, like my website and really try to like, push a little bit harder in my business to make it like a full time income. So it was a blessing in disguise to say the least. Totally. Yeah, no, totally. I have I have a question about the wedding marketing, but I'm going to hold that because I actually want to go back a step because you mentioned that you had a calendar book of weddings. A big question that I find keeps happening is, is how do you get into wedding photography? Because I know that that's something that you you're straight up wedding photographer like that's that's what you you showcase yourself as where Shana at the beginning, you know, she was family photographer for a long time, and then we slowly transitioned to weddings. So I'm curious, how did you get into weddings? And how did you like continue to keep that as kind of the main your main, I guess, niche in photography and walk me through some of that? Because I know that's like a big question that people want to know is how to get into wedding photography.



 Yeah, so I've always loved weddings. Like I was the little kid that was watching Say Yes to the Dress every single day, the four weddings on TLC, like I always knew that I really loved weddings. So when I started photography, like even right from the beginning, I knew in my mind that weddings is what I wanted to get to eventually. So the way I started was, I second shot a little bit, like there was a few photographers that took me on I maybe second shot like twice before somebody booked me for a full wedding. And my prices were a little bit lower, obviously, when I started to, you know, because I was newer and stuff like that. My first year like promoting that I was taking on weddings, though, I booked just three of my own fall weddings. And I honestly, other than just like second shooting, maybe once or twice, I kind of just did it. I kind of just like dove head first. And like I did this couple second shooting gigs just to see how somebody else like runs a wedding day. I think it's very important just to see how a photographer shoots a full wedding day before you dive into your own. So I would always suggest trying to start second shooting beforehand. And even if like, there might be some photographers who are willing to just like, take you on for free if you're just practicing, or at a lower rate or something like that. But probably my biggest tip is just start second shooting. See how a full wedding day is run because there's a lot that goes into wedding photography. When you're a wedding photographer, you're not just a wedding photographer, but you're a commercial photographer, you are a flat lay photographer, you are an event photographer. So you wear lots of hats as a wedding photographer. So I think knowing and seeing how it goes before just diving in is important.



 Yes, definitely. You're pretty much the whole let's keep everything on track the entire day. And that turns you turn into so many different things for the entire day of the wedding. When you got into second shooting, how did you do that? Did you reach out to photographers that you knew? Did you have a community kind of built and like just being out in the market with photographers? How did you get on second shooting?



 So I guess kind of built into like how I started wedding photography, which I didn't mention was I did lots of styled shoots before I actually dove into like second shooting and like wedding photography and stuff like that. So I had a couple of styled shoots under my belt where I had met other photographers that were like slightly in the same position that I was, you know, kind of in their first year of business, learning wedding photography, building their portfolio. So through those styled shoots, I had met a good community of photographers that then like I made friends with a few of them. And then one of them was super kind enough to bring me on for a couple of her weddings. So, so yeah, definitely a community. I think that's really important is networking, especially when you're new. I know lots of like established photographers, they get a little bit iffy bringing on somebody new for a day because bringing on somebody new can almost be more work than not having anybody there at all. So I think when you know and can like build a relationship with that photographer before second shooting with them, I think that's really important. Love that. That's a huge tip. Yes, definitely. Because if you can be somebody who at least, yeah, because if you know them, even the personality, it's like, okay, well, this person's like willing to learn. I know they're not going to get in my way. At least they're going to be like behind me and like stuff like that. Then at least you can work with them that way. Right? So yes, I love that point getting in the community styled shoots that let's talk with effort one second because then I know the photography community that's like, I see this in groups sometimes where people like lip photographers who are like, Oh, styled shoots, not a portfolio. I mean, I would be on the same page as you. Shane actually has, has got on some weddings as well. And that was kind of a way that she got started. I've talked about that in other podcasts. So yeah, what's so for a styled shoot, what do you think when people say that and they're like, Oh no, style to shoot is not a real wedding. How would you respond to that? If somebody says that and they're trying to get styled shoots, get into weddings.



 So this is hard because me now I want to say that, no, a styled shoot is not a real wedding and you should have or at least second shot a wedding to know like what I said before. So to know all the events that happen and like the layout of the day, you don't get that with a styled shoot. Everything is very set up. Everything is very prim and proper. You have almost as much time as you want to shoot things. But on a wedding day, if you, you might've planned for an hour for portraits, but if they're running behind and that planner tells you, you got 20 minutes, you got 20 minutes. So, so yeah, I do think styled shoots are a great way to build your portfolio. However, I would try to make sure that you've at least experienced a full wedding before you start saying that like, Hey, this is my portfolio. I'm a wedding photographer. If you only have styled shoots because things used to be a little bit differently when I started and I know that wasn't that long ago, but now. Brides are really looking to see a full gallery from wedding photographers before they book, which is like one of my biggest tips when you are looking for a wedding photographer is you should find like see a full gallery at least one from them. And obviously if you've only done styled shoots, you don't have that to showcase to people. But what I did, like I'll be honest, I booked my first wedding office styled shoot, but I was very honest with her and said, Hey, this was a styled shoot. I've only done styled shoots. Like I've second shot a few here and there, but my price reflects that. So I think if you're being transparent and honest to your client and just making sure that they know a hundred percent that you have not shot a full wedding before, I think using your style shoots like as promotional is okay. If you're being transparent, if you're not being transparent, you could get yourself in a sticky situation. Yeah, no, that's, that's a good point. Yeah, no, that's, that's a good point. Make sure you manage expectations if you're coming from a styled shoot portfolio. No, I like it. I like it. Okay. For the marketing side of things, let's talk about that for a second. Because I know it's a big question is like people getting started, even photographers now. So even we can even open this up to photographers who've been established a while. Because I know that Instagram, Facebook, it's always changing. There's always it's almost like a paid ads is dominating everything. So it's like, how do you build a portfolio or how do you build a presence on social media? But I'm curious, what were some things that you did that worked in marketing back when you were getting started, things that are working for you now? What do you find is a great way? What is your favorite way for marketing? And what are some tips that you can provide for photographers, whether they're new or whether they're even at the stage there now to even stand out. I think that's like kind of a big thing is how do you stand out as a photographer? Yeah. So I think one of the biggest things that you can do just to grow your business and get your name out there, there's a couple of things that I'll talk about. But one is networking. Networking is so, so, so important. And I did that a lot in my first couple of years of business. And I still do that today. So things like styled shoots, that was a huge way to market my business because I got to know other vendors within Emmettin. I got to know other photographers. And then I built this kind of community of like photographer friends that now we recommend each other when we're not available. So like having friends that will recommend you when they're not available for an inquiry, I think has really helped my business grow. When it comes to like social media and stuff like that, right now, being different, I think is the biggest, like I know that's very vague, but it's like the biggest thing that you can try to do is try not to do what everyone else is doing. That's going to be the biggest thing to help you stand out. And unfortunately, we live in a world where just posting your pretty photos is not going to get you clientele. So people want to book people that they can trust. And in order for you to trust a business, you need to see their face, see their personality, read their reviews, you know, do all those things. So I mean, something that I find that kind of sticks me apart from the rest of the group are my coffee chats. I get on every single morning. Very consistent. Love that. Yeah. So I get on every almost every morning. I kind of dialed back a little bit, but almost every morning I get straight out of bed. I sometimes don't even brush my hair before I get on there. In my little purple house coat. I mean, you watch them all the time, but, um, and then I just pour my coffee and I talk about what I'm doing that day, what I did that weekend, what's coming up, like pop culture events that are happening. Just literally anything that comes into my mind I talk about and like through talking about literally just random crap that I like, people can get a feel for like my personality and my vibe. And I think that really draws your clients to you is, is your personality. Like that is the biggest thing. Like right now, somebody who has the most beautiful photos, beautiful portfolio you've ever seen, but isn't showing their face might not be doing as well as somebody with like slightly mediocre photos, but it has like a booming personality online. If that makes sense. Yeah, no, a hundred percent. No, I think it's true. Cause when people are making decisions and they're they're wanting to, especially when it comes to weddings specifically, like family photography is a little bit different. They can look and say, Oh, I like that picture. I'll message them, but weddings, like when people know they're going to be investing in a large amount of money that they want the photographer that's going to like vibe with them for the whole entire day and do that. So no, I completely, I completely agree. And I think you do a great job at that too, especially those morning stories that you do, like just consistent. Like, Oh, no, I was going to ask you actually to like about your coffee. Cause I noticed like that's even that right there. It's like, you know, she worked at barista before she drinks coffee. Like that's just like an easy thing that somebody can relate to, right? Like that's kind of, that's kind of neat, but no, I agree. And if you can stand out, I think in, in the market of people exactly, like you said, if there's lots of pretty photos, but one person is like, you can relate with and you can talk with them and see how they are. I think they have a likely chance of booking. I love that. Love it. Something else that I had kind of like on my list for this question is,



 I think people have forgotten about business cards. I will stand, like I will die on the hill that business cards are not dead. Like there's never a time where I'm out in public and I don't have a handful of business cards on me. And my dad even like has a handful as well. And if he's like, he loves to talk about me right to his coworkers. So he'll like pass out my business cards too. But I had a little bit of a story about how a business, just like an actual business card got me a very high Baudoir booking. So at the coffee shop that I used to work at, we had a place where you could put your business cards just on the counter and people could pick them up as they're waiting for their coffee and kind of just look at them and stuff like that. But I had scheduled, I had booked a Baudoir client. And when I'm on a call with anybody, whether it's your wedding engagement, Baudoir, I always ask you where you found me. And this was her story. She said that she was attending a wedding this part or whenever, and she was talking to just a random girl that she had met at this wedding. And she was telling this girl about how she maybe wanted to do a Baudoir session. And this girl was like, Oh my gosh, that's crazy. Because I just picked up this photographer's card from a coffee shop in Spruce Grove. And then she handed this business card over to this girl and she booked one of my highest paying Baudoir collections. So business cards are not dead. You should have business cards. Yeah. And even when I photograph a wedding, it's like extremely rare where I don't have somebody come up and ask me like who I am, what my business is, what else, like what other kind of photography I do. So being able to just like pull a business card out of my pocket and be like, here, go check it out for yourself. I give out at least one business card almost every single wedding, if not more. So get yourself some business cards guys.



 That's a solid tip. That is like something totally out of the box. Because I think actually I'm going to tell Shana that and she's going to be like, see, I've told you, she just told me for like a long time, like make me business cards. I'm like, yeah.



 But now I'm going to have to go back and be like, yeah, I was wrong. Yeah. Even now that you guys are into weddings, I think you should because then the grandpa who wants to know about your photography, they're not going to pull up their Instagram to look. They want a business card to go look at at home. And even if they ask you for a business card and it gets lost in their wallet, six months later, maybe they're switching out their wallet and they find your business card and they're like, oh,



 maybe I do need some updated family photos or something like that. I think they're great. I love it. That's an amazing tip. I love it. Okay. Anything else on that point for the marketing that you have in your, you want to talk about?



 Yeah. Not really just like, yeah, networking, business cards and just like finding something that's unique to you that can help you stand apart from everybody else. That's huge on social media these days. I obviously do lots of like back end work. Like I blog and I do an email newsletter. I make sure like all my SEO is like, like the best that I could do myself. I know you're a much more professional probably that I know a lot more, but I, I mean, I have researched SEO. I under like, I did my research the best that I could to understand like where I should be putting it and what words I should be using. So, and in my blogging, I do like as much word, I word vomit as much as I can on there with very specific words. So you'll see like my Edmonton Boudoir studio. I'm an Edmonton photographer, Edmonton this, Edmonton that like on my blogs, which maybe when you're reading it, like as somebody who's just like, just wants to enjoy the blog might be kind of annoying, but it works. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. I won't get into all SEO. It's definitely something I find, I find in the photographer space. Like I know that, that photographers don't have lots of time when it comes to like marketing and spending time on their site. It's a huge piece that needs to be done. So if there's photographers that can do it and put the time into that, totally worth it. So you doing that on your own as a DIY respect. Yeah. Cause I know it's not easy to get that stuff taken care of, but yeah. Okay. I had a question about for when you were actually, I want to talk about your editing style for a second. I know this wasn't on one of the, one of the things, but how would you describe your editing style? Because when I look at yours, I was talking to Shana and she was like, tell me, tell me if she's wrong or I'm wrong. But, um, she was like, she's like a natural, a natural color, almost style is what you do. Like true to the color tones, I think, but you walk me through, talk about your editing style. Cause I noticed that it stands out in its own way. Yeah. So some words that I like to use is I, the main kind of like phrase that I use is natural and warm. Like I try to keep everything as true to tone as possible with like a little bit of warmth. I do like that slightly warmer style, not like, I mean, not as much as Shana's like, she was that beautiful, like very, very golden look. But me personally, I do like to try to keep things like as true to tone as possible. So yeah, I like to keep things, yeah, very natural, very, it was just like, yeah, that little tinge of warm to it. And I kind of use that same, like same verbiage when I'm describing just like my shooting style too. Like I try to keep it very natural, very fun, very, just like a little bit more bold. Like I like my colors to be not washed out. I like blacks to be bold. I like greens to be green. You know, so yeah, I like to keep things right across the board as natural feeling as possible. Gotcha. And how would you describe your vibe when it turns like if somebody hires you and you're going to be on their wedding day, how do you describe Taylor? Like what do you like on that wedding day? What can they expect from you when they're working with you? Yeah. So what I say on every single one of my wedding calls is I try to keep things as fun and natural as possible. And even though I'll be directing them literally all day on their wedding day, I strive to make it not feel like you're in a photo shoot. Like nobody wants to feel like they're stuck in a photo shoot for eight hours of their wedding day. So lots of like the getting ready process and the reception kind of stuff. It's very just like candid, very more documentary style. I'm kind of more like I'll post some stuff here and there, especially for getting ready. But for those portions, I'm a lot more like fly on the wall kind of vibe. So so yeah, and I like that kind of slightly more documentary stuff in those portions when I'm doing family photos and Brattleford, like I'm directing and giving so much guidance and stuff like that. But I like kind of just I like to capture moments as they unfold naturally. I don't, I used to do this a lot when I was like just starting is like, I would do fake getting ready photos as I would fake it. I'd fake them wiggling their tie. I'd fake them putting on their cuff links and stuff like that. But now I try to still capture those moments, but like as they're actually happening. So so yeah, fun and natural and like bubbly is like probably the best way that I like to describe myself. And yeah, I never want people to like feel like they're in a photo shoot because I know when you when you're feeling like you're stuck in a photo shoot and like you're very aware of the camera in your face, people can shut down. People can get nervous. And so yeah, I always try to make people feel as comfortable as possible. I've always found that's like a little bit of my superpower, maybe I grew up extremely shy and extremely introverted. So when I'd go out into social situations, and people like my friends like wouldn't introduce me to the people that are coming up to them or like wouldn't like go that extra mile to like make me feel included, that would make me shut down. And that would make me lose my mind. So now, like when I have a job that's like based on making people feel comfortable, I go like over and above to make these people feel like as comfortable in my presence as possible. I really like that actually, because I can relate as a huge introvert, that like that's you know, that's how you want to be because Shana is very, very extrovert and how she does her stuff. So like, you know, she naturally is like friends with everybody and everything's like that. But but I think I think you coming at an approach, you know, as an introvert, knowing how us introverts feel and being able to help people feel comfortable like that are that way. I actually think that's that's really neat that you're able to do that. I like that. That's yeah, I like to describe myself as like an extroverted introvert. So like very naturally to my core, I am introverted. And like even my friends that have been friends with me for my whole life, like one of my best friends, she's known me since I was like four years old. So when she sees me like yelling at people in a wedding, like directing, like being crazy like that, she's like, who is that? Like, so like when I when I'm very confident, like in something like photography, like I'm very confident in my shooting style, I'm very confident in how to direct a wedding day, I can be extroverted. But if it's something I don't know, and I'm not confident confident in I'm very closed off. I'm very introverted. So best of both worlds a little bit with me. Definitely. I like it. Okay. I have a question about one last question of wedding. And then I kind of want to jump into the wedding planning side of things. I think that's gonna be very, very cool to talk about. Do you have any crazy stories as a way that doing your weddings, think something that's messed up or just something that's happened? Actually, last couple days ago, Saturday, Shayna had a wedding, and she was shooting out in the park or whatever. And then literally some homeless person like stole her camera at make like literally my camera was in the bag and like she just walked but like Shayna didn't see it until like the lady was like walking down the block and she had to like she just like dropped her camera like with a bride and groomer and just like sprinted chasing running. And I'm like, man, like and then two of the people from the bridal party came and chase. But anyway, the girl was like right out of it looking for a cinnamon bun or something like that just didn't make sense. But she got her bag back. But that was like a recent thing that happened. I'm like, Oh, man, like that's that would have like sucked like on a wedding day and like lose your second camera and lenses and everything in a bag. So thankfully it was good. So moral of the story where your backpack or keep it close. But yeah, have you has anything that's not to be that but what's what's a crazy story or something that's happened on a wedding that you can think of? So I feel like I've been so fortunate that like nothing super like crazy insane knock on wood has like really happened to me. The one thing that like I can think of is back to the very beginning when I said if the planner tells you you got 20 minutes to do portraits, you got 20 minutes. So like that happened that actually happened to me. So it was a wedding in 2022. I think it was like almost two hours behind schedule, like very, very behind schedule. Yeah. And so when we got to the ceremony, they started doing things so quickly. And as I'm doing family photos after the ceremony, the planner comes up to me and is like, Hey, so we have and she wasn't like asking me like, how long do you need? She basically just told me she's like, Hey, you've got you've got this long to get to the location and you've got 20 minutes before you got to be back at the reception. I was like, let's do this. And luckily I had a second shooter. So we got to the location and mind you, this wedding party was 18 people. So it was literally my not only my biggest wedding party to date, but the shortest time that I had to do their portraits. Luckily, I had a second shooter where I could send I sent all the guys over to her. She banged out their individual portraits with the groom super fast did like a handful of the groomsmen together while I worked with the bridesmaids. And I feel like that is so important when you're on a time crunch when you can have a second shooter who you trust to like break up and go to the groomsmen while you do the bride or both brides, you know, whatever. So yeah, that's probably the craziest thing that I've that's ever happened to me is I had 20 minutes to shoot an entire wedding party of 18 people and that included groomsmen bridesmaids full wedding party and the couple portraits. So like literally all of their photos for the day had to be done in those 20 minutes. But the funniest thing is, is we did it and still to this day, there's some of my absolute favorite photos I've ever taken. So Yes, because you're straight to it. You're here. You're here. Yeah, exactly. I was a drill sergeant in that situation 100%. And I've always found that I work, I work very well under pressure. So I mean, I worked in a coffee shop where it was like, there's two of us and it's like line up out the door and we're like running doing a million things at once. So and I did that for 10 years. So I find I have a very like, I'm very good at working under pressure. And sometimes like, sometimes I almost can't work unless I'm under pressure. When it comes to like editing and stuff like that, when I have that fire lit under my my ass a little bit, I can get things done real quick and real fast. When that deadlines approaching, it's like, we got to get it and you get it done. Yeah, exactly. That's a lot. That's a lot of people in 20 minutes. Yeah. Yeah. Bridal party too. Yeah, it was crazy. It was crazy. That's awesome. Okay. I want to jump into wedding planning a little bit. And I may even put this on its own kind of episode. We'll see how it goes. But I really want to dive into you as a photographer wedding planning right now. So I don't know if I have, how many days to your wedding? I had it written down and then I think you mentioned it the other day. I literally just said it today, I think I had 53 I counted today. So September 7th is our wedding date of 2024.



 Congratulations. That's so exciting. Thanks. You are getting married soon. So as a photographer, and I was like really interested to hear about this because people planning their weddings,



 us as photographers are always trying to guide and be like, you're probably need an extra hour. You're probably not going to get enough time here. Like all those little things. But you as a photographer planning your wedding, I do want to find out what are the specific things that



 planning for and that maybe this will also help somebody who's a bride that's trying to plan because you're in it, you've done it, you've done a million weddings. And yeah, so walk me through kind of that process. What's really important for you? What did you look for when you were looking for a photographer? And how did you know which one to pick as a photographer? I think I've seen in some of your stories, you had one lined up for a while. So I'm curious about that. So walk me through some of that, the planning process, you as a photographer, what specific things are you looking for? And I want to hear about that. Yeah. So obviously as a wedding photographer, I'm very ingrained in the wedding industry. So I had lots of vendor options just right on the front of my mind, basically as soon as I got engaged. So I got engaged in 2020, technically it was 2022. It was like at the end of December of 2023. So technically, or sorry, 2022. So technically 2023. But yeah, I knew so many vendors, I had a relationship with so many vendors already.



 But the first thing I think anybody should do when planning their wedding is one secure venue.



 We were very fortunate that my fiance's parents, they live on a very beautiful acreage and his sister got married there in 2022. So that's what we're doing. So we're just getting married at his parents' house, which was huge, like a huge thing. You just check off our list. Saved us lots of money.



 So if you have a family member, like or parents or anything with like an acreage and you can do your wedding on their property, that's like such a big thing to be able to check off your list.



 So when it came down to like planning and like booking our vendors, because our venue, like we didn't have to have it on a certain date, like our venue, because it's his parents, were obviously very flexible on when and like the date that we got married. When normally like you reach out to a venue, you try to find the right date and then you book everything based off that date. We were a little bit different where the first thing that I booked was my photographer. So what I did is basically I just mess, I sent in an inquiry on her website and I was like, "Any Saturday you got in September, we'll take."



 So we didn't have a particular date that we wanted. I just knew like as a wedding photographer that this is the photographer that I wanted and I would have got married on literally any single day that she was available. So yeah, I had been following my wedding photographer for years. Before I even started to become a photographer, I had followed her. So I had kind of like built this like parasocial relationship, I guess you could say, like with her already. And if people listening don't know like what a parasocial relationship is, it's basically when you feel like you're connected to somebody through their content. So as your favorite influencer or something, you feel like you have like almost a personal connection with them just based on following with them. And I felt that with her a little bit before I actually booked her comes to turn that she actually lives in the same city as me, which I had no idea about until she comes through the drive throughout my coffee shop job one day. And I was like almost a little bit starstruck because I was like, "Wait a second, you live here?" Because so many photographers just have like Alberta wedding photographer or Canadian wedding photographer in their body. You don't actually know their exact location. So yeah, I was a little bit starstruck when she just like came through the drive through of my coffee shop job. Fast forward two years, I book her for my wedding. So yeah, some things that I look for, I guess, like, or I would tell people to look for and I looked for like in her, obviously make sure you love their style. I don't know if you're in like the sepia bride drum. That was one of my questions. Just like a quick like, "Ceceia bride?" Yeah. So I think it's just so important that one, you love what they're showcasing on their Instagram, but you also love like, look at their blogs, look at their website, get full galleries from them. Make sure you love every aspect of a day. Read Google reviews, make sure that they have glowing Google reviews. And this is just my own personal opinion. But if somebody has their Google reviews turned off, or they don't have Google reviews at all, that's a red flag to me. Because why? Why aren't you wanting people to talk about your business?



 And then ultimately, you want to vibe with their personality as well. That's obviously very important. And she just like puts on social media that she's the sweetest, kindest human ever. So yeah, I really vibe with that. But yeah, in case anybody's wondering, shooting my wedding is Carissa Marie photography. I don't know if you follow her. I've seen the name. Yeah, I don't know if I follow her. Yeah. Whenever I mentioned something about my wedding photographer, I always have people in my DMs being like, "Oh my God, who did you pick?" People are very interested to know who a full-time wedding photographer picked as their wedding photographer. Yeah, that's what I was curious to. Yeah, no, that's neat. I love it. Okay. So yeah, so the wedding venue got that booked. And I also in Alberta too, there's so many, I feel like there's so many grandparents, like we shot weddings too. It's like they have like really, like the acreage is super nice. Like they have a farm somewhere, such a neat thing. So the fact that you have that and you're able to do that, I think is great. That's great. Yeah, we're very, very fortunate to have that. Because I know not everybody obviously, obviously has access to something like that. Yeah. Are you guys going all out with everything? Did you book in like all the vendors for all the other things like the cakes and the florals? And did you guys go all out? Yeah. So after we booked our photographer, I then started reaching out to caterers and rentals and DJ. Those were kind of like the next big things on our list. I always tell people it should be venue, photographer, caterer. Those are like the top three big things that I feel like you should get done first. The DJ was something that we kind of fell like a little bit lower down the list. Like we weren't, we didn't feel like it was super, super important. Obviously photographer and food is most important to me. So yeah, kind of everything trickled down after that. I've also opted to do a lot of the decor and like design myself. So we've got a lot of DIY projects on the go right now that we're trying to finish up. And I've been collecting items from the thrift store for over a year. Like I, so like, as soon as we got engaged, I knew that I wanted to have a garden party wedding. That was my vibe. Like I wanted a vintage garden party wedding and I wanted all of our dinner plates that people would be eating off of to be antique and mixed matched, none the same. So I've been going to the thrift stores all over town periodically over the last literally almost two years and collecting plates. Same with like, oh yeah, you should see my spare room right now. It's like an absolute nightmare because yeah, there's just stacks of plates. There's stacks of dessert plates. I have tea cups and all of our centerpieces are, do I have, oh no, I thought maybe I had one right there, but they're pewter teapots. So I don't know if like, if you know like what pewter metal is, but they basically look like they're metal vintage teapots. And so all of our centerpieces are those and just filled with flowers and with some like antique books underneath and candles and lace table runners and stuff like that. So start early if you plan on doing like that kind of thing. Because like I said, I've literally been collecting things for the last year and a half, two years. This would be the most stressful drive bringing it all to the place.



 I know. I'm still trying to figure that out. I haven't gotten that far yet, unfortunately. Except to have like a cloth wrapping party of all these plates and have a bunch of people over or something. Yeah. Yeah. That's pretty neat. Okay. So for your wedding and for the photography side of things, do you have, so are you more open to like the photographer like, "Hey, I trust you to do it." Or you're like, "No, no, like I want, as a photographer, like I want these specific shots. How do you have that kind of planned?" Yeah, that's a great question.



 Because I, yeah, I'm honestly a little bit of a control freak. So this is something that I've been really trying to like let go of when it comes to like my wedding photography. Because I would want my clients to trust me that she had a wedding that I know that I know how to. So I'm trying to put that, that same thought in my head when it comes to my wedding photography. Like she's been doing this for years. She knows how to capture a wedding. Like so I've been trying to release a little bit of that control and like let her do what she does, that kind of thing. So obviously, I mean, most photographers, I don't know if you and Shana do this too, but I always ask my clients like what their must have shots are. So I at least have a little bit of a guideline so I don't miss anything. But so much of the time people are like, "Oh, I trust you."



 So like I'll probably tell her like a few of like my absolute must haves that I like. But other than that, I've been, yeah, I've been trying to let go a little bit of my control and kind of give it to her because she's the, I mean, obviously I'm a professional too, but she's a professional in the situation. She knows what she's doing. So letting her do her work and work her magic, I feel like is going to bring out the most, like her best work, right? If somebody is like really confined to a shot list and like exactly what to do, I feel like it kind of, it can't let their creative energy flow as much. So trying to let her be a little bit creative with things. Yeah, yeah. No, that's a common way, right? So here's a must have, I need these, please don't miss this and then everything else just kind of go with it. Yeah. Okay. Interesting. For what would you say is the worst part about planning? And then what would be like your favorite part about the planning process and what tips would you give to a bride? Like you've gave some good ones already about the order of things, but anything else outside of that that you would tell a bride that's in the process right now of planning their wedding? Yeah, start early. I feel like starting early has given me like a big advantage when it comes to like collecting my own decor and booking the vendors that I want. If you know there's a photographer, like a specific photographer that you want, reaching out to them as absolutely early as possible is so, so, so important because nothing breaks my heart more than when I get in an choir. He's like, I've been following you for so long. I love your work and we're getting married in six months and I'm not available. Like that hurts. That hurts me. That hurts you. So starting as early as you can and keeping in mind that photographers and caterers and venues book out. I mean, it used to be like you'd book out like six months to a year, but now like I'm getting inquiries for 2026 right now, which is insane. So like starting as early as you absolutely can. And when it comes to like booking a photographer, even if you're not engaged, maybe like you guys are thinking about it, you might be coming soon. Start following those vendors on social media because you can start to build that parasocial relationship with them. You can see their work over a period of time. You're not just overwhelmed with trying to find one right as you're planning your wedding. So like, like me, like I was following, I mean, I'm a photographer, so I follow lots of photographers, but I've been following my photographer for five years before I even got engaged. So, so yeah, building that relationship with people like before you even engage before you even book them can be very helpful in choosing your vendors and stuff like that. Um, what was I gonna say? Oh, another, another tip that I try to always give people and I know this is very dependent on budget, but having a day of coordinator or a wedding planner is a game changer, an absolute game changer. Uh, elaborate on that for me. Yeah. So I've found lately that every wedding that I photograph that doesn't have one of these, either I become that person or you're putting all those responsibilities on a family member or a friend. And one of your, if one of your family or friend is running around trying to get everything done, working, make sure everything stays on track, they're not enjoying your day with you. They can't like really experience it to the fullest. So if it's in your budget and if you can wiggle something around to get a day of coordinator into your wedding is, I feel like it's so, so important. Like I feel so much more like relaxed and put together knowing that I have a day of coordinator who can handle all the problems that might arise and it doesn't have to fall on me and it doesn't have to fall on one of my family members.



 Oh, that's a good point. Cause that's true. It's cause it falls on somebody, right? Regardless of, so having somebody delegated for that specifically, okay, gotcha. And is that somebody who coordinates, like you, you, you let them know like, here's what I want and here's who the photographer is. And then she kind of like just helps plan everything like through that day, like kind of all the day to day stuff. So you don't have to worry about booking things and stuff. Yeah. So obviously you can have a wedding planner who helps you literally plan the whole thing. I opted to plan my own wedding and just have a day of coordinator. So she, yeah, she's basically going to come on the day of, she does like a little bit of setup, but for my wedding, because we have, um, we're doing it just at like my fiance's, uh, parents' house, we can set up the day before where lots of venues, you have to get in that day, set up that day and take down that day. So especially for something like that, having a day of coordinator is like so, so important, but yeah, she'll come, she'll like when the vendors arrive for the day, they're not going to be coming to me. They're going to be coming to her. She'll tell them where to set things up. She'll kind of delegate where things are going. She'll make sure the ceremony runs on time. She'll get out. She'll make sure everybody's down there for family photos. She'll tell the like DJ when we're ready to do our grand entrance, you know, and just really keep things, keep things on track because you don't want to have to, like, as the, like, uh, like the bride or groom or person getting married, like you don't want to have to think about any of those details because you got so much on your plate just as the person getting married and you got to talk to so many people. Like I'm going to be brain rotten by the end of the day. So like, I cannot have too many responsibilities of like telling what vendors where to go, making sure things stay on time. So yeah, having somebody delegated to do that is very helpful. That's huge. That's a good point. I like that. We, if I could, yeah, if we could plan our wedding again, we do a lot of things different a long time ago, but yeah, sounds like you have it. You have it set up in a way that like ideal ideal situation. It's very excited. Very, very happy that you got your photographer and I'm excited to see how that all turns out. Yeah. Me too. Okay. Well, I have like one last thing, I guess, and we can kind of close up, um, for this where one quick question is you have a studio. Tell me about your studio. Let's get, let's get that out there. There's people know that you have a studio. I forgot to mention that. Um, yeah. Walk into your studio. You got your studio and where, where is it? You don't have to take an address or anything, but just like, is it in Edmonton? Yeah. Walk me through your studio. You got that. And how did that come about? That's cool.



 Yeah. So, uh, yeah. So I moved into my studio in December, uh, I guess December 2023 still, right? Yeah. So December 1st, I moved into my studio and so I, I like, I obviously I'm a wedding engagement photographer, but very much so in Badaure photographer as well. And so I was, I was renting, like I was a member at another studio. I was renting studios here and there, but just like, it was my biggest dream to just like own my own studio and be able to just like leave my stuff there. Like before, like I have a client closet. So when I didn't own my studio, I was packing up my entire client closet and bringing it to the studio and then taking it down and taking it home every single time I had a photo shoot, which was like an honest nightmare. So funny, right? So the fact now that I have a space where everything has a home is so, so, so helpful and such a dream come true. But how it kind of like came to fruition was I was in a, I was in a space and I was telling my makeup artists, I was telling everybody that I can honestly would listen to me, that I did not like the studio space that I was in. They kept down grading and it kept getting like, I don't want to say worse and worse, but a little bit worse and worse. Like I don't want them being mad, but it was downgraded big time from when I had originally become a member there. So I was telling so many people that I just, I wanted to move and like the dream scenario would have been to like, cause rent's freaking expensive. So the dream would have been to have another person that I can move into a new studio with. So I was telling lots of my photographer friends, kind of talking to people about it. And then one day my makeup artist, she sends me a reel from another girl in Edmonton who I did not know at all. I didn't even follow her on Instagram. She, her studio mate was moving out and she wanted somebody else to move in. And I was like, interesting. So I reached out to her, I arranged a viewing. And when I went and saw it for the first time, I, I was sold. Like I was looking for a space that was very minimal. I don't like, like I'm very minimalist when it comes to like studio and how I like my photos to look. Like you won't see lots of like props or plants or anything like super crazy in my Beadwar images. I like it just a very clean open space. So when I walked into this thousand foot or thousand square foot space and it was just like, there was like a very beautiful little pieces of decor, but it was just an open huge space. I'm like, wow, this is perfect. This is exactly what I'm looking for. And literally the next week I sent her, I sent her first month rent and moved in. So she had, she rented the studio already. She knew the land, like the landlord, she'd been renting them for like a year or so already. Um, so I just moved in when her old studio mate moved out. So I share it with one other photographer right now. Gotcha. And then you have, and you're not renting out other people. So I don't know where other people coming in and different stuff and things breaking or whatever. So it's yours, somebody else. That's cool. That's very exciting. And that's in Edmonton that you have your studio. Yes. Yeah. It's just on the west end, um, closer to the yellowhead, which honestly, the location was perfect for me too, because I'm actually located, my home is in Spruce Grove. Um, but I was, I was commuting to the city, to the studios all the time for Beadwar sessions and lots of weddings and stuff are in Edmonton as well. Um, but when I found that the studio that I was going to look at was literally just five minutes off the yellowhead from Spruce Grove, it was like so perfect. So it takes me like hardly even 20 minutes to get there, which honestly is a dream. It's a dream come true. That's nice. That is nice. Studio would be, would be cool. I would like a studio just to like film stuff and things like that. That'd be kind of cool, but I don't know if Shana, whatever, ever I've studied, she looked at one before, but it's not her, her vibe of what she wants to take pictures of, but that's cool. But yeah, the fact you have a studio, I loved it. I thought that was awesome. Yeah. That was like a very exciting big thing that happened this year. That's huge. So what's, what's next for Taylor? What's, what's your next big thing you're working on and we can kind of close it up with that and then we'll find out where everybody can find you. Uh, so right now we're just like, we're in the thick of wedding season and digging our way through. So very busy right now with weddings. I, I have like a few of my own wedding. I think I only had nine of my own weddings this year and I took a lot of second shooting and a lot of associate shooting to kind of fill in the gaps and stuff. Um, but I guess what I'm working on right now is I'm working on adjusting all of my packages. So all of my packages right across the board, my wedding packages, my Victoria collections, my engagement sessions, everything is changing. I'm adding a lot of stuff to them to just like increase the value because I want to give people as much value as possible, like within their time with me. So everything's getting a little bit of a facelift and then they're going to be dropping on September 1st. So I've been kind of encouraging people that if they want to lock in my prices as they are right now, they should do that before September 1st. Because obviously with like added value and added things to the package comes a price increase as well. Definitely, but a better experience. That's, that's the whole point. I love it. Okay. Yeah. And then for weddings, 2025, 2026, it's cool. You're booking that far out, but yeah, keep booking, keep booking weddings. I love that you're doing weddings. Wedding photography is a very fun experience and you do a great job at it. I love, so yeah, I guess where can people find you if they want to follow you? Give me, give me your Instagram, whatever your website, we can give some shout outs here. Where can they find Taylor? Yeah. So you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all at Taze photos and beauty. You search that on Google. You'll find me as well. If you want to look at my Batoire work, you're going to find me at Taze Booty Babes. But if you find one or you find the other, they're linked at the top of the bio. So if you find one, you'll be able to find the other, no problem. A lot of my longer form content is on my blogs and my website. So I always encourage people that if you want to see more than just the 10 pretty photos that I can post on Instagram at a time, head over to my blogs. I have a Batoire blog. I have just like full sessions where you can just literally see a full gallery of like certain locations and stuff like that. And then I have weddings. So you can see a full wedding day, um, gallery on my blog. So if you're looking for a wedding photographer and you don't want to have a meeting with a million photographers and ask a million photographers to send you their, their full galleries, check out their blogs. Usually you can find some kind of full wedding day gallery on my blogs. And I got a couple on, uh, on my wedding blog of full galleries. So I always like to send people over there to, to see, see more of just like what I said, not, not just looking at the 10 pretty photos that I'm allowed to post, but digging a little bit deeper into them. And, uh, I, I obviously blog. So I write about the weddings as well. So it kind of gives you a little bit more details and stuff like that. Boom. There we go. There we have it. We have Tay's photos and beauty. Taylor, I really appreciate you jumping on a podcast with me today. This was very exciting. I'm sure I'll watch back and I'll be like, why did I say the same thing after everything or I don't look at all these things and I'll be like, why did I do that? But no, it was so fun. So fun to have you on here. And I, I hope your wedding planning goes the best. And I'm definitely be following that along the way because I want to see what that turns out and your wedding planning and your wedding photography. So I appreciate you coming on here and all of your insight, ton of ton of good things that any photographer could take and you bride can take listening to this. So I am thankfully you came on here. So glad to have you. Yeah. Thanks for having me. It was great. It was a great conversation. So you sounded fine. Perfect. Cool. I will press stop and there we go.