SPEAKER FEATURE: BRANDON KIDD PHOTOGRAPHY
We had the pleasure of welcoming Brandon Kidd of Brandon Kidd Photography as a speaker for our Spring 2017 LVL Academy wedding planning workshop. Brandon and his wife, Kristin, are the ultimate photography duo and have been capturing the beauty of weddings together for over 9 years. Their images have graced the cover of US Weekly and Zooey Magazine, the pages of People Magazine, Pacific Weddings, and The Knot, and are regularly featured in many of the leading online wedding publications such as Style Me Pretty, 100 Layer Cake, Green Wedding Shoes, and Once Wed.
It's safe to say that Brandon knows a thing or two about the wedding industry and turning a small business into an empire. Plus he's the type of photographer that planners DREAM of working with.
Needless to say, our Spring attendees got a ton of golden nuggets of information from Brandon. Want some of that valuable content? Read on to learn more about Brandon's story, his WHY, and a few of his tips for planners...
Hi all!!
My name is Brandon Kidd and I have had the pleasure of photographing weddings for the past 13 years. I fell in love with photography from a very early age. Ever since I was 12 years old I was taking photos of anything and everything I could. The ability to freeze time and the art of capturing emotion and memories was truly fascinating to me. My parents were both extremely hard workers throughout my childhood. And although I wished I had more quality time with them, they always prioritized family vacations. A time where we would get away from everything and spend all day every day with one another. I cherished these trips so much and made sure I brought my camera along to capture all the memories I wanted to remember. Photography became an important part of my life as I quickly realized that life’s precious moments are fleeting.
Fun facts about me:I live in beautiful sunny southern CA, with my wife Kristin and boxer pup, Millie. We just celebrated 7 years of marriage together and have been BLESSED by it! I have a crazy passion for traveling and photographing everything I do and see and LOVE to make others happy! Hence why I thought I would give this photography thing a shot!
I laugh loud, hug often, and always have a smile on my face. If you meet me, it would be rare for you to not experience all three of these things in our first encounter with one another! I love hosting backyard dinner parties and entertaining friends & family.
MY 3 TIPS FOR WEDDING PLANNERS:
1. Connecting Vendors – I can’t begin to tell you how important this is for all of your vendors to be in unison with one another but especially so between the photographer and videographer. My advice is to make sure that the photo and video team work really well together and share a similar vision in the way they capture their subjects. For example, I love to mainly back light my subjects where some videographers love to shoot in the same direction as the sun so that the subject is front lit. When this is the case, we have to take turns lighting the subject from opposite sides meaning a lot of time is wasted re-setting up the shot. I love to work with other videographers who do the same so we can both shoot from the same angles without getting in each other’s way. This is not an absolute make or break of course, but it should be noted that if this is the case that additional time will be needed throughout the day to accommodate each artist’s preference.
2. Timeline – One thing that I love the most about working with our favorite planners is that they always check in and ask how much time we need throughout the day plus any other input BEFORE sending the timeline to the clients to review. This HAS to be done before the clients see it and before too many things are finalized. Every wedding is different and each couple prioritizes the importance of certain photos differently so it is really important to consult the photographer before you finalize the timeline. Most photographers will have already gone through great lengths to understand these desires and will know how to best allocate time of the wedding day to successfully capture their photography demands. This way you make everyone happy!
3. Layout – This is another area where I love to chime in and be a part of some of the set up and logistics for the day. There are so many times a beautiful escort card display, cake and dessert station, or ceremony backdrop would make the most amazing image but it was set up in poor lighting. Many times, I move things around on a wedding day to make sure I can shoot everything in the best possible light that I can. I will move a cake table or escort display in order to get the shot I need. However, things like which direction the tent should have been set or which angle the ceremony should face are a little too difficult to change the day of the wedding. So, make sure to consult with your photographer before the wedding to see if they have any preference on which angle things should face or be set up. This will help ensure that you are able to get all the photos that you want, and that all of the photos will be beautiful!
