Green Room

The Inspirations: Austin Kleon – Steal Like An Artist

Kat

July 25, 2012

I was introduced to the work of Austin Kleon by a reader who emailed me a link to his latest book, Steal Like an Artist, after attending my School of Rock workshop. She thought I'd like it (thanks Emily!) and she was right. I bought it straight away and devoured the whole thing in one sitting. Austin uses drawings and simple analogies to share his vision of what makes an artist... theft. Sounds controversial huh? Well it's not... it's awesome... and hugely enlightening. I'd enourage you all to go out and read it right now. I wanted to know more so I decided to interview the man himself... enjoy!

Let’s Make The Web Faster

Gareth

July 24, 2012

At the School of Rock Kat talks about the importance of serving up a snappy website experience to your visitors. A statistic from Mashable claims that one in four visitors will abandon a website that takes over four seconds to load. While visitors do tend to be more tolerant of slower websites in image-heavy markets such as photography the underlying message is still important for us to hear.

The Purple Cow: A Guest Post by Charlotte White

Kat

July 20, 2012

"Well, it doesn't really have anything to do with cake. Shouldn't it be something a bit more 'cakey'?" he said. I was really excited to be sat in my first proper 'grown-up' business meeting, up until this moment. It was my first year as Restoration Cake and I was trying to get to grips with the concept of charging strangers for my creations. The afternoon was to be spent with a colleague who knew all the financial stuff. I went to the meeting with a website, a Twitter account, a growing list of orders, and a name.

Decompress

Kat

July 17, 2012

I wake up with a jolt. CRAAAAAP I've missed my flight. Bollocks I've forgotten to pack. Boo-hiss I forgot to arrange a car to pick me up... I've been having these dreams over and over for the past few weeks. Waking up at 6am in a panic is not fun let me tell you. I'm not sure if they're happening more and more because I've done so much travel this year and I hate to be late or if they're just my brain's way of informing me that I'm stressing out and feeling overstretched (er yeah thanks brain, I'm well aware).

“How Do I Get More Likers?!” – Facebook Tips For Wedding Professionals: A Guest Post by Cathie Watts of Phunkey Photography

Kat

July 13, 2012

Originating from New Zealand, wedding photographer Cathie Watts of Phunkey Photography is a Facebook wizz. With just shy of 11,500 'likes' on her photography facebook page she boast more 'likers' than many full time wedding bloggers! So how did she get so popular on the social network? What things did she do to get herself 'liked'? This week I asked Cathie to share some of her top tips for getting started when using Facebook for your business. If you have any more specific questions for her, hit us up in the comments. I'd certainly love to read a follow up from her! Over to you Cathie...

The Inspirations: Lisa Devlin

Kat

July 11, 2012

Gareth & I joke that we should change the name of The Green Room to The Lisa Devlin Room in honour of her services to guest posts! I'm always so thrilled when Lisa offers her insight into something as she's pretty much always spot on with her advice! With 20 years as a professional photographer under her photography ninja belt Lisa has got to be the perfect candidate for an Inspirations interview right? She runs the phenomenally successful Photography Farm, sells PhotoShop actions, shoots weddings all over the country... oh and she's the 2011 British Journal of Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year. NIIIICE!

Brand New Date for the School of Rock Workshop: Brighton – SECOND DATE!

Kat

July 11, 2012

So this is an unusual turn of events! On Monday we launched the latest School of Rock event in Brighton. Within 2 minutes 2 spaces had sold... within 5 minutes 6 spaces had sold... within 11 minutes 9 spaces had sold... within an hour and 45 mins we were sold out! HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS.

Why You Should Get the Hell Off Your Computer & Market Yourself Offline…

Kat

July 10, 2012

Wedding blogs are amazing. Getting featured on them is a fantastic way to elevate your business and put yourself and your work in front of hundreds of thousands of potential client's eyes. But what if it's not working for you? Are wedding blog features reeeally the be all and end all? You might think this is a strange thing for a wedding blogger to say... but erm... no. No they're not. At last week's School of Rock workshop I had a few students saying "I love blogs but I know my photography wouldn't get featured. It's just not the style they promote." And while initally I was taken aback "but i like to promote as much diversity as possible!" I thought, in retrospect they were actually right. Wedding blogs do have their own very specific criteria for featuring real weddings, wedding suppliers and products. And more of often than not, that criteria doesn't hugely deviate from blog to blog. No matter what style of wedding they're promoting (alternative, vintage, traditional, regional etc) they all still want to basically share the same things - cute, affordable, aspirational wedding ideas. They want to show cute couples, inspirational (and attainable) wedding ideas and lots and lots of details for brides to copy.

Brand New Date for the School of Rock Workshop: Brighton!

Kat

July 9, 2012

It's a huge cliché but I really have been truely blown away by the response to my School of Rock blogging workshops so far. Each event has sold out quicker than the last, with the most recent one being off the market within 8 hours! You guys really do know how to flatter me. I know I keep saying this too, but the last event, at Curradine Barns in the West Midlands has got to have been my favourite yet. The venue was stunning, the group that attended were awesome and we even got fed an amazing 3 course meal (all made in house by their head chef) afterwards! Triple win!

Changing Your Persective: A Guest Post by Casey Fatchett

Kat

July 6, 2012

Ansel Adams famously said, “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” I find myself coming back to that quote a lot. Not just as a photographer, but in life, I say to myself, “Why in the hell am I standing here? I should be standing over there!” As photographers, our job is to observe and document. Wait, that is oversimplifying. We look at the world and we choose a way in which to convey what we ‘see’ to others. That better? Anyway, sometimes, we get so wrapped up in what we are seeing through our lens that we don’t stop and take a look at our surroundings.

The Inspirations: Made You Look Photography

Kat

July 4, 2012

Where on Earth do I begin introducing the made u look girls? These vivacious, ridiculous talented, infectious and crazily-generous women really do make my heart sing. After chatting to them online for years, I was exceptionally honoured to be able to shoot with them when I was in New York earlier this year. They flew all the way from California to do it and gosh... I owe them so much. They really did make me feel beautiful. If you're not inspired after seeing these girls' images and reading about their incredible journey... well there may be no hope for you. Christina, Alie & Marielle rock my frickin' world. I love them more than life itself and I really hope we get to hang out again one day...

I Have Failed

Kat

July 3, 2012

Yesterday I had a to do list longer than my arm... Food shopping. Write a Green Room article. Clean bathroom. Book hotel room. Write 3 wedding posts. Tidy bedroom. Change bedding. Tidy office. Put clothes away.

Stop Bartering Me!

Lisa Devlin

June 29, 2012

You and your product are awesome. You feel you have set a fair price for what you offer and in the words of our Cheryl "You're Worth It" Then what's with all the potential clients wanting to barter with you? It can be utterly soul destroying to be repeatedly asked to lower your rates because somebody else up the road is doing the same thing as you for less.

The Inspirations: Fur Coat No Knickers

Kat

June 27, 2012

Yesterday Gareth told me that I use too! many! exclamation! marks! He said it's like laughing at your own jokes (well... hell, I think I'm a hoot!) So he's probably not going to enjoy reading this intro because a gazillion exclamation marks are definitely required to convey to you just how much I love the girls I'm interviewing today (!!!!!!!) Laura & Emma run the amazing Fur Coat No Knickers, a vintage wedding dress shop in the heart of London. But this isn't any old vintage shop, oh no, the girls pride themselves in their attention to detail and attentiveness to all their brides. They're well known for how they 'pimp' each of their gowns to make it perfect for the individual girl. Whether it's shortening, nipping, tucking, letting in, letting out or it's adding petticoats, giant bows, straps or applique details... no detail is left out when making sure each and every one of their brides leaves with the wedding dress of their dreams.

Why You Should be Selfish

Kat

June 26, 2012

Selfishness is never an attractive quality. Whether it’s a room full of toddlers fighting over the same toy or a friend who dumps you for her new boyfriend, selfishness is repulsive... or is it? Sure, the word selfish has negative connotations, but today I want to encourage you to remember that it's not always a bad thing to look out for number one... and especially so when you're trying to run your own business.

Why You Should be Hated: A Guest Post by Chris Barber

Kat

June 22, 2012

Perhaps supported by some kind of celebrity culture, but it seems to be widely accepted that in order to be deemed as 'successful' in mainstream society you have to be liked by as many people as possible. You have to have a certain number of 'likes' on your facebook page. You need as many followers as possible on twitter and your most recent blog post is only as strong as the number of comments that sit at the bottom of it. While this is not all together wrong, I'd like to start thinking about the other side of the coin for a minute.

The Inspirations: Elbie Van Eeden

Kat

June 20, 2012

"Elbie has no concept of what is real, and what is make-believe", wrote photographer Kirsty Mitchell in 2009. "She lives in la-la-land, and likes to spend her money on gardening wire and lipsticks. She spends her days ruining people’s hair because she is constantly emailing me about fairies and monsters, and leaves broken make up all over the place. She will stain your carpets with blue face paint and glue, and says 'happiness' a lot, and gets very excited about sparkly stuff." So apart from the ruining people's hair bit, this couldn't be more spot on about my friend Elbie. After stalking her work online for months, I finally plucked up the courage to email her to ask if she'd be available to work with me on a shoot. Luckily she agreed and we've been the best of friends ever since. Elbie is my go to girl for anything hair and make up related. With every shoot I do, Elbie is the first MUA I want to book. And after disastrous (and erm... expensive) hair dying results from Toni & Guy, Elbie has become my hair care saviour - regularly emailing me the next stage in my 'lets-get-Kat's-hair-healthy-again' regime.

Spending Habits of the Newly Engaged & How Couples Choose Their Wedding Suppliers: Market Research from Splendid Communications & Brides Magazine

Kat

June 19, 2012

A couple of wedding media outlets have conducted some pretty awesome market research over the past few months. These included the amazing Liene of Splendid Communications and Brides Magazine (US). Both interviewed thousands engaged and newly married couples and with their permission I'm sharing some of their findings today. From Liene's results, I found the factors couples consider when booking their wedding suppliers particularly interesting (click to enlarge each image).

Personal Posts – How Much Is Too Much?: A Guest Post by Sara Doron of Under the Vintage Veil

Kat

June 15, 2012

Hello, my name is Sara (that's me on the right) and I’m a share-a-holic. Confused? Let me explain. I’d say the majority of wedding businesses have blogs – and as wonderful an engagement tool as they can be, they can also be a little bit dangerous – and I’ll explain why. Let me preface this by saying that, as a blogger, I am a strong believer in sharing parts of your personality, your quirks, your likes and dislikes and your major life events with your readers. Being a human being is what distinguishes a blogger from a magazine. Unlike with a magazine, where readers buy a copy once a month, but are outsiders looking in on an experience, with a blog, people get to know you, follow your journey and interact with you, even come to care about you.

The Inspirations: Ruth Crilly of A Model Recommends

Kat

June 13, 2012

Ruth Crilly was always a model I was aware of. With her trademark teeth and her ridiculously luscious blonde hair, I'd seen and admired her on billboards and in magazines for a long time. I'd even watched her early foray into modelling on the Channel 4 series This Model life (which, if you're in the UK you can see watch on 4OD). So you can imagine my surprise when, at a cover shoot for Wedding Magazine last year, I walked in to see Ruth getting made up! I'm not going to lie, I was slightly intimidated to meet her but I need not have been. She's a truly LOVELY person as well (gaah don't you just hate that!?)

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