For years, my Dear Devlin column has been a place for photographers to send in the questions they’d never post in a group under their own name. If one of us has an issue with something, chances are plenty of others are too; they’re just not saying it out loud. That’s why submissions are anonymous, and no topic is off the table.
But a column only ever gives you one voice answering. Mine. And however many weddings I’ve shot, I’m still just one photographer with one set of experiences. So I’m turning Dear Devlin into a podcast too, bringing in a different guest each episode to sit down with me and talk through the issue.
This Week’s Problem
Dear Devlin,Can we talk Content Creators? I’ve had a couple of really challenging experiences with content creators, one who totally took over and was constantly interrupting during bride prep, posing and positioning the bride into “the best light”, which in my opinion was awful light – sunlight reflected up from a light gloss floor, made the bride and bridesmaids late for the ceremony as she wanted to do walking shots with them, stood in front of the bride’s parents during the ceremony, left the venue after the ceremony to go and move her car 200m (instead of moving it pre-ceremony) then blamed me for not delaying the confetti to wait on her.
She was just very difficult to work with and was even worse after “confetti gate” and constantly standing in front of me. I’ve had to remove her from a lot of images and others (during the speeches where she stood directly in front of the top table throughout) I’ve just had to deliver with her in situ. I hate confrontation and the whole experience has really put me off working with content creators. She has zero self awareness.
So, can you give me any advice on how to work with content creators? It looks like they are here to stay. There also seems to be a rise in couples being offered content creators for free, friends of friends who are just starting out and shooting for free. Do you have any advice on how to navigate situations like this? I love working with videographers but I really struggle with content creators and want to discourage my couples from booking them but also don’t want to come across as a Moaning Minnie.Can We Talk
Joining me is Kirsty McElroy. If you’ve been to Thrive, you already know her, she helps me run the whole thing and hosts our Million Pound Drop which wraps up the conference. She’s based in Glasgow, shoots weddings in a relaxed documentary style, and her couples always talk about how she made them feel at ease on the day. She’s also a graduate of my mentoring programme, came out the other side with honours, and never needs asking twice for an industry chat.
We get into how she handles content creators on her own weddings, where the line is between collaboration and being run over, and what she’d have done in “Confetti Gate.”
Got a problem of your own? Send it in, completely anonymous, and it might be the one we open up next time.
Submit your Dear Devlin question →
