"Are you on Pinterest?" That is a question that I hear at approximately 90% of my wedding client meetings and I am always excited say that "YES I AM!" 
 

There are a lot of photographers that have the opinion that Pinterest is harmful to their business. The premise of that thought process is that the photographer has clients that wants them to 'duplicate' images rather than create them. I can understand this concept. It is always a high pressure situation when a client comes to a meeting and says "I NEED THIS PHOTO! Can you do it?" Not only can that situation initially strip me of my creative flow but it could also potentially call into question my talent if I can't get it exactly perfect. Sometimes, photographers spend so much time trying to recreate really beautiful photos that in the end, they haven't done anything new, challenging or 'them' (their own style).
 

What is the best way to avoid losing your creativity? I think it is important to be upfront with your clients and let them know that you can use any image as inspiration but that you will be putting your own flare on it. That way, if it is not perfectly duplicated, you can be a little more comfortable about your take on it. You should be comfortable and proud to let your clients know that you have your own style and that you don't "copy" other people's work.

One reason that I absolutely love Pinterest is that so many times, brides and clients can tell you exactly (in words) what they hate about certain photographers, images, poses and locations but they have a very difficult time putting into words what they actually like. I will always ask my clients to pin as many photos as they possibly can because I like to see what they like! More often than not, a good photographer can see the patterns within those images before the clients realize they even had a pattern.

Here is a good example of what I mean. A 2014 bride of mine, Sarah, pinned about 75 photos in a board as inspiration for our engagement session. When I started looking through the images I could see very quickly that about 50 of the 75 images of engaged coupes were posed in the same exact pose. Every location was different, the couples were all different heights, weights and races but the looks were identical. All 50 of the identical photographs were a super close, intimate, head to head shots. Let me tell you, when I photographed Sarah and her fiancé Jake (at both their engagement session and wedding) they were the easiest shoots that I had done in years. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what the couple wanted to see in their finished product. I used 100% creativity to create intimate, close, timeless shots. The outcome - They loved the photos!
 

My recommendations -
 

• Use Pinterest.
   
• Create wedding boards as inspiration to brides and photography boards to be helpful to all of your photo clients.
   
• Feel free to upload your own images to your boards. I have not gotten a lot of foot traffic to my own website for adding my images to Pinterest but I am never shy about taking opportunities to put my work out there.
• Finally, let Pinterest be an asset for your business, not a liability. <3
   

Follow my Pinterset boards at : www.pinterest.com/michellecox36/