078: Rebecca Carpenter – How To Ace Instagram & Top Tips on Booking Destination Weddings

October 30, 2022

“Don’t try and imitate other people’s work. Don’t try to imitate somebody, because you can’t be them. You’re never going to be them. There’s only one of you, and whatever you are, embrace that, because there’s nothing more powerful than your own personal branding”

REBECCA CARPENTER

Hey everyone! It’s Sally here, from Studio Ninja. Today’s episode is all about Rebecca Carpenter!

Rebecca Carpenter made an entrance onto the wedding scene in 2017, with her first ever wedding making the cover of Your London Wedding. Since then, her editorial shooting style coupled with her fun, bubbly personality have seen her become a much-loved and respected member of the wedding community. Her Instagram following grew exponentially during lockdown, as her honest and open approach to the platform struck a chord with thousands of photographers and wedding industry professionals all sharing the most challenging year of business ever!

She is one of the few photographers to have graced the Professional Photo Magazines prestigious Top 50 UK Wedding photographers 3 years in a row and most recently winning The Photography Show’s Wedding Album of year for 2022.

Rebecca lives in Kent with her husband Jon, and their daughter Winnie. She loves carbs, cuddles and Coke Zero.

Check out some of the biggest points from Rebecca’s interview below:

  • Rebecca’s journey in the Photography Industry
  • Top Instagram Tips
  • How to utilise Instagram to your advantage

  • How to break into shooting Destination Weddings
  • The top do’s & don’ts when it comes to destination shooting
  • How styled shoots can help to build your business

  • What she would do differently if she could start her career all over again
  • The importance of being yourself & owning it
  • What a huge impact consistency in Instagram can make

  • The one thing that made a difference to Rebecca’s business!

How can photographers use Instagram as a Marketing Tool?

If you are a creative, a business. Doesn’t even matter if you’re a photographer, a videographer. It is the best platform. It’s free, for a start. You don’t even… You can pay money for ads, but you can do things organically. Like, I did everything organically for years, years and years and years. It’s free. It is a visual platform, so the possibilities are endless. And lazy people say, “Oh, but now I have to do Reels. I’ve got to do videos to keep up with the times.” That is just how it is with any platform. They’re always going to keep changing and evolving to keep up with competitors. TikTok, obviously since TikTok went on the scene, that was the most popular kind of app in 2020, so Instagram do have to keep up with it, so naturally, they are going to push Reels. But I say to people, “Don’t fear that. Just learn to look at you’re using your kind of material and your marketing in a different way, for more people to see it.” What I say to people is if you are a small business owner, own it on Instagram. It is an amazing platform, and for me, I do see it as an amazing marketing opportunity.

So yes, I have a personal. Account. Personal account is not strategic. That’s just me to post photos of my baby and just have a laugh. My work account is for work, so then I do separate it. Because the mistake I think lots of people make is they kind of freak out, they get overwhelmed, they then get on a spiral of comparison-itis, and they look at other accounts. “Well, that person’s doing that. I should be doing that. That person’s booking loads of weddings. Why not…” And you go into this whole kind of self-doubt mode, which we all go through, but you’ve also got to… We know as creatives, it’s all just the highlights. I say to people, that is ultimately what it’s for as a photographer. You’re going to post the best, the best photos.

But you know in reality, behind that photo, that [inaudible 00:11:56] that kind of miserable climbing that mountain to get that picture, that you didn’t actually… There’s always a story behind it, so not everything is what it appears. I think people don’t take it too seriously, but it is all about consistency at the same time. I say, like with your business account on Instagram, it’s a bit like a Tamagotchi. I love an analogy, Sally. The more you feed it, take care of it, the more it grows, so it is about how much time you put into it is what you’re going to get out, and to not be an island. I think that’s a mistake lots of people make. They’re like, “Oh, that’s my competitor. I can’t possibly…” There’s more than enough weddings to go around.

I say to people, I say like, “Chat to these people, because you are going to need those people when you are stuck for cover, or you’re having an emotional breakdown, or you need to buy some whatever equipment.” These people, your peers, are going to be your friends. And that’s the beauty of it, is that the networking is incredible. Even just to make friends, have a laugh, the possibilities are endless. So I say to people, “Engage, engage, engage, all the time.” So engage other accounts. If you see a picture that you genuinely love, comment and say, “This is amazing.” Don’t think, “Oh, like, no, I’m not going to…” Take the time to comment at other people’s work and lift them up, because it goes all around. It’s all about karma, and it’s about giving back.

Don’t think about what you can get out of Instagram. Think about what you can put out there, whether it’s giving advice to other people, if it’s boosting somebody else up, if you’re kind of saying, “Oh, that’s amazing,” if it’s shouting somebody out, if it’s resharing somebody else’s work, if it’s tagging them in a caption. It’s all about the bigger picture, and looking at other accounts is what I say to people. And Stories. I always say Stories are the most… They’re not really underrated, but they are the most powerful tool on Instagram for kind of getting your personal brand across. It’s all about building a brand and not a business is what I say to people, because as a small business owner, it’s literally just you most of the time, isn’t it? It’s probably just you behind the phone, and a desk, and a camera.So I always say to people to share that. Share behind the scenes of everything, and I mean like rinse it. Go to town, because as humans, we’re naturally really, really nosy. Like, Stories, algorithm-wise, you’ll have way more views on a Story than you will likes on a post. It’s just how it works. In that case, use the audience you have. Doesn’t matter if you have a 100 followers, 1,000 followers, 10,000. Show up and serve the audience that you do have. And Stories are the best way to do that, to let people in your world.

I book clients, very often, because they’re like, “Oh, I’ve been following you. You seem like a laugh, and I always love your pictures.” That comes second, and they end up kind of falling in love more by personality. Like, we’re a personality fit, and then they fall in love with your work. I think that’s really important, so I say embrace that and share who you really, really are, and your work, even if it’s a case of you not even talking to camera. It can just be sharing what your world is, and letting people in. That’s the short answer to that question. Because there’s so much. There’s so much.

What kind of content are you putting out daily on stories?

That’s a really good question, and I get asked this a lot. The best tips I have… My newest tip is having a phone case with like a strap, so I have it on my body. But I work really, really quickly in terms of Stories. Everyone thinks like, “How are you doing this?” The easiest tip is I say to my couple, “Okay, just be really, really cute for 15 seconds.” You need 15 seconds minimum, for a Story to kind of… for the duration. So I say, “Okay, keep being cute, keep kissing.” I literally hold my phone up, and I record them for 15 seconds. I put my phone down. That’s it. I don’t upload to live time. I always upload once I’ve left the couple, the wedding’s done, they’re out of sight.

I never upload to real time, for various reasons, for safety reasons so nobody knows where I am exactly if I’m traveling, or if I’m in a particular hotel or venue, so I don’t get mugged or robbed, and also so I give my couple my full attention, and then I can tag people properly. [inaudible 00:19:59] I can curate the Stories to have the right music. I just record little snippets throughout the day, and I just shout, “Be cute for 15 seconds,” and then the couple are like, “Okay, that’s pretty easy,” and they’re usually just chatting, or kissing, or hugging. And they’re very used to it.

And then also, what most couples love is that I also send them the clips afterwards, so then they have those clips, and then they get excited about it, because not every wedding has a videographer as well. It’s pretty uncommon not to have one nowadays, but sometimes they don’t, so that is the visual kind of movement captured for them, and they love that. So I go, “Oh, you know, keep being cute. This is for the memories,” and then they love it. So I also give that to them as part of the service, so it’s also thinking, “What can you give that to them?” And at the same time… So I just do that throughout the day, to make sure that their Story… But lots of the couples expect it now, and the couples, they’re like, “Oh, are we going on your Stories? Oh, we can’t wait to see what song you pick for this.”

They expect it now, which is quite sweet. So nowadays, it’s pretty normal for me to just be like, “Oh, this is super cute,” and then I just record it, and then also, like I might shoot and hold the camera at the same time. That, I also do. So yeah, but it’s very second nature. But I never upload to real time. I always do it once I’m in bed, or if I’m eating, or once the ceremony, wedding, it’s kind of done. I never do it at the same sort of time.

How can photographers utilize Instagram properly?

What I recommend to people is post Stories every single day, every single day. So the little logo, your picture should always have that little [inaudible 00:28:28] circle of activity, every single day. Ideally, if your business is named after your name, use a profile picture which is a picture of you. If you are a big brand or a business, logo is fine. But if it’s just you, break down that wall and show who you really are, so people can get to know you. Don’t hide behind a logo. That’s a mistake I see loads of photographers and videographers do. If it’s just them. Fair enough if you’re a whole team. Okay, but if it’s just you, use a photo of you so people can get to know you. Especially with photographers.

And always have Stories, because the idea is when people go to their home feed, you know how you have Stories at the top, where you can see your favorite people and their stories. You ideally want to be in the top five of people’s highlights, Stories. And the trick is, once somebody engages with them, you’re always going to be in there. So you always want to be on the forefront of their mind, and Stories will do that.

Posting to your grid… Now, the mistake people make, and I used to make this, is you’ve got to post every single day. No you don’t. No, no, no, no, no. Especially with content, you’ve got to be really intentional with your content as photographers and videographers. And we learned this in lockdown, when we didn’t have tons and tons of content. You had to make that content last.

Especially when you were like, “Oh, when’s my next wedding?” So I say to people, “Don’t feel like you need to post every single day. You don’t need to. Be really intentional with your posting.” Use a grid planner, so PLANOLY, etc. There’s loads of little apps where you can actually map out your content, so you can see how it looks in terms of colors, if you’re going to have black and whites, if it’s balanced, if it’s close up, far away. Just have consistency, because you’ve got to remember, with phones, which is typically how everyone’s viewing Instagram, is your potential client is looking at your grid, and they’re looking at those nine squares. They see your name, your logo, they look at those nine squares, and they’ve got to look fresh. They’ve got to look the best.So if you don’t love that image, do not post it, because you’ve got to see your images and your Instagram profile like a shopfront. Is it looking fresh? Are your flowers looking good? So always post the best of the best, so be super intentional and only share what you want to shoot. If you didn’t like that venue, didn’t like that wedding, weren’t vibing, don’t post it, because you’re only going to get more of that, because a couple’s going to look at the geotag of that venue, and they’re going to find you, and you’re going to get more inquiries for that. So trust me, that happens. So be really, really intentional with your posting, and always think about that whenever you’re posting. And think about your future clients.

The weird thing with weddings is you’re marketing for two years ahead, and most businesses, when they post, they’re selling something instantly. Like fashion. Fashion is instant, in terms of marketing and consumerism. They’re selling stuff that’s to buy now. You’re selling a product that you’re going to deliver in two years’ time, a year’s time. So you’ve got to also think about future you. Is future you going to be still wanting to do this style of wedding in two years’ time? So you have to be really smart with your marketing as well. People would say, “Oh, I just go post for the heck of it.” No, I’d rather… I say to people, “I’d rather wait and be intentional with what I’m posting than just posting, just for the heck of it.”

Don’t bother with pods. That used to be a thing. I was in a pod just… Because I’ll try anything once, Sally. I will try… I’ll be like, “Let’s try it.” I was definitely in a pod for a bit, and then nah, don’t bother with pods. Engage with other people, so reply to your comments. If you get a comment, reply to that comment. Like, take the time to reply to your comments and your DMs, because you never know. Especially your DMs. Those are your future clients. The amount of DMs I’ve had that have been like, “Oh my gosh, this is hilarious,” and then they end up booking me for their wedding.

Thank you!

Thanks again to you all for joining us and a huge thanks to Rebecca for joining us on the show!

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, I hope you all enjoyed this episode.

See you soon,

Sally

About Rebecca Carpenter

Rebecca Carpenter made an entrance onto the wedding scene in 2017, with her first ever wedding making the cover of Your London Wedding. Since then, her editorial shooting style coupled with her fun, bubbly personality have seen her become a much-loved and respected member of the wedding community. Her Instagram following grew exponentially during lockdown, as her honest and open approach to the platform struck a chord with thousands of photographers and wedding industry professionals all sharing the most challenging year of business ever!