We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andy Hardman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andy below.

Andy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

On a wedding day you can basically bet on having something unexpected happen. I try to carry certain things with me to help in a pinch (tide stick, gum, needle & thread) and I also give couples a heads up as to things they may want to prepare for should they come up during our or wedding correspondence.

One of my famous lines on a wedding day is, “no apologies” & “anytime you get anywhere today you are on time”. Timelines are rarely followed to a T and couples need as little stress as possible.

Weather is another unexpected issue, especially with outdoor weddings. I am often checking weather on questionable days on my radar app. I once fit a rain delayed reception into a 25min window between storms. I was coaching the wedding couple and wedding party through how we could do it, passed out umbrellas, wiped seats off and it was on. The ceremony was perfect. Another thing I often say I’ is, “great photos are made in questionable weather.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into photography as a teenager in high school. I’m from the old school darkroom era and honed my artistic craft through getting a BFA in photography while getting to study in SF, NY & Greece. I called my style “portraiture in landscape” and that has definitely followed me into my wedding photography practice.

Clients who hire me are drawn to my style and care of the environments my couples are photographed in as much as the clients themselves and how they look. I do assist with placement and pushing but try to also keep it loose and natural.

I want all my couples to look dynamic in the environments they have chosen to have their wedding at. This is often outdoes meaning I need to pay close attention to lighting and weather patterns and how they plan into the schedule of the day. I work closely on wedding day, in real time, explaining when and where would be the best time and place for their wedding portraits.

When it’s all over I love working with clients to physically actuality their images into gorgeous enlarged prints for their home walls as well as curated wedding albums we work on collaboratively. Your wedding photos deserve more than to live on your phones and computers.

All in all I love the couples I get to know and work with. Their open to my artistic visions, my attention to detail and my encouragement in pushing their comfort zones in order to get those photos that make you go, “WOW!”

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Podcasts are my favorite free education when it comes learning tips, tricks and boosting my business. Currently in stuck on Sam Jacobson’s Own Your Business. It is fabulous and gives you detailed actionable steps to take at the end of each episode.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I realized at the start of the pandemic that there were wedding photographers out there with half my talent making 2-3x more income than me. Now I had the time to focus on it. I started doing a lot of free and paid education concerning client experience, marketing, social media, website design. The top 2 people I learned from were Kate Dye, Susan Shek and Sam Jacobson.

In art school you don’t learn about business management, marketing our website design. Now I have a business model I follow, a gorgeous new website speaking to ideal clients and the confidence to assist couples through their wedding journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andyhardmanphotography.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/andyhardmanphotography
• Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/andyhardmanphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-hardman-931aa5213
• Youtube: Www.YouTube.com/andyhardmanphotography
• Yelp: Www.yelp.com/andyhardmanphotography

Image Credits
Andy Hardman Photography