We recently connected with Michael Liedtke and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, appreciate you joining us today. Showing clients you appreciate them is something I think most folks want to do – but it’s not always clear how to do it in a meaningful way. What’s one of the best examples of client appreciation you can share with us?

Before I agree to work with any of my clients/couples, I always make a point of meeting my couples in person over a drink so that I can get to know them personally but more importantly so that my couples have a chance to get to know me and how I work. Weddings are such a personal and intimate affair and not something I take lightly so it’s very important to me that my couples see me as friend and not a worker just showing up to do a job. They deserve to know everything about me and my process to make sure they like me and they want to spend a full day with me at the very least.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve had a camera in my hands for over 10 years and have photographed virtually every genre imaginable in the photo industry. As much as I do enjoy doing branding sessions, family photos and individual portraits, the one genre that has stuck with me the most is weddings. The entire process of documenting such beautiful and fleeting moments on a wedding day provide so much value for a family’s legacy and story and having the privilege of taking part in that for hundreds of weddings now is not something I take lightly.

My goal is to document all my weddings with a genuine and timeless approach so that decades from now, all those moments truly feel like your moments from your life and not just another photoshoot or styled shoot among the masses. This approach includes a balance of photojournalism along with very relaxed posing/directing. The big thing I encourage all my couples to focus on, is simply showing up emotionally and being present on their wedding day so that their own emotions and their love for one another shine through without distractions. This is how your photos truly become your own.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Social media and google has always been a great tool for finding new clients, but time and time again I’m always receiving referrals from past clients that I’ve worked with. Time has shown that the better an experience I can offer to each of my couples and the more I care about this will speak for years to come.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’ve built a reputation of documenting real and genuine moments on wedding days and also finding beautiful compositions within beautiful landscapes to place my couples. I’m not known so much for perfect posing or styling but really capturing the real authentic emotions and reactions on a wedding day and capturing the beauty of the landscape that they are in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michaelliedtke.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelliedtke/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelLiedtkephotography

Image Credits
I made all these photos.