February 11, 2025 • 54 mins
Welcome to Episode 61 of the Wed.Co Podcast. Today, Toga sit’s down with Taz + Reid from Two Folk for a chat about rebranding and shifting in an evolving market. This was filmed at Ravella in Newcastle.
Summary
In this episode Toga, Taz and Reid discuss the journey of Two Folk, a wedding photography and videography company, as they navigate their rebranding process and expand their services. The conversation covers the importance of offering both photo and video, the value of having two videographers at weddings, and the evolving expectations of clients in the wedding industry.
Taz and Reid share insights on their unique approach to capturing weddings, the shift in market demand, and the significance of understanding client needs and preferences. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the evolving landscape of wedding photography and videography, focusing on the shift towards high-end markets, the importance of storytelling in capturing wedding moments, and the red flags couples should watch for when hiring videographers.
They also discuss their ideal wedding experiences and the future direction of their brand, TwoFolk, including the development of a new CRM software called Story Flow.
Takeaways
- The rebranding of Two Folk aimed to align more closely with couples' needs.
- Offering both photo and video services can increase client bookings.
- Two videographers enhance the quality and coverage of wedding films.
- Clients are increasingly looking for teams that provide both photography and videography.
- The wedding industry is shifting towards a preference for combined services.
- Understanding client expectations is crucial for successful collaborations.
- The connection between videographers can lead to better teamwork and results.
- Capturing candid moments is essential for a memorable wedding film.
- Staying true to one's style is key to producing authentic work. Traveling is essential for photographers aiming for high-end weddings.
- Understanding client needs is crucial for delivering quality work.
- Outsourcing editing can enhance the final product's quality.
- Storytelling through dialogue is key in wedding videography.
- Couples should seek videographers who are willing to engage personally.
- Creating a unique experience is becoming the focus of modern weddings.
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Join us for our next episode on the Wed.Co Podcast, where we continue to explore the mesmerising and ever-changing landscape of weddings.
Toga xxx
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
to Wedco podcast where wedding wisdom meets street smarts.
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time to ditch the formalities and get this party started.
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(00:23):
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It truly means the world.
Hello and welcome to the WEDCO podcast.
I'm Toga and today we have the guys from Two Folk on the couch with us, on chairs with us.
(00:45):
Thank you very much for coming up from the South Coast.
No worries.
been, mean, we've been trying to get this happen for a little bit and same thing.
Like when I put a shout out to people, like who they want to hear from, you guys were veryhigh on that list as well.
Is that right?
Yeah.
That's a great ego.
Yes.
So, no, I appreciate you coming on.
I feel like you kind of, like even when I sent you through the questions and like all theinfo you kind of sent back, like we could talk about this, this, this, this, every single
(01:11):
point I was like, yes, yes, yes, you know, like there was a lot of good info on there.
So, appreciate it.
Well, maybe like we usually start with like a little bit of a backstory about who you guysare, how long you've been in the industry and I guess just coming in, just rebranding,
maybe we can kind of kind of move into like the rebranding process from there as well.
Yeah, amazing.
Yeah, mean, well, yeah, by the way, I'm Taz.
(01:33):
I'm Reid and we are TwoFolk.
Yeah, to your point Toga, thanks for having us on by the way.
We were Two Folk Films for the last eight years, I suppose.
But yeah, have recently rebranded to Two Folk.
Not much of a big change in the name, but it was intentional obviously.
(01:54):
wanted to position ourselves a little bit closer to align with the actual couples that wewant to work with.
So there was obviously a branding and an aesthetic play to it.
I guess the more important thing was removing the films from two folk films was aboutpositioning ourselves to actually be more of a photo and video company.
(02:15):
So obviously not having films on there.
You we found a lot of our couples were actually coming to us, obviously being a videocompany.
And that's kind of been our main thing up until now.
Yeah, we really just wanted people to come to us for photo and video, not a video companythat's also kind of offering photos.
I guess that's maybe a little bit of a back story into the rebrand itself.
(02:40):
But yeah, I mean, about us, you know, we've been doing this for eight years, pretty muchstraight out of school for both of us.
think Reed came straight out of high school into the industry and pretty similar for me,obviously.
I'll say just before we jumped on here that, yeah, I went to uni, obviously got a bit of adegree in music randomly, but I feel like it's a pretty common story with a lot of wedding
(03:01):
professionals.
You know, we don't...
kind of get these random degrees and stuff and then end up going into the weddingindustry.
but yeah, straight out of education, out of school for both of us.
It's been our full-time career pretty much for our entire lives.
Yeah, okay.
Yeah.
And so just working within like the South Coast region, how like how far is your like youraverage by wall, like usually kind of to Sydney or like whereabouts are you guys working
(03:27):
currently?
So for most of our career, it has been based in the South Coast, but we recently, probablyabout a year ago, made the intentional decision to expand that and be open to traveling a
lot further out.
And I think that timed well with our decision to take less bookings and allow ourselvestime to kind of commit to
(03:57):
weddings that we want to get into, like, you know, a different kind of a style of wedding.
So instead of doing so many weddings on the South coast and just limiting ourselves tothat area, allowing ourselves time to go out and do these other weddings that really
(04:18):
excite us a lot more.
And so like what are the type of weddings that you guys are kind of with the rebrand likethat you're kind of more focusing towards now?
Yeah, sure.
mean, I can speak to that.
think, you know, I mean, to Reid's point, like being on the South Coast, like it is verymuch of a laid back sort of, you know, pace.
Like a lot of the venues are down there.
Like they're beautiful.
(04:39):
Don't get me wrong.
But everyone, feel like a lot of people say this, like, you start working at the samevenues a lot of the time and we still do.
Like we always see love working there as well.
But
It's one of those things where like, feel like, you know, the grease is the grass isalways a bit greener on the other side.
So for us, you know, we like actually coming up, like we're in Newcastle right now.
Like we actually love coming up here into the Hunter Valley.
(05:01):
I mean, I feel like you speak to a lot of the Hunter Valley people and they're like, Iwant to get down to the South coast.
So it's always the reverse, but you know, we always like expanding out.
I mean, even just down to the couples that we like working with, we are trying to, youknow, move into a bit more of an elevated space now.
you know, taking
couples who do put a little bit more energy and a little bit more thought into the stylingand obviously the dress code and the things that they are doing to mix up their day a bit,
(05:29):
not fall so much into the tradition.
I guess like a typical wedding day where they'll just copy what their friend's done.
So we really like working with couples that are putting that.
unique and creative style.
Yeah.
And do you find like these elevated kind of couples and weddings that you're working with,are they then having a bit more of an elevator?
(05:50):
Like they're coming to you with more ideas of what they actually want with their film aswell, rather than do we just want, you know, we want pretty photos and video versus this
is kind of, this is what we're looking for.
think yes and no.
Obviously a lot of couples do come to us for both photo and video.
In love with our style.
(06:10):
That's ultimately what you want, right?
You want couples coming to you like being, look, if you gave me that film that I can seeon your website, but for our wedding, we'd be 100 % happy.
But yeah, on the flip side to your point, Toga, think people definitely are having a lotmore intention and...
as an extension of that, you know, they're having these ideas and they can kind ofenvision what their day is going to look like, you know, using one of our films or having
(06:37):
photography done by us as well.
I think a lot of people do have those requests and they have those ideas in mind.
And yeah, like, absolutely, we love kind of bringing those to life for people, but it'sthere's always that little, I guess they come into it not really expecting us to like.
know, work through this list of like exactly what they want, but they just, they just wantto have a conversation around those things, which is exciting.
(07:03):
Yeah, for sure.
And they always do let us know what their wedding is going to be like, like the style ofthe wedding.
And fortunately for us, for probably the past year, a lot of those inquiries have had thestyle that we've been wanting to get into, which is really positive.
It's a great thing for us to see that change.
(07:26):
And also if it's, if they do have any requests on a particular
way they want their deliverables.
If it's within reason, we're more than willing to accommodate for that.
It's not like our style is, we have to do it this way.
We're totally open to be willing to accommodate for their own creative flair.
(07:51):
I just find like as I've kind of gone up in the price realm, like earlier you'd ask peoplelike, well, what do you like?
Like, what do you actually like about our films?
And they're like, oh, we just like him.
I'm like, okay, cool.
So if you're waiting, like, do you want parts of your ceremony speeches in the video or doyou just like the where's two songs and you just want to do that?
And they're like, they hadn't even thought about that.
They just like, they liked the video, but I don't even know why.
(08:13):
Whereas I feel like as you kind of get into this higher end kind of couples, they actuallydo understand what they're looking for.
They have put a lot of thought into it and kind of just those
little nuances and then like, you know, they actually understand the craft that you'redoing as well.
And kind of have a little bit more input that way.
like, do want to talk a bit like before we brush over like the rebranding, do you want totalk a little bit like why, why the rebrand?
(08:36):
Yeah, I mean, I guess similar to the point earlier, know, the really like the primarything that we wanted to do with the rebrand was move away from just being a video company
and like in clients, the clients eyes be an equal photo and video company.
So, I mean, the clear option for that was to remove films from two folk.
(08:57):
We were obviously like dabbling in the idea of adding something else like two folkweddings or, you know, two folk co or something, but I mean,
So just personally around that, we just decided to go with Two Folk, keep it simple.
But yeah, mean, the main point was to just go more into a photo and video company.
Because yeah, to be completely honest, we did find a lot of couples who were coming to usfor video.
(09:21):
And it's like, mean, as far as our website and our socials are concerned, like we havebeen offering photo for quite a while now.
But with Two Folk Films being our name, there's always going to be that little bit of a...
guess, you know, people are gonna come into the inquiry phase with that thing in the backof their mind and be like, well, like these guys are two folk films.
(09:44):
Yeah, they just do video, like, do you offer photo?
Is that like an add-on?
So like, we didn't want photo to be an add-on.
We wanted it to be a very important and equal part of what we do.
Yeah.
And even in the, in the booking process, like you don't want them to come, know, liketypically in the past, like video has been after photo.
You don't want to cut this.
Someone's come to you for your films and you're like, no, we do photo and like, we'vealready booked photo.
(10:06):
And you're like,
course, yes.
That's exactly what we have experienced too.
And also just to make it easier kind of sell for us, there are two of us.
And it does make sense for one of us to do photo, which is myself, and one of us to be thelead videographer, which is Taz.
(10:27):
Previously for the past seven, eight years, it's always been us two at weddings doingvideo.
There was a period of
period of time when we were solo shooting weddings for about a year to two years.
And we did kind of feel like there was a compromise in the quality that we were doingduring that period.
(10:52):
Now, yeah, for the past two years, we've switched back to being two videographers at everywedding that we do.
And we've seen that increase of quality come back.
Now,
with the rebrand and myself being the lead photographer and has been the leadvideographer, it's much easier to find a, an assistant videographer than it is for us to,
(11:18):
to continue doing video and then find a lead photographer who especially isn't part ownersof the business.
So they will never have that full commitment to the business.
we will.
That was the
That made the transition make a lot more sense.
(11:40):
Yeah, and actually just on that as well, because it would be interesting.
That was actually a good point as well.
It'd be cool to come back to the whole like to videographer thing as well.
yeah, I think to your point, Toga, I think you said something about, yeah, like people,the market as a whole, right, like coming to photography first, and then like, I don't
know what it is about the industry.
(12:00):
mean, I think just, yeah, I think clients, you know, typically,
value photography maybe more than video, even if it's just a psychological aspect, know,like, I mean, we're talking like really real for a minute.
Like, I feel like in general, maybe photographers can even sometimes charge a lot morethan video.
(12:20):
All the videographers listening, like, you know what I'm talking about.
It's there's about three points there.
Photography is has been around for so much longer.
So it is way more highly valued, which means clients are way more willing to representthat value with a monetary value.
(12:40):
they're willing to spend more money on photography than videography simply becausevideography is way more new.
And I think one of us was just wanting to about a say.
that videography is about twice as much work involved.
we often don't feel
(13:04):
compensated compared especially when comparing to what photographers are able to charge.
Okay.
So now taking over the lead photography part.
I mean, you guys were, there's a difference.
There's a difference between good videographers and base level.
Base level will kind of stand back and let the photographer direct everything and they'llget what they get.
(13:25):
Whereas like I find the people who are really good at it, they will do that for most ofthe day, but I really need this shot.
So I'm going to jump in.
I'm going to direct this because I need this.
So did you find like, because you've already got this directing experience on the videoside of things, stepping into the photo roll was a lot easier.
It was a lot more easier.
And also we're in a very unique position being brothers.
(13:47):
We have what some people might call telepathy.
It actually is.
And that makes us working together way more seamless.
We've worked together for so long.
Taz would be able to not say anything the entire day and capture everything he needs ifI'm photographer and vice versa.
(14:10):
I could say nothing the entire day and capture everything I need because we're capturingthe exact same things that we both need and we know what each other need.
Hopefully we are saying something during the day.
But no, mean, read spot on.
And even for the parts where obviously we can't talk during a ceremony or the speeches,and I need to change angle, you'd be familiar with this, you just kind of read a little
(14:37):
eyebrow or a few little hand signals.
It's weird, but we do have obviously that, just being brothers, you're always going tohave that, I guess.
bit more of a connection and just kind of knowing exactly like how you, you don't have tobe worried about offending each other.
Like, so it's always, yeah, we've always enjoyed having a family business in general.
(14:58):
So a lot of people always ask us like, is there like, how do you find working with yourbrother?
Like, do you guys fight?
He's just like, bro, it's like literally the opposite.
I don't know.
Maybe other people differ from that, but yeah, we've always had a really great experience.
Yeah.
So you've gone away and you've done how you kind of, you know, you said you just had a onephotographer, one videographer for a while.
And I feel the same as you where you can get away with it, especially if you both didvideo beforehand, because you're like, cool, we're going to set up the tripods together.
(15:25):
You do audio, I'll do tripods.
And you kind of understand what each person's doing.
And even the same, like they'll walk, you know, the bride will walk down the ceremony andthen video will kind of lock off.
And then you're like.
go make sure that's in focus.
like you make sure it's in focus, you're good.
But if you were just a videographer by yourself and you had a separate photographer from adifferent company, that's never going to work.
(15:45):
So do want to press on a little bit more like why do couples need two videographers on aday?
Yeah, no, great question.
I mean, yeah, look, again, just to recap.
we obviously came into the business being brothers.
We were always two videographers at each wedding.
More just, I mean, especially in the early days, it's always just reassuring havingsomeone that you can bounce off and, you know, you kind of in it together, right?
(16:11):
We then maybe like three to four years in, we reached a period where...
Yeah, to be completely honest, we really just wanted to go for volume and we startedtrying to take as many bookings as we can.
we did, obviously, through even pre-COVID into maybe the end of COVID is when we realizedthat doing the solo shooting was not a great idea.
(16:35):
yeah, for maybe a year or two, we started offering solo shooter packages.
We could even double book dates.
Me and Reid would go, we had two separate sets of gear, we'd go off and do our ownweddings.
that was very taxing, for one point, but yeah, the second point is it's been onevideographer on the day only really lets you allow, like it'll only, you can only capture
(17:02):
the essential stuff if you know what mean.
So again, I think you mentioned before, like just being able to set up for the ceremony.
Like if you had two people there, one can be setting up, getting all the safe stuff ready,you know, audio or that.
while the other person could be like actually shooting like guest-thriving and like orjust those nice kind of candid moments that obviously like the couple are going to love
(17:22):
those shots but you have to prioritize obviously making sure that you're ready for theceremony and speeches and like those kind of key formalities.
So that was the struggle with having one videographer.
Yes we were able to kind of take a lot of weddings and we made we made it work like everynow and then we still will have a few of those older packages you know to fulfill and
(17:43):
it'll just be one of us but
Even then, we're of even just upgrading our cables now, like just no extra charge.
For you, even for finished products, you're like, I've got more to work.
Exactly, like I just once we went back to two videographers like yeah, I don't care likelet's just bring two even if they've only booked one like let's just get two people there
because I know at the end of the day we can obviously over to live for the client andyeah, like we're able to capture like reactions and Just more normal candid stuff
(18:14):
happening through the day versus like the stock standard like Shots that you still wantbut yeah, we wanted to go a little bit further than that
Even going to the way you're filming, know, like gimbal versus handheld.
And you could even have someone cool, you're gonna do a walkthrough with the gimbal andget this beautiful cinematic shot.
But I don't wanna be holding a gimbal when all these fast little moments are happeningbecause I won't be able to get that in time.
(18:36):
So it's like even that, and like, okay, they're gonna walk back down the aisle.
Shit, I really wanna be on a gimbal so can come back or I'm gonna be handheld from thevery back shooting that.
So even having that option to be able to do that, as one, can't, you're pretty muchlike...
I'm gonna go handheld because that's the safest thing I can do and if I get a chance to gowith a gimbal somewhere and do something, I will do that.
But it's never ideal, whereas at least you can make it ideal every single time.
(19:00):
Not totally agree.
That's spot on, yeah.
Love it.
Yeah, so I mean, do you find was there in where where I live in Byron, the whole markethas shifted.
And I'm unaware, I don't know if it's because of the price point that I'm in.
But everyone is booking photo and video.
Like 95 % of the people that book us are booking photo and video.
(19:23):
I am speaking to a lot of like filmers that are kind of struggling with bookings.
Is that kind of another point why you move towards this structure as well?
I think what you mentioned before about photographers receiving inquiries earlier thanvideographers was part of the thought process.
(19:45):
So trying to get into those inquiries earlier than what we were doing, that was a hugepart of the decision as well.
Yeah.
And I mean, actually that's a really good point.
was actually meant to comment on that earlier, but, but now mean, hundred percent, thinkobviously like for us offering photo and video, there is going to be, you know, an
(20:06):
increased kind of AOV to get into business terms.
you know, of like the actual bookings coming through, like couples are naturally going tospend more if you're offering both.
so yeah, absolutely from a business perspective, definitely there was that aspect ofoffering photo as well.
but yeah, I mean,
I guess to both of your points as well, clients are always gonna reach out to, like it'susually like venue, photo or photo and video depending on what's going on.
(20:36):
But yeah, photo is kind of always like the next thing really after the venue in mostinstances.
That might be a biased viewpoint too, because we haven't confirmed that.
It may be, but I feel like from...
Yes, it's up there.
But yeah, mean, before we offered Photo, I would naturally find most people, like, you youhave your contact form, you get their name, their email, phone number, all that.
(21:04):
And I mean, one of the questions on our contact form, I mean, prior to offering Photo waslike, yeah, like, you, who is your photographer?
And yeah, more times than not, it was already locked in.
They already had someone or it was like not confirmed, but thinking of this person orsomething.
So by the time they're already reaching out to us, they've already thought about thephotographer.
They've confirmed that again, there may be some bias in that.
(21:27):
Maybe just we weren't showing up early enough or something like that.
But yeah, I think just the market naturally kind of wants to look for a photographer andthen maybe closely second a videographer.
The last thing you said, yeah, it was this surge, right?
Of like couples coming in looking specifically for photo video companies, which we have,it's the same thing on South coast.
(21:56):
It's actually not, like we, the amount of couples coming through now who are only lookingfor videography through us is quite, it's maybe like 10 % or something.
For sure.
It's very small.
think they're also looking for a high quality photo and video team.
They are also looking for individual businesses, but I feel like there's a shift withclients looking for a team that do both and at a high standard.
(22:27):
And I mean, there aren't too many videographers just in general in our area.
There's a few, but not too many.
There's a load, like, there's a lot of photographers.
And then even less so than that, not many photo and video.
Yeah.
And I think that's the thing, isn't it?
(22:48):
I always a very big thing of like, well, I think the high end, there'll always still be aphotographer and there'll still be a videographer because I feel like to get the very
best, they need to focus on those areas specifically.
But definitely over the last kind of year or two, I feel like the photo video teams areelevating.
I'll go from like coming from the photo to photo and video point of view, like.
(23:09):
If you do photo and then you start offering video, you can pretty much start charging thesame for video as your photo because people, they know what you do for photo and they just
assume the video is going to be on par with that price point.
But then a lot of photographers will go into videographer and they shoot on video the samethey do as photo.
So they're kind of just like holding a camera here and everything's static and they'rejust doing this.
And you can kind of tell the difference between someone who actually studied film andvideo versus someone who was a photographer and then he's just doing this to make money on
(23:36):
the side.
And I feel like with you guys, coming from the video side of things over to photo, you'vealready got a massive leg up that you know how to actually film.
We do, and I feel like that's one of our greatest advantages.
Yeah, that's actually such a great point.
I mean, I think Reid mentioned earlier, even just down to...
(23:57):
the, you know, after the wedding, right?
Like the whole video post-production side of things.
Like there's just so much that goes into it.
Not to mention even just the day itself, right?
Like, I mean, yeah, there are definitely videographers out there who maybe a little bitmore documentary approach, like kind of locked off shots, stuff like that.
That's very much not our style.
I like to kind of get right up in the action, you know, maybe shoot a little bit wider,kind of be obviously very involved and almost like...
(24:23):
to the point where sometimes even like just queuing guests to kind of like interact andlike, you know, really like feel the energy and the love, I guess.
But yeah, I think, sorry, I just lost my.
At specific points, I just want to make clear we won't be intrusive at all duringimportant parts.
(24:45):
During...
Just to...
During important and sensitive parts.
We're very much...
We kind of take on a documentary style during those parts and then when it's...
The fun times.
Yeah.
no, that's good point.
Yeah.
There are a few different styles I guess that people can have.
(25:07):
Like you said, there is the fun, a lot of camera movement up in your grill kind of thing,or there is like they're kind of more slow, guess, yeah, like slower, more like beautiful
and timeless kind of films.
Where do you kind of sit within that, like little niches?
The first option.
Yeah, not so much.
I think when we started, we were the second option, trying to go for very cinematic shotsand a lot of intention and thought put into every shot, which isn't that practical, to be
(25:42):
honest.
don't feel like.
And also I feel like just our style, just what we would like our wedding films to be.
what is just not that.
So I feel like in this industry, you should just be true to yourself and the style thatyou like and just committing to that and that way you're gonna produce the best work you
(26:06):
can.
Was there a point where you changed your styles or was it just couples were looking moretowards the style you're at now and you slowly shifted towards that?
it was a natural progression.
One that we didn't know was taking place.
Yeah, okay.
Like what does, obviously you're of talking about trying to move more into say the higherend market.
(26:32):
Obviously, I'm in an area where there isn't that many high end weddings.
So does that mean, do you start looking at travel options and stuff like that where all ofa sudden you are travelling a lot more for your weddings?
Yeah, I feel like if you want to get into a style of wedding and it's not where youcurrently are then traveling is what you're gonna have to do.
(26:54):
to travel.
Yeah, I mean, it's funny, like it.
I think everyone knows this, like, the first thing that you see when like, you know, aclient reaches out is you see where the venue is, right?
A lot of the time, the venue actually does kind of dictate.
Yeah, like you can tell a lot.
I'm sure you're the same target.
Like you see something come through for a venue that you've either shot at and youabsolutely love and you kind of know what kind of couples tend to book that venue, right?
(27:18):
I feel like most wedding photographers and videographers know exactly what I'm talkingabout.
But even with that aside though, you obviously can get couples just booking any venue thatcould be one local or it could be, for us obviously, base where you are, like Byron Bay
for example, that's obviously very far for us.
(27:39):
I think the distance also just kind of adds something that's a little bit, it just feels alittle bit premium just because you have to travel and get on a plane and feels like
destination.
But at the end of the day,
that doesn't actually play into it that much, don't think.
But yeah, think, you know, we obviously like going into something a little bit more highend.
(28:06):
It's a hard question to answer because I don't think it, it really just depends on thecouple.
Like they could, I think this is what I'm ultimately trying to say is like they could beat any venue.
But it's more just the couples who are willing to invest more money.
I mean, let's be honest, like they're just willing to invest more money into a company whothey can obviously tell that their work is of a quality that they like.
(28:31):
They are, you know, for us at least, like we're asking a lot of questions to our clients.
back to your point earlier that, you know, we really want to get to know what the couplewant out of their photos and videos.
We want to know, you know, like are they after something a little bit more, you know, funand fast paced or after something a little bit more timeless and a bit more classic.
little bit more documentary.
(28:53):
even though we have a style, we always like to accommodate that, but it's more just aboutcoming to a company.
mean, we like to think of ourselves as one of those companies that, you know, has a littlebit more, they put a little bit more effort into understanding what the client actually
wants versus just having a cookie cutter approach and maybe just outsourcing the edits tosomeone else.
Let's talk about that while you talk about that.
(29:15):
One of my big selling points is, okay, so a Hollywood film, whoever's filming it obviouslyisn't going to color it, obviously isn't going to edit it, isn't going to master it.
Why would you want someone who is going to film your day, why you sold it, they have toedit it, they have to do everything.
So my point is that I have a team and they do it because they're way better editing thanme, way better at doing color than me, and so I trust them to do that.
(29:40):
Why am I wrong?
I don't think you're wrong.
So yes and no.
We do edit some in-house.
Others we do have like, similar to you probably, dedicated editor that we do have, like wesend that to them.
I think, yeah, I mean, that's actually a great question because I think it is less to doabout whether you quote unquote outsource editing or not because yeah, I mean,
(30:09):
you might have an editor who's like 10 times as better at editing.
I'm like, dude, I couldn't have done that.
100 % like in that case like outsourcing is a lot more beneficial for the client versusyou trying to muck around with it and you're trying to do admin and you're trying to
juggle everything else.
yeah, I'll, yeah, I'll concede that like absolutely it's not so much about the outsourcingaspect.
(30:33):
It's more about like, yeah, are they outsourcing it because they don't care?
Or are you outsourcing it because you care about the client and you know that your editoris actually like dialed in and knows exactly what you want.
And I mean, at the end of the day, that's what they're spending all of their time onagain, versus we all are familiar with, you know, trying to fit in and edit in the
(30:56):
morning.
And then, you know, you're trying to get back to, you know, admin and emails and you'retrying to, you know, jump on a client call.
Like it's better if you just have someone like dialed in for like a full day, just gettingthe edit done so they can really like.
you know, get invested in it actually like...
I think that's like awesome points you made is like, the difference is that you are thecompany, like you guys, like it's you.
(31:20):
And then, you know, it's not like you are just like, here's the edit and sending it outto, I think there's a very much a difference between outsourcing versus having like the
team.
Like I'd call your editors that have on board, like they're part of your team.
And so like there, there are companies that would just like, it is just a job essentially.
And like do the edit, get it back.
Here you go.
Good.
Whereas like having you guys and it is a personalized experience with TwoFolk that you arestill kind of cross checking all of that and making sure that the client does get the best
(31:48):
experience and product at the end of it.
I think that's because most of us knows what happens when the quality drops and no onewants that to happen.
we care a lot about the quality of the deliverables and making sure it's of a highstandard before sending it to the clients.
(32:12):
So I think that's where the key lies, you know, like you rather make sure.
it's of a high standard or you don't and you will see the results either way.
Do you guys have like a little system as far as like how you would create your stories?
Obviously it sounds like you've got a fair bit of like questionnaires and pre-productionbefore the wedding to get to know the client.
(32:34):
Do you have any like systems or like anything you do to kind of try and bring that storyand create that story after the wedding day?
It's not until after the wedding day that we will know, like for certain, what it's goingto be like.
Because you can send out questionnaires that gives you a really good kind of vibe of whatthe wedding day will be like.
(32:55):
So you can anticipate what to shoot and do your best to kind of match the style that itwill be.
But not until after the wedding day will you know exactly how it is.
And I think to answer your question about
kind of pulling the story out.
For us, that mainly comes down to the dialogue that's said on the wedding day.
(33:18):
So throughout the ceremony and the speeches, we use that as a huge kind of a driver forhow we tell the story in the video sense.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's actually weird to even like hear that because it just seems kind of so obvious.
I mean, you have to think about the whole market, right?
(33:40):
Like there are obviously are videographers who don't use voice components and don't like,I mean, look, yeah, each to their own.
Like, it's really after what the client wants.
But for someone who's coming to us, like, yeah, they're very much going to get a film thatis like voice and verbal, you know, verbal wise, very story driven.
That's really what's kind of like
(34:02):
that is the film.
And then obviously like the music accompanies that and like kind of matches the thingsbeing said.
yeah, that is a very, it always has been as well, know, been a very big part of like ourstyle of films is using obviously voice.
Yeah, and that relates back to why we always opt for two videographers on the day to makesure we capture those audio, like the audio for the ceremony and speeches to making sure
(34:32):
we get that and to a high quality, depending on the different systems used throughout theday.
With a single shooter, it's very often rushed to make sure you have that
to a higher quality.
So if we're using those, if we're using that audio as a main driver for the story, we haveto make sure we capture it.
(34:56):
So I guess like what would be a red flag for a couple looking for, video will be easierbecause I feel like photo, it'll be like, video is more nuanced.
There's a lot more that goes into video obviously.
So like what's some things that couples should look out for when they're looking for thevideo side of things?
Yeah, think, I mean, yeah, I mean, obviously, this is going to be like in the inquiryphase, you know, like couples obviously reaching out to all sorts of people and like, and
(35:25):
so they should write, I think couples are naturally going to inquire, you know, I think alot of wedding photographers and videographers get very, I don't know if offended is the
right word, but you know, when they've clearly got an inquiry from someone and they'respeaking to maybe like three or four other people, it's like...
Yeah.
Why haven't you just, why aren't you just talking to me?
But.
(35:46):
Yeah.
Hi X.
but look, think red flight, like things that couples, sorry, what, what was, what exactlywas your question there?
What, like if a couple was kind of, they are inquiring with three or four videographers,like what would be like maybe some questions that they should ask that videographer or
(36:06):
what's the things that they should be, I guess, wary about if they were inquiring with avideographer?
Yeah, look, I think, and it obviously would apply for photography as well.
A big thing I've always, you know, tell clients, because again, like we're jumping oncalls with clients as well.
I encourage, if I know that speaking to other people, I always like to encourage them tolike, say like, jump onto a call with anyone else who's speaking, like see if they're open
(36:33):
to that.
So think the red flag is if you're reaching out to a photographer or videographer andthey're not willing to...
show their face or even just jump onto a phone call for that matter.
I know if I'd call it a red flag, that'd be something I'd be just, you know, I'd be awareof that, that I'm like maybe questioning why they're not willing to do that.
(36:55):
That's one of the main ones I can think of.
And it goes both ways too.
So I think the key here is mutual effort.
So if the client doesn't see effort from the photographer or videographer they'reinquiring with, that's obviously a red flag.
But it also goes the other way.
(37:17):
If us as service providers don't see adequate effort from clients to kind of showenthusiasm.
for us working for them and with them, then that's also a red flag for the serviceproviders too.
So that would be a great tip for anyone inquiring.
(37:40):
If you have someone that you really want at your wedding, whether the photographer orvideographer, then yeah, would strongly encourage to even just simple stuff like.
adding a personalized message to the inquiry form.
That goes a long way, because it shows effort.
(38:00):
especially like most people reaching out to a videographer, they're probably gonna be theones that are booked as well.
So it's like, this doesn't matter.
If you don't have any bookings, the photographer will be like, yeah, come on, I don't carethat you send this to 10 other people, I'll take it for sure.
But like if it is a really good videographer, photographer, they're probably gonna bebooked.
So you do actually need to put in that effort to make it a little bit more personalized.
(38:22):
Like, hey, I saw X and Y's video on your Instagram, I loved it.
Wondering if you're available for my date.
Like of course the photographer, videographer are gonna put in more effort
reciprocate that as well.
I get it constantly where like, like couples that haven't booked yet and they're like,thanks so much for jumping on a zoom call.
Cause like they haven't been offered that from anyone else.
I'm like, how?
Like that's how we book clients.
(38:43):
If we get them on a zoom call, they're probably going to book.
So why are people not doing this?
Yeah, couldn't agree more.
mean, like I said before, jumping onto calls with clients is such a big and just normalpart now of like, mean, honestly, we never used to do that years ago.
It'd very much just be like, send the email through, send the quote, if they want to book.
(39:04):
But yeah, absolutely now that we're really kind of trying to elevate our business a bitmore, jumping onto calls is huge.
And yeah, exactly.
It's weird hearing that like, yeah, you're the first one to be like.
is offered to actually like speak with us on a call.
So yeah, easy wins, easy money for us, guess.
(39:26):
Do you just have like a calendar link or something like that booked into like when yousend an email and they can kind of just book in that way?
Yeah, yeah, look, you know, we all have like the email, email templates and stuff thatwe're kind of sending out.
but yeah, we always like to customize those anyway, like when I see an inquiry comethrough for someone that obviously, you know, I like the sound of their wedding, like it's
someone I want to work with.
(39:47):
Yeah, I'll send through that Calendly link, you know, make a few personal.
I do like to customize those emails, so they know I'm actually like putting a bit ofeffort into what we said before.
Mutual effort.
Yeah.
that's it.
Do you guys have a dream wedding currently?
So you've got this picture, we want to elevate our brand.
This is the kind of weddings that we want to be shooting all the time.
(40:08):
Is there an idea that you have in your mind of an ideal wedding at the moment?
We do, actually.
And I think it would be wrong to say that that won't change.
Because, like always, you're always looking at the next step.
Once you reach there, you look at the next step.
(40:28):
So for us, currently, yeah, we do have a style of wedding that we feel like we could do agreat job at.
And that's where we are working towards.
Yeah.
actually, yeah, that's a great point.
I think even like, you know, more specifically as well, like I think working with clientswho, mean, for me, like something that we're really excited about right now, it's like, a,
(40:56):
like working at exciting venues that we haven't even been to before.
That's always a good kind of starting place.
Like, I mean, we're at the reveler today, which is starting like in here for the firsttime.
It's so nice.
Yeah, yeah.
I have to talk to the team here and sort something out.
yeah, being at really cool venues that have some sort of uniqueness to it.
(41:20):
again, if this was our local, I'd be probably saying another venue.
So it's always going to be somewhere new, but working in new venues is always nice.
But in terms of what the client's actually doing, I think we love something a little bitmore classic, maybe kind of black tie wedding.
But I love when they're kind of adding in those really, when I say color, I don'tnecessarily mean like actual like color, but just personality, character into the
(41:47):
weddings, like being very intentional about the aspects of the wedding that they'rekeeping because that actually means something to them and the things that they're throwing
out because they just don't want to do it.
if they don't want to cut the cake or do a first dance, like they'll do something else andreplace that.
like, those are the things that really get me excited about a wedding where like, I cantell that they've actually made a very clear decision that
(42:08):
like, hey, we're gonna, I mean, it was so random, but like the other wedding we did, likethey literally had a pinata, which like, don't even know, like it was so, it was random,
but like, I honestly, like I take my hat off to that person for just doing something thatthey just wanted to do.
Like it's first, first, maybe last time I'll see a pinata at a wedding, but like they didit.
And there was fireball coming out.
(42:31):
Plastic bottles, so.
It is very interesting where weddings have come to now.
It is, Considering where they were prior, it's almost as if it's not so much aboutactually getting married anymore.
And it's more creating a unique curated experience for your family and friends to kind ofcelebrate your love for each other.
(43:01):
and not so much about the actual legal marriage part.
So, I mean, that's very exciting for all of us creatives.
So we get to capture the like, almost like these mini festivals that take place in thesedifferent spots.
When I just speaking to Chloe, and same thing, all of the weddings that she does, it's theevent.
(43:21):
It's like, can we have all these different entertainment touch points so that everyonewalks away and they've had the best food, they've had the best entertainment, DJ was
awesome.
And it is all about that, which very much ties in with your style that you are up andyou're like, cool, we're dancing, we're doing this and everyone's having shots of
fireball.
That is that style.
And I feel like if the higher end Sydney Melbourne weddings are doing that now, that'sgoing to be Australia wide in the next two or three.
(43:45):
years where everyone's going to actually start focusing on that, that trickle down effectas well.
yeah, it's crazy how the trends all kind of meet up at the same time as well acrosseverything.
It's just interesting to kind of know.
It is, and I actually, I love that.
think, yeah, I mean, it of just comes full circle, right?
we, it's all about the people, like for us now, you know, once upon a time doing a weddingfilm is like, yeah, like getting like the really cinematic slow-mo shots of the couple.
(44:14):
And it's like always around the couple where it's like, honestly, like some of our bestweddings that we do, to be fair, like most weddings we do now, like the couples, they're
like, look, we don't want the focus to be on us.
Like, yeah, sure, we'll go and get some shots of us and you know.
but it's about everyone.
It's about the day less about it's weird because what Reed says is actually true.
(44:36):
Like it is less about the marriage part now I find anyway, but it, we're obviously stilloff.
Obviously the whole reason this is on is because two people, know, obviously want to spendtheir life together and they're celebrating that.
So, but they want obviously everyone captured.
I love focusing on guests.
love focusing on like the energy and the styling and everything around that.
(44:57):
And
Yeah, honestly, like less about just getting the perfect shot of like the couple at likesunset.
I just, it's just not really my main focus now, which is, which that excites me too.
And when you consider that it's more about creating this mini event for your friends andfamily, it really helps justify the price involved in weddings, because you often hear
(45:22):
people...
kind of complaining about the price of weddings, but it's not so much a wedding anymore.
It's way more than a wedding.
And so these high price points, even six figure price points for weddings, almost, itreally does help justify the price because you're hiring venues, you're hiring catering,
(45:47):
hiring styling, people to capture the event and yeah.
You're putting in like, you're putting on a full day event for a hundred people.
know, like that's going to come at a cost.
it's, yeah.
And it's good that it is kind of, I guess, shifting in those directions as well.
it just ties in with everything else.
I think we're like a dude, we're nearly been going for an hour.
(46:09):
so like, yeah, maybe like, where do you see, I mean, you're kind of shifting the brand alittle bit.
Is there any other kind of directions you want to move with TwoFolk now with therebranding done?
I mean, really, like, it's been a long time coming.
Like, it's been in kind of the, the idea at least has been in the works for a while aboutlike positioning ourselves more for photo and video.
(46:30):
I think I said before, we've had, we've been offering photo for a while.
But yeah, now that the rebrand is actually done, it's just like, we're just doubling downon that.
Like, I mean, I guess for this year, we're really just focusing on like, increasing ourphoto portfolio.
Like, we're very happy with where our videos are at currently.
(46:51):
you know, we have been making some creative sort of shifts in the video stuff over thelast few years, but I'm like really happy with like how we're dialed in for that.
photography excites me.
It's so weird.
Like you come from video going into photo, like I'm, I'm obsessed with photo right now.
Like it's, it's so weird how it works, but, yeah, very much focused on photo, justbuilding up heaps of portfolio in that and just, yeah, really just trying to attract the
(47:18):
clients that.
can obviously see that we offer a really great service in both versus just having videoand then photo being this add-on, which is definitely not the case anymore.
For sure.
And separately to, to folk, are working on a service that will be provided to otherphotographers and videographers.
(47:39):
So that's something we're really excited about as well, which is a very customized, CRMsoftware for us to use.
And that kind of came about from us having frustrations with the current tools out there.
So we started working on a.
(47:59):
custom solution for ourselves, but we really think it will help other service providers aswell.
Do you wanna talk about brand name or who that is?
Is just kind of for photographers, videographers?
That's right.
So the CRM is called Story Flow.
So hopefully this year it will be publicly accessible and it is highly curated exclusivelyfor wedding photographers and videographers and
(48:32):
The idea is to solve all of the problems that we currently do have that a software cansolve.
Yeah, definitely.
Have you had a lot of input from like when you kind of tell your friends and stuff like,do they be like, dude, you need to do this, this, this, this?
Cause there are, there's, it's always a negotiation.
You're like, I could go with this one, but they can't do that.
(48:52):
Or I could go with this one, but they can't do that.
And it's always like this negotiation of like, what's the best for my needs, but it'snever like perfect.
Do you have a lot of friends in the industry like telling you their requests of like, Iwould love it if you could do this.
We do and but also we are like TwoFolk ourselves are the ideal customer for it.
So we do have a really good grasp on what is needed, but obviously we're more than willingto take on feedback and advice from other people who want to be really involved in it.
(49:24):
And that way it can kind of be a solution that's not only created for them, but also bythem.
I love that.
And it's exciting.
So that's a big thing for this year, but another project.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
No, it's um, I mean, yeah, look, I know we're coming to the end here, but yeah, similar towhat Reid said, you know, I think we very much were just scratching our own itch with this
(49:48):
sort of project.
So, we obviously like, you know, put the brand name behind and everything to kind of makeit feel legit.
And it very much is legit now, but, um, things always take a little bit longer than weanticipate.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, absolutely.
Um, but no, yeah, it's very exciting.
Um, yeah, we've very much just heads down in it right now.
So maybe we can show you a couple things maybe after the podcast as well.
(50:12):
yeah, if anyone wants to ask any questions or anything, you can always hit us up onTwoFolk or whatever.
Yeah, we're always really happy just to chat to people.
We've obviously chat with lot of peers in the industry, just about similar to your point,Toga, like about their ideas and what they would like to see in a software as well.
But yeah, very much just focused on building it for ourselves currently.
(50:33):
And then, yeah.
definitely hear some more about it once it's ready.
I'll talk one more on two folk real quick, just because like, you how you kind of want tomove towards a certain kind of wedding.
Are you guys working on style shoots or anything like that to try and create the contentor is it just that you're getting the right weddings at the right venues that that's
enough to create the content that you need for this shift?
(50:53):
question.
Yeah, that's a great question.
honestly, we don't do too many start shoots.
We did like one or two over like the last six months or so.
But yeah, it's, it's so funny because you kind of have to start somewhere and offeringphoto for the first time it is very much just like starting a whole new business again,
because a whole new service requires a whole new portfolio and people will obviously wantto see examples of stuff you've done.
(51:18):
like I said, we've been doing it already for two years.
So it has just been a very slow
kind of buildup process, obviously adjusting the pricing as you kind of get a little bitmore experience, a bit more portfolio.
But most of our bookings for 2025 are photo and video.
So this is kind of our year.
we're super keen.
Like there's just, we've got a lot of like really amazing clients coming up.
(51:41):
this is the year that we're really just gonna like, yeah, we're gonna kill it for photoand video.
So yeah, I'm excited.
There is, only a few.
There's going to be, I keep saying, there's going to be a few companies that do really,really well.
And there's going to be a lot that really struggle.
So it's nice to know, like with the smiles on your faces already, like it's going to be agood year.
Yeah.
But you've worked your asses off to get to this point, you know, like it's not just magicthat it happened.
(52:06):
Yeah.
So it is nice to hear other people in the same position that are like 2025.
I think so many people say like, yeah, this is the year.
like, yeah, no, I mean, yeah, the proof is in the numbers this year.
Like we've just, yeah, we're working with a lot of great clients that are our ideal sortof weddings.
And yeah, just, it's just good to be at a point where you're just genuinely excited to,you know, be shooting the weddings that you've coming.
(52:32):
Like I think through COVID, it got very overwhelming for a lot of people, you know, justlike, there was like no bookings and it was like a lot of bookings and it's just like,
just chasing the backlog and everyone knows the story but it's good now.
We're at a really nice number and we're just keen to work with these people.
have more time for like StoryFlow, like kind of have all that sorted, you're like, cool,the money side's good.
(52:54):
And now we can kind of build out this thing.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, to be honest, it's almost there.
Yeah, have, yeah, we've intentionally like, yeah, just been very heads down, very quietabout it.
So I knew we were kind of talking about it a little bit, maybe like six to even like 12months ago.
(53:15):
But yeah, we, we kind of realized that there was a lot to do in it still.
Because we also have high standards and we want to deliver a polished product.
And so that's what it will be when it's released.
Yeah, exactly.
Like it needs to be what you're saying it is.
Like it needs to be the be all end all for people to swap because you know it is so hardfor people to swap CRMs.
(53:36):
It is.
It needs to be like this reason like it's an absolute no-brainer.
So yeah.
Alright, where can people find you in all that kind of jazz?
Well, mean, yeah, so I literally on the way here, I've been meaning to change ourInstagram handle.
There some weird stuff going on with the meta verified badge, yeah, it is officiallychanged.
So 2.folk is our new Instagram handle, but if you just type in 2folk, you'll find usthere.
(54:00):
Yeah, 2folk.com.au, search us in Google.
You'll probably find our old business name there, but it all redirects to the normal spotnow.
So yeah, Taz and Reid at 2folk.
on the set.
Thank you so much for coming on mate, I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
you
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(54:22):
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Hello and welcome to the WEDCO podcast.
I'm Toga and today we have the guys from Two Folk on the couch with us, on chairs with us.
(00:45):
Thank you very much for coming up from the South Coast.
No worries.
been, mean, we've been trying to get this happen for a little bit and same thing.
Like when I put a shout out to people, like who they want to hear from, you guys were veryhigh on that list as well.
Is that right?
Yeah.
That's a great ego.
Yes.
So, no, I appreciate you coming on.
I feel like you kind of, like even when I sent you through the questions and like all theinfo you kind of sent back, like we could talk about this, this, this, this, every single
(01:11):
point I was like, yes, yes, yes, you know, like there was a lot of good info on there.
So, appreciate it.
Well, maybe like we usually start with like a little bit of a backstory about who you guysare, how long you've been in the industry and I guess just coming in, just rebranding,
maybe we can kind of kind of move into like the rebranding process from there as well.
Yeah, amazing.
Yeah, mean, well, yeah, by the way, I'm Taz.
(01:33):
I'm Reid and we are TwoFolk.
Yeah, to your point Toga, thanks for having us on by the way.
We were Two Folk Films for the last eight years, I suppose.
But yeah, have recently rebranded to Two Folk.
Not much of a big change in the name, but it was intentional obviously.
(01:54):
wanted to position ourselves a little bit closer to align with the actual couples that wewant to work with.
So there was obviously a branding and an aesthetic play to it.
I guess the more important thing was removing the films from two folk films was aboutpositioning ourselves to actually be more of a photo and video company.
(02:15):
So obviously not having films on there.
You we found a lot of our couples were actually coming to us, obviously being a videocompany.
And that's kind of been our main thing up until now.
Yeah, we really just wanted people to come to us for photo and video, not a video companythat's also kind of offering photos.
I guess that's maybe a little bit of a back story into the rebrand itself.
(02:40):
But yeah, I mean, about us, you know, we've been doing this for eight years, pretty muchstraight out of school for both of us.
think Reed came straight out of high school into the industry and pretty similar for me,obviously.
I'll say just before we jumped on here that, yeah, I went to uni, obviously got a bit of adegree in music randomly, but I feel like it's a pretty common story with a lot of wedding
(03:01):
professionals.
You know, we don't...
kind of get these random degrees and stuff and then end up going into the weddingindustry.
but yeah, straight out of education, out of school for both of us.
It's been our full-time career pretty much for our entire lives.
Yeah, okay.
Yeah.
And so just working within like the South Coast region, how like how far is your like youraverage by wall, like usually kind of to Sydney or like whereabouts are you guys working
(03:27):
currently?
So for most of our career, it has been based in the South Coast, but we recently, probablyabout a year ago, made the intentional decision to expand that and be open to traveling a
lot further out.
And I think that timed well with our decision to take less bookings and allow ourselvestime to kind of commit to
(03:57):
weddings that we want to get into, like, you know, a different kind of a style of wedding.
So instead of doing so many weddings on the South coast and just limiting ourselves tothat area, allowing ourselves time to go out and do these other weddings that really
(04:18):
excite us a lot more.
And so like what are the type of weddings that you guys are kind of with the rebrand likethat you're kind of more focusing towards now?
Yeah, sure.
mean, I can speak to that.
think, you know, I mean, to Reid's point, like being on the South Coast, like it is verymuch of a laid back sort of, you know, pace.
Like a lot of the venues are down there.
Like they're beautiful.
(04:39):
Don't get me wrong.
But everyone, feel like a lot of people say this, like, you start working at the samevenues a lot of the time and we still do.
Like we always see love working there as well.
But
It's one of those things where like, feel like, you know, the grease is the grass isalways a bit greener on the other side.
So for us, you know, we like actually coming up, like we're in Newcastle right now.
Like we actually love coming up here into the Hunter Valley.
(05:01):
I mean, I feel like you speak to a lot of the Hunter Valley people and they're like, Iwant to get down to the South coast.
So it's always the reverse, but you know, we always like expanding out.
I mean, even just down to the couples that we like working with, we are trying to, youknow, move into a bit more of an elevated space now.
you know, taking
couples who do put a little bit more energy and a little bit more thought into the stylingand obviously the dress code and the things that they are doing to mix up their day a bit,
(05:29):
not fall so much into the tradition.
I guess like a typical wedding day where they'll just copy what their friend's done.
So we really like working with couples that are putting that.
unique and creative style.
Yeah.
And do you find like these elevated kind of couples and weddings that you're working with,are they then having a bit more of an elevator?
(05:50):
Like they're coming to you with more ideas of what they actually want with their film aswell, rather than do we just want, you know, we want pretty photos and video versus this
is kind of, this is what we're looking for.
think yes and no.
Obviously a lot of couples do come to us for both photo and video.
In love with our style.
(06:10):
That's ultimately what you want, right?
You want couples coming to you like being, look, if you gave me that film that I can seeon your website, but for our wedding, we'd be 100 % happy.
But yeah, on the flip side to your point, Toga, think people definitely are having a lotmore intention and...
as an extension of that, you know, they're having these ideas and they can kind ofenvision what their day is going to look like, you know, using one of our films or having
(06:37):
photography done by us as well.
I think a lot of people do have those requests and they have those ideas in mind.
And yeah, like, absolutely, we love kind of bringing those to life for people, but it'sthere's always that little, I guess they come into it not really expecting us to like.
know, work through this list of like exactly what they want, but they just, they just wantto have a conversation around those things, which is exciting.
(07:03):
Yeah, for sure.
And they always do let us know what their wedding is going to be like, like the style ofthe wedding.
And fortunately for us, for probably the past year, a lot of those inquiries have had thestyle that we've been wanting to get into, which is really positive.
It's a great thing for us to see that change.
(07:26):
And also if it's, if they do have any requests on a particular
way they want their deliverables.
If it's within reason, we're more than willing to accommodate for that.
It's not like our style is, we have to do it this way.
We're totally open to be willing to accommodate for their own creative flair.
(07:51):
I just find like as I've kind of gone up in the price realm, like earlier you'd ask peoplelike, well, what do you like?
Like, what do you actually like about our films?
And they're like, oh, we just like him.
I'm like, okay, cool.
So if you're waiting, like, do you want parts of your ceremony speeches in the video or doyou just like the where's two songs and you just want to do that?
And they're like, they hadn't even thought about that.
They just like, they liked the video, but I don't even know why.
(08:13):
Whereas I feel like as you kind of get into this higher end kind of couples, they actuallydo understand what they're looking for.
They have put a lot of thought into it and kind of just those
little nuances and then like, you know, they actually understand the craft that you'redoing as well.
And kind of have a little bit more input that way.
like, do want to talk a bit like before we brush over like the rebranding, do you want totalk a little bit like why, why the rebrand?
(08:36):
Yeah, I mean, I guess similar to the point earlier, know, the really like the primarything that we wanted to do with the rebrand was move away from just being a video company
and like in clients, the clients eyes be an equal photo and video company.
So, I mean, the clear option for that was to remove films from two folk.
(08:57):
We were obviously like dabbling in the idea of adding something else like two folkweddings or, you know, two folk co or something, but I mean,
So just personally around that, we just decided to go with Two Folk, keep it simple.
But yeah, mean, the main point was to just go more into a photo and video company.
Because yeah, to be completely honest, we did find a lot of couples who were coming to usfor video.
(09:21):
And it's like, mean, as far as our website and our socials are concerned, like we havebeen offering photo for quite a while now.
But with Two Folk Films being our name, there's always going to be that little bit of a...
guess, you know, people are gonna come into the inquiry phase with that thing in the backof their mind and be like, well, like these guys are two folk films.
(09:44):
Yeah, they just do video, like, do you offer photo?
Is that like an add-on?
So like, we didn't want photo to be an add-on.
We wanted it to be a very important and equal part of what we do.
Yeah.
And even in the, in the booking process, like you don't want them to come, know, liketypically in the past, like video has been after photo.
You don't want to cut this.
Someone's come to you for your films and you're like, no, we do photo and like, we'vealready booked photo.
(10:06):
And you're like,
course, yes.
That's exactly what we have experienced too.
And also just to make it easier kind of sell for us, there are two of us.
And it does make sense for one of us to do photo, which is myself, and one of us to be thelead videographer, which is Taz.
(10:27):
Previously for the past seven, eight years, it's always been us two at weddings doingvideo.
There was a period of
period of time when we were solo shooting weddings for about a year to two years.
And we did kind of feel like there was a compromise in the quality that we were doingduring that period.
(10:52):
Now, yeah, for the past two years, we've switched back to being two videographers at everywedding that we do.
And we've seen that increase of quality come back.
Now,
with the rebrand and myself being the lead photographer and has been the leadvideographer, it's much easier to find a, an assistant videographer than it is for us to,
(11:18):
to continue doing video and then find a lead photographer who especially isn't part ownersof the business.
So they will never have that full commitment to the business.
we will.
That was the
That made the transition make a lot more sense.
(11:40):
Yeah, and actually just on that as well, because it would be interesting.
That was actually a good point as well.
It'd be cool to come back to the whole like to videographer thing as well.
yeah, I think to your point, Toga, I think you said something about, yeah, like people,the market as a whole, right, like coming to photography first, and then like, I don't
know what it is about the industry.
(12:00):
mean, I think just, yeah, I think clients, you know, typically,
value photography maybe more than video, even if it's just a psychological aspect, know,like, I mean, we're talking like really real for a minute.
Like, I feel like in general, maybe photographers can even sometimes charge a lot morethan video.
(12:20):
All the videographers listening, like, you know what I'm talking about.
It's there's about three points there.
Photography is has been around for so much longer.
So it is way more highly valued, which means clients are way more willing to representthat value with a monetary value.
(12:40):
they're willing to spend more money on photography than videography simply becausevideography is way more new.
And I think one of us was just wanting to about a say.
that videography is about twice as much work involved.
we often don't feel
(13:04):
compensated compared especially when comparing to what photographers are able to charge.
Okay.
So now taking over the lead photography part.
I mean, you guys were, there's a difference.
There's a difference between good videographers and base level.
Base level will kind of stand back and let the photographer direct everything and they'llget what they get.
(13:25):
Whereas like I find the people who are really good at it, they will do that for most ofthe day, but I really need this shot.
So I'm going to jump in.
I'm going to direct this because I need this.
So did you find like, because you've already got this directing experience on the videoside of things, stepping into the photo roll was a lot easier.
It was a lot more easier.
And also we're in a very unique position being brothers.
(13:47):
We have what some people might call telepathy.
It actually is.
And that makes us working together way more seamless.
We've worked together for so long.
Taz would be able to not say anything the entire day and capture everything he needs ifI'm photographer and vice versa.
(14:10):
I could say nothing the entire day and capture everything I need because we're capturingthe exact same things that we both need and we know what each other need.
Hopefully we are saying something during the day.
But no, mean, read spot on.
And even for the parts where obviously we can't talk during a ceremony or the speeches,and I need to change angle, you'd be familiar with this, you just kind of read a little
(14:37):
eyebrow or a few little hand signals.
It's weird, but we do have obviously that, just being brothers, you're always going tohave that, I guess.
bit more of a connection and just kind of knowing exactly like how you, you don't have tobe worried about offending each other.
Like, so it's always, yeah, we've always enjoyed having a family business in general.
(14:58):
So a lot of people always ask us like, is there like, how do you find working with yourbrother?
Like, do you guys fight?
He's just like, bro, it's like literally the opposite.
I don't know.
Maybe other people differ from that, but yeah, we've always had a really great experience.
Yeah.
So you've gone away and you've done how you kind of, you know, you said you just had a onephotographer, one videographer for a while.
And I feel the same as you where you can get away with it, especially if you both didvideo beforehand, because you're like, cool, we're going to set up the tripods together.
(15:25):
You do audio, I'll do tripods.
And you kind of understand what each person's doing.
And even the same, like they'll walk, you know, the bride will walk down the ceremony andthen video will kind of lock off.
And then you're like.
go make sure that's in focus.
like you make sure it's in focus, you're good.
But if you were just a videographer by yourself and you had a separate photographer from adifferent company, that's never going to work.
(15:45):
So do want to press on a little bit more like why do couples need two videographers on aday?
Yeah, no, great question.
I mean, yeah, look, again, just to recap.
we obviously came into the business being brothers.
We were always two videographers at each wedding.
More just, I mean, especially in the early days, it's always just reassuring havingsomeone that you can bounce off and, you know, you kind of in it together, right?
(16:11):
We then maybe like three to four years in, we reached a period where...
Yeah, to be completely honest, we really just wanted to go for volume and we startedtrying to take as many bookings as we can.
we did, obviously, through even pre-COVID into maybe the end of COVID is when we realizedthat doing the solo shooting was not a great idea.
(16:35):
yeah, for maybe a year or two, we started offering solo shooter packages.
We could even double book dates.
Me and Reid would go, we had two separate sets of gear, we'd go off and do our ownweddings.
that was very taxing, for one point, but yeah, the second point is it's been onevideographer on the day only really lets you allow, like it'll only, you can only capture
(17:02):
the essential stuff if you know what mean.
So again, I think you mentioned before, like just being able to set up for the ceremony.
Like if you had two people there, one can be setting up, getting all the safe stuff ready,you know, audio or that.
while the other person could be like actually shooting like guest-thriving and like orjust those nice kind of candid moments that obviously like the couple are going to love
(17:22):
those shots but you have to prioritize obviously making sure that you're ready for theceremony and speeches and like those kind of key formalities.
So that was the struggle with having one videographer.
Yes we were able to kind of take a lot of weddings and we made we made it work like everynow and then we still will have a few of those older packages you know to fulfill and
(17:43):
it'll just be one of us but
Even then, we're of even just upgrading our cables now, like just no extra charge.
For you, even for finished products, you're like, I've got more to work.
Exactly, like I just once we went back to two videographers like yeah, I don't care likelet's just bring two even if they've only booked one like let's just get two people there
because I know at the end of the day we can obviously over to live for the client andyeah, like we're able to capture like reactions and Just more normal candid stuff
(18:14):
happening through the day versus like the stock standard like Shots that you still wantbut yeah, we wanted to go a little bit further than that
Even going to the way you're filming, know, like gimbal versus handheld.
And you could even have someone cool, you're gonna do a walkthrough with the gimbal andget this beautiful cinematic shot.
But I don't wanna be holding a gimbal when all these fast little moments are happeningbecause I won't be able to get that in time.
(18:36):
So it's like even that, and like, okay, they're gonna walk back down the aisle.
Shit, I really wanna be on a gimbal so can come back or I'm gonna be handheld from thevery back shooting that.
So even having that option to be able to do that, as one, can't, you're pretty muchlike...
I'm gonna go handheld because that's the safest thing I can do and if I get a chance to gowith a gimbal somewhere and do something, I will do that.
But it's never ideal, whereas at least you can make it ideal every single time.
(19:00):
Not totally agree.
That's spot on, yeah.
Love it.
Yeah, so I mean, do you find was there in where where I live in Byron, the whole markethas shifted.
And I'm unaware, I don't know if it's because of the price point that I'm in.
But everyone is booking photo and video.
Like 95 % of the people that book us are booking photo and video.
(19:23):
I am speaking to a lot of like filmers that are kind of struggling with bookings.
Is that kind of another point why you move towards this structure as well?
I think what you mentioned before about photographers receiving inquiries earlier thanvideographers was part of the thought process.
(19:45):
So trying to get into those inquiries earlier than what we were doing, that was a hugepart of the decision as well.
Yeah.
And I mean, actually that's a really good point.
was actually meant to comment on that earlier, but, but now mean, hundred percent, thinkobviously like for us offering photo and video, there is going to be, you know, an
(20:06):
increased kind of AOV to get into business terms.
you know, of like the actual bookings coming through, like couples are naturally going tospend more if you're offering both.
so yeah, absolutely from a business perspective, definitely there was that aspect ofoffering photo as well.
but yeah, I mean,
I guess to both of your points as well, clients are always gonna reach out to, like it'susually like venue, photo or photo and video depending on what's going on.
(20:36):
But yeah, photo is kind of always like the next thing really after the venue in mostinstances.
That might be a biased viewpoint too, because we haven't confirmed that.
It may be, but I feel like from...
Yes, it's up there.
But yeah, mean, before we offered Photo, I would naturally find most people, like, you youhave your contact form, you get their name, their email, phone number, all that.
(21:04):
And I mean, one of the questions on our contact form, I mean, prior to offering Photo waslike, yeah, like, you, who is your photographer?
And yeah, more times than not, it was already locked in.
They already had someone or it was like not confirmed, but thinking of this person orsomething.
So by the time they're already reaching out to us, they've already thought about thephotographer.
They've confirmed that again, there may be some bias in that.
(21:27):
Maybe just we weren't showing up early enough or something like that.
But yeah, I think just the market naturally kind of wants to look for a photographer andthen maybe closely second a videographer.
The last thing you said, yeah, it was this surge, right?
Of like couples coming in looking specifically for photo video companies, which we have,it's the same thing on South coast.
(21:56):
It's actually not, like we, the amount of couples coming through now who are only lookingfor videography through us is quite, it's maybe like 10 % or something.
For sure.
It's very small.
think they're also looking for a high quality photo and video team.
They are also looking for individual businesses, but I feel like there's a shift withclients looking for a team that do both and at a high standard.
(22:27):
And I mean, there aren't too many videographers just in general in our area.
There's a few, but not too many.
There's a load, like, there's a lot of photographers.
And then even less so than that, not many photo and video.
Yeah.
And I think that's the thing, isn't it?
(22:48):
I always a very big thing of like, well, I think the high end, there'll always still be aphotographer and there'll still be a videographer because I feel like to get the very
best, they need to focus on those areas specifically.
But definitely over the last kind of year or two, I feel like the photo video teams areelevating.
I'll go from like coming from the photo to photo and video point of view, like.
(23:09):
If you do photo and then you start offering video, you can pretty much start charging thesame for video as your photo because people, they know what you do for photo and they just
assume the video is going to be on par with that price point.
But then a lot of photographers will go into videographer and they shoot on video the samethey do as photo.
So they're kind of just like holding a camera here and everything's static and they'rejust doing this.
And you can kind of tell the difference between someone who actually studied film andvideo versus someone who was a photographer and then he's just doing this to make money on
(23:36):
the side.
And I feel like with you guys, coming from the video side of things over to photo, you'vealready got a massive leg up that you know how to actually film.
We do, and I feel like that's one of our greatest advantages.
Yeah, that's actually such a great point.
I mean, I think Reid mentioned earlier, even just down to...
(23:57):
the, you know, after the wedding, right?
Like the whole video post-production side of things.
Like there's just so much that goes into it.
Not to mention even just the day itself, right?
Like, I mean, yeah, there are definitely videographers out there who maybe a little bitmore documentary approach, like kind of locked off shots, stuff like that.
That's very much not our style.
I like to kind of get right up in the action, you know, maybe shoot a little bit wider,kind of be obviously very involved and almost like...
(24:23):
to the point where sometimes even like just queuing guests to kind of like interact andlike, you know, really like feel the energy and the love, I guess.
But yeah, I think, sorry, I just lost my.
At specific points, I just want to make clear we won't be intrusive at all duringimportant parts.
(24:45):
During...
Just to...
During important and sensitive parts.
We're very much...
We kind of take on a documentary style during those parts and then when it's...
The fun times.
Yeah.
no, that's good point.
Yeah.
There are a few different styles I guess that people can have.
(25:07):
Like you said, there is the fun, a lot of camera movement up in your grill kind of thing,or there is like they're kind of more slow, guess, yeah, like slower, more like beautiful
and timeless kind of films.
Where do you kind of sit within that, like little niches?
The first option.
Yeah, not so much.
I think when we started, we were the second option, trying to go for very cinematic shotsand a lot of intention and thought put into every shot, which isn't that practical, to be
(25:42):
honest.
don't feel like.
And also I feel like just our style, just what we would like our wedding films to be.
what is just not that.
So I feel like in this industry, you should just be true to yourself and the style thatyou like and just committing to that and that way you're gonna produce the best work you
(26:06):
can.
Was there a point where you changed your styles or was it just couples were looking moretowards the style you're at now and you slowly shifted towards that?
it was a natural progression.
One that we didn't know was taking place.
Yeah, okay.
Like what does, obviously you're of talking about trying to move more into say the higherend market.
(26:32):
Obviously, I'm in an area where there isn't that many high end weddings.
So does that mean, do you start looking at travel options and stuff like that where all ofa sudden you are travelling a lot more for your weddings?
Yeah, I feel like if you want to get into a style of wedding and it's not where youcurrently are then traveling is what you're gonna have to do.
(26:54):
to travel.
Yeah, I mean, it's funny, like it.
I think everyone knows this, like, the first thing that you see when like, you know, aclient reaches out is you see where the venue is, right?
A lot of the time, the venue actually does kind of dictate.
Yeah, like you can tell a lot.
I'm sure you're the same target.
Like you see something come through for a venue that you've either shot at and youabsolutely love and you kind of know what kind of couples tend to book that venue, right?
(27:18):
I feel like most wedding photographers and videographers know exactly what I'm talkingabout.
But even with that aside though, you obviously can get couples just booking any venue thatcould be one local or it could be, for us obviously, base where you are, like Byron Bay
for example, that's obviously very far for us.
(27:39):
I think the distance also just kind of adds something that's a little bit, it just feels alittle bit premium just because you have to travel and get on a plane and feels like
destination.
But at the end of the day,
that doesn't actually play into it that much, don't think.
But yeah, think, you know, we obviously like going into something a little bit more highend.
(28:06):
It's a hard question to answer because I don't think it, it really just depends on thecouple.
Like they could, I think this is what I'm ultimately trying to say is like they could beat any venue.
But it's more just the couples who are willing to invest more money.
I mean, let's be honest, like they're just willing to invest more money into a company whothey can obviously tell that their work is of a quality that they like.
(28:31):
They are, you know, for us at least, like we're asking a lot of questions to our clients.
back to your point earlier that, you know, we really want to get to know what the couplewant out of their photos and videos.
We want to know, you know, like are they after something a little bit more, you know, funand fast paced or after something a little bit more timeless and a bit more classic.
little bit more documentary.
(28:53):
even though we have a style, we always like to accommodate that, but it's more just aboutcoming to a company.
mean, we like to think of ourselves as one of those companies that, you know, has a littlebit more, they put a little bit more effort into understanding what the client actually
wants versus just having a cookie cutter approach and maybe just outsourcing the edits tosomeone else.
Let's talk about that while you talk about that.
(29:15):
One of my big selling points is, okay, so a Hollywood film, whoever's filming it obviouslyisn't going to color it, obviously isn't going to edit it, isn't going to master it.
Why would you want someone who is going to film your day, why you sold it, they have toedit it, they have to do everything.
So my point is that I have a team and they do it because they're way better editing thanme, way better at doing color than me, and so I trust them to do that.
(29:40):
Why am I wrong?
I don't think you're wrong.
So yes and no.
We do edit some in-house.
Others we do have like, similar to you probably, dedicated editor that we do have, like wesend that to them.
I think, yeah, I mean, that's actually a great question because I think it is less to doabout whether you quote unquote outsource editing or not because yeah, I mean,
(30:09):
you might have an editor who's like 10 times as better at editing.
I'm like, dude, I couldn't have done that.
100 % like in that case like outsourcing is a lot more beneficial for the client versusyou trying to muck around with it and you're trying to do admin and you're trying to
juggle everything else.
yeah, I'll, yeah, I'll concede that like absolutely it's not so much about the outsourcingaspect.
(30:33):
It's more about like, yeah, are they outsourcing it because they don't care?
Or are you outsourcing it because you care about the client and you know that your editoris actually like dialed in and knows exactly what you want.
And I mean, at the end of the day, that's what they're spending all of their time onagain, versus we all are familiar with, you know, trying to fit in and edit in the
(30:56):
morning.
And then, you know, you're trying to get back to, you know, admin and emails and you'retrying to, you know, jump on a client call.
Like it's better if you just have someone like dialed in for like a full day, just gettingthe edit done so they can really like.
you know, get invested in it actually like...
I think that's like awesome points you made is like, the difference is that you are thecompany, like you guys, like it's you.
(31:20):
And then, you know, it's not like you are just like, here's the edit and sending it outto, I think there's a very much a difference between outsourcing versus having like the
team.
Like I'd call your editors that have on board, like they're part of your team.
And so like there, there are companies that would just like, it is just a job essentially.
And like do the edit, get it back.
Here you go.
Good.
Whereas like having you guys and it is a personalized experience with TwoFolk that you arestill kind of cross checking all of that and making sure that the client does get the best
(31:48):
experience and product at the end of it.
I think that's because most of us knows what happens when the quality drops and no onewants that to happen.
we care a lot about the quality of the deliverables and making sure it's of a highstandard before sending it to the clients.
(32:12):
So I think that's where the key lies, you know, like you rather make sure.
it's of a high standard or you don't and you will see the results either way.
Do you guys have like a little system as far as like how you would create your stories?
Obviously it sounds like you've got a fair bit of like questionnaires and pre-productionbefore the wedding to get to know the client.
(32:34):
Do you have any like systems or like anything you do to kind of try and bring that storyand create that story after the wedding day?
It's not until after the wedding day that we will know, like for certain, what it's goingto be like.
Because you can send out questionnaires that gives you a really good kind of vibe of whatthe wedding day will be like.
(32:55):
So you can anticipate what to shoot and do your best to kind of match the style that itwill be.
But not until after the wedding day will you know exactly how it is.
And I think to answer your question about
kind of pulling the story out.
For us, that mainly comes down to the dialogue that's said on the wedding day.
(33:18):
So throughout the ceremony and the speeches, we use that as a huge kind of a driver forhow we tell the story in the video sense.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's actually weird to even like hear that because it just seems kind of so obvious.
I mean, you have to think about the whole market, right?
(33:40):
Like there are obviously are videographers who don't use voice components and don't like,I mean, look, yeah, each to their own.
Like, it's really after what the client wants.
But for someone who's coming to us, like, yeah, they're very much going to get a film thatis like voice and verbal, you know, verbal wise, very story driven.
That's really what's kind of like
(34:02):
that is the film.
And then obviously like the music accompanies that and like kind of matches the thingsbeing said.
yeah, that is a very, it always has been as well, know, been a very big part of like ourstyle of films is using obviously voice.
Yeah, and that relates back to why we always opt for two videographers on the day to makesure we capture those audio, like the audio for the ceremony and speeches to making sure
(34:32):
we get that and to a high quality, depending on the different systems used throughout theday.
With a single shooter, it's very often rushed to make sure you have that
to a higher quality.
So if we're using those, if we're using that audio as a main driver for the story, we haveto make sure we capture it.
(34:56):
So I guess like what would be a red flag for a couple looking for, video will be easierbecause I feel like photo, it'll be like, video is more nuanced.
There's a lot more that goes into video obviously.
So like what's some things that couples should look out for when they're looking for thevideo side of things?
Yeah, think, I mean, yeah, I mean, obviously, this is going to be like in the inquiryphase, you know, like couples obviously reaching out to all sorts of people and like, and
(35:25):
so they should write, I think couples are naturally going to inquire, you know, I think alot of wedding photographers and videographers get very, I don't know if offended is the
right word, but you know, when they've clearly got an inquiry from someone and they'respeaking to maybe like three or four other people, it's like...
Yeah.
Why haven't you just, why aren't you just talking to me?
But.
(35:46):
Yeah.
Hi X.
but look, think red flight, like things that couples, sorry, what, what was, what exactlywas your question there?
What, like if a couple was kind of, they are inquiring with three or four videographers,like what would be like maybe some questions that they should ask that videographer or
(36:06):
what's the things that they should be, I guess, wary about if they were inquiring with avideographer?
Yeah, look, I think, and it obviously would apply for photography as well.
A big thing I've always, you know, tell clients, because again, like we're jumping oncalls with clients as well.
I encourage, if I know that speaking to other people, I always like to encourage them tolike, say like, jump onto a call with anyone else who's speaking, like see if they're open
(36:33):
to that.
So think the red flag is if you're reaching out to a photographer or videographer andthey're not willing to...
show their face or even just jump onto a phone call for that matter.
I know if I'd call it a red flag, that'd be something I'd be just, you know, I'd be awareof that, that I'm like maybe questioning why they're not willing to do that.
(36:55):
That's one of the main ones I can think of.
And it goes both ways too.
So I think the key here is mutual effort.
So if the client doesn't see effort from the photographer or videographer they'reinquiring with, that's obviously a red flag.
But it also goes the other way.
(37:17):
If us as service providers don't see adequate effort from clients to kind of showenthusiasm.
for us working for them and with them, then that's also a red flag for the serviceproviders too.
So that would be a great tip for anyone inquiring.
(37:40):
If you have someone that you really want at your wedding, whether the photographer orvideographer, then yeah, would strongly encourage to even just simple stuff like.
adding a personalized message to the inquiry form.
That goes a long way, because it shows effort.
(38:00):
especially like most people reaching out to a videographer, they're probably gonna be theones that are booked as well.
So it's like, this doesn't matter.
If you don't have any bookings, the photographer will be like, yeah, come on, I don't carethat you send this to 10 other people, I'll take it for sure.
But like if it is a really good videographer, photographer, they're probably gonna bebooked.
So you do actually need to put in that effort to make it a little bit more personalized.
(38:22):
Like, hey, I saw X and Y's video on your Instagram, I loved it.
Wondering if you're available for my date.
Like of course the photographer, videographer are gonna put in more effort
reciprocate that as well.
I get it constantly where like, like couples that haven't booked yet and they're like,thanks so much for jumping on a zoom call.
Cause like they haven't been offered that from anyone else.
I'm like, how?
Like that's how we book clients.
(38:43):
If we get them on a zoom call, they're probably going to book.
So why are people not doing this?
Yeah, couldn't agree more.
mean, like I said before, jumping onto calls with clients is such a big and just normalpart now of like, mean, honestly, we never used to do that years ago.
It'd very much just be like, send the email through, send the quote, if they want to book.
(39:04):
But yeah, absolutely now that we're really kind of trying to elevate our business a bitmore, jumping onto calls is huge.
And yeah, exactly.
It's weird hearing that like, yeah, you're the first one to be like.
is offered to actually like speak with us on a call.
So yeah, easy wins, easy money for us, guess.
(39:26):
Do you just have like a calendar link or something like that booked into like when yousend an email and they can kind of just book in that way?
Yeah, yeah, look, you know, we all have like the email, email templates and stuff thatwe're kind of sending out.
but yeah, we always like to customize those anyway, like when I see an inquiry comethrough for someone that obviously, you know, I like the sound of their wedding, like it's
someone I want to work with.
(39:47):
Yeah, I'll send through that Calendly link, you know, make a few personal.
I do like to customize those emails, so they know I'm actually like putting a bit ofeffort into what we said before.
Mutual effort.
Yeah.
that's it.
Do you guys have a dream wedding currently?
So you've got this picture, we want to elevate our brand.
This is the kind of weddings that we want to be shooting all the time.
(40:08):
Is there an idea that you have in your mind of an ideal wedding at the moment?
We do, actually.
And I think it would be wrong to say that that won't change.
Because, like always, you're always looking at the next step.
Once you reach there, you look at the next step.
(40:28):
So for us, currently, yeah, we do have a style of wedding that we feel like we could do agreat job at.
And that's where we are working towards.
Yeah.
actually, yeah, that's a great point.
I think even like, you know, more specifically as well, like I think working with clientswho, mean, for me, like something that we're really excited about right now, it's like, a,
(40:56):
like working at exciting venues that we haven't even been to before.
That's always a good kind of starting place.
Like, I mean, we're at the reveler today, which is starting like in here for the firsttime.
It's so nice.
Yeah, yeah.
I have to talk to the team here and sort something out.
yeah, being at really cool venues that have some sort of uniqueness to it.
(41:20):
again, if this was our local, I'd be probably saying another venue.
So it's always going to be somewhere new, but working in new venues is always nice.
But in terms of what the client's actually doing, I think we love something a little bitmore classic, maybe kind of black tie wedding.
But I love when they're kind of adding in those really, when I say color, I don'tnecessarily mean like actual like color, but just personality, character into the
(41:47):
weddings, like being very intentional about the aspects of the wedding that they'rekeeping because that actually means something to them and the things that they're throwing
out because they just don't want to do it.
if they don't want to cut the cake or do a first dance, like they'll do something else andreplace that.
like, those are the things that really get me excited about a wedding where like, I cantell that they've actually made a very clear decision that
(42:08):
like, hey, we're gonna, I mean, it was so random, but like the other wedding we did, likethey literally had a pinata, which like, don't even know, like it was so, it was random,
but like, I honestly, like I take my hat off to that person for just doing something thatthey just wanted to do.
Like it's first, first, maybe last time I'll see a pinata at a wedding, but like they didit.
And there was fireball coming out.
(42:31):
Plastic bottles, so.
It is very interesting where weddings have come to now.
It is, Considering where they were prior, it's almost as if it's not so much aboutactually getting married anymore.
And it's more creating a unique curated experience for your family and friends to kind ofcelebrate your love for each other.
(43:01):
and not so much about the actual legal marriage part.
So, I mean, that's very exciting for all of us creatives.
So we get to capture the like, almost like these mini festivals that take place in thesedifferent spots.
When I just speaking to Chloe, and same thing, all of the weddings that she does, it's theevent.
(43:21):
It's like, can we have all these different entertainment touch points so that everyonewalks away and they've had the best food, they've had the best entertainment, DJ was
awesome.
And it is all about that, which very much ties in with your style that you are up andyou're like, cool, we're dancing, we're doing this and everyone's having shots of
fireball.
That is that style.
And I feel like if the higher end Sydney Melbourne weddings are doing that now, that'sgoing to be Australia wide in the next two or three.
(43:45):
years where everyone's going to actually start focusing on that, that trickle down effectas well.
yeah, it's crazy how the trends all kind of meet up at the same time as well acrosseverything.
It's just interesting to kind of know.
It is, and I actually, I love that.
think, yeah, I mean, it of just comes full circle, right?
we, it's all about the people, like for us now, you know, once upon a time doing a weddingfilm is like, yeah, like getting like the really cinematic slow-mo shots of the couple.
(44:14):
And it's like always around the couple where it's like, honestly, like some of our bestweddings that we do, to be fair, like most weddings we do now, like the couples, they're
like, look, we don't want the focus to be on us.
Like, yeah, sure, we'll go and get some shots of us and you know.
but it's about everyone.
It's about the day less about it's weird because what Reed says is actually true.
(44:36):
Like it is less about the marriage part now I find anyway, but it, we're obviously stilloff.
Obviously the whole reason this is on is because two people, know, obviously want to spendtheir life together and they're celebrating that.
So, but they want obviously everyone captured.
I love focusing on guests.
love focusing on like the energy and the styling and everything around that.
(44:57):
And
Yeah, honestly, like less about just getting the perfect shot of like the couple at likesunset.
I just, it's just not really my main focus now, which is, which that excites me too.
And when you consider that it's more about creating this mini event for your friends andfamily, it really helps justify the price involved in weddings, because you often hear
(45:22):
people...
kind of complaining about the price of weddings, but it's not so much a wedding anymore.
It's way more than a wedding.
And so these high price points, even six figure price points for weddings, almost, itreally does help justify the price because you're hiring venues, you're hiring catering,
(45:47):
hiring styling, people to capture the event and yeah.
You're putting in like, you're putting on a full day event for a hundred people.
know, like that's going to come at a cost.
it's, yeah.
And it's good that it is kind of, I guess, shifting in those directions as well.
it just ties in with everything else.
I think we're like a dude, we're nearly been going for an hour.
(46:09):
so like, yeah, maybe like, where do you see, I mean, you're kind of shifting the brand alittle bit.
Is there any other kind of directions you want to move with TwoFolk now with therebranding done?
I mean, really, like, it's been a long time coming.
Like, it's been in kind of the, the idea at least has been in the works for a while aboutlike positioning ourselves more for photo and video.
(46:30):
I think I said before, we've had, we've been offering photo for a while.
But yeah, now that the rebrand is actually done, it's just like, we're just doubling downon that.
Like, I mean, I guess for this year, we're really just focusing on like, increasing ourphoto portfolio.
Like, we're very happy with where our videos are at currently.
(46:51):
you know, we have been making some creative sort of shifts in the video stuff over thelast few years, but I'm like really happy with like how we're dialed in for that.
photography excites me.
It's so weird.
Like you come from video going into photo, like I'm, I'm obsessed with photo right now.
Like it's, it's so weird how it works, but, yeah, very much focused on photo, justbuilding up heaps of portfolio in that and just, yeah, really just trying to attract the
(47:18):
clients that.
can obviously see that we offer a really great service in both versus just having videoand then photo being this add-on, which is definitely not the case anymore.
For sure.
And separately to, to folk, are working on a service that will be provided to otherphotographers and videographers.
(47:39):
So that's something we're really excited about as well, which is a very customized, CRMsoftware for us to use.
And that kind of came about from us having frustrations with the current tools out there.
So we started working on a.
(47:59):
custom solution for ourselves, but we really think it will help other service providers aswell.
Do you wanna talk about brand name or who that is?
Is just kind of for photographers, videographers?
That's right.
So the CRM is called Story Flow.
So hopefully this year it will be publicly accessible and it is highly curated exclusivelyfor wedding photographers and videographers and
(48:32):
The idea is to solve all of the problems that we currently do have that a software cansolve.
Yeah, definitely.
Have you had a lot of input from like when you kind of tell your friends and stuff like,do they be like, dude, you need to do this, this, this, this?
Cause there are, there's, it's always a negotiation.
You're like, I could go with this one, but they can't do that.
(48:52):
Or I could go with this one, but they can't do that.
And it's always like this negotiation of like, what's the best for my needs, but it'snever like perfect.
Do you have a lot of friends in the industry like telling you their requests of like, Iwould love it if you could do this.
We do and but also we are like TwoFolk ourselves are the ideal customer for it.
So we do have a really good grasp on what is needed, but obviously we're more than willingto take on feedback and advice from other people who want to be really involved in it.
(49:24):
And that way it can kind of be a solution that's not only created for them, but also bythem.
I love that.
And it's exciting.
So that's a big thing for this year, but another project.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
No, it's um, I mean, yeah, look, I know we're coming to the end here, but yeah, similar towhat Reid said, you know, I think we very much were just scratching our own itch with this
(49:48):
sort of project.
So, we obviously like, you know, put the brand name behind and everything to kind of makeit feel legit.
And it very much is legit now, but, um, things always take a little bit longer than weanticipate.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, absolutely.
Um, but no, yeah, it's very exciting.
Um, yeah, we've very much just heads down in it right now.
So maybe we can show you a couple things maybe after the podcast as well.
(50:12):
yeah, if anyone wants to ask any questions or anything, you can always hit us up onTwoFolk or whatever.
Yeah, we're always really happy just to chat to people.
We've obviously chat with lot of peers in the industry, just about similar to your point,Toga, like about their ideas and what they would like to see in a software as well.
But yeah, very much just focused on building it for ourselves currently.
(50:33):
And then, yeah.
definitely hear some more about it once it's ready.
I'll talk one more on two folk real quick, just because like, you how you kind of want tomove towards a certain kind of wedding.
Are you guys working on style shoots or anything like that to try and create the contentor is it just that you're getting the right weddings at the right venues that that's
enough to create the content that you need for this shift?
(50:53):
question.
Yeah, that's a great question.
honestly, we don't do too many start shoots.
We did like one or two over like the last six months or so.
But yeah, it's, it's so funny because you kind of have to start somewhere and offeringphoto for the first time it is very much just like starting a whole new business again,
because a whole new service requires a whole new portfolio and people will obviously wantto see examples of stuff you've done.
(51:18):
like I said, we've been doing it already for two years.
So it has just been a very slow
kind of buildup process, obviously adjusting the pricing as you kind of get a little bitmore experience, a bit more portfolio.
But most of our bookings for 2025 are photo and video.
So this is kind of our year.
we're super keen.
Like there's just, we've got a lot of like really amazing clients coming up.
(51:41):
this is the year that we're really just gonna like, yeah, we're gonna kill it for photoand video.
So yeah, I'm excited.
There is, only a few.
There's going to be, I keep saying, there's going to be a few companies that do really,really well.
And there's going to be a lot that really struggle.
So it's nice to know, like with the smiles on your faces already, like it's going to be agood year.
Yeah.
But you've worked your asses off to get to this point, you know, like it's not just magicthat it happened.
(52:06):
Yeah.
So it is nice to hear other people in the same position that are like 2025.
I think so many people say like, yeah, this is the year.
like, yeah, no, I mean, yeah, the proof is in the numbers this year.
Like we've just, yeah, we're working with a lot of great clients that are our ideal sortof weddings.
And yeah, just, it's just good to be at a point where you're just genuinely excited to,you know, be shooting the weddings that you've coming.
(52:32):
Like I think through COVID, it got very overwhelming for a lot of people, you know, justlike, there was like no bookings and it was like a lot of bookings and it's just like,
just chasing the backlog and everyone knows the story but it's good now.
We're at a really nice number and we're just keen to work with these people.
have more time for like StoryFlow, like kind of have all that sorted, you're like, cool,the money side's good.
(52:54):
And now we can kind of build out this thing.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, to be honest, it's almost there.
Yeah, have, yeah, we've intentionally like, yeah, just been very heads down, very quietabout it.
So I knew we were kind of talking about it a little bit, maybe like six to even like 12months ago.
(53:15):
But yeah, we, we kind of realized that there was a lot to do in it still.
Because we also have high standards and we want to deliver a polished product.
And so that's what it will be when it's released.
Yeah, exactly.
Like it needs to be what you're saying it is.
Like it needs to be the be all end all for people to swap because you know it is so hardfor people to swap CRMs.
(53:36):
It is.
It needs to be like this reason like it's an absolute no-brainer.
So yeah.
Alright, where can people find you in all that kind of jazz?
Well, mean, yeah, so I literally on the way here, I've been meaning to change ourInstagram handle.
There some weird stuff going on with the meta verified badge, yeah, it is officiallychanged.
So 2.folk is our new Instagram handle, but if you just type in 2folk, you'll find usthere.
(54:00):
Yeah, 2folk.com.au, search us in Google.
You'll probably find our old business name there, but it all redirects to the normal spotnow.
So yeah, Taz and Reid at 2folk.
on the set.
Thank you so much for coming on mate, I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
you
Thanks for tuning into the Wedco podcast.
(54:22):
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