12 Jun Talking Better DIY Photography + Figuring out How to Work with Friends with M.Studios’ Melissa Lacouture & Marisa Bettencourt

Posted at 03:00h in Spirit of 608 podcast by Lorraine Sanders

A theme around here at Spirit of 608 is making FEST brands more visible – and not just brands, but the founders behind them. Continuing our recent spate of Knowledge Drop episodes focused on bringing you actionable tactical advice from entrepreneurs who want to support FEST founders, we’re focusing on (see what we did there) photography this week by bringing you a conversation with two badass wedding photographers who have recently begun collaborating with the Spirit of 608 and PressDope on a number of new projects. If you’re looking for easy DIY photography tips, lighting advice and how to take a better selfie the next time you feel compelled to show the world what you look like in handheld mode, this is one episode not to miss.

Meet this week’s guests, Melissa Lacouture & Marisa Bettencourt, founders of M.Studios.

This episode brought to you with the generous support of badass FEST biz Lyst, where you can search from over 12,000 brands and stores to find what’s perfectly right for you.

What you’ll learn

We’ve got two professional photographers on this week’s episode, so you can bet we asked them to share their favorite easy DIY photography tips and tricks. Melissa and Marisa of MStudios share some quick photo hacks, ideas for your Instagram stories, how to quickly spruce up your work space to make it Insta-friendly and photogenic, as well as lighting tips for taking photos of yourself. Check out the full episode to learn more.

How you’ll be inspired

Melissa and Marisa have ditched formalities and decided to just be themselves (check their social media feeds for evidence). On the show, you’ll hear them explain why letting their personalities shine and getting comfortable with not being for everyone was the best move for their brand – and how it’s led the them to become top wedding photographers who are hired to travel across state lines in some of the biggest wedding markets in the country.

What you’ll tell your friends

You know how everyone says never work with friends? Well I heard this photography team on the Spirit of 608 podcast, and it totally works for them. Not only do Melissa and Marisa have special ways they’ve agreed upon to communicate (code red!), they talk about the perks of a partnership that includes sharing their workload, inside jokes and the burden of business frustrations and challenges. Their secret? A healthy and open line of communication, and they’ve even come up with a clever way of telling the other to back off (hear about “code red” on the show).

Resource of the week

Retouch: Ever wanted to clear up those imperfections in a photo, without needing to go and learn how to Photoshop? Retouch does exactly that. It’ll brighten those shadows. It’ll make that zit disappear. It’ll smoothen out that wrinkle. And pro photographer Marisa swears by it!