We’re bringing you our next artist feature from the May winners of SLR Lounge Awards! These articles are meant to give the photography community insight on how our award winners created their business, grew their portfolio, and achieved excellence in the industry.

Annuj Yoganathan, owner of Impressions by Annuj, entered 3 winning images into our Awards submission earning him two Apex Awards in Wedding Portraiture and one Ascent Award in Wedding Photojournalism. He was also voted one of our Top 100 Wedding Photographers in the US & Canada in 2016. Let’s take a glimpse into his creative process and learn what tools and ideas have inspired him along the way. 

What do you feel like is the single biggest differentiation between you and other photographers/studios?

I feel the most important aspect of the wedding happens before you even pick up a camera at the wedding. Meeting our couples and getting to know them on a personal level, I find, gives you an even greater understanding not only of what their looking for with respect to coverage but allows me to be more emotionally attached. And when that happens, you find emotion and meaning in every photo you take. You become not just a photographer but a storyteller.

What’s one tool you use (software, app, etc) that helps you daily in managing your business?

My brilliant, talented and incredibly supportive wife (though she is not a tool!)! Without her support in all of this the business wouldn’t be where it is today. She literally can remember the date of every wedding that I have ever shot off the top of her head – ever! (I have tested this numerous times). She’s amazing with people and I have learned so much about client care from her. She cares so very much about ensuring our clients having the best experience possible – she’s the foundation that our business is built upon.

Do you have a preferred social media platform for marketing purposes? If so, what’s one tip you would give to others for more effective social media marketing?

Instagram is our ‘go-to’ for social media marketing. It used to be Facebook but there was a huge shift towards Instagram and we went with it and it paid off.

If I had to give one tip it would be to use the analytics that Instagram gives you. Post at the times where your followers are most active and post at least 3 photos a day. Sometimes it can be tough, but there are apps out there that you can use to automate your posts. Also, keep an eye on what your audience likes and post more of that – give the people what they want!

How are you constantly evolving and pushing forward your style and quality?

I feel that in order to move forward you should never look back at your work and become comfortable with what you produce. I, for one, am never fully satisfied with my work and I always honestly feel I can be better. You should look at your work like art: produce images that make people think and feel, but at the same time never stay stagnant. Move and change with the times and make people look forward to your new photos. Push yourself to be ahead of the rest and never get comfortable with where you are.

Describe your editing workflow.

My workflow has kept changing over the couple years as there’s always something you can do to streamline your workflow. As of right now I use Photo Mechanic to cull through my photos before I import them into Adobe Lightroom CC to do my edits. Photo Mechanic is exponentially faster than Lightroom when it comes to culling as the images load instantly without any lag. You also save time from not having to import and render previews with the use of Photo Mechanic, whether they’re JPEG or even RAW images.

I also use the Corsair K95 Vengeance Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. It comes with 18 macro keys, which I’ve mapped to different functions in Photo Mechanic, Lightroom, as well as Photoshop. Anything to shave some time off of the editing process.

See more of Annuj’s work on his Website & Instagram and view all of our May 2017 Award Winners here! Don’t forget to submit your image before June 21st to be considered for our June 2017 Award Winners!