Our Creative Commune

About Our Creative Commune

Professional wedding photographers/videographers and bffs, Pete & Laura Lawson and Liam & Bee Crawley invite you to join them for a morning coffee. They'll be chatting all things work and life. Liam and Bee have recently moved and we all now live in the same little village; not quite the commune we always used to talk about but we do get to hang out every day. This podcast is an offshoot of our daily conversations, sometimes creatively inspiring, sometimes just having a good moan, but always fun. liamandbee.com (https://liamandbee.com/) lawsonfilms.co.uk (https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/) lawsonphotography.co.uk (https://www.lawsonphotography.co.uk/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Our Creative Commune

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Jun 2022

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

139 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Why Isn’t Real Life Enough Anymore?

   Are your couples actually enjoying their wedding? When did the real wedding day stop being enough? Can we help couples see that their actual life is worth capturing over a day-long wedding shot-list? This week Pete, Laura and Bee dig into a wedding in the Scottish Borders where the couple wanted no posing, no portraits and no social media, and why it made Pete work harder (and enjoy the day more) than ever. It leads into a bigger debate: are flat lays and long shot lists something couples really want, or something they’ve seen online? How much should we educate couples about what posed photos cost them in time on the day, and when does guidance become patronising? And why does so much “documentary” wedding content look exactly the same? Our fear is that couples are seeing so many aspirational images that they can become focused on re-creating these perfect images at the expense of living their own unique moments (and taking a risk these are missed). We also tackle editing. With couples asking for suits to be refitted, bags removed and bows fixed in every frame, how much retouching is now expected, and where do you draw the line? Also this week: Liam is off learning to be a motorbike instructor, the never-ending editing list, and the return of midweek weddings. We turn down enquiries for Silverstone weekend, shoot a wholesome christening, and hear about Liam’s first roll of film (and the frames he wasted finishing it) and flash floods in Spain. Pete explains how Claude rebuilt our LUTs and presets, while Bee sticks with ChatGPT and its slightly underwhelming Monday briefings. Plus highs and lows, including autumn TV, table tennis ups and downs, and the best flask ever made. Our Creative Commune is four wedding photographers and filmmakers chatting about photography, videography and the wedding industry, just like we do over coffee most mornings. Do you guide your couples on timings and posed shots, or let them lead? Let us know, and if you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe and leave us a review. Timestamps 00:00 Coffee, Matcha and Where Is Liam? 02:28 The Never-Ending Editing List 05:56 The Rise of Midweek Weddings 07:12 Silverstone vs Wedding Enquiries 10:49 A Christening and a Portrait Shoot 12:51 A No-Fuss Wedding in the Scottish Borders 19:58 Flat Lays, Posing and the Flow of the Day 21:13 Should We Educate Couples on Timings? 22:21 Why Does Everything Look the Same? 25:30 Shot Lists and Moments That Don’t Happen 30:31 How Much Retouching Is Too Much? 32:13 Liam Shoots Film, Plus Spanish Flash Floods 37:15 Using Claude for LUTs and Presets 40:58 AI Briefings and Best Of Lists 44:21 Highs and Lows Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune (https://www.instagram.com/ourcreativecommune/) Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy (https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy) The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ (https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/) Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school (https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school) liamandbee.com (https://liamandbee.com/) lawsonfilms.co.uk (https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/) lawsonphotography.co.uk (https://www.lawsonphotography.co.uk/) #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Do You Have to Pay to Be in a Top 50 List?

   Are those "best wedding photographers of the year" lists really the best, or just a list of who paid to advertise? This week Pete, Laura, Liam and Bee dig into the backlash against a big industry list: accusations that it's pay to play, complaints that everyone on it shoots the same on-trend editorial style, and why the wedding industry seems to be splitting into bubbles that each crown their own favourites. Would we do any better if we made our own Top 50? (no, we'd never agree.) That leads into a bigger conversation about being open-minded after 20 years in the industry. Why do suppliers keep telling couples what they won't want, especially when it comes to content creators? Is there such a thing as good light, or is it all taste? And are we allowed to call a photo unprofessional, or are we just turning into the grumpy old guard who once refused to do spot colour? Also this week: Liam's trusty Canon 35mm dies mid-wedding and he upgrades to the RF 35mm VCM, we ask for your recommendations on where to get lenses repaired in the UK, Pete shoots two new Scottish castles, Bee and her mum stumble into a Blackpool bingo brunch, Laura's mum used to walk elephants on Blackpool beach, we discuss whether folding phones might finally bring landscape back, and the quiet winter looms as the wedding season winds down. Plus a robot cat litter tray, a last-minute booking bonded over fruit flies, and our highs and lows of the week. Our Creative Commune is a relaxed catch-up between four wedding photographers and filmmakers, chatting all things photography, videography and the wedding industry, like friends over a coffee (or tonight, a glass of wine). Where do you get your lenses fixed? Let us know! Timestamps: 00:00 Intro and Blackpool with Bee's mum 07:43 Photographer meetups and filming in Blackpool 10:31 Pete's two Scottish castle weddings 15:02 Liam's Herefordshire wedding 16:12 Liam's Canon 35mm dies and lens repair woes 21:43 The robot cat litter tray 23:53 Are "best wedding photographer" lists just ads? 30:28 Does every wedding photo look the same? 32:59 Is landscape coming back with folding phones? 35:55 Should we make our own Top 50? 38:47 The long quiet winter ahead 41:10 Stop telling couples what they want 44:41 Is there really such a thing as good light? 50:09 Highs and lows of the week Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune (https://www.instagram.com/ourcreativecommune/) Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy (https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy) The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ (https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/) Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school (https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school) liamandbee.com (https://liamandbee.com/) lawsonfilms.co.uk (https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/) lawsonphotography.co.uk (https://www.lawsonphotography.co.uk/) #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   14 Sept 2026

   Is Your Wedding Photographer Too Old For You?

   A pair of LA photographers went viral for all the wrong reasons with a post telling couples their wedding photographer is too old for them, and explaining why Gen Z couples need Gen Z photographers and videographers. It got deleted, it got apologised for, and it got us talking. Is there anything in it, or is it just generational nonsense dressed up as marketing? We are, as usual, about the last people in the industry to get round to discussing it. We look into the claim that younger suppliers speak the same visual language as their couples, with the massive contradiction buried inside - the current wedding aesthetic is nostalgia for a time Gen Z never lived. We suspect they've mixed up age with cultural fluency. You can absolutely be twenty-five or fifty-five and be making exactly the same work. Has age ever changed how we shoot or how we connect with a couple? Since starting at age 21, we've always just ended up bonding with the parents first. Maybe we're just old souls. There's also now this really annoying problem; we're proud of having shot weddings for over 20 years, but that also makes us sound sixty on our websites. Before that we catch up after an accidental two month disappearance, compare backlogs (48 items on one to-do list, ten weddings deep), and run through a summer of travel including a wedding near Paris with a two hour ceremony, eight plus speeches, surprise fireworks and a boat trip that meant abandoning a full camera setup mid day. Laura shoots her first roll of Super 8 with a broken light meter and guesses the exposure all day long, we weigh up whether film only bookings are worth the risk, and we get into the TikTok row about couples writing wedding speeches with AI. Plus tennis elbow, a dead boiler, no sleep, and Bee's spiky cucumbers. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome back after an accidental two month break 02:53 The run up to Christmas is the worst part of the year 03:23 48 items on the to-do list and ten weddings still to edit 06:01 Where everyone has been shooting this summer 07:12 The Paris wedding: two hour ceremony, a boat and surprise fireworks 11:03 Laura's first roll of Super 8 and a broken light meter 14:50 Are couples writing wedding speeches with AI? 16:24 Topic of the week: the "your photographer is too old for you" post 19:03 The nostalgia contradiction 22:00 Does saying you've shot weddings for 20 years make you sound old? 23:55 What experience actually gives you when things go wrong 27:00 Why generations are a lazy generalisation 28:58 Enquiries, bookings and how the diary is looking 31:47 Highs and lows Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune (https://www.instagram.com/ourcreativecommune/) Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy (https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy) The British Wedding Film Festival https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/ (https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/) Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school (https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school) liamandbee.com (https://liamandbee.com/) lawsonfilms.co.uk (https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/) lawsonphotography.co.uk (https://www.lawsonphotography.co.uk/) #weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,212

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

16 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 67 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

57

Social presence

91

YouTube

68

Engagement

82

Contact Our Creative Commune

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Our Creative Commune