Wedding Photography Tips
I’ve been photographing wedding for about seven years now, which in the world of professional wedding photography is still relatively new. Sure, many people have decided to become a wedding photographer after I did, however only a very small percentage of those are still in business photographing weddings.
So why is it at a time when people are still getting married, professional camera equipment is more affordable and the learning curve can be shorter that so few people fulfil their dream of becoming a wedding photographer?
You Have to Get Your First Wedding Booking!
This can be a difficult hurdle to get over, but it is an essential one. But it’s the catch 22 situation – You need experience to get your first booking, but how do you get experience if you can’t get a booking?
Way in the past (yes, I’m talking film here) photographers would have developed their photography craft by working for a professional photographer as an Assistant and then moving up to an Associate Photographer. They would have likely done this for a number of years before branching out on their own.
Things have changed however. As a society we are used to having things in an instant – From instant coffee to fast connecting broadband. And with digital cameras being so affordable just about everyone owns one and just because the camera may have all the bells and whistles many people believe that the camera will simply make them a great photographer.
One exercise I get those attending my wedding photography course is to review other wedding photographer’s websites, look at the quality of their work and then guesstimate what that photographer charges. Quite quickly they notice the different standards of photographers and the range of prices they charge but also the amount of time they have been in business.
Ok, so how does this help you get a booking? Directly it doesn’t, however it’s to show them that just deciding to become a photographer and having a website is not enough. You have to be able to provide with photographs they can cherish forever.
Getting Experience
One way to start getting some initial experience of photographing weddings is attending a photography course, run by a professional wedding photographer. Although courses and workshops are a controlled environment and don’t have the pressures of a real wedding it will help them give them experience some of the challenges. These include low lighting, extreme bright lighting, posing the couple, being totally confident with their camera, being on their feet all day and taking control.
Ok, but then what? You’re fired up and you just want to get out there.
Many photographers will start second shooting for another photographer. The Second Shooter is today’s terminology for the Associate Photographer. But this can be difficult to start as well as many established photographers may well not want some new photographer on the block to be working with them, seeing how they do things and then going off to do their own thing. Personally I have accepted plenty of people in the past to accompany me at a wedding, this may be just assisting me or allowing them to take some photographs for themselves. Personally I have never seen this as a threat.
So you have some experience, a nice portfolio and a bag brimming with expensive professional equipment, plus all the hardware and software at home, how do you actually start to get your own bookings to get a return on your investment?
You could start by photographing your friend’s wedding. NB: Something you should know here is that although you may well not be charging much to do the wedding you still have an obligation to produce the best possible photographs that you can.
The advantage of this is that your friends know the situation and may well be more patient on their wedding day and will allow you more time to take photographs.
Advertising
But what about if you don’t have any friends who are soon to be married, then what? This is where you need to get your message out that you’re looking to photograph wedding to as many people as possible. This will include friends of friends, work colleagues, networking events, any clubs or groups you are a member of and also online. It’s not just about having a website as getting a good Google ranking may take a while for people to start finding you.
Some people who have attended my courses find success advertising on wedding blogs, wedding forums and classified websites as well as networking with florists, car hire companies and cake making companies. NB: Another important note is that you must be honest you’re your advert and let clients know that you are just getting into wedding photography. Although this will not attract many couples, those who do respond will appreciate your honesty and will have more understanding.
You’ve got your first booking. Now what?
Well for me, it was Practise! Practise! Practice!
Leading up to the wedding I constantly practised some of the photographs I was planning for the day. I got my daughter and her boyfriend to be my couple and kept photographing them in different light and in different poses and with different expressions until I was happy that I could deliver this on the day.
I spent half a day at the wedding location so I could see where the sun would be at different times and what would make an interesting background. Plus I identified the likely settings I would need and kept practising until I could get what I wanted without having to look at the camera. I’m really pleased to say that I absolutely loved photographing my first wedding and I’ve gone onto photographs hundreds more.
Jeff
