When you set out as wedding photographer there is no shortage of information available to you to help you start up your new business, however I have learnt some tough and unexpected lessons along the way that were not covered in any book or blog. Outlined below are the 6 most surprising lessons I have learnt in my time as a professional. Some are counterintuitive, some plainly contradict other information you may have read elsewhere but all of them have proved invaluable to me.
1. Equipment Matters. A lot.
You will read in a lot of places that it is the photographer not the camera that counts. That is just not true. I am in no way saying that your skill as a photographer isn't the major factor in producing exceptional images but it is the professional quality gear that gives you the freedom and range to shine.
-
Pro Bodies - When it comes to weddings most features of the pro bodies are a little redundant, the chances are you won't need your 3D focus tracking or to blaze away at 8fps. Where they do excel is in their low light capabilities. To be able to push the camera up to an ISO of 3200, 5600 or beyond gives you the confidence and flexibility to deal with just about any light that weddings can throw at you. When you get the winter wedding in the murky church with a Vicar who won't let you use flash you will thank me.
-
Pro Glass - Until you have used the pro end glass you won't understand the huge leap forward in image quality from the standard kit lens. Fast, pin sharp, rapid focusing, creamy bokeh and a build quality you can bounce rocks off the pro level glass is leagues ahead of its "kit lens" counterpart, but then again for the price tag it better had be. I would recommend the 24-70 f2.8 as a must, followed by either a 85mm f1.4 or the 70-200 f2.8. The difference will be immediate and astonishing.
2. You Are A Business Person First, Photographer Second.
There is no shortage of gifted photographers, however the reason the majority don't make it professionally is that they fail to treat it as a business. It sounds callous but there is very little room as a professional photographer for artistic ego and, as Chuck Close put it, "inspiration is for amateurs". You can't turn up on someone's wedding day and complain that your eye isn't in. You have to turn up and be brilliant. Consistently. A lot of new starters also underestimate how much leg work is involved at the beginning of setting up as a professional photographer . In my first year I spent far more time marketing, replying to emails and phone calls, building websites and meeting potential clients than I ever did taking photos. Weeks could easily pass between picking up my camera. Likewise you have to be fastidious about paperwork, contracts and note taking as well as presenting a professional image at all times. There is also the small and unpleasant matter of tax. Make sure you track all income and expenditure accurately from the start as well as declaring yourself as in business to the relevant authorities, if not you could find yourself with a very large and unexpected bill a few years down the line.
3. To Have Fun, Communicate, and Engage is the Most Important Compositional Technique.
If photography is light then wedding photography is light and people. Every photo you take has an emotional, personal resonance with the bride and groom and you have to keep this in mind as you tell the story of the day. However, where some wedding photographers seem to let themselves down is in how they interact with the bride, groom and their guests. I am sure you have heard the story of the "nightmare" photographer who was arrogant, rude and pushy and who spoilt the wedding day (I know I certainly have, more than once which is rather worrying). To capture the best in people they have to be relaxed and comfortable in your presence so you need to keep a smile on your face and keep upbeat irrespective of how things are going or how stressful the day has been. The moment you become stressed it will immediately reflect in the body language of your subjects and the images will suffer.
4. Seek Unbiased, Harsh Feedback.
There are a lot of things that can hinder your improvement as a photographer but a lack of solid, constructive critical feedback will stop your progress stone dead. What makes things worse is that getting genuine knowledgeable feedback can be very tough. With all due respect your family and friends unless they have a background in photography they will be unable to provide you with the necessary input to push you forward. So, where to look online? I would avoid Flickr as it tends to descend into what I would politely call a "circle jerk" with people afraid to criticize as they don't want to be criticized themselves. To start with Reddit's r/photocritique has some excellent contributors (also check out the superb r/photography for general camera chat as well) but you can't beat joining a real world accredited organisation. As a UK based photographer I am a member of The Guild of Photographers who offer mentoring schemes by experience photographers which has proved invaluable to me. The final point is here is to swallow your pride when accepting the feedback. It can be tough to open your work out to criticism and quite easy to get defensive about negative comments but the trick is to take a step back personally and learn from any suggestions put forward.
5. Always Be On The Lookout For Inspiration.
A lot of photographers seem to miss this important step but there is nothing wrong at all in looking around at other photographers work as it can to be absolutely invaluable as a source of inspiration and style. Take a moment to really deconstruct the image, ask yourself what was the photographer trying to achieve? Technically, how was the shot set up? How could you recreate it? To collect all the interesting pages together I have set up several boards on Pinterest each with its own theme (portrait lighting, posing techniques, detail shots, etc) and I make sure I spend at least a few hours a week scouring Facebook, Twitter and other photographer's Blogs for ideas. Also, don't be afraid to message and interact with other photographers. On the whole they are very happy to discuss their work and techniques and will usually provide a few tips here and there. I know this may seem a little dishonest but as Steven Fry put it: "An original idea. That can't be too hard. The library must be full of them."
Also if you are looking for a great book "The Art of Photography" by Bruce Barnbaum is an excellent place to start.
6. Cool your guns, Tex! Don't Just Hose The Day.
I don't know if it is nerves or a lack of confidence but there is a real temptation to just 'spray 'n' pray' weddings when you first start out. Trust me when I say this is a habit you need to get out of as early as possible. I used to take anything from 1500 to 1900 RAW images per wedding which would take hours and hours to sort out and edit. Not only that, you end up hammering the actuation count on your camera as well as creating terabytes of data to backup. To really separate yourself from the pack look to take a maximum of 900 images on a full day's coverage. It will force you to stop and think about each image which will increase the overall quality of your work and cut out hours of work at the back end. It will feel a little strange at first but it is an absolute win/win for you.
So what tips would you recommend? Feel like I have missed anything? Then please leave me a comment below!
Photography by Adrian Spencer of Will Hey Wedding Photography, a professional wedding photographer based in the High Peak near Buxton and Stockport and covering Derbyshire, Cheshire, Manchester and Sheffield.
21 Comments
What a great article – short but succinct. That’s for putting this together!
No problem!
I think no.6 resonates big time with me. I’ve photographed four weddings so far, with five more on the docket so far. My last one, I took 1500 images. I ended up giving the bride 350 edited images. What a waste of space!
The biggest thing though is the fear of missing something. When you’re just starting out you don’t have the flow of the day down pat yet, you don’t now exactly where to be at all times and what will be important later on. I hope this will come with more experience and I’ll be able to hone in what I really should be using my memory card space on instead of just more ‘spray and pray’.
Thanks for this article, I’m going to bookmark it and come back it time and time again.
I couldn’t agree more. When I first started out it was a panic driven spray fest and that habit sticks. You just end up making more work for yourself and producing too many “same-same” images for the bride. Slow down, take your time, compose. A bride would rather have 500 great shots than 1000 average ones.
I am curious, in regards to your second point. How many wedding did you have under you belt before you decided to go all in? How hard was it to drum up business without an extensive portfolio or did you have one?
Hi, thanks for the comment. Funnily enough I planned to run my day job along side building up the wedding side of things but was made redundant when the company I was working for folded. As it turned out it was the kick I needed to get me into it and I have never looked back!
As someone who dreams of one day being a wedding photographer, thank you for this article! No chance that you’re hiring, is there?
Sadly not, but I wish you the very best of luck!
I want to know what you think about post production?
How important is it to you? Do you spend a lot of time on it?
As a wedding photographer, do you considering having good post production skill’s important?
If you were to write a post titled “The truth about Post Production”
What would you put in it?
And no, I have not searched your blog to see if you have already covered this – ^_^
That is a great idea! Next blog post ahoy!
I would also recommend photosig.com for useful feedback.
Thanks!
Always have a dozen or so NEW batteries when shooting a wedding. Consistent recycle time on a flash (when you need one) is critical.
Also, create a simple checklist of gear to take with you to every event. Ever forget to bring a quick release place for a tripod? It sucks! The same checklist can help get all of your gear home, too.
100% Agree! Also don’t use rechargeables, they just don’t last.
Very good advice!
Tip #2 is *the* most important element of ever making a living from making images! I see so many really good photographers fail to make a dent because they see the art before the money or they have an attitude which says “I’m good therefore rewards will come naturally”.
The harsh reality in a world stuffed full of image makers is that if you can’t run it as a profitable business, it doesn’t matter how good your images are.
Jon
Great advice. Especially #6 sounds great. I have to try that, although with people I often like staying on the trigger, because I find it hard to capture the decisive facial expression sometimes.
I can relate to all of these excellent points even as a wedding videographer. Number 6 especially, shooting specifically and with purpose can save many hours in post production.
Great article, but I do have a big question, how much should one charge. This has been my kryptonite, lol.
Hi,
Tricky one, it depends on the market, how good you are, how affluent the area is. There are no hard and fast rules I am afraid.
Some well thought out key issues presented very logically by the author.
A stunning post. Thanks a million for sharing. As an avid wedding photographer at the tip of Africa, this is superb.