Business of Wedding Photography

a guide by photo.net wedding photographers, November 2007

Index

Topic #11: Further tips and advice

Jeff Ascough • Mary Ball • Bob Bernardo • Conrad Erb • Nadine Ohara • Josh Root • David Wegwart • Marc Williams
The Business of Wedding Photography is an extensive subject, best answered by a team of professional wedding photographers, who also happen to be star photo.net members. In this article, these professional photographers have contributed advice and personal experience gained from running wedding businesses. Not only have they offered final words of wisdom and advice on running a wedding photography business, but they've also added images of formal wedding portraits, bridal gowns, and candid photojournalistic wedding images. Whether you are just entering the field of wedding photography, or are a seasoned professional, the tips and insights shared here should be helpful with your own business.

Conrad Erb - Philadelphia, PA

We asked our panel of experts the following questions:

1. What are some words of wisdom you can offer to aspiring wedding photographers?
2. What are the most important skills and equipment you must have before proceeding with the Business of Wedding Photography?

Words of wisdom

What are some words of wisdom you can offer to aspiring wedding photographers?
Jeff Ascough: Don't copy others. Copying is a recipe for disaster. Try to develop your own style of photography. It isn't hard to do but for some reason most photographers just follow each other like sheep.
There is no magic formula or quick fix. Success is built over the years on the back of hard work, experience and determination. People looking at photographers like myself or Marc will want to get to that level in a couple of years, when in fact it has taken us many years to get there. Photographers forget that.
Josh Root: There are no shortcuts. Practice, practice, practice, and learn. You are playing with fire if you think you can order some gear, put up a web site, and start charging people for wedding photography. I have seen many people crash and burn doing this. If you aren't sure that you are ready to start photographing weddings professionally, then you aren't, and that's okay. Just keep learning until you are.

Nadine Ohara - SF Bay Area/CA

Mary Ball: Not only should you like people but you should be a person who is comfortable directing people and have a "likable" personality. You have to sell yourself. Also, when you are photographing, you have to get people's cooperation and direct them without being perceived as being bossy or pushy. It just follows that if you like people you will be sensitive to their needs and moods. If you are loving it and having fun, so will your clients and the end result will be better images. You also have to have "the eye" and be true to your vision making sure that the people that hire you and want what you offer. Be very clear as to what your style is. If you don't have a "style" it would be a good idea to develop your very own unique approach.
Bob Bernardo: Try to apprentice with a good local wedding studio(s) before tackling your first solo wedding. Be comfortable with your cameras and lighting technique. Learning on the job is dangerous because things happen fast and if you are fumbling over camera settings and suitable lighting you will miss the key moments.
A list on required photos is a must when starting out. Also a list of special requests from the couple will help assure a perfect wedding.
Conrad Erb: Think and study technical aspects of photography as much as possible. Good technical knowledge of photography is necessary, but not sufficient, for great image-making. Study art. (I admit I haven't really done much of this myself, but I have heard it is a good way to learn lighting!) Be really friendly with your clients. Bend over backwards when starting out for them. If you are doing this as a business, start tracking your expenses and income immediately. You will be surprised by how much you actually spend operating your business. Read strobist.com like a champ.
Jeff has a great point - don't try to copy others. Take a bit of what you see from here and there, and put it all together to make a style that is uniquely yours. Ask for help when you need it, and always be willing to extend help to others who ask for it, whether in person or electronically.

Josh Root

Nadine Ohara: Learn everything you can about photography and about running a business. Feed your creativity by looking around you at all kinds of media. Take your life experiences, learn from them and use them as a base for both your dealings with people and to nurture the way you see.
David Wegwart: Have some idea of where you want to go and remind yourself of that goal frequently. I write down my aspirations and visions, and visit that writing often.
Marc Williams: Don't strive to be a good wedding photographer. Strive to be a good photographer that just happens to take wedding photos. All technical aspects lead to one place - light. Put the horse in front of the cart: get to know light first, and the technical babble will suddenly make more sense. Trust your instincts. The tyranny of reason can stunt intuitive action. Emotional anticipation leads to consistently seizing the moment where others consistently miss seeing it coming. Also, how you interact with people should remain true to your personality. Altering your personality to fit someone else's preconceived notion is the regimentation of corporate life and bee hives, not of art in the service of commerce.

Required skills and equipment

What are the most important skills and equipment you must have before proceeding with the Business of Wedding Photography?
Jeff Ascough: You must like people. That is fundamental. You must also understand how a business operates. An understanding of profit and loss, costs, and administration are as important as f-stops, shutter speeds and lenses. The two most important parts of any business are the product and the marketing. They are symbiotic in their relationship to each other. You can only build a business with both.
Equipment is important but it isn't as important as people think. A professional quality camera with back up and a couple of lenses are all you need. You don't need the latest and greatest to take good pictures.

Jeff Ascough

Josh Root: Anyone can learn enough technical photography skills to make wedding images. What the truly great photographers know is that pressing the shutter and setting up the lights are only half of the equation. As was said before, you have to like people. More importantly, those people need to understand that. If your subjects can't be comfortable around you, your images will always be weak and your reputation will never be good. Also, take some small business courses at the local community college. You'll thank yourself someday for that.
Bob Bernardo: Don't become stale. Study other photographers work for inspiration, go to seminars, constantly work on your own style and keep your work at cutting edge level. When people go to view your work, you want it to really stand out.
Conrad Erb: Equipment in most cases is not the problem. In my opinion, only the most talented photographers absolutely need a top-of-the-line camera. A web site is essential nowadays. Get a web site early and put only your best stuff on it. Have a clean design and show your work, don't talk. It will make growing your business much, much easier.
Nadine Ohara: Skills that are most important are actually business skills and people-handling skills. While you should have the technical photo skills necessary, they won't help as much as the business/people skills. Equipment is whatever you need to produce your product and all that it entails, whether it be specific points of view, angles, or lighting.
David Wegwart: Be content with a setup. Change it to keep current enough that your computers and cameras all talk together nicely, but not just because.
A must in my book is to have a couple of everything: camera bodies, lenses, flashes, etc., as well as a bunch of memory or film for every wedding.
As Conrad says, study art and light. Don't spend too much time on gear, focus (pun intended) instead on your eye and developing what you like to see. Explore and push the edge where you can.

Marc Williams

Marc Williams: Equipment is a personal choice, even though it's the most empirically argued aspect of photography. If a Sultan of Brunei Gold Leica M makes you feel good, and you have the bucks, buy it. There is romance to some of this gear, and it actually can be fun to work with different types of cameras and lenses. None of it can make you a better photographer, but sometimes it can make your photographs better.

From the Editor:

This concludes the Business of WeddingPhotography Series. Thanks to the contributors for their valuable tips and advice. We welcome you to share your insight and opinions on any of the articles in this series.

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