Wedding photography question

lifesdisciple · December 18, 2006

I have been asked in the past to shoot some weddings but have always turned them down for lack of confidence. I have since grown as a photographer with my knowledge and confidence and feel it is time to look into adding this as a service. My question though is this. Since I have never shot a wedding before should I offer one or two freebies. Help me get a bit of experience in the field and help add to my portfolio. Is this a good or bad idea? I would shoot the wedding, before and after at no charge and they would just have to purchase the prints they would like. If you have shot weddings or do so now what could you advise? How did you take the first step? Thanks for your time.

urbanaries · December 18, 2006

I shot my brother's beach wedding as my first, I prepared and prepared for it, mapping out shots, timeline, etc. beforehand. It didn't exactly go as planned, mainly with the group/family shots, but it turned out fantastic as it was at sunset and the light was fantastic, and I benefited from it. Add two gorgeous people and the beautiful ocean...it was hard to take a bad picture.

I gained some false confidence from the first success. My second one was an indoor church wedding, I charged them $400, they were desperate for a photographer (shotgun wedding at Christmastime

. I didn't realize I had inferior equipment and expertise till the night before....when I took test shots at the rehearsal. Too late. Luckily the pastor let me use a flash during the ceremony, and I had a good enough eye and preparation to do nice portrait/couple work. At the end of the day the clients seemed happy, but looking back I was WAY out of my league. During the past year, I upgraded my equipment, learned it, and as of today I have a few dozen family/child/maternity pro shoots under my belt.

I have come a long way in a short time, but before I shoot weddings on my own next summer, I'm assisting a local veteran wedding photographer on a few weddings over the holidays, and starting part time in his studio. I am looking forward to gaining more experience, tricks of the trade, understanding timelines better, preparedness, market forces, and getting better at handling clients under intense pressure for extended periods of time.

Even though I've already shot two weddings (and an informal reception), I am SCARED TO DEATH to do one on my own again, because now I'm not so naive....I know now what i didn't know I didn't know back then. I feel so much better knowing I'll have a mentor between now and then.

Not sure I have a concrete point but hope this experience helps...I'm at a similar point in my career.

ETA: Don't assume because you're shooting for free, or a reduced cost, that your risk is any smaller. You are still responsible in the bridal party's mind for delivering the goods. They do not fully understand the challenges of the undertaking, they just expect good shots of their wedding, whether you charge $1 or $2500. The disappointment of failure has little to do with money, and everything to do with the (un-re-doable and monumental) nature of the event.

Shay Stephens · December 20, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

I have been asked in the past to shoot some weddings but have always turned them down for lack of confidence. I have since grown as a photographer with my knowledge and confidence and feel it is time to look into adding this as a service. My question though is this. Since I have never shot a wedding before should I offer one or two freebies. Help me get a bit of experience in the field and help add to my portfolio. Is this a good or bad idea? I would shoot the wedding, before and after at no charge and they would just have to purchase the prints they would like. If you have shot weddings or do so now what could you advise? How did you take the first step? Thanks for your time.

Spend time researching wedding photography, trying out techniques, and learning all you can about low light action photography. I spent a year doing this before I took my first wedding. When you are ready, you can start charging right off the bat without doing any freebees.

Weddings are a terrible time to experiment and learn technique. There is just no time and too much pressure. Weddings are a time to put into practice what you have already learned and can put into practice when under pressure to perform.

You should also determine what style wedding photographer you are and want to be. Traditional, where you create scenes and control them, or documentary, where you photograph the existing scene as it unfolds. Be sure you know which type you really are and market yourself that way. Customers looking for one and getting the other willnot be satisfied with what they get.

SloYerRoll · December 20, 2006

Thanks Shay and Lynne for the sound advise.

saurora · December 20, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

Be sure you know which type you really are and market yourself that way. Customers looking for one and getting the other will not be satisfied with what they get.

Excellent advice, Shay! With documentary style weddings being so popular, I can see how easily the customer who wanted more traditional/formal style wedding shots would be at odds with a photographer who shot in the documentary style. Being upfront with your clients as to your style could be critical to your success and definitely work to your advantage for further referrals.

lifesdisciple · December 23, 2006

Thanks Shay and Lynne. I like the idea of the documentary style weddings and I also think I am going to approcah of few photographers I know and offer some free assistance to gain a bit of experience and kinda watch what they do. Still a little nervous about the whole idea but think I may give it a shot. I also thought about contacing some churches where they might know of some couples looking to get married that don't have a lot of money where I can donate my services to help out and learn at the same time. Too many ideas run through my head. Thanks again.

spider-t · December 23, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

I have been asked in the past to shoot some weddings but have always turned them down for lack of confidence. I have since grown as a photographer with my knowledge and confidence and feel it is time to look into adding this as a service. My question though is this. Since I have never shot a wedding before should I offer one or two freebies. Help me get a bit of experience in the field and help add to my portfolio. Is this a good or bad idea? I would shoot the wedding, before and after at no charge and they would just have to purchase the prints they would like. If you have shot weddings or do so now what could you advise? How did you take the first step? Thanks for your time.

Go shoot as many other events as you can before stepping into the wedding. The stakes are much lower at a regular event. If you don't have any paying events in the queue, find a local gallery and offer to shoot their openings, a local bar that has a music night, a theatre company, donate your services to a fancy benefit. Get out there and make sure you know your equipment under real life conditions. I have found I learn the quickest when I'm faced with a new problem in a situation where I have to be productive.

I have also found that the pictures are only half of what we sell. I am continually surprised by how much value folks place on my presence at the event. The fact that people thank me and even hug me for the job I've done before they even see the pictures tells me that some part of what they are purchasing is the experience of being photographed. For lack of a better way to put this: "be likable and appropriate". It goes very very far in event photography.

And if you take a wedding job, make sure you visit the sites before the wedding with your camera. Try to get there at the same time as the event so you will know the light. Shoot all the scenic event venue stuff before or after so the day of the wedding you can just focus on the people.

Then get some liability insurance and a good contract to sign in case things go bad.

Sure it's pressure, but it's also a whole lot of fun.

Best of luck!
Trish

photogmomma · December 30, 2006

You've gotten some excellent advice so I'll just add my experience.

Late last year, I was literally begged to do a friend's son's wedding. The bride to be came with my friend and she talked me into it - after much discussion of me being VERY reluctant. I still can't believe she did it.....

Anyway, I did a TON of research before doing the wedding:

Bought and read cover to cover several books on weddings. Not just photography stuff, but how a typical wedding was supposed to go. (My own wedding wasn't typical so I needed a primer! !)
Went to as many different web sites of photographers that I felt were very, very good and studied each of their wedding photos
Posted on boards and asked advice each step of the way.
Verified my equiment (note: my flash left a LOT to be desired and I finally just upgraded it - canon 420EX -> 580EX)
Had another photographer along for backup - and backup equipment
Decided I wanted to have a more photojournalistic style so I attended family functions (we have a lot of family!) and went to town trying to figure out how to capture people in a more candid, flattering way
Read all about posing people and did a few family/friend photoshoots testing these things
Went to the venue twice before the wedding and shot photos in the areas that the wedding was being held to figure out lighting as much as possible
Freaked out constantly that I was doing this!

And then the rehearsal rolled around. I shot about 150 photos there. Even though the lighting was quite different, I learned a LOT about what needed to be done!

That night I completely double checked my equipment (cleaned off all cards, cleaned lenses, checked batteries, etc) and printed out a list of all the things I needed to remember (poses, groupings, shots I knew I wanted, etc) and I thought I was ready.

I took some photos of the bride getting ready and fell into a rhythm. Walked through everything 5 times in my head as each thing happened. Shot each photo as I needed to. (Almost forgot the kiss, but caught it perfectly!

!) Did the reception and some additional posed photos.

And almost broke into tears about 3/4s through the reception when I *knew* I'd gotten the photos I needed! I was so incredibly relieved.

And when I went through and edited, I was freaked that I actually had about 700 out of 1000 photos taken that I actually liked and wanted to keep! (I was hoping for 250-300.) I think I whittled it down to about 400ish at the end.

I honestly think that if you take weddings seriously and do a TON of research,, figure out HOW to do the photos and get critiques of images taken in similar circumstances, you can do it.

Do I think my photos are amazing? Not so much. But I do thing they turned out better than most people doing their first wedding and I'm very proud of them. I haven't done another wedding yet because I'm just not ready. But I'm hoping that I will this summer. A small one. I do have one booked for November and a potential in June. But I know that each wedding is different and I'm sure I'll freak and do a TON of research again for the next wedding trying to make sure it's better than your average photographer.

If you're into stress, this is the way to get it, though!

!

Oh, and if you want to see my photos, you can see the culled down version here: http://www.tippiepics.com/events or the full set of photos here: http://www.tippiepics.com/trimblewedding. (And I'm always interested in feedback if you have it.) Please note that my editing tecniques are drastically improved so you'll see better edits in the events gallery....

Good luck on your decision. Not sure if my long winded answer helps or hurts, though!

ETA: And you should DEFINITELY charge! I think I got about $1000 when all was said and done. And just for the wedding and post edits I probably spent about 40 hours doing everything. You can always refund the money, you can't ever ask for more! I charged $500 for the wedding and then print prices that were way too low. Oh, and you can see what the bride said here: http://tippiepics.smugmug.com/gallery/2243459 (Made by "Trimbles")

Scott_Quier · December 31, 2006

Andi,

I just looked through your events gallery. Those are some amazing photographs. You have every right to be proud/happy with them. I love how you captured the bouguet toss. That is great!

photodoug · December 31, 2006

Scott_Quier wrote:

Andi,

I just looked through your events gallery. Those are some amazing photographs. You have every right to be proud/happy with them. I love how you captured the bouguet toss. That is great!

yea, what Scott said. Your style is great and you've nailed so many shots. Excellent job.

photogmomma · December 31, 2006

Scott_Quier wrote:

Andi,

I just looked through your events gallery. Those are some amazing photographs. You have every right to be proud/happy with them. I love how you captured the bouguet toss. That is great!

photodoug wrote:

yea, what Scott said. Your style is great and you've nailed so many shots. Excellent job.

Wow! Thank you so much! I still can't believe it went as well as it did... I hope I get up the nerve to do another one soon!

(As a note, those photos were archived today - you can use the password "ArchiveD" to get into them - case sensitive.)

Wedding photography question

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