Starting a Career as a Wedding Photographer
It’s the bread-and-butter for most professional photographers, the one job that’s always in plentiful supply and for which clients (rarely) quibble over the price — which is usually pretty high. Wedding photography isn’t just an important way of making a living as a photographer, it’s also an important way of becoming a professional photographer.
Unfortunately, it’s not an easy profession to get into.
For many photographers in fact, the first wedding often comes about by accident when a friend wants a low-cost marriage and asks them to bring their Nikon. Word spreads, offers flow in and the photographer soon has a new niche. Jeff Campbell, for example, recalled his first gig this way:
About a year ago, I took pictures of a friend’s wedding just because (1) I had my point-and-shoot camera and (2) she didn’t pay for a photographer. I couldn’t let the wedding take place without pictures to document it. She and her husband liked the pictures I took so much it gave me the motivation to get some equipment together and start photographing weddings professionally.
Carrie Moore, who turned professional just two years ago, has a similar story. She took the most of an opportunity and word spread fast enough to land her nine wedding gigs in less than 24 months.
Want to be a Wedding Photographer? Match up your Friends
That might suggest that the best way to become a wedding photographer is to know lots of single people and persuade them to marry each other. Inevitably some will want to save money, giving you the opportunity you need. You could then follow up by marketing with a website and Flickr, handing out business cards and samples, and placing ads on bulletin boards.
But there is an alternative route.
Regina Jones, a photography student who has just finished a course on wedding photography, recalls her teacher telling her that a wedding photographer must have the right equipment: a good camera; a good camera flash; lots of memory cards; and a back-up photographer for at least the first job.
That sounds like an opportunity. If you’re looking to get your feet wet and don’t want to play Cupid for your low-budget friends, you could try getting in touch with other photographers and offering yourself as a stand-in. Initially, you might have to do it for free — or at least for very little — but you’d also get the chance build a portfolio and build up your confidence.
Earn $5,500 for an Evening’s Work
You’d need that confidence when it comes to giving a quote. Regina’s teacher advised her to offer three levels of service with the cheapest starting at $3,500 and the highest reaching $5,500:
[S]hooting the engagement pic and then wedding pics and then the reception and then Photoshopping the pictures takes too much time to shoot a wedding any cheaper
she says and she might be right. Wedding photography usually means focusing on a bride who might be closer to a pile of tears than her photogenic best. It means reaching the location long before anyone else to make sure you get the still lifes and the shots of people arriving. It means being unobtrusive while still getting the close-up of the kiss, the rings and the vows. It means making commitments a year in advance. And it means constantly learning so that you get better and better and can charge more and more.
As Carrie Moore advises:
The best thing you can do is be prepared. Read, learn, pack and repack, and practice.
Get it right though and you should find that you’re getting paid for that practice too.
Learn how to deal with an unco-operative bride here and discover a new way of taking wedding photos here.
And tell us about your first wedding job by adding a comment. How did you get into wedding photography?
October 1st, 2007 at 3:40 pm
If you have the talent and a good personality, nothing beats a profession as a wedding photographer, the money's great, entertainment great and the food is free!
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:52 pm
I was asked to do the wedding photography by a friend and it scared me to death. I have always been a video guy (and even have the professional equipment), but they wanted photographs and they didn't want to hire a professional, and they had seen some of point and shoot triumphs.
After really considering turning the offer down, I decided I would take the job only if they promised not to pay me (good business model, I know). That way, they would know what kind of experience they were "paying" for and I would be more at ease knowing that they knew how I felt about it.
I borrowed a friends DSLR (original Rebel) with a kit lens, another friend's flash, and purchased a lightsphere.
The wedding went great (thanks to my wonderful wife as the assistant) and the couple decided to pay me $800 as a thank you. Now that money is sitting in savings waiting for me to get back to the states (currently doing mission work) so I can buy my own DSLR.
We'll see where it goes from there.
(Sorry for the long comment...you can see some of my point and shoot triumphs on my flickr page.)
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
I shot my first wedding 4 years ago, where some friends paid for the film and processing. A friend of mine agreed to assist me. The results were OK, and I learned a lot. After that I met a photographer at my cousin's wedding and he saw me shooting some pictures with my SLR and later asked me if I'd like to assist him. Since then I still shoot weddings with/for him, and I've been shooting on my own for the last 3 years too. Great thing is that I'm still learning from each wedding.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
i've been doing photography as a hobby for years and friends kept asking me to shoot their weddings. I kept saying no. What did I know? And who wants all that heavy responsibility? Then I had this friend at work who just wouldn't hear the word "no." So There I was on my first wedding job.
By this point in my career I had a decent digital SLR, two fast lenses, extra batteries and an external flash. The results were pretty darned good for a first try.
Then I got hooked up with a friend of a friend who was getting married. Even better results. I was really learning some stuff.
Two weddings after that and I doubled my rate, got some business cards and put up a web site.
I turned a hobby into a burgeoning and lucrative part-time job!
November 16th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I started my own wedding photography business 8 months ago by e-mailing local photographers and asking for an internship. Some friends of mine were getting married and hired me to shoot their July wedding. I didn't even own a camera! Now thats a lot of faith. I quickly purchased some equipment with some tax return money and then put up a website. I advertising on craigslist and my website that I'll be offering 3 free weddings. The response was big and I had those weddings booked within 1 week. Now I've registered my photography business "OpieFoto LLC" and I haven't even hit my 1 year mark.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
My fiancee and I were asked to do a friend's wedding in August 2007. We were kind of excited to do it but knew it would be a lot of work and they were willing to pay us $500 (that included our cost to print 200 prints and album materials). To make a long story short we have another wedding lined for a friend of a friend in March 2008... And apparently those that seen our work for the first job are spreading the word. I figure that for the next wedding we'll charge $650.
January 7th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Weddings are stressfull but nothing is more satisfying than when a client sends you a gift for the fine work you have done.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I just got my first wedding. What ideas do you have for turning the first one into he second one-other than doing a good job?
March 5th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Weddings are great but when you do all that work to impress you customer and they don't want to pay, that kinda makes you think it over.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I've got into wedding photographing recently. It's been great! You guys can check out my work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulosacramento