I have a good problem. I recently purchased a 5D3 and a 70-200 iii lens. My pictures have been gaining a lot of traction just being shared around social media (I shoot car/motorsports photos).
I’ve had a few people ask about shooting weddings already, but I’m not prepared.
- What lenses do you primarily shoot with at weddings? I for sure will not be able to use my current 70-200 in most situations.
- Any advice over using flash? It’ll be an entirely new concept to me. Luckily a flash came with my 5D.
- General Advice? Things you wish you knew when starting out with wedding gigs?
- What to charge?
Thank you!
When you say “good enough to shoot weddings”, well what wedding experience have you had?
Weddings aren’t about pretty photos. It’s a real challenge and exhausting. Ask anyone that photographs weddings regularly like I do as a full time photographer. I wouldn’t even think about shooting a wedding until you’ve second shot at least 6-8 weddings under your belt with different photographers for a few months. You NEED to second shoot for a while to get used to what a wedding day is like. It’s important to see how others work, how they interact with guests and clients, how they handle challenging situations or random issues. When I first began in my career I helped 4 different photographers in 11 weddings for about 8 months before I shot solo. This defined my skills and career by shaping my knowledge of getting lots of weddings under my belt. I think it should be a requirement because photographing someone’s wedding is one of the hardest and most pressing jobs ever.
It’s why lots of beginner photographers only last 1-2 years in the wedding industry. It is not for the faint of heart, it truly is a whole world full of challenges. Dealing with rude clients, issues, people being uncommunicative, awkward clients who don’t pose well, people not taking you seriously, horrible lighting or weather, horrible venues or locations that aren’t scenic, crap happens all the time on weddings and you have to be quick on your feet to come up with solutions in the moment to please family or the bride/groom, editing hundreds and hundreds of images, having professionalism, being calm and respectful under stress, running around all day and trying not to forget anything, remembering to drink water making a timeline, etc. The entire process is tough from the inquiry to delivering the photos. And even after some clients like to complain just to complain and will make your life tough because they aren’t satisfied with their body or appearance. In and on and on… I would recommend this industry unless you truly want to give up your weekends with friends, your partner, family to be completely exhausted and frustrated because that’s the reality. I’ve been in this industry for 12 years and see posts like yours all the time. I say the same advice to every beginner!
Again, do not shoot solo until you’ve gotten some experience shooting for a few months for multiple weddings with multiple photographers.
This. All of this. 150% what was said.
Weddings aren’t portraits with perfect studio lighting. It’s not just about having the right gear; you need 2 of everything. 2 cards per camera. 2 cameras per photographer. 2 photographers.
You need to learn how to deal with an angry, chaotic, stressed bride that’s been looking forward to this special day all of her life. She wants everything perfect… or else. If you don’t get the right pose/picture that she didn’t tell you she wanted, you’ll ruin everything until her next marriage.
Be prepared for weeks of planning and 10 hours of being at the venue trying to herd cats for posed pictures. Be prepared to have a meal waiting in your car because you’re not a “guest” so they didn’t count you in for catering.
Like what was said. Be a second for a wedding photographer to learn everything about shooting a wedding that isn’t photography.