Men or Women Wedding Photographers

No, this isn't a question about film vs digital, Canon vs Nikon,

formal vs pjournalism. It's about Male vs Female.

 

This isn't a troll posting. I'm curious about how many men are in

the field of wedding photography. I would assume (maybe incorrect

assumption) that wedding photography would involve more females than

males. Since it's mostly the bride's day, lady photographers could

get better interaction with the bride. Lady photographers could be

around during the dressing of the bride.

 

But, my wedding photographer was a nice man and not a woman. Most of

the weddings I've been invited to have been male photographers. Yet

I see many women in this forum who are making a profession in wedding

photography.

 

As an aspiring male photographer who doesn't know where is

photographic path will take him, what can I learn about the

differences in each gender's techniques (photographically)?

Specifically when it comes to wedding photography. Is there a

difference between genders?

 

Also, has this question been asked before here?

Hi, I am a beginner, I think that it makes no difference whatsoever whether the shooter is male or female, why should it? Could you tell a male photo from a female photo? are the cameras or light different?

 

Perhaps people react differetly to gender, I would prefer to see more females with cameras, not less.

I really admire lady-women photographers. I find they have a heart-emotional connection with their client that I believe is wonderful. Just read the article on pages 24 & 25 in the February Professional Photographer on how a lady photographer connected with both the bride & groom. My wife is my partner and I see how she looks at a wedding and like everything she does. I think women photographers have elevated wedding photography and it inspires and thrills me. They are a great for the industry.

 

The PPA has a get-together for women photographers and I sure would like to attend! Just to see how they look at life, their expressions, feelings, emotions and expressed with their photography would be an experience for me. Maybe someday they will allow a couple of caring men be the mice in the corner, sort of wallflowers observing and learning. Pass the cheese!

 

Just my thoughts. I think it's terrific to have women as professional phgotographers! I sure learn from them and hope, every once in a while I help them!

 

Life's great.

Of the dozens of weddings I've attended I cannot recall one having a professional female photog. I've seen lady assistants but never the primary. This forum is full of excellent women pros, so they are out there doing the job as well as anyone and contributing as well as pushing the craft and art form to higher levels.

IMO many more males than females in the wedding biz.

My assistant (happens to be my daughter-in-law) makes an immediate connection with every bride we work with. This starts at our initial sales meeting. After I say nice to meet you, she begins:

 

"So tell me everything about your wedding. What colors, flowers, music, reception, invitations? What kind of dress and how are you fixing your hair?"

 

This goes on intil they have formed a bond that only death could break.

 

My point is that I think women have a natural advantage to establishing an emotional investment. I have to work a little harder and I bet most guys do as well.

Weddings, it seems, would be ideal for a gay male photographer. Yes, he could be both emotionally satisfying for the bride ("Girl, I just love that dress! - you go girl!", etc.)and he could also spearhead the business, or have a gay female business partner do that.

 

Kidding aside, at the risk of sounding chauvanist, men do photograph many weddings... men do many things in this world wonderfully. There is a reason why. We are creative, talented, and compassionate.

Seems to me a lot of the new entrants into the industry are women. I would agree that women would have an easier time in the emotional engagement with the bride, and for the most part, I find brides to be much more interested in the photography than the groom.

First off, I might point out that there are more men on this board than women- so you

may end up with a dominance of male response. However, I do not think that the

numbers here accurately reflect on the industry as a whole. If we broaden the scope to the

entire workforce in the world, you will certainly find more men working than women

mainly because men can't bear or nurse children.

 

I will not attempt to speak for other women or for men, only for myself.

Photographically, I think that you won't find too much difference. Whatever someone can

accomplish in framing, lighting, or technique can be replicated by someone else. So, I

don't think that the pictures would be the tell-tale difference between genders. I think it

comes down to communication and intuition. I do think that having gone through the

experience of being a bride makes me extra sympathetic to when a bride freaks out,

changes her mind frequently, or seems overwhelmed. I certainly go out of my way to

establish a trusting and comforting relationship with the bride to help her feel more

comfortable on her wedding day. Often times I'm invited to more than just the wedding

and I end up becoming the "family" photographer- which is great for business but also

requires me to be flexible and versatile as a photographer. However, I also know of male

photographers who have similar relationships because they have gone out of their way to

create them.

 

I do think there is a difference in choosing final images. I have surveyed quite a few men

and women in choosing pictures and quite often they both agree on about 50 - 75% of the

images, but there is another 25% or more that they often don't agree on for whatever

reason. The interesting part is that all of the men chose the same or similar images to

each other and vice versa. If that is translated into how men & women photographers

choose the final images they present to the client, than perhaps there is a slight

difference. However, my guess is that as a photographer- we will have a slightly different

focus when it comes to the images regardless of our gender.

 

Tom, if you'd like to see how a woman thinks about photography, work with one.

Wedding photography is more than just photography, it's a business. You have to deal with marketing as well.

From my POV that explains why in the past there were more male photographers.

Men were always more accepted in official roles as well.

Nowadays there are still more full time working men around, and people that work full time on photography are the ones to set up a studio.

having been a VG for the last 13 years, that qualifies me to comment on this. in the Boston South Shore area, (Boston metro south), I've seen:

 

there are/have been about an even split male/female of photographers

 

there are more male DJs then female

 

there are more women in the function hall/catering management positions, one thing is certain though, as I've seen it myself,

 

female photoghraphers can get away w/ being improperly dressed, where males cannot, my point back in I think 2000 or 2001, I had a job in Taunton, which started at the brides house, the photographer arrived which I recall very clearly, in a tank top and a black lace bra, white short shorts, and red underwear......OH MY GOD was there nothing clean in the whole house???

 

"Lady photographers could be around during the dressing of the bride." I've taped brides getting dressed before, ones that had no problem standing around in their underwear talking to me with a straight face Its all dependant on how confortable the bride is w/ who they've hired for their wedding.

I have photographed woman getting dressed for a wedding and im a male photographer, one bride even asked me to shoot her sitting on the toilet with her wedding dress on it made an impression on me as well as many others needless to say but i did it and it was a wedding i wont forget. As far as males and female photographers i feel there should be 6 of one and a half dozen of another, i mean i went to school for photography and there was close to 50/50 ratio.

In the UK I would definately say there are more male than female photographers. However there is a gender shift towards different types of photography. IMO more men stick to traditional film photography while younger women will gravitate towards the reportage informal style.

 

As a lady wedding photographer (I work alone, a pro of 5 years) I am NEVER short of business and often employed because I AM female.

 

I have attended many weddings as a guest and only seen one other female photographer as a main and a few as assistants.

 

If you are a pro and good at your job then that is where it ends for most people, gender doesn't come into it.

 

Nicola

Mark's point is a good one. If you're going to be a professional, your client must believe you are genuinely concerned in helping her have the best possible wedding experience (which you should be, or you shouldn't be doing weddings). My wife and I are partners in our studio, and I could not do an effective job for brides if she was not involved in all aspects of the process.

 

I'm not the world's best photographer, but I think I do a good job of visualizing and composing. That said, I don't have a woman's eye for the little things which make a wedding memorable from a woman's viewpoint. I never will. Here's an experiment: ask your wife or girlfriend about a wedding you attended two years ago. Chances are she can tell you what syle of dress the bride wore, what flowers were in the bouquet, and what color of dresses the bride's attendants wore.

 

We don't do a lot of weddings, but when we do, we do them as a team. I think brides like that.

 

Good shooting to all.

 

/s/ David Beal ** Memories Preserved Photography, LLC

The day may be a very romantic notion for a bride, but it's actually filled with complex logistical procedures which usually override the fairytale scenario intended. Lots of panic and anxiety from the word go. The photographer needs to have certain qualities to remain in control of his assignment to record the event: patience, self-assurance, a sense of humour. These attributes can be found, of course, in both men and women.

 

As far as the pictures are concerned, to be honest, they're all the same! I've studied dozens of wedding photography websites, all proclaiming a unique and special style, but when you actually look at the pictures, there's nothing new. Just millions of snapshots of couples, families and friends turned out in their nice clothes and hats. There's no way I could tell whether a smiling shot of a bride and groom was taken by a man or a woman of the opposite sex :)

 

What I'd like to know is: Why aren't there more female plumbers?

I have actually had a few brides say they would prefer to have a female photographer. Then again - maybe there are some that would prefer males... When I first started in Stowe, VT - There were more female photographers than male. Here in VA I think there is a good mix.

Oh, boy... I'm going to tell it like it is... one more time.<br>

And People will start hating me again.<br>

<br>

Anyone with agressiveness, motivation, & salesmanship can establish a photography business "*" just like that.<br>

More men has that compared to women.<br>

Of course, there are many successful female business owners out there, but it's not exactly 50/50, aint it?<br>

Also, in my opinion, people prefer male photographer over female.<br>

(but I may be wrong).<br>

Lastly... woman taking pictures of a woman?<br>

A women photographer who will get along with all the women customers... hm...<br>

How about... ugly bride with beautiful female photographer...<br>

There are many combination of creating female/female tension.<br>

Let this be a record that I didn't invent the term "Cat fight"

well you're most likely right about the people hating you part :)

 

"Of course, there are many successful female business owners out there, but it's not

exactly 50/50, aint it?"

 

no it isn't and it's not because of a genetic lack of "aggressiveness, motivation, &

salesmanship" either. To deny that there exists a male privilege in our world is akin to

denying that the sun rises everyday. If you've never experienced discrimination for any

reason that's great, but it is real and very pervasive and I would just caution you by saying

that for those who do experience it (be it sexism or otherwise) it's very offensive when the

impact of it is diminished by others.

 

"There are many combination of creating female/female tension"

 

Sure, but by your logic wouldn't the inherent female lack of "aggressiveness" reduce the

risk

of a "cat fight"?. In fact, if you extend this logic it would seem just as much or more of a

risk that the male photographer and the groom would engage in aggressive behavior with

each other and yet I don't hear of too many fist fights going down in wedding photography

these days.

 

And I would suggest that paramount to "aggressiveness, motivation, &

salesmanship" is professionalism. I've known some downright well off photographers who

couldn't hustle their way out of a box which is why they pay someone else 20% to handle

the business, but when it comes to the work they are professional and that just has

nothing to do with gender whatsoever.

 

my 2 cents.

 

cheers

 

lucas

Just a simple fact... no need to burn bras on my account as I'm not standing on any "side".<br>

I have nothing against women, some of my best friends are women... (oh boy)

Women are better.

 

Halina

Oh boy! This thread started 4 days ago and the whole time I've been debating with myself about the wisdom of bringing up another aspect of the debate of male versus female. I've been involved with photography for well over 40 years and have met, worked with, and been friends with female photographers the entire time. Some of them were journalists working for various magazines and newspapers, others spent their time under the focussing cloth of a 4x5 (or larger) view camera shooting product shots for advertising agencies, one specialized in food, and a few were in the wedding and portrait end of the business. OK, here's the bombshell: up until perhaps 15 or 20 years ago just about all of the ones I knew that were pro photographers were gay.

 

As for men, I've only known a few photoraphers that were openly (at least to their friends) gay although I've photographed jewelry for a lot of gay male jewelers and worked with numerous gay male florists over the years. I'm not trying to "out" anyone here, or trying to imply anything about our current crop of female photographers, just stating my observations about the way things used to be.

"Men or Women Wedding Photographers"

 

Does it really matter?

 

Women have done well in photography for over a century. Many became world famous.

The highest paid, most famous art photographer in the world is a woman (Cindy Sherman).

Not hard to roll back and list off all the big female names.

 

Lots of women doing portraits, weddings and events in our market. If they aren't getting

as much as some men, it's because they aren't asking for more. But all of the highest paid

wedding shooters in my market are women. There are 3 that I know of that start at

$7,000. and go up. I've lost work to them, and I'm way less expensive.

 

The very reason I started shooting weddings was from seeing an article in Photography &

Design about a Boston woman getting $10,000. minimum, and being booked 2 years in

advance ... plus running a portrait studio. 4 years later I'm still steppen' & schlepin' below

$5,000.

 

Fair amount of women on the WPF and at that seminar. But more men than women if I

recall correctly. Probably because they were booked for that weekend ; -)