What is the Purpose of Wedding Photography?

The only real answer to this question is:pleasing the client.Wedding

photography's only purpose is to take a series of flattering photos

on someone's wedding day that will make them happy.To the casual

observer,this looks easy(so does hitting a 95 MPH fastball or figure

skating).The reality is that wedding shooting is one of the most

difficult challenges there is.The situations vary slightly,the

circumstances change every moment throughout the day.The client

expects to see everything from formal portraits to candids at the

reception.The demands on the shooter are enormous.The equipment used

and the anticpated results have to be second nature.The once in a

life time events that unfold,must be captured perfectly without

chance of reshooting.Nothing ever happens according to your plan or

schedule,but the results have to be perfect every time.This takes

skills that must be learned over time.In each picture you shoot there

is a reason for each form,fold & line of tightly controlled

composition.The flattering mentioned above comes from more than the

subject matter;there are subtleties such as the where the center of

attention is placed,how the lighting falls,and how the eye is

directed through the frame.It takes a trained eye to control

composition,backgrounds and have a flow & sweep in your images.The

best advice one can offer the begginer is to apprentice,and do so for

several different shooters.There are lessons to be learned from even

the bad photographers.Each shooter uses different equipment and has a

unique style & approach to their subjects.After learning all of the

above,one can start to develope their own style.

The ideal world and the real world don't have much in common when it comes to wedding photography. The skill of photographers who shoot weddings varies as much as their prices do. What else is new? There are no laws, liscenses or union cards governing wedding photographers in this country. The fact that there are low end, semi-competent photographers out there getting paid for their work, just means that that is what people are will to pay for. So long as there are people out there who base their buying decisions only on price, there will be people, who bearly know how to load film in their camera, booking jobs.

One thing that has often puzzled me is that there does not seem to be much demand for divorce photography, to document the second-happiest day for many people.

Hans, you should start advertising, perhaps carve out a new market for your services. Good luck getting everyone to cooperate for the photos, though!

Very funny Hans... <p>Steve - Bruce is right. It all boils down to what the client priorities are and what their budget is. When I was brand new to wedding photography, fortunately there were people out there with lower budgets that were willing to take a chance on someone without experience. If they couldn't find someone like me - they would have had a friend photograph the wedding or not have a photographer at all. Turns out they were better off with me. We all have to start somewhere. I only assisted for one year but was lucky enough to have an excellent mentor. I also asked some pretty stupid questions on Photo.net back in 1998. I always received respectful and helpful answers to my questions here. <p> I've always felt that there is room for everyone in today's market. Those clients that want good quality work and have the money to hire experienced professionals won't settle for lower priced amateurs. Newcomers can fill a need for people that can't and won't hire a seasoned pro due to budget considerations. I have a list of local people in the DC area that are fairly decent beginners. When a prospect indicates that there is no way they can afford my budget range, I'm more than happy to refer them to inexperienced shooters that have potential.

re: divorce photography. subject do cooperate, it looks like: http://www.photoaltering.co.uk/divorce_photo_services.html

Philosopher,artist,post John Ruskin once said,"There is hardly a product of our culture that someone cannot make a little worse and sell for a little less,and the one who puts price above all other considerations is the natural prey of this man".

Once a wise man stated "that self indulgence of importance is a bore" was that me or Brinkley describing Clinton? Not sure but I'm sure of this, that the wedding market and the business thereof isn't complicated. Basic knowledge and as some have described above OJT is sufficient for most self starters. The principles of risk and hardwork is not owned by wedding photographers except in ones own mind. As stated, a decent eye and the knowledge of being able to meter ambient light and possible a strobe isn't rocket science. Yet though most people who fail or succeed will do so not becaused by the actuall work photographing a wedding but other issues that have nothing to do with photography at all.