How doIset myself up to be a wedding photographer?

[emily_noakes]

Hi there,

 

I would describe myself as an advanced beginner, having completed a UK

advanced City and Guilds course and I am currently doing an HNC in

photography. I am a magazine picture editor in the daytime and am yet to do

any paid photography work. However, I hope next summer( 6 months away)

to set myself up as a wedding and portrait photographer. At the moment I cant

assist a photographer as my course is on a Saturday.

 

Can I ask you budding wedding photographers how you made time to train/

get unpaid/ paid experience on top of a full time job as a wedding

photographer? Do you think you have to assist for a while first or with the

correct courses/ reading you can take the plunge on your own? It would be

really good to hear your stories. Also, I have a canon 500 slr and portrable

flash, is this enough? I simply cant afford a good digital or medium format

camera yet?

 

Thanks,

 

Emily

[steve_levine]

No experience or training is required(why would there be?). Simply buy a DSLR, and the skills needed will come to you automatically! This works like magic!

 

 

Just kidding. Wedding photography, at it's highest levels requires several years of practice to master.

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

Seriously? a year of apprenticeship with a wedding photographer, or working as an assistant will be far more beneficial to you than an entire degree or even masters in photography. It will show you what equipment you need and how to use it, it will show you how to make sure you get 'the shot' each and every time, it will show you how to direct and organise, how to pose and photograph and how to deal with the clients, before, during and after the wedding.

 

If you have one, cheap, camera ("is this enough?") and no experience whatsoever in the field then you are not qualified to photograph weddings, FULL STOP. Especially not in 6 months time without any assist/experience.

 

I'm not trying to be nasty, really, I'm just saying that a wedding is a once in a lifetime event and photographically pretty complicated (lots of different genres of photography rolled into one). It is not for the inexperienced to take on lightly.

 

I have a friend who has a degree in photography and is now starting a masters. So far she has irrevocably screwed up two weddings through thinking she knew enough to be able to shoot them. I have no degree, am entirely self taught (technical side) but had a year of assisting the best photographer in town before I went solo.

 

If your course was specifically based on wedding photography then that may be one thing, but learning landscape, architecture, etc is useless from a wedding context. You would need intensive courses on 'capturing moments', posing, lighting and controlling lighting, crowd control, etc. Even if you were to start assisting now, it's not the wedding season. Assist for an entire season after finishing your course, see if you believe that you can photograph to the standard of your boss, or at least in the ballpark, take out a loan to invest in equipment, and then think about going solo.

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

I agree with Ben. You need to spend at least a year assisting and then see if you've got the skill to do the job-it may take two years or you may find you don't have the eye for wedding photography. If you and some clients think you've got it, acquire the appropriate equipment, which includes backup gear, and then go for it. I've second shot eight weddings and learned more from that than I could from reading a library of books on the subject. Still eight is not enough IMO to go solo. To "take the plunge on your own" risks ruining one of the most important days in a couple's life. Would you want your heart sugeon to take the plunge on her own?

[nstock]

What has been said so far PLUS there is another thing....

 

When you assist, you are not the one making the decisions and it is not your own self and reputation on the line. It is the lead photographer's reputation on the line. If you make a mistake assisting, the lead photographer will (hopefully) have it covered as well (assuming you are shooting).

 

When you do this on your own the pressure is suddenly all yours. If you handle pressure well, you will do well. If you can balance the pressure, the things that go wrong, crowd control and business ideals all at the same time, you will make it.

 

Assist for a year and then do a wedding for free (cost of processing.. film and prints or CD and prints) and see how it feels to be the one responsible for the whole works.

 

If you are a ppl person and love pressure and have a good eye and can work quickly and accurately, and have back up equipment and love pressure and did I say.. like to work under pressure?.. you will end up doing OK.

[david_schilling___chicago_]

Ben experience is right on the money and all the info above is valid. I don't understand why working Saturdays necessarrily knocks you out of assisting. Weddings also happen on other days of the week and studio work is available all the time. Don't under-estimate the value of learning the lighting, posing, and other elements of portraiture....including the bussiness side.

[mark_jacoby___raleigh__nc]

Regarding your second question. Altough I use digital now, I think using film is a great way to learn with. By the way, save up and buy a second body and then a second flash , etc before you venture out on your own.

 

If you assist, let them provide the gear and save wear & tear on your own equipment.

[wedding-photography-denver]

I would generally echo what Ben R. writes about the value of experience vs. technical training/education. Education will give a wider breadth of knowledge, but lacks the ability to direct you in more wedding specific ways. I would encourage a year (if you can make it happen) of assisting and watch how your education and experience will work together to help you get your vision/style.

 

Good luck.

[paula_malone]

Emily,

 

"Ditto" what everyone has said. Understand that I am still learning but here are my two cents: I have a "full-time other" career, but after hours and on weekends, I try to shoot as often as possible because photography will be my next career (in about 10 yrs) and I want to be an excellent, seasoned photographer before going out full-time on my own. The best advice I can give you is this: Educate yourself -- in a practical sense as in working in the actual industry. Too many bright college grads out there and no practical experience...(this is true in any industry!) You need practical application of the things you learned in college. For the past 3 yrs, I've shot as the 2nd photographer for free and for a small amount of money (the price of practical education!). I have also done a few weddings on my own (with my seasoned photographer boyfriend as the second photog.). It IS a totally different perspective and pressure...being the responsible person!

 

On top of practical "education", get involved in professional guilds. I am a member of the Dallas PPA and they are GREAT...so many people to learn from and the speakers teach everything from photographic technique and skill, style, trends to business practices and issues. The Texas PPA hosts (and the PPA sponsors) one of the largest (if not THE largest) school for professional photographers in the country. It is one week long held at Texas A&M (no requirement for experience level to attend; very worth your while AND fun!). I've attended the past 3 years and will do so next year. Highly-respected photographers from all over the country and world come to teach; and students come from all over the world to learn (you can learn alot from the students, too). I cannot emphasize enough -- educate yourself with practical experience but don't do it alone at the expense of someone's special wedding day.

 

Next...find a mentor. Also, try to work with different photographers to learn the basics, along with different styles and techniques! You would be surprised to find out how different people can accomplish the same thing but with their own style!

 

Equipment? Reliable equipment and a back-up is essential. Buying good used equipment will help. Bry Cox in Utah (an incredibly talented PJ type wedding photographer) was using, in the beginning, a few inexpensive digital cameras and his work came out great! If you have a chance...go hear him speak or look at his website.

 

One last thing...INVEST in a good pair of very comfortable shoes! Did I mention that you need practical experience?

 

Have fun!

Paula

[er1]

I thought I had the perfect answer for you until I read Paula's response.

[lou korell]

Emily,

Setting yourself up as a wedding photographer is different than being a wedding photographer. By virtue of your question, you have much to learn before starting any business - especially weddings.

Here's my list of things that I think are fairly essential to being successful in a wedding photography business:

 

1. Complete working knowledge of advanced camera equipment at professional level

2. Complete working knowledge of lighting techniques at professional level

3. Adequate business plan in order to understand your financial committment and profits

4. Apprenticeship at some level - assisting or second shooting for an established working professional wedding photographer

5. Reliable camera equipment with which you are completely familiar

6. Backup reliable camera equipment with which you are completely familiar

7. Insurance for all of your equipment

8. Liability insurance (possibly from a professional photographer's organization)

9. Well constructed portfolio of work - this can be in any creative form that showcases your talent

10. Some form of marketing collateral - i.e., business cards, post cards, web site, advertisement, etc. or all of those (costs $$$$$)

 

There are lots more but this is an idea of starting a business.

 

Now, to really address your question in more practical terms, without time to practice by assisting someone it will be extremely difficult for you to have complete knowledge of the wedding photography process. Yes, there is sort of a process. Depending on your style (oh, I forgot to add to the list - develop style)there are elements of a wedding that are typically critical to a good photographic workflow. Learning those are essential before putting yourself out there as the primary wedding photographer.

With that said, there are wonderful artists out there who break all of the "normal" process concepts and do wonderful things - but most of them started by learning the "normal" approach first. Kind of like learning all of the scales in music before you can improvise.

 

Weddings are not a lab where a photographer with no experience can experiment. This is a unique day in a family's life and they expect their hired vendors to produce top quality professional results. You may be a very talented photographer in any number of photographic areas, but weddings are distinctly different from all of the rest. There is a dynamic you will find that is unique to weddings and people's personalities are not the same as when you are shooting portraits or fashion, or friend's pictures.

 

I know some may disagree, but your Canon 500 is not the deciding factor in your ability to be a wedding photographer. It really depends more on what you can do with it, and do you have another one to back it up in case it fails?

Do you have fast enough lenses to shoot in low light? do you know how to look for the proper light to get the exposures you desire? Remember that many churches are dark and will not let you use a flash. This is important. What will you do then with you camera to shoot the ceremony? If you can't immediately answer this question, you aren't equipped yet.

Here's another question. Put yourself in the place of a bride who is looking for a photographer. Ask yourself, why would I hire myself as the photographer at my wedding? Think about that very carefully and you'll get an idea of where you are today and where you need to be.

 

Best of luck. Everyone has to start somewhere, but it's best to have a good direction to keep you going in the best way.

 

Lou

[carolin_s]

You could assist a photographer on the Saturdays during term holidays, or during the week. I have a full time job as well, and this year I've taken several single days off work to be able to shoot midweek weddings together with a pro photographer. You end up with less holidays, but look at it as a business investment.

Also have a look at www.bipp.co.uk or www.thempa.com . Check out what you need in order to get qualified: you could use it as something to work towards, and to be a member of a professional body does have its benefits.

 

Carolin

[patrick_viebey___orlando__]

Wow. I find myself with a similar question. I'm in my late 40's, have all the right equipment (Nikon D2X and a D1X), fast/good lenses, and 2 flashes (don't ask how I accumulated this stuff - let's just say I like later technology), and have photographed several weddings/events as gifts for others (with satisfying results).

 

The times I did it, it tired the heck out of me, but was still a lot of fun. OTOH, I was previously using film, and THAT always scared me. I could see how having a mechanical (or me) failure with film loaded could cause loss of key pics. Digital solves most of that (yeah, nothing fixes fuzzy, badly composed, or just missed pics - or a dead digital).

 

But, still, it seems like I could make a go of it at least as a part-time activity, and move it into a full time job to make money after I 'retire'.

 

Obviously, I don't have the 2 years to do the assistant thing (and given my life experience it would be difficult).

 

I'm considering doing several weddings 'pro bono' to try it out in the 'real' world. Obviously, I'd need to get an appropriate contract, and insurance (including liability and damage).

 

PS: Yes, I think I can answer the questions on exposure in a church without flash. Been there, done that more than once. Don't see how anyone could ever do a wedding without a real good grasp on how to make that work (careful ASA selection, use a good/fast lens, watch out for too high contrast windows, check to make sure the shutter speed isn't too slow, check color balance).

 

I also shot a wedding once that just kept going and going and going. Ended up shooting every piece of film I had (including 64ASA slide film - and wasn't THAT fun).

 

But, like Emily, am I crazy? Anyone else out there made the leap, or is it just that you 'gotta' go through the apprentice-ship? And, how critical is the studio for portraits (I could go there, but don't want to).

 

Thanks!