10 Reasons You Should Be A Wedding Photographer
I still remember sitting across from my friend when she asked me to photograph her wedding. Complete shock and excitement filled my gut. And a LOT of doubts.
You see, I wasn’t a photography major in college or anything (I studied computer science, for goodness’ sake) - I had done a few family and senior sessions over the past year and built a mini portfolio for my brand new business. And suddenly - BAM! I was faced with the decision - do I want to jump into wedding photography?? Can I even do it?
Anyone else in that boat right now? You’ve dabbled in some type of photography, and now you are wondering if you “have what it takes” to make it in the wedding world. I know it’s really hard to make a decision when you’ve never tried something before, so I decided to put my years of experience together and make a little list for you to help you out!
When you go through this list, really think through each piece and see how it fits with you, your personality, your preferred lifestyle, etc. If you read through it and don’t really resonate with most of the points, THAT’S OKAY! Wedding photography is absolutely NOT for everyone :) But if you feel “right” when you read this, you might be cut out for the craziness of the wedding world ;)
You are either an extrovert or okay with putting yourself out there. Especially starting out in wedding photography, you have to really network a TON to build a client base in your area/where you want to be. This is with other photographers, potential clients, vendors, etc. As an introvert myself, I struggled with this immensely and am only just getting the hang of it now - but truly, if you just show up and make connections, it will make a HUGE difference in your success.
You are okay with being a “weekend warrior.” Yes, most weddings fall on weekends, so you have to be okay with giving up your weekends. You might miss out on hanging out with family and friends as much as you would like to, but that just means you need to be more intentional in your planning and scheduling with them and your weddings.
You like (or can tolerate) the business side of wedding photography. Bigger events like weddings = more business work like taxes, insurance, contracts, blogging, SEO, marketing, etc. Especially if you are just starting out, it may look like a one-person show for a while until you are making enough to outsource different tasks. Only about 15-20% of your time will actually be spent shooting. If you really want to avoid the business side of things but still would LOVE photographing weddings, you should look into being a second shooter or an associate photographer for another company (basically, you just show up and photograph the wedding/engagements).
You are ready to invest in more equipment. Wedding photography generally requires more equipment than just portrait photography. You’re dealing with a lot more uncontrollable scenarios, especially with lighting, so you’ll probably need a little bit more equipment in order to be prepared. When I first started out, I rented almost all of my equipment from Lens Rentals - I 100% recommend renting so you can figure out what you actually NEED and also what you like shooting with!
You can think quickly on your feet without panicking. Literally every single wedding you photograph will never go to plan - I’ve shot weddings where we literally could not go outside the entire day, we’ve run behind 1-2 hours and had only 15 minutes for portraits, and our equipment has randomly stopped working. If these things freak you out, then I would not recommend wedding photography. It’s a lot of pressure, definitely, but if you can stay cool, you can also really improve the wedding day for your couple as well.
You have the confidence to be in charge. As the wedding photographer, most weddings you will be building the timeline and helping keep everyone on track. As mentioned previously, not everything will stay on track, so you also have to have the wisdom of when to be flexible and when to keep things moving (most times, stay flexible). I was often unsure of myself at first, but every person at the wedding would ask me “what’s next” and “what should we do” - so you have to be ready to step into that role of leadership.
You’re okay with not just photographing beautiful portraits. There’s so much more than just portraits to a wedding day - there are details, getting ready photos, the ceremony itself, and LOTS of random moments and dancing during the reception. These pieces of the day are often some of the most precious to the couple AND also take up about 70% of the day.
You’re okay with some harder physical demands. At a wedding, you’ll most likely be on your feet for about 6-10 hours straight. Not only that, but you’ll be carrying around equipment and heavy cameras, which really put a strain on your back, shoulders and wrists. I’ve found that investing in better shoes, stretching/strengthening exercises, and equipment holders/harnesses have helped, but it is still a strain. Plus, you really don’t get any sick days (but always have a backup in mind if it’s unavoidable) - I shot two wedding weekends in a row while I had mono - it was rough, but this isn’t something you can just “reschedule.”
You don’t mind having the “Cha-Cha Slide” stuck in your head for the rest of your life. Silly, but also serious. I don’t have to expand too much on this one - you’ll probably hear the same songs at every reception and somehow take good pictures of people dancing - it’s a fun challenge for some!
YOU LOVE WEDDINGS. I had to say it, didn’t I? ;) But seriously, if you’re bored by them, then DEFINITELY don’t be a wedding photographer - your passion is reflected through the photos you take, and you’ll slowly start hating your life if you are always somewhere you don’t want to be. But if you love first looks, crazy dancing, and timeless moments, then maybe wedding photography is for you :)
There you have it! My version of 10 Reasons You Should Be a Wedding Photographer. Hopefully, this post has you either running for the hills or starting to plan out your dream business :) Either way, I hope it has helped you in figuring out the next step in your photo career.
