Considering wedding photography, advice please?

[robster]

Hi all,

I have been photographing people for a long time and have considered weddings but always said 'no' to myself due to the conceptual stress of it all etc.

But now I'm REALLY considering doing weddings, not flat out, but 1 - 2 a month. So based on that, I have some in depth questions that I hope some fellow photographers could help me with before I dive in I'd really appreciate some help

Noting that I am at a coastal area, many of the weddings would be expected to revolve around the beach. Also note we have full access to hair, beauty and makeup combined with photograhy (now) as a package (I have a hair and beauty salon).

1: What is the standard running order for the day as a wedding photographer?

2: What kind of prep work is required on a standard job?

3: What kind of hours are usually involved in post and printing etc (outsourcing printing)

4: What recommendations would you have for albums and wedding books?


5: Do you have the bride/groom sign a contract saying they won't sue your arse for failing to 'get it as they wanted' or similar?

6: What else should I know (perhaps hardware, people problems/bonuses etc?)

I REALLY appreciate any help on this,

Thanks so much.


Rob

[Geoff]

Rob,
I'm going to have a go at answering your questions. I am doing around 6-8 (and rising) weddings per year, and a few more family portraits etc.

Your initial thinking of it being stressful - yes, yes it can be. I will touch on this more a bit later. For now, remember that stress is extremely contagious. If you can take control, remain calm, positive and enthusiastic, without going OTT then you will make a damn good wedding photog.

I don't pretend to know all there is, far from it, I'm learning as I go but I think I can safely say that my photographic skills and the way I 'work' with a couple has improved since I began about 18 months ago.

1. Standard wedding day? How long is a piece of string. For me, a 'standard' day would be getting a good night's sleep the night before. This is essential. That night charging gear, packing gear, checking CF cards, going through the photography itinerary, learning names and checking gear. Did I mention you should check your gear more than once? Start with a list of shots that are a 'must'. This is usually discussed with the B&G prior to the big day. Photos that they need/want etc. I.e shots with Grandma Jean or Uncle Tom who's come from Ireland etc etc. It's a huge variable but for me, the day usually starts at the location where the bride is getting ready. Up to an hour or so getting shots of the preparational stages with her Mum/bridesmaids/Dad etc etc. Makeup/hair shots - you get the drift. From there you move on to the ceremony location, where u snap off a few images of the nervous groom waiting with his best man/groomsmen. Then of the bride arriving. If you have a 2nd shooter then he/she may be getting the guys as they get ready, over a game of pool, a few beers/golf whatever. Then the ceremony, be it in a church, outdoors, wherever. Think on your toes, think quick, be smart and...remember names and use them. You will be surprised how well people respond when you use their first names (not just the B&G). 'Standard' wedding photog hours (on the day of the ceremony) would be around 2pm-9pm give or take. After the ceremony and formal shots of family members and candids (hugs and congrats etc) you have the bridal party to yourself and your assistant, if you are lucky enough to have one. This is your time to really shine, work with them...learn to read their body language and encourage an open line of communication at ALL times. I insist upon this when first meeting with the B&G. If you can't talk to each other and get a feeling of 'trust' with each other, it's an uphill battle. So the bridal party shoot, B&G (this portion can take from 30 mins to 2hrs or more). This time allocation must be discussed thoroughly before the day in a meeting with the B&G.

2. Prep work - I've kinda covered this. Get to know and meet with the B&G at least once with them. Ask them what kind of photography they are expecting, candid, formal, mixture. Do they want you to be 'out of the way' so they hardly notice or are they happy for you to be catching most/all every moment. Scope the venues out well, time how long it will take to get from each place. I.e bride's place to ceremony, ceremony to reception, and a location shoot inbetween if need be. Check your gear. Know your gear. Check your gear again. Batteries charged? Spare batteries, backup body, lenses all clean etc etc. Work out what time you are going to be where, and what the sun will be doing at these times. Where will u place the bridal party in relation to where the sun is? How can you avoid harsh shadows etc.

3. Hours in post production? This all depends on a few variants. How good are your shots to start with? How familiar and able are you with Photoshop etc? Have you established a relationship with a particular lab? A good idea is to scope out a local (if possible) lab that do a lot of wedding work and ask to become a client of theirs. Most labs look after their wedding photogs.

4. There are lot of album designers/software out there to help organise the album. This is something I'm on a reasonably big learning curve at the moment. I'm happy to tell you more in the coming months! Watch this space. There are plenty of options though. A cheaper (for you, and for the client, but not as big a profit for you too) is a coffee table book, like the ever increasingly popular Momento books.

5. YES. There are plenty of 'standard' wedding contracts out there that you can change to suit your needs.

6. I think the key to taking photos that your clients are happy with, is a positive nature, an open line of communication with your clients and of course a level of skill behind the camera. Canon/Nikon D2X/5D/ D200/30D - whatever you like and you use and are happy with, go with that. I would definately suggest some nice fast primes, that work well in low light (like dimly/badly lit churches etc).

7. I really don't know if these are the 'right' answers but it's how I approach the wedding photography genre. I get a buzz out of doing wedding photography and working with the B&G. Of course it's generally a very happy day, and helping capture images that these people will cherish forever is kind of special.

8. We're at point 8 already? Hope this has helped somewhat. Hopefully some of the more full time wedding photogs from the forum can put their two cents in too.

One last thing - if u can find a local photog that wouldn't mind having you along to assist or simply watch how he/she worked with the B&G then this kind of 'training' is invaluable.

Good luck and let us know if this dream turns into reality.

[Aussie Dave]

Geoff,
Some great and insightful advice...well done.

Rob,
You will also want to try and come across as enthusiastic as you can (even during the times you're not feeling that way). You will want to look confident and to be in control, without being domineering. It is a huge day for the entire Bridal Party and after the ceremony, some of the tension will be gone and proceedings can tend to meander if someone doesn't take control.

Also, plan for the weather. Keep a stash of black (or plain-coloured) umbrellas in the car, in case of rain. If you were going to the beach for a shoot and it decides to poor with rain, you should have at least two alternate locations that you can fall back on in such a situation.

It is also helpful to know popular locations around the area and if they require permits and/or bookings for wedding shoots. If the B&G then suggest they'd like to have photos taken in such a location, being able to advise them of obtaining a permit will look good for you and save possible trouble on the day.

Carrying some small, easy to eat snacks & drinks (especially on hot days) will keep the Bridal Party on your good side.

One other suggestion, which may not be of interest, is to carry a small ladder in the boot of the car (if space permits). Sometimes, being able to get above the crowd can offer advantages in certain situations or locations, and can give a different perspective (especially to group or couple shots).

I'd also suggest trying to tag along with someone for a couple of weddings, to see how they run things.

And the stress will most likely only get to you if you are ill-prepared. If you know what you're doing and have a contingency plans in place for things that can go wrong, you'll be fine. You can always write them down and keep them in your camera bag. If something goes pear-shaped, stress can blank your memory....if it's written down, you can find it and regain control.

Hope this is helpful  PS..I believe Geoff also mentioned to check all your gear "at least" twice, and also have a brief itinerary jotted down so you can refer to it.

[Yi-P]

Being a very green wedding photographer here, I will just share some of my very first experiences and thoughts.

The first jobs are all about the massive stress you have to handle. Weddings are not like planned portrait sessions that things can slow down and wait for you to set up the things and shoot again, no. Things happen in split seconds and you need to know how to anticipate actions and possible shots by reading people's face and reactions.

If they have a wedding planner/organiser, talk to him/her before things starts, you will get a much better idea of how things going to happen and where they are going to stand/walk so you know where to get the shot. Do not end up 'following' them from behind, always go ahead and plan your way through.

As said above, keep a list of things that you need to do, inside your shirt's front pocket. Names are important, people will be much more cooperative if you call out their names. Learn the names of the B&G, bridesmaid and groosmen, their mother and father, or any other close relative uncles etc... This will make them feel closer to you when you order them to do something, specially posing for people who does not take much photos (they going to be stiff as always).

Main (and hardest) job is to talk to them, make them feel as comfortable as possible. There is no better shot than a natural smile and kiss. Every moment of this is just precious for you and their photograph to get. A good sense of humour is almost invaluable for this. I'm still on my way practising my speech behind the lens. It is hard to keep your eye on the viewfinder, look for composition and talk to them at the same time.

Above all, keep plenty of backups, they're there as insurances, you wont appreciate them until something bad happens (hopefully not). Batteries, memory cards/films, camera body, bring more than what you expect to use, always. Last time I thought I was enough covered by 3.5GB of memory cards, but then I ended up in trouble finding pictures to delete near the end of the wedding because I was running out of space. I learned my lesson on the hard way.

[jdear]

You have to decide, if I am going to offer this as an additional service to customers for my hair and beauty services - You want to be doing a good job or not at all.

If your only wanting to do 1-2 weddings / month and you are not looking to make wedding photography your main income source, I would suggest you get some work assisting professional wedding photographers - the experience will be invaluable.

This can be a good way to continue to explore if you want to continue doing this without the investment in: equipment, backup equipment, software, advertising, album accounts, album samples... (and the list grows)

If you can also find someone who can critique your work through their eyes, and talk shop about the running of a business, work involved, what to charge, their resource suppliers etc... you are going to find all your questions answered in the best way - from someone who does it 24 / 7!

If you are wanting to do wedding photography competitively with others (there are alot of wedding photogs out there - some bad, good and bloody amazing) you need to find your point of difference.

What will you be offering that others dont? (you will need to extensively research competition, get prices off them and position yourself accordingly) This may mean something like having their photos available online 5 days after the wedding or something.

Stress will disappear after more and more weddings, you will have a mental checklist, you will be more relaxed. (and not sweat buckets)

Charge accordingly to the competition, never discount - it screams I didnt think i was worth $x amount to begin with. (at a recent wedding expo, some photographers were selling themselves by - package A was $3000, now $2000!) Give away freebies if you want to entice people. (eg - upgrade to larger album, more pages / sides included in album packages etc)

When you have selected a pricing package, gernally stick to it! You can be flexible if you require, but many people shop for wedding photog's by price.
You need to be confident in what you charge, and allow people to walk away and compare you to others if necessary. If you are good, people will book you.

show all your costs upfront - including reprints, enlargements, additional pages in albums, DVDs, and any extras you want to charge. People hate hidden costs and its not good for future business if people have a bad experience - aren't properly communicated to.

Don't sell yourself short. You may have to be cheaper than your competition to start with, but you cannot supply really decent albums if your charging small amounts. Make packages which dont include albums as a cheaper alternative. If you sell yourself short, you could find yourself working for around $3 an hr all up! (maybe the first few times you shoot weddings - log all the time spent, including travel, pre-wedding consultation, time on the day, post-processing, editing, album designing etc... and work out just how many hours it took you!)

It is better to be an expensive wedding photographer having a bad day, then a bad, cheap wedding photographer!

Alot of professional wedding photog's are a bit reluctant to give you the details of their album suppliers etc... You can find most of them on the net, but you have to usually fill in 'proof of profession' forms to show you are a photographer and not the general public (they dont want the general public to know what they charge you and then can see how much profit you make) also ensures they are only dealing with people who know what they are doing. Prestigious album companies can and offer also attract a set-up fee to establish yourself as a client with them. (this is mostly redeemable with discounts on your sample albums etc)

Find a good lab. A few come to mind - 'Bond imaging', 'The Edge' etc... some album companies actually have the facilities to print the images themselves, mount them in the albums and send them even to the clients so all you do is design the albums and send them the files.

A good prolab will often colour-correct your images and be able to produce your images in the style you want them - i.e high saturation, cross-processed with skin tones natural etc... (They dont run them through blindly, without replacing dyes regularly etc - as minilabs do)

Dont use a cheap-ass mini-lab for your enlargements and album prints... the quality of your albums should sell you! Crap quality will reflect on you and you dont want people putting up bad quality images in their homes and say "oh such and such photographer took this!"

I had a look at a sample 'momento' coffeebook in harvey norman the other day and I was un-impressed with the quality / build of the album. I recommend something like - asuka books as an alternative. They should be able to send you out a sample page of their page stock - Laminate and gloss.

Contracts are useful things! The contract doesnt cover them if they dont like your style of images - they should have booked you knowing this, it covers you for: exclusivity (in shooting the day), deposit / payment arrangements, cancellation conditions, copyright and reproduction terms, client usage, your resposibilities if you fail to perform (fire, casualty, strike, act of God, equipment malfunction, loss, damage etc), photographer substitution if you are unfit for the job, price list changes, release of negatives (digital files etc), and the right as their photographer to use images taken of them for your own publicity etc (similar to a model release

- Both the Bride and Groom sign it. (dont push the contract... its too salesman... they can take it home, and consider its wording and get it back to you)

Insure yourself. Ive heard mixed responses by pros in regards to insuring your equipment, but you should be looking at indemnity insurance / public liability.

my 2c's for now...

Jonathan

[shutterbug]

Hi Rob,

1: What is the standard running order for the day as a wedding photographer? Prep-ceremony-formals-reception, that is the standard, but these dasy there is sooo many cultures in Aus that we capture what the client wants.

2: What kind of prep work is required on a standard job? Hard to say, everyoen is different. One important thing is make sure you have a full set of backup gear.

3: What kind of hours are usually involved in post and printing etc (outsourcing printing) There are many ways of doing this, you can have shoot&burn packages or packages with the lot. It is all about developing a workflow that is efficient.

4: What recommendations would you have for albums and wedding books? There are so many available...best it to go to a tradeshow to check all the companies out there...

5: Do you have the bride/groom sign a contract saying they won't sue your arse for failing to 'get it as they wanted' or similar? Contract is a must, for yourself and you client.

6: What else should I know (perhaps hardware, people problems/bonuses etc?) Advertsing is a must and the most important ! It is all about getting your name out into the world. Also don't forget about equipment insurance and public liability, alot of reception these days will require a photographer to have public liability insurance

Cheers
Vincent

[TonyH]

Hi Rob,

1: What is the standard running order for the day as a wedding photographer? Prep-ceremony-formals-reception, that is the standard, but these dasy there is sooo many cultures in Aus that we capture what the client wants.

You are exactly right.....! I shot a wedding 2 weekends ago where I was under the impression that the Bride and Groom were Hindu, as the Bride told me it was an Indian wedding.... was told there would be lots of Bollywood music etc. I found out the week of the wedding shoot that they were actually muslim...!

Don't take anything for granted or assume.... The wedding shoot went extremely well (over 450 guests) but it did involve some frantic reading on my part to understand the cultural differences and requirements for an Indian muslim wedding. We had already drawn up a running schedule etc with the B/G, but just little things like ensuring that my 2 female assistants were correctly covered so as to not offend on their day etc.

I'd say if anyone has the opportunity to work in a different cultural situation, to go for it as mine was a terrific experience. The colours and atmosphere was something not like I'd experienced before.

Tony

[Kyle]

Thankyou to the buys who've taken time to write this up, i've throughly enjoyed reading it