The roads to becoming a wedding photographer are as varied as the job itself. In this complete guide to becoming a wedding photographer we will go over the various steps needed from initial training, kit, keeping on top of your skills, and how to keep on working consistently.
Wedding photography may seem like a simple process on the surface, but in reality you need to have skills and experience in many different areas. These areas can include portrait photography, environmental portraits, product shots, landscape photography, lighting techniques…the list goes on.
When you delve into all the facets of photography needed on a wedding day, the list can initially seem overwhelming. However, breaking these steps down into manageable chunks is the best way forward. This guide will provide you with a great starting point for further research and practice, which should be a never-ending task if you want to keep growing as a photographer.
Basic Skills
At this point, we can’t presume your current skill levels as a photographer. You may be a complete beginner or have many years of experience, wanting to make the switch into wedding photography. Either way, many of the steps are the same, as a basic route to entry.
As an experienced photographer, you should have basic lighting, composition, and technical skills under your belt. However, just like a rank beginner, you will still need experience of shooting on the wedding day, the business side of things, and how to optimize the full workflow from start to finish. As with any job, the individual steps will become more and more refined over time.
If you are entering into wedding photography as a complete beginner, you will obviously need to get up to speed as quickly as possible with all the photography basics. This part of the process is arguably easier than ever with the wealth of information we have our fingertips. Whichever way you learn, consistency and regular practice are the keys to success.
Formal Education or Self Taught?
Even if you are a seasoned shooter, there are photography skills you need to get up to speed with to become a successful wedding photographer. This leads us to the age-old question of should you follow the formal education route or teach yourself?
There is no straightforward answer to which route will work best for you. Both paths have their positives and negatives. The formal route providing a structured learning environment with recognized, qualified teachers. The self-taught route can still make use of structured learning through online courses. But, you have to be more self-motivated and be more active in seeking out gaps in knowledge.
One of the biggest barriers to entry of formal education in photography is the financial cost. Not everyone has the means to pay for a formal course, which should make the decision quick. But, be aware that if you are going down the self-taught route, you will have to spend a lot of time rooting through the information online.
Luckily, there are plenty of short online courses in all types of photography which are reasonably priced. We can’t recommend any particular course as it will depend on your individual needs. So, check out large skill sharing websites, reviews, comments and feedback for each course, to see if it fits your individual needs.
Becoming a Second Shooter
Simply put, on-the-job experience can’t be beat. Even if you are a total beginner in wedding photography, spending the day in the shadow of a first shooter is invaluable.
If you are at the stage of simply wanting to observe to see if wedding photography is right for you, being a mobile light stand holder and assistant for the day is an easy point of entry. Most wedding photographers will happily accommodate a free assistant for the day if you show enthusiasm, and a basic understanding of photography techniques.
Observation is also the key term on a wedding day. On the wedding day itself, things move so fast that the photographer doesn’t have time to give regular explanations of the work process. On the day, simply do what is asked of you, then leave all the questions until after the event or in break times.
Once you have a good idea of the flow of a common wedding day, you may then have the confidence to become a second shooter. In many ways a second shooter is filling in the gaps that logistically the first shooter can’t cover. These shots may be of different angles, individual portrait shots or simply creative images that the first shooter didn’t think of. In other words, you need to be a complete asset to the main wedding photographer rather than a hindrance.
Speed of thought and execution is key on a wedding day. You simply don’t have the luxury of time on the wedding day to meticulously set up and finesse the composition and/or lighting. It’s very common that you may only have 30 seconds to get the shot. Therefore, as a second shooter talk through with the main photographer their individual workflow, and what they expect from you. This can range from being a general assistant taking only a few shots through the day to having free reign to do what you want. Everybody works differently, so know ahead of time what is expected of you.
After you have experienced a few weddings as a second shooter, you should have a good grounding into the process of the day and what is expected.
Kit List
Ask three different photographers what the best cameras, lenses and lighting setups are, and you will get three different answers.
This isn’t exactly enlightening information to the beginner, but it is to stress the point that the photography kit you use will be dependent on the type of venues you frequent, size of weddings, and even parts of the world you shoot.
If your wedding photography covers areas of the world where most the weddings are shot outside in sunny conditions, then you may rarely need artificial lighting. If you only shoot in small venues, then it’s unlikely that you will need a 600mm sports prime lens or even the common 70-200mm zoom lens.
You can obviously take every bit of equipment you own to every wedding shoot, but traveling light is also key on the wedding day. Therefore, only take the kit you need on the day, plus essential backups such as extra batteries, memory cards and peripherals.
Cameras
There are so many camera body choices on the market, along with other bits of kit, that even writing an Encycolpedia on the subject wouldn’t cover everything. However, when it comes the latest mirrorless camera bodies, you can’t really go wrong with the latest offerings from Canon, Fuji Nikon and Sony.
Mirrorless cameras have a big advantage over the older DSLR types in terms of dynamic range, ISO, and image stabilization. If you are on a really tight budget, DSLR cameras can be picked up quite cheaply, as most photographers are moving to the mirrorless platform. This means that the latest and greatest from just a few years ago can be picked up for not much money. Just be aware, if you want to be in wedding photography for the long haul, you will eventually move to a mirrorless camera setup. So, if you have the funds, go mirrorless as your first camera body.
Lenses
Zooms, prime lenses, or a mixture of both are the usual first steps in this department. As above, your lens choices will be down to your own needs. When you are starting out, you want to keep your lenses to a bare minimum until you figure out what works within the venues and weddings you shoot.
For instance, at a bare minimum, a 24-70mm zoom lens can cover a whole wedding day at a push. A zoom lens is also very useful when you are stuck in one spot and still need to capture’s precious moments.
If you shoot in larger venues or want to stay completely out of the way, the tried and tested 70-200mm zoom lens is ideal. A good quality 70-200mm zoom is also good in low light, making it a good all-rounder.
Some people also use wide angle zoom lenses for specific shots on the wedding day. Personally, I don’t shoot wider than 24mm, as I have found shooting wider leads to edge distortion. As a wedding day is mostly shooting people, too wide an angle can result in clown feet or exaggerated features.
Prime lenses are generally used for that extra sliver of quality and low light capability. You can’t zoom with these things, so you must physically move backwards and forwards, but the results are well worth the effort. Many prime lenses have apertures as wide as f/1.4 or even f/1.2, which means you can still capture the natural light of the composition without blinding people with a flashgun. One prime lens setup recommendation for a full wedding day is a 35mm and 85mm prime lens combination. The 35mm prime can cover environmental portraits and detail shots, while you can’t beat a 85mm lens for straightforward portraits.
Buy the best quality lenses you can afford. A high-quality lens can last you 10 years, so it’s better to save up and buy tasty glass than make do with a cheaper alternative.
The bottom line is no matter which camera kit you choose, the couple need to be overly impressed with all your images. That’s what counts.
Hire or Buy?
In the long term, it’s better to buy your own equipment. But if you need to try out a lens or camera body, it’s an ideal way to test the waters before you part with large sums of cash. Hiring camera gear is a great way to test out a particular tasty bit of equipment before you lay down your own hard-earned money.
Finding Your First Wedding Photography Job
Starting off as a second shooter can lead you to your first photography job. Filling in for a main photographer is one possible route. Asking friends and family along with word-of-mouth can also lead to your initial solo shoots. You must be proactive in this area, which means following up leads on social media or any hint of someone getting married in the future.
Marketing and lead generation is a topic in itself, but if there is one piece of advice, it’s to thoroughly understand the routes you wish to advertise. If you wish to go down the path of paid advertising such as with Facebook or Google, there are plenty of short courses online on how to optimize your ads. and gain the most benefit.
Introvert or Extrovert?
Like any job, you need to brush up on peripheral skills which you may not have initially thought of were needed. People skills is one such area.
On a typical wedding day, you will be hanging around and interacting with complete strangers for more than eight hours. This can be a long, tiring day, testing your patience levels. In general, I have found you need to be on the periphery of the action, not be the center. Be there for the most important moments, but don’t be the person who is bouncing around the ceremony room, as you will be just a distraction. Basically, be respectful of the wedding day, and take short breaks regularly through the day to allow you to reset and re-compose yourself for those wedding guests who have had a little bit too much to drink!
Over Deliver
By now you have your technical photography skills in order, you have a lighting kit, cameras, and lenses to fill in most situations. You also have backups of your backups, as anything can happen on a wedding day. Now it’s time to deliver more than the other photographers out there. This can mean turning up slightly early or staying slightly later, capturing those extra moments on the day, delivering the images early. Basically, showing the couple that you have worked extra hard for them.
You want to leave the couple with a hundred percent experience of your work from start to finish. The end goal here is that word-of-mouth for future jobs and customer satisfaction are key.
Upselling Other Products and Services
The wedding day is a chance to not only sell your photography, but many other products and services. This area is down to the discretion of each photographer, as some are happy up selling additional photo shoots, prints and the like. Other photographers are simply happy shooting the wedding day and then providing the images.
However, areas to think about are additional shoots from the wedding day. These can include proposals, elopements, couple shoots, family, and baby shoots. Printing of the wedding photos can also be lucrative in the right hands. There are many online galleries available these days where customers can buy prints and photo albums, which can be another source of revenue.
Cardio!
It doesn’t really matter if you have the best equipment in the world, the best workflow, and end-to-end service. If your cardio isn’t on point to hold up for shooting a 8+ hours wedding, you’re not going to last very long.
If you have a sedate lifestyle, you must get used to the mental and physical fatigue of being on your feet and rushing around all day. You must constantly think and move quickly as a wedding photographer. Precious moments pass by so quickly on a wedding day, and you need the energy to capture them all.
Conclusion
Even if wedding photographer isn’t your long-term goal, it’s a fantastic way to learn about all the facets of photography and get into the mindset of thinking quickly. The latest advances in cameras, lenses and lighting make the job easier than ever before, but you still need to be on top of your game for every shot.
Once you have your basic camera gear in order, it’s then down to regular practice. Your first few wedding shoots maybe freebies, but you will learn so much as a simple extra pair of hands or even a second shooter.
Long-term, there is no better satisfaction than knowing your photos could be center stage in somebody’s home for decades to come.