Hamish Gill
Tech Support (and Marketing)
I think I have covered most of the basics in the first 4 parts, but I am left with a few tips and thoughts that didn't really fit in else where ... So I shall share them here!
First I'd like to share some thoughts on how to handle the day it's self ... I have posted some of these thoughts in this thread http://www.realphotographersforum.com/people-portraits/2540-wedding-ceremony.html but thought it would be worth while adding them here and expanding on them somewhat.
Get an assistant!
It is my opinion that an assistant at a wedding job is an almost invaluable commodity! I'm sure some will disagree... but for me it really makes a difference! Just remember they will want paying!
A wide angle "intimate" VIP shot
I used to do it alone, and did fine, but now my style has got a LOT less formal I really couldn't!
The benefits of having an assistant are vast!
But they will need to know that you are boss and as such they need to do what you want when you want it done! There is no "I" in team, but there is an "m" and an "e"! You do need to work as a team, but you are the most important part of that team ... It is your job to get all the key shots, it should be your assistants job to fill in the less important gaps!
With this in mind the first advantage of having a assistant is the most obvious...
They allow you to concentrate on the VIP's.
I have found a way to limit the sort of shots Greg (my assistant) produces to the ones I can't or don't have time to get get.
I shoot wide to short tele, he shoots tele! I get the intimate closer shots, he gets the shots from further away, I tell him to concentrate on head and shoulders shots of all the guests smiling, laughing etc...
He has become a very good photographer with an 85mm lens with little or no training from me! He wasn't even a photographer before he started shooting with me!!
A couple of telephoto shots Greg got that i wouldn't have ...
Another advantage is "bag duty", this allows me to take (should I decide to) a wider range of glass ... something that I recommended against in a previous part ... But being as I don't have to carry it, and I am used to not wondering if I should/could be using another lens I can get away with it!
He also gets the car ready when we need to move venue...
Herds guests if I need him to...
All these things leave you to think one step ahead of your self, and nothing else!
You might already be there, but there is a point when you know what is happening at any wedding more than the bride and groom, and certainly more than the guests! I use this knowledge to my advantage to be ahead of what they are doing before they even knew they were going to do it! Every wedding follows roughly the same track, any subtle differences in timing or order are easy to be aware of on the day. Get that in your head and your golden, as it means you can always be in the right place at the right time... Especially with the help of a well organised assistant! Just remember, your assistant should be assisting you, so set him/her specific tasks that allow you to think less about logistics and just be in the right place ... The service they offer you is so much more than just second photographer ... so choose wisely, as I said I chose mine not on his photography skills. I chose him as I know I can trust him (he is also my business partner) and I know he is smart enough to get out of my way, help with anything that I need help with and above all for the times we are at a wedding allow me to be his boss!
There are no lost shots!
Never think of anything as a lost opportunity! Somthing I found very early on was if you feel like you have missed something it can fry your brain and damage you game for the rest of the day! Nothing is missed! Some things just werent shot! The bride and groom will never notice, and if they do, they won't care if it's made up for with a lot more other good shots! Always concentrate on the moment, the only thing you need to be thinking about is where you are and what you are doing next! Ultimately if you find this not to be the case, you are missing important shots and you are getting complaints about it ... Then I suspect you need to find a new career!
Stop thinking like an amateur!
Confidence in what you are doing is of vital importance! It shows in what you produce!
All the weddings I do where I am comfortable and happy I take better photos! Nerves and lack of confidence/pride in your job are your worst enemy!
If you are being paid to be a wedding photographer you are a "professional"!
You have no excuses for poor work, you cant blame your kit, the weather, the guests or anything for crap photos you have to be able to take responsibility for everything that you produce!
This might sound daunting, but the realisation of the reality of what you are doing, provided your work is up to scratch should help build your confidence!
Wedding Photography is one of the most presurised areas of work within the trade, if you can pull this off it will stand you in great stead if you choose to expand into other areas of taking photos in return for money!
Some other essentials.
Being a legitimate business...
I'm not going to go into great depth here as it is going to vary depending on what county you are in...
But if you are making money from this, the chances are you need to be giving some of that money to the government in tax!
In the uk a good starting point is this website Business support, information and advice | Business Link
Perhaps members from else where might link to their countries equivalent if they have one?
Insurance - Camera, private indemnity and public liability
I'm not 100% sure what the exact definitions are, they seem to cross over a bit when reading online ... what i do know is that I have them, and having them gives me peace of mind!
As I understand they cover for the following things
Camera insurance is essential ... If like me you carry a pro camera or two a few pro lenses etc, you could be looking at £15k of kit, maybe more... Insure it! If it gets nicked and its not insured you will be a sad person!
Private Indemnity is essential ... If you knock over a candle, it falls on to a curtain and the castle you are taking photos in burns to the ground do you really want to try and foot the £5,000,000 cost of repair?
Public liability is essential ... Whilst escaping the burning castle a granny trips and breaks her hip, your covered for the ramifications of that
If i have these definitions wrong, please feel free to correct me!
Some other Considerations
Join a Society
In the UK we have a society called SWPP, The Society for Wedding and Portrait Photographers.
There are all sorts of benefits they can offer, you can read more about it here Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers - SWPP and BPPA -
You might even want to look at joining the Chamber of Commerce
Join a forum maybe even this one!
If you are good enough, your clients will never complain about your images. This can make you complacent! Posting images on a forum like RPF with it in mind to receive constructive criticism will help keep you on your toes and hopefully keep getting better! The better you are the more you can legitimately charge!
A few Final tips ...
Can you actually afford to do this?
You might set up, get a few lucky break early jobs and then the work dry up completely!
I'm not saying it will happen, but it might! A lot off thought about contingency plans, living off the income of your better half... the consent of your better half for that matter are all worth spending some hard time thinking and talking over! jumping in to things like this with both feet might be the fun way, but its not always the right way to do it!
This is your job, treat is as such!
It's a very naive man who goes into this career thinking its a doss! I know that because i was that man ... I learnt very quickly that a days shooting on a saturday or sunday is not a fraction of the reality of it! If you are not working 9-5 every day in the week (maybe bar one - I used to have monday off if I had done a wedding on the weekend), editing photos, trying to find ways to promote your business, improving the way you work etc etc you are not working hard enough!!
On the other side of the coin you also need to limit your working week hours to 9-5 every day! When it hits five, you are done for the day, letting it creep into your evenings is not good for your sanity! The only thing you should allow outside of "office hours" is answering telephone inquiries and maybe meeting potential clients!
If you have never been self employed the transition is odd, it takes getting used to, but being strict with your self in the early days will stand you in good stead!
And none of this!!
- Guidance, contains adult humor!!
[video=youtube;KGg1567fzTY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGg1567fzTY[/video]
Your relationship with the competition
I mentioned in a previous part that you would not want your potential clients to see days when you are booked, if you are booked they won't phone you, if they don't phone you you cant make recommendations of other wedding photographers! I have a one photographer that I always recommend, I recommend him because he is a nice chap and i know he will do a good job... he is in fact doing my brothers wedding next year!
This sort of relationship will work in your favour!
Walk before you run
Don't try and bite off more than you can chew, taking off camera flash gun photos on your first wedding will just be a distraction! As i have previously said to start with just take the kit you need and work up to the more complex stuff when you are a little more confident!
Don't rest on your laurels
As i have just mentioned you should look to be constantly improving, if nothing else this will hold the interest of the job! Believe it or not wedding photography can become very tiresome very quickly, it is very hard work, and can be very samey!
Look around at other peoples work, if you like something, try and emulate it! setting your self goals for improvement will help keep you interested in what you are doing!
Once again, join a forum, ask people how they achieve the shots they do!
Look to introduce different elements into your work, off camera flash guns for example can offer an interesting dimension to shots ... but all in good time eh?!
So yeah, that's my thoughts on wedding photography ...
I hope it helps if you are considering this as a career path, and I hope I haven't scared you off the idea!
There is a lot to consider, but this is life changing stuff and should be treated as such!
Good Luck in your career if you do go down this road... and don't forget to come and show us the results here at RPF!
Back to part 4 - Getting some clients
First I'd like to share some thoughts on how to handle the day it's self ... I have posted some of these thoughts in this thread http://www.realphotographersforum.com/people-portraits/2540-wedding-ceremony.html but thought it would be worth while adding them here and expanding on them somewhat.
Get an assistant!
It is my opinion that an assistant at a wedding job is an almost invaluable commodity! I'm sure some will disagree... but for me it really makes a difference! Just remember they will want paying!
A wide angle "intimate" VIP shot
I used to do it alone, and did fine, but now my style has got a LOT less formal I really couldn't!
The benefits of having an assistant are vast!
But they will need to know that you are boss and as such they need to do what you want when you want it done! There is no "I" in team, but there is an "m" and an "e"! You do need to work as a team, but you are the most important part of that team ... It is your job to get all the key shots, it should be your assistants job to fill in the less important gaps!
With this in mind the first advantage of having a assistant is the most obvious...
They allow you to concentrate on the VIP's.
I have found a way to limit the sort of shots Greg (my assistant) produces to the ones I can't or don't have time to get get.
I shoot wide to short tele, he shoots tele! I get the intimate closer shots, he gets the shots from further away, I tell him to concentrate on head and shoulders shots of all the guests smiling, laughing etc...
He has become a very good photographer with an 85mm lens with little or no training from me! He wasn't even a photographer before he started shooting with me!!
A couple of telephoto shots Greg got that i wouldn't have ...
Another advantage is "bag duty", this allows me to take (should I decide to) a wider range of glass ... something that I recommended against in a previous part ... But being as I don't have to carry it, and I am used to not wondering if I should/could be using another lens I can get away with it!
He also gets the car ready when we need to move venue...
Herds guests if I need him to...
All these things leave you to think one step ahead of your self, and nothing else!
You might already be there, but there is a point when you know what is happening at any wedding more than the bride and groom, and certainly more than the guests! I use this knowledge to my advantage to be ahead of what they are doing before they even knew they were going to do it! Every wedding follows roughly the same track, any subtle differences in timing or order are easy to be aware of on the day. Get that in your head and your golden, as it means you can always be in the right place at the right time... Especially with the help of a well organised assistant! Just remember, your assistant should be assisting you, so set him/her specific tasks that allow you to think less about logistics and just be in the right place ... The service they offer you is so much more than just second photographer ... so choose wisely, as I said I chose mine not on his photography skills. I chose him as I know I can trust him (he is also my business partner) and I know he is smart enough to get out of my way, help with anything that I need help with and above all for the times we are at a wedding allow me to be his boss!
There are no lost shots!
Never think of anything as a lost opportunity! Somthing I found very early on was if you feel like you have missed something it can fry your brain and damage you game for the rest of the day! Nothing is missed! Some things just werent shot! The bride and groom will never notice, and if they do, they won't care if it's made up for with a lot more other good shots! Always concentrate on the moment, the only thing you need to be thinking about is where you are and what you are doing next! Ultimately if you find this not to be the case, you are missing important shots and you are getting complaints about it ... Then I suspect you need to find a new career!
Stop thinking like an amateur!
Confidence in what you are doing is of vital importance! It shows in what you produce!
All the weddings I do where I am comfortable and happy I take better photos! Nerves and lack of confidence/pride in your job are your worst enemy!
If you are being paid to be a wedding photographer you are a "professional"!
You have no excuses for poor work, you cant blame your kit, the weather, the guests or anything for crap photos you have to be able to take responsibility for everything that you produce!
This might sound daunting, but the realisation of the reality of what you are doing, provided your work is up to scratch should help build your confidence!
Wedding Photography is one of the most presurised areas of work within the trade, if you can pull this off it will stand you in great stead if you choose to expand into other areas of taking photos in return for money!
Some other essentials.
Being a legitimate business...
I'm not going to go into great depth here as it is going to vary depending on what county you are in...
But if you are making money from this, the chances are you need to be giving some of that money to the government in tax!
In the uk a good starting point is this website Business support, information and advice | Business Link
Perhaps members from else where might link to their countries equivalent if they have one?
Insurance - Camera, private indemnity and public liability
I'm not 100% sure what the exact definitions are, they seem to cross over a bit when reading online ... what i do know is that I have them, and having them gives me peace of mind!
As I understand they cover for the following things
Camera insurance is essential ... If like me you carry a pro camera or two a few pro lenses etc, you could be looking at £15k of kit, maybe more... Insure it! If it gets nicked and its not insured you will be a sad person!
Private Indemnity is essential ... If you knock over a candle, it falls on to a curtain and the castle you are taking photos in burns to the ground do you really want to try and foot the £5,000,000 cost of repair?
Public liability is essential ... Whilst escaping the burning castle a granny trips and breaks her hip, your covered for the ramifications of that
If i have these definitions wrong, please feel free to correct me!
Some other Considerations
Join a Society
In the UK we have a society called SWPP, The Society for Wedding and Portrait Photographers.
There are all sorts of benefits they can offer, you can read more about it here Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers - SWPP and BPPA -
You might even want to look at joining the Chamber of Commerce
Join a forum maybe even this one!
If you are good enough, your clients will never complain about your images. This can make you complacent! Posting images on a forum like RPF with it in mind to receive constructive criticism will help keep you on your toes and hopefully keep getting better! The better you are the more you can legitimately charge!
A few Final tips ...
Can you actually afford to do this?
You might set up, get a few lucky break early jobs and then the work dry up completely!
I'm not saying it will happen, but it might! A lot off thought about contingency plans, living off the income of your better half... the consent of your better half for that matter are all worth spending some hard time thinking and talking over! jumping in to things like this with both feet might be the fun way, but its not always the right way to do it!
This is your job, treat is as such!
It's a very naive man who goes into this career thinking its a doss! I know that because i was that man ... I learnt very quickly that a days shooting on a saturday or sunday is not a fraction of the reality of it! If you are not working 9-5 every day in the week (maybe bar one - I used to have monday off if I had done a wedding on the weekend), editing photos, trying to find ways to promote your business, improving the way you work etc etc you are not working hard enough!!
On the other side of the coin you also need to limit your working week hours to 9-5 every day! When it hits five, you are done for the day, letting it creep into your evenings is not good for your sanity! The only thing you should allow outside of "office hours" is answering telephone inquiries and maybe meeting potential clients!
If you have never been self employed the transition is odd, it takes getting used to, but being strict with your self in the early days will stand you in good stead!
And none of this!!
- Guidance, contains adult humor!![video=youtube;KGg1567fzTY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGg1567fzTY[/video]
Your relationship with the competition
I mentioned in a previous part that you would not want your potential clients to see days when you are booked, if you are booked they won't phone you, if they don't phone you you cant make recommendations of other wedding photographers! I have a one photographer that I always recommend, I recommend him because he is a nice chap and i know he will do a good job... he is in fact doing my brothers wedding next year!
This sort of relationship will work in your favour!
Walk before you run
Don't try and bite off more than you can chew, taking off camera flash gun photos on your first wedding will just be a distraction! As i have previously said to start with just take the kit you need and work up to the more complex stuff when you are a little more confident!
Don't rest on your laurels
As i have just mentioned you should look to be constantly improving, if nothing else this will hold the interest of the job! Believe it or not wedding photography can become very tiresome very quickly, it is very hard work, and can be very samey!
Look around at other peoples work, if you like something, try and emulate it! setting your self goals for improvement will help keep you interested in what you are doing!
Once again, join a forum, ask people how they achieve the shots they do!
Look to introduce different elements into your work, off camera flash guns for example can offer an interesting dimension to shots ... but all in good time eh?!
So yeah, that's my thoughts on wedding photography ...
I hope it helps if you are considering this as a career path, and I hope I haven't scared you off the idea!
There is a lot to consider, but this is life changing stuff and should be treated as such!
Good Luck in your career if you do go down this road... and don't forget to come and show us the results here at RPF!
Back to part 4 - Getting some clients
