Run me through becoming a wedding photog

[Tobiah]

I love photography and whilst under no illusions that its an easy job its something I would enjoy far more than my current office job working for the government....

I work part time and receive £700 per month. basicallly if I could make that photographing per month after tax I would quit work. (would need to earn more in the future)

I think I have potential (not at the level yet) to do weddings and build skills...

Please can you give me some pointers where I should start... Please check my flickr for some of my images... (some wedding and some non image related weddings)

I was thinking to start off with prices a lot lower like £300 (600 dollars) a wedding to start with to get some under my belt.... including 100 processed images in full size on cd and a web gallery...

any tips greatfully appreciated! thanks for reading!

Way I see it is if I did one wedding a month in the future I should be able to cover 700 (when I'm better) then hopefully up it to two a month....

[mrmkt]

I love photography and whilst under no illusions that its an easy job its something I would enjoy far more than my current office job working for the government....

I work part time and receive £700 per month. basicallly if I could make that photographing per month after tax I would quit work. (would need to earn more in the future)

I think I have potential (not at the level yet) to do weddings and build skills...

Please can you give me some pointers where I should start... Please check my flickr for some of my images... (some wedding and some non image related weddings)

I was thinking to start off with prices a lot lower like £300 (600 dollars) a wedding to start with to get some under my belt.... including 100 processed images in full size on cd and a web gallery...

any tips greatfully appreciated! thanks for reading!

Way I see it is if I did one wedding a month in the future I should be able to cover 700 (when I'm better) then hopefully up it to two a month....

Hi
I started this year but only 2nd shooting to a photographer locally. You need to gain the experience first. You need to cope with the pressure of the day. Eventually it becomes 2nd nature but always remember every wedding is different (lighting people venue etc). Always use raw. It is a god send and enables you to concentrate on all the other aspects knowing you can change things later in your post processing if you don't nail the photograph on the day. Best of luck
Mark

[mrmkt]

I love photography and whilst under no illusions that its an easy job its something I would enjoy far more than my current office job working for the government....

I work part time and receive £700 per month. basicallly if I could make that photographing per month after tax I would quit work. (would need to earn more in the future)

I think I have potential (not at the level yet) to do weddings and build skills...

Please can you give me some pointers where I should start... Please check my flickr for some of my images... (some wedding and some non image related weddings)

I was thinking to start off with prices a lot lower like £300 (600 dollars) a wedding to start with to get some under my belt.... including 100 processed images in full size on cd and a web gallery...

any tips greatfully appreciated! thanks for reading!

Way I see it is if I did one wedding a month in the future I should be able to cover 700 (when I'm better) then hopefully up it to two a month....

Sorry for got to attach a photo of one wedding I did recently.

[Tobiah]

how did you go about finding someone to shoot for locally? thanks

I'm in the manchester area as well...

[mrmkt]

how did you go about finding someone to shoot for locally? thanks

I'm in the manchester area as well...

Hi

Just photograph people and events so you build up a portfolio. Then contact photogs in your are asking if they would consider using you as a 2nd shooter or assistant. I must of contacted at least 50 studio's in an ever increasing area before I managed to get interest from some one. When you do get interest sell your self. Don't forget You are going to learn quickly (priceless) actually on the job. No matter how much you read and learn from a book there is no substitute for the actual hands on experience. If all that fails I was going to put my name forward and ask to leave business cards at registrars offering free wedding shoots (Give photo's on cd) for any person who could not afford to pay a pro photog and build up my portfilio that way. The other alternative is just jump in the deep end and learn as you go but be careful to explain that you are not experienced to any prospective bride and groom or you could end up with nothing but hassle. If you charge people they expect service and a certain standard. Don't charge and they can't expect too much. I have now completed 6 weddings this year as 2nd shooter. Later this month I am shooting prime for the photog and already next year I have received bookings under my own right. Just persist and if you really want it you will get there.

Mark

[Tobiah]

any more of your images? ill post a few of mine...

[Tobiah]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2084451821_6237c7cb9c.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2340/2037535375_30c295dae3.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2257/2004128202_1b76f0a1f1.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2167/1973341018_b392a6d7af.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2243/1973329416_74b63110c7.jpg

[mrmkt]

any more of your images? ill post a few of mine...

A few taken during the sun set.

[Tobiah]

Love those sunset ones. was that local?

[mrmkt]

Love those sunset ones. was that local?

The wedding was obviously not in Manchester. It was in North Wales.

[spphoto]

I found that the biggest thing about running my own business is that you can't just earn more than you did at your day job. There is so much overhead that you have to earn at least twice what you did before. For example, I've been in business for about two years and have yet to see a single penny of the money I've made. It all goes back into the business as equipment, stock and supplies. And I don't even have a studio to pay rent and utilities for.

So think carefully about what you're going to have to spend in order to be able to make any money at all. The general rule (according to my banker) is that for home businesses, there is no income for the first five years.

[Chris]

I think you have a good eye and are well on your way. I would think that by shooting on weekends and keeping your day job, you would be in a position to transition to full time photog in a couple years. But that is just me and I am just a hobbyist.

[Tobiah]

I found that the biggest thing about running my own business is that you can't just earn more than you did at your day job. There is so much overhead that you have to earn at least twice what you did before. For example, I've been in business for about two years and have yet to see a single penny of the money I've made. It all goes back into the business as equipment, stock and supplies. And I don't even have a studio to pay rent and utilities for.

So think carefully about what you're going to have to spend in order to be able to make any money at all. The general rule (according to my banker) is that for home businesses, there is no income for the first five years.

I have all the equipment i would need for weddings for the present... if i gave images on cd or the clients pay for prints what overheads would there be? Thanks for the help

[mrmkt]

From what I have seen from your pictures you are well on your way. The equipment you have will more than suffice to get started. You appear to have pp skills so if you feel confident enough just go for it.

[picturecrazy]

I have all the equipment i would need for weddings for the present... if i gave images on cd or the clients pay for prints what overheads would there be? Thanks for the help


trust me, the more you get into it, the higher your overhead will be. It would be foolish to think you can grow as a business without significant overhead increases to go along with it. Plan for it, and then you won't be bitten by it.

[jgogums]

- Look into insurance. Some locations require it and it is generally just the smart/safe thing to do. Also it may help you look more committed or 'legit' to other vendors (videographers/florist/ministers/wedding coordinators/DJ/hotel/caterer, etc) and potential clients. Appearances matter.
- Marketing...
Will it be word of mouth? Ads in bridal mags/newspaper/phonebook?
- Website development....
- Contract development/attorney....(all the legal stuff if things go sour on a job)
- Software and computer upgrades...
- Camera equipment upgrades...
- Replacement gear/repairs. While you may love your gear now and it works flawlessly you got to be prepared to deal with unexpected equipment failures (know where to go now for a body/lens/flash/computer repair and what the turn around times will be).
- Professional association memberships/networking
- Classes/books/seminars
- Apology flowers for girlfriend that will grow tired of you glued to the computer post processing...

These are a few off the top of my head that may or may not be important to you as budding professional photographer...yet they can chew away at your time and money.

Your images look great. You have the equipment and most importantly the interest to merge your passion into a career. Best of luck.

[Tobiah]

^ Thanks for those tips that really helps. I think to start with second shooting is my best bet. get a few under my belt then go from there... to start with it would be word of mouth until i had some bookings. then i would look at establishing business i think

[jgogums]

2nd shooter is certainly ideal as the pressure is generally less but you still are afforded opportunities to shoot the event.
The real trick is finding someone to take you under their wing so to speak.
I've read many, many threads on how to go about finding experience as a second shooter in the old wedding forum...but God only knows where those threads are now...
Probably have to search in the Business-of-photography sub forum (actually this thread should have been moved a long time ago by the mods to the Business forum...since this forum was created only for images of weddings, etc....if you don't know why...don't ask...:rolleyes::confused::)).

However you go about offering your services as a 2nd to a wedding pro you will probably want to be clear about owner/usage rights of the images you take. I have no clue what stipulations a pro would require of a second but I'd guess one major reason you want to shoot is to be able to expand your portfolio of work so you can properly display your talent to future clients.

This is where you'd want to be clear with the pro. Who will own the images you take at the wedding? The pro or you? It's his/her client and the pro will hopefully want to include some of your images into the final delivered package...but can you still put the ones you took on your website or use in your marketing portfolio, etc? I'd certainly hope so!

But if you never ask then you may have some uncomfortable decisions/discussions ahead when you eventually go out on your own.
Don't make too many assumptions....

Also, "second shooter" is different than "assistant" (at least in my head...). You want to shoot...not spend the day carrying lighting equipment and bags. Make sure both you and the pro are speaking the same language...

You probably already know that pros can be leery of "training future competition"...even if you offer to be a 2nd shooter for free. So don't be alarmed if you don't get many (or any) bites right off the bat.

Start thinking now about the reasons why a pro wouldn't want to use your skills as a second (what do you think their concerns/fears are?...) and you'll be better prepared to overcome that hurdle and pair up with a pro that will really help you out.
In short you'll being showing them some respect by thinking ahead a bit about their business concerns and interests, etc.

Then sell yourself. How can you help them? You seem to know your way around post processing. I know wedding pros that just HATE spending time in front of the computer. Maybe you can find one that would be willing to take you along to build your portfolio and they get additional angles from the shoot and you do some of their post work? Just a thought...

As always...there are many, many, many ways to get where you want to go. But all involve hard, persistent work.

[Tobiah]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2300/2104560934_ca064ef983.jpg?v=1197416592

another shot from a friends wedding

[pxl8]

One word of warning. When you start out don't undersell yourself. A low price might be a good way to get some work but you could find yourself stuck at that level as word of mouth will say "Call Tobiah, does a good job cheap" and you'll get calls wanting the low price. If you put your prices up then you'll lose your market and be back at square one.

There's a guy in my area that's done exactly that, £199 for the shoot and a CD of images and now he's having trouble moving out of the low budget pricing and into something where he can make some money.

[liza]

I believe the figure quoted on DWF was around $30,000 net for every $100,000 you book.

[erphotography]

You can totally do it!!! I agree with not underpricing yourself, although a good, fair price to start with (read less then other people, especially cause your starting out), will help you get business. One year, after id shot 10 weddings, I tripled my prices. I stopped getting questions like "so do you have experience?". People just looked at my portfolio and assumed I was good! I was treated WAY more professional by clients! So once you are "good" (wink), do be to cheap!
I do have to say, that I think sometimes photographers can be discouraging about the amount of money to be made. I have always done very well. Im not meaning this to sound like I am great, because I made my way just like everyone else, however I have always found this business VERY profitable. From year one. Honestly.
I guess one thing that I did differently was slowly get fancy equiptment. I started out with basic stuff (a good, reliable DSLR) and used lots of charm, creativity and enthusiasm! Clients LOVED my enthusiams & uniqueness (is that a word?) and refered me to others. Then I bought better, and better equiptment (but still slower then most). To be totally honest, I pocket most of the money from my weddings (low overhead, and most advertising is just from one bridal fair a year where I get tons of bookings!), and my main package is around the $2200 mark (pretty good profit for one days work, plus half day to full day post processing).
THe point of my blurb, is just to encourage you. You can make excellet money. Practice, practice, practice. Look at peoples website and blogs and learn. Be charming and creative! You HAVE to love it though and if you do, it will show and youwill be successful!!! GOOD LUCK!! :)

[pjtemplin]

Disclaimer: I do network engineering by day, photography is only a hobby, and I do not have much business-related education.

I was thinking to start off with prices a lot lower like £300 (600 dollars) a wedding to start with to get some under my belt.... including 100 processed images in full size on cd and a web gallery...

You're asking for a shakedown on wedding photography, you work a different job, and you already have chosen your prices? Cart before the horse, folks, it doesn't work (hint: you can't steer it).

[Tobiah]

Disclaimer: I do network engineering by day, photography is only a hobby, and I do not have much business-related education.



You're asking for a shakedown on wedding photography, you work a different job, and you already have chosen your prices? Cart before the horse, folks, it doesn't work (hint: you can't steer it).
sorry not seeing what your saying...

[pjtemplin]

You can't (or shouldn't) set your prices before you've learned and analyzed the costs involved. If you figure $50-100/month for a webhosting package to host the web galleries, twenty weddings a year (52 weeks of the year, but some are less likely to be booked and without advertising costs you can't expect to be full), you're talking $600-$1200 in expenses just for the web out of $12000 in revenues. Figure $2000 in annual equipment upgrades (batteries wear out, you're going to want new stuff, etc.). Figure eight hours per wedding and eight more hours of PP work. That's a not-so-whopping pay rate of $28 an hour, or from a different angle $9000 to live on. I sure hope you don't plan to quit your day job.

Learn the costs involved, especially the pain of the first year or two. Figure out how many bookings you can realistically land. Figure out how much you'd need to charge to LIVE off it for the year, and how much you could live off if you used the aforementioned rates.

At a higher level, I wouldn't start off in wedding photography. I'd add wedding work to an existing service portfolio, and/or just do it as a side gig.

[notapro]

I didn't actually read through all the posts in this thread, but I wanted to say that I have seen several different methods of entry into wedding photography that have worked well for people that are now established. There will always be people who agree and disagree with every approach. You just need to figure out will work for you, in your market, with the resources you have.

Personally, I'm doing portraits and some events to build my basic photography skills and hoping to do lots of second shooting over the coming year. For me, taking the freebie/cheapie wedding approach didn't appeal. I'd rather build my skills, my confidence, and my portfolio, and enter the market as a mid-range option, pricewise. That approach wouldn't suit some people. Just do what makes sense to you, keeping in mind what you have to learn and acquire before you're ready to get out on your own.

Good luck!