Thinking of doing weddings seriously

[AMurrell]

Evening all
I shot my first wedding last weekend, and possibly have a another couple lined up.
I was going to shoot youth sports on sats/suns in the summer, but am now thinking there is more money and enjoyment in wedding photography so I am thinking of doing it seriously as a business.
I was just wondering if any of you established pros could offer me some advice and pointers on the general issue, and in particular prices/good website and business card providers, and issues/essential things to do when setting up the business.
Its still a bit of a grey area for me, so any comments would be much appreciated
Thanks

[Chris Dana]

The best advice I've gotten has been to find an established shooter and work with them for a while to get more experience. It might not pay well (or at all) in the beginning, but the experience you'll gain is invaluable.

[tim]

There's more money in weddings, but there's a LOT of competition, and there's a LOT more stress than with sports I guess. The three routes in are education, experience with an existing pro, or just do it - with the help of books, online materials like DWF start, etc. You'll also need $10K or so to invest in equipment, backups are essential. Have a read of my wedding FAQ, it's linked from my sig.

[AMurrell]

Ok, thanks for the advice, keep it coming!

[TheGreatDivorce]

Get experience. It's not an event to goof around with ... you only have one chance to do it right.

Don't undercharge, once you're good enough/experienced enough to know you're worth it.

Shoot a LOT till you develop your own style, and then stay true to yourself.

Get insurance, a business license, insurance, and insurance :) And then backups, backups, and backups.

I was talking to some other photographers the other night and one knew someone who, recently, had 4 (FOUR!) cameras go down at a wedding. You never know what's going to happen.

[form]

I just did three weddings in two days (three receptions, one ceremony), and they were a generally positive experience. I was accompanied by another photographer in two of them, and the third I was on my own (and the pictures from that one are some of the best in my portfolio).

Most of the "pros" would say get spare cameras and insurance. That's all well and good if you do enough work to afford and justify it.

[ssim]

Most of the "pros" would say get spare cameras and insurance. That's all well and good if you do enough work to afford and justify it.

If you do enough weddings or other paid assignments for that matter you are bound to run into technical difficulties with one of your cameras. If you don't have that backup are you really prepared to go up to the couple and say that you are done for the day. I have always had a backup and only had to resort to it once and that was back in the days of using medium format film bodies which didn't have alot to go wrong with them. The shutter failed totally.

One of the things that many fail to realize that if you are doing this commercially even if it is just to fund a new lens here and there the couple mostly likely think that they are hiring a professional. As such they assume that you will come equipped to handle the job. If you are putting a shingle out there to do commercially photography you are a business and you should treat is as such. There are too many shooters who are tarnishing this industry with half baked approaches. If you can't afford to do it right then don't do it. Lead, follow or get out of the way.

I have never had to use it but I would never go on an assignment without liability insurance. If someone trips over one of your lights, camera bag or whatever and breaks a bone you can be held liable. This is only one small example of what could happen. I am fortunate enough to live in a country that does not sue at the drop of a hat, the US however is different. I do not mean that in a bad way it is just reality and you should protect yourself accordingly.

There is more money in weddings than in sports groups. There is a significant amount of more stress related with this type of shoot as it is a once in a lifetime for most of these people. If you are doing it only for money then, imo, that is the wrong choice. You must enjoy what you do even if this is only a part time job.

I guess the overall point that I am trying to make is that in the eyes of the consumer you are a business. You have a website, contracts, etc. You need to treat it like that as well. Yes it costs money to do it properly but tell me any business that doesn't. Make sure you have a plan and speak to those that can help you avoid problems like accountants, lawyers, etc. Many will say that it is not necessary and many get away without these. Again you can't be a pretend business.

[tim]

I've had two cameras (a 20D and a 30D) fail at one wedding, at the time I didn't have any other cameras so I had to spend a couple of minutes getting it working again - during the ceremony. The cause turned out to be cleaning the lens contacts with ethanol (ie sensor cleaning product) - DON'T do that. Another time a 40D just stopped working, for no reason. Luckily by then I had more cameras.

Backup cameras are essential. Two cameras is a minimum, three is comfortable. Backup lenses are essential too, i've had two different lenses stop working during a wedding.

[kja]

Most of the "pros" would say get spare cameras and insurance. That's all well and good if you do enough work to afford and justify it.

I think, for weddings, your ability to afford and justify things is pretty low on the list. Backups aren't "spares" or "luxuries" - they are essentials. You are hired because the client believes you are ready to take on the assignment...and that means being ready to deal with equipment malfunctions smoothly so their interests are not neglected.

The priority is being able to deliver to the clients for this usually very important day in their lives. If you do not have enough gear with you to cover all but the remotest of failures, then you are ill-equipped, unprepared and shouldn't be offering your services in the first place.

I don't think it's conscionable to show up for a wedding shoot with a single body (even two would make me nervous, but would be the minimum I'd take!) - too many things can go wrong. Beg, borrow, buy or rent - but have plans in place for when Murphy comes knockin'.

[form]

For two of my three weddings, I was not the primary photographer, and there was very little expected of me because anything I got was "frosting." I was paid by the primary photographer. The third I did myself (under the same photographer's contract), it was a reception and I shot a few hundred pictures over about 2 hours, and that was all. I realize I'm on fairly thin ice, but my contracts are small and inexpensive. Any wedding work I do, I do under subcontract, and usually as a second photographer. Yes, I think that makes a difference.

I haven't made enough to buy new equipment since my $100 upgrade from an XT to a 20D. If I were to buy more equipment, I wouldn't be able to afford the credit card payments.

But besides making my "business practices" out to be atrocious, back to the original poster's inquiry:

If you're going to do it on a more serious level, I agree that it's very helpful to have a backup body if you can afford it. It doesn't even need to be anything fancy - a Rebel XT would probably do fine. Weddings are a very serious affair, as has been mentioned, and in the unlikely event that something goes wrong, you would do well to have a fallback plan. I myself have not done, and will not do, weddings on my own yet because I do not have the equipment to feel comfortable doing that. If you want insurance, be prepared for the cost. Or, just be extremely careful and don't leave things lying around. Many pros don't have such accidents and don't need the insurance, but I imagine it's lovely to have.

As far as good quality business cards, I've had good luck with www.Printfirm.com - but I think they've been upping their prices lately.

Setting up the business on a serious time would involve licensing, insurance and debt. I'm covered by the first, but the other two I am simply not part enough of the elite crew to get involved in. It's not my full time thing, and I don't expect to make a living off of it. I'm still just a hobbyist who enjoys photography, likes doing quality work, and likes making a little money from it, but that's all. For that matter, I think I do better quality than a few professionals with insurance and $20,000-$50,000 of equipment. Not all, but I know of a few locals I'd give that rating to.

I think you can get by very well with a few hot shoe flashes, two bodies, a 70-200mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, and a few fast primes. For a change up, I know many wedding photographers also like to use fisheyes on occasion for effect.

As far as websites are concerned, I've seen bad websites and good ones, and both have had bad quality and good quality photos. As long as the website is easy to navigate and shows your work well, it's probably fine. Flash is popular, but I'm not a big fan of sliding things and waiting for pictures to load while a silly ticker lets you know it's "working."

Advertising, I can't say; I know many people locally prefer online advertising over yellow pages, and it's generally less expensive.

Prices are largely arbitrary; most wedding photographers offer one thing or another that the rest don't, or do something a different way. It would do you good to get familiar with customized photo albums, framing, and similar things if you want to sell that as part of your service. I know that I would if I was doing weddings on my own. Most of them charge a considerable amount for the CD of enhanced pictures.

I would say there are three grades of wedding photographers: The ultra economy ones that do a limited amount for a few hundred dollars; the middle grade who charges an average amount, from about $600 or so for 4 hours or $1000+ for 8 and include things like albums, enhancements, and several other things. Then the really good quality photographers who know what they're doing, provide the best work, and charge probably $250/hour or more on average, and probably well over that.

I work for the middle grade, and I put out middle-good quality work. I know my limits. Everyone starts out small and learns as they go, unless they were born with platinum spoons in their mouths and a pair of diamond slippers.

Get some more experience, and work with and for professionals if you get the chance. I know that working under people who have roughly equal photographic skill and more experience enhances your general understanding of what to look out for in weddings, but does not really improve your photographic skill as much as working under high quality photographers. But, you can still enhance your skill as you go along. It comes with experience.

My personal preference is not to get into too much paperwork. Weddings have plenty of that, and I'm perfectly happy doing wedding work under the employ of someone else. I have a contract/release for individuals and small sessions, and that suits most of what I do independently. They're easy to get.

[SoccerRef]

Most of the "pros" would say get spare cameras and insurance. That's all well and good if you do enough work to afford and justify it.

You don't have to OWN equipment to be backed up. If you can't afford a second body, Rent one. Or Borrow one.

I have a good friend who shoots with me on occassion, and we have on more than one occassion borrowed equipment from one another. I am going to shoot my first wedding later this year and I have already made arrangements to borrow his body as a backup.

Having backup equipment is the best advice I have heard. For occassions when I have needed it (One time events - Senior Night, Graduation, etc.) I have always secured it. As of yet, my XTi has kept me going just fine, but it is VERY nice to know that there is another body in the case should I need it. And it doesn't cost me as much as buying new gear.

[cory1848]

You can rent back up bodies for about $50 a weekend. Or, you can buy one then return it...Not the most ethical choice but can be done if in a jam....

[Zansho]

The other advantage to having a second body is that you can stick one wide to midrange zoom on one body, then the telephoto zoom on the other body to cover all your focal lengths. Although, the last wedding I shot really didn't need anything more than my 24-70 2.8. I did bring my 70-200F4L, but in all honesty, I didn't really need it.