Getting in to the business/Lens questions/etc.

[kansascityshuffle]

Hey all. So, I'm currently researching and working on a business plan for getting into the wedding photography business. I've been shooting DSLRs on and off for a year and a half. I started with an XTi, and now shoot a 40D with the lenses listed in my sig. I've gotten more and more into photography, and most recently the hobby has grown into a passion for me.

I've always had in the back of my mind that I would like to eventually start a wedding photography business. I'm a full-time college student with at least one full year, and possibly three more of grad school, but I have my weekends and summers. I realize the workload involved in being the photographer for a wedding, and only plan to book weddings at times when I know I can be entirely devoted to them.

My plan involves beginning to book some weddings this coming spring/summer, and shooting fall 2009 at the earliest. It's very likely that I may not plan to shoot my first wedding until the summer of 2010. I realize there are still skills I need to work on in my photography, and I don't want to give any clients less than they deserve. I feel it would be OK to fine-tune skills at weddings, as nobody is the perfect photographer, but those skills should have a well-developed base before going into shooting wedding. I also need that time to buy/sell some equipment, work on my portraiture with flash, and to just make sure all of the intangibles are in place to begin a small-scale, but successful business.

I have never photographed a wedding before. I have read, and read, and read, and while I realize that a lot of things cannot be learned by books, I feel I have most of the skills necessary to do a fairly decent job of covering something as important as a wedding. I fully believe that, with enough preparation, the lack of experience actually shooting weddings would not hold me back from doing a fine job and making the B&G perfectly happy with the experience of having me photograph their big day.

I'm not sure what questions I'm asking, or even if I'm asking any. I guess I'm just looking for any thoughts or advice you all may have. Every single one of you wedding photographers here started somewhere, and that's what I'm trying to do. I guess I just wanted to post because you all have been there, and I feel I can learn much from this forum. So, I appreciate any help you all may have to offer.

PS - I rambled on for awhile, so you have my deepest apologies for the novel written above!

I do have one specific question

-What are your thoughts on booking weddings with absolutely no experience actually shooting them before? Can a person successfully shoot a wedding, without having done it before, by using developed photography skills and employing knowledge learned only through comprehensive reading and preparation?

[kansascityshuffle]

Also, the title of the thread says "lens questions" as well, but I wrote enough above already to spark a discussion. The lens questions will wait for another time!

[joedlh]

What are your thoughts on booking weddings with absolutely no experience actually shooting them before? Can a person successfully shoot a wedding, without having done it before, by using developed photography skills and employing knowledge learned only through comprehensive reading and preparation?

No.

Okay, I'll add a little more.

Photographic ability is only one of the requirements for a wedding photographer -- maybe not even the most important one. Photography is a solitary enterprise in most cases. But not this one. If there are 100 guests, there will be 100 different expectations for the official photographs.

Look up wedding pros in your city. Offer your services as an intern. Work up to second shooter. Then gather your team and strike out on your own.

Assuming that you even get clients without a portfolio and sample albums, you will be doing them and yourself a disservice.

[kansascityshuffle]

No.

Okay, I'll add a little more.

Photographic ability is only one of the requirements for a wedding photographer -- maybe not even the most important one. Photography is a solitary enterprise in most cases. But not this one. If there are 100 guests, there will be 100 different expectations for the official photographs.

Look up wedding pros in your city. Offer your services as an intern. Work up to second shooter. Then gather your team and strike out on your own.

Assuming that you even get clients without a portfolio and sample albums, you will be doing them and yourself a disservice.

Thanks for the reply. I expected a lot of that type of answer, and it is duly noted. If I can find a pro to work for this spring/summer, I certainly planned to consider that option.

[form]

Get experience as a second shooter (or assistant) by attempting to work under experienced wedding photographers.

Buy a second camera body. Doing wedding work with only one body is extremely unsafe.

Make sure you have a good f/2.8 standard zoom, consider replacing the 50 f/1.8 with a 50 f/1.4. You might want to look into a telephoto zoom lens also.

You need a hot shoe flash to start with flash; consider a 580EX. Pick up a lee filter sample packet and be ready to use the CTO gel from it.

Future purchases may include radio triggers, additional hot shoe flashes or studio strobes, stands, umbrellas/softbox, a full frame camera, and possibly more fast primes.

[kansascityshuffle]

Get experience as a second shooter (or assistant) by attempting to work under experienced wedding photographers.

Buy a second camera body. Doing wedding work with only one body is extremely unsafe.

Make sure you have a good f/2.8 standard zoom, consider replacing the 50 f/1.8 with a 50 f/1.4. You might want to look into a telephoto zoom lens also.

You need a hot shoe flash to start with flash; consider a 580EX. Pick up a lee filter sample packet and be ready to use the CTO gel from it.

Future purchases may include radio triggers, additional hot shoe flashes or studio strobes, stands, umbrellas/softbox, a full frame camera, and possibly more fast primes.


Thanks for the contribution. All of this was previously taken into consideration.

I plan to buy a heavily used, but perfectly functional 20D or 30D for a backup body.

I was also planning to pick up 2 Vivitar 285s for the flashes. I can have one on a bracket for fill while the other could be on a stand through an umbrella for main flash. Both would be controlled by cheap Cactus radio triggers for the time being. The flash purchase is going to be made very soon so that I can begin experimenting/learning with them.

For the zoom, I am most likely going to be selling the 28 to help fund either a 17-55 IS or a 24-70L. I am considering the 24-70 because I already have the wide end covered with the 11-16. The extra reach would be nice, and I am not worried about having a gap in coverage between 16 and 24. Too many people think they need a lens lineup that won't even leave 1mm uncovered.

I also have a tripod to use, so that I could have one body/prime already setup for the ceremony and then be mobile with the zoom.

[tim]

Wedding FAQ (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=255604).

[kansascityshuffle]

Thanks Tim, although I had already read through 90% of the threads in the sticky.

[tim]

That thread's in the business of photography forum... of course.

[Valjoy]

My thoughts........I was in your position only a few months ago.I think you are on the right track. Doing your research and getting lots of practice.Knowing your gear and having backup gear(a must).

I know many on here will advise you against doing a wedding without having any experience at ''doing a wedding'' (''with good reason'') on the other hand there are those of us, myself included that were never going to get experience with another photographer..(this would be invaluable for you if you could).
My daughter and her husband kindly got back into their wedding gear so I could get some shots for a portfolio..then I was lucky enough to be asked to shoot a Website spread for a Bridal Consultant.(for no pay) She was just starting her business as well.

I also did a free family shoot and a free engagement shoot.
I was going to offer to do a free wedding for someone...anyone...just to get that experience. Fortuneately I didnt have too....word of mouth did it for me....a good portfolio will be invaluable to you.
Now the down side...I have only done 2 weddings with 7 more to come (word is spreading) After my 1st ...think of the worst possible things that could go wrong on the day and it did for me. No not with my gear (except for a slight glitch with my flash) or any of the other things you think you may have covered.

All the shots I had in mind went out the window, all my preconceived ideas about how and what I was going to do went out the same window. A photograpers nightmare is what I would call it. So it dosent matter how confident you are or how many great shots you can take when all is well and everyone is co operating.You have to be aware that there may be times that things are out of your control and you will have to try to make the best of what you have to work with. I was just unlucky enough to have all this for my 1st wedding...not a good start.
That being said, my 2nd wedding was so much better and restored my faith in ........myself.
In answer to your question...I think you can shoot a wedding with no actual wedding experience if all goes well. You would just probably shoot it better with more experience.If you can get some work, paid or unpaid with another photographer....do it.

If you cant and you still want to go ahead ,just make sure you are honest with prospective clients...I told all my clients that I was just starting out and had not actually done a proper wedding. I got 5 bookings before I had even done one. Very scarey....but I was ready. You do have to start somewhere.
There are many experienced professionals on this forum...take in what they have to say and learn from them. I am still learning and can only hope to be half as good as some of them. Good luck.
cheers Val

[tim]

Big blocks of text are hard to hear Valjoy. Paragraphs are good.

[Valjoy]

I thought the same thing Tim.......blame it on age or just being plain tired.

[kansascityshuffle]

Thanks a lot Val...And thanks for the reformatting...lol

If I can find a pro to help and eventually second-shoot for, I would definitely love to do that. The most important thing I need to do to get started is build something of a portfolio, obviously. At the worst case, my girlfriend's brother is getting married this summer, and I could get some shots there to use from then on. I'm not the official photographer, of course, so I would have to stay out of his way, but I'm sure I could still spend some time getting enough to show prospective clients.

On the other hand, I am not against shooting 2-3 weddings for a very reasonable price to gain experience and build my portfolio. Granted, in that case I would definitely be hired to shoot some seriously low-budget weddings, but if that's what I have to do to amass a portfolio, so be it. I would certainly be in a hurry to raise prices to a competitive level just as soon as I felt I was ready, because nobody wants to get stuck in that low-price bracket. Granted, this isn't completely about money to me, as I love photography and feel this is also a way to bring my skills to an entirely new level, but we all know prices are difficult to change as soon as word of mouth gets around.

Eh, I dunno, I'm just thinking out loud (sort of) right now. Thanks again for the very good points.

[bps]

Jacob,

I understand where you are coming from, because skill-wise, I'm very similar to you. I've been developing my photography skills, but it has mostly been in areas that do not involve wedding or event photography. I've always been interested in wedding photography, but where's one to start? As you've found, books and internet research can only carry you so far and are absolutely no substitute for real-world experience.

I spent some time finding a pro who's work I admire, and then I took even more time to work my way in as a second shooter (remember, patience is key here). I've only shot one wedding so far, but without a doubt, I learned more in that 7 hours than I have in 7 months of research. And more importantly, I clearly identified the next set of skills that I need to work on. Imagine what I'll learn and the skills that I will develop after second-shooting 10 weddings? Having been in your shoes, I can honestly say that working for a pro is invaluable.

On the gear side, you may want to give serious consideration to the 17-55 instead of the 24-70. When you are indoors, you will find the 17mm to 24mm range to be extremely useful (on a crop body). On the one wedding that I've second shot, I had the 10-22 and the 24 and above focal range covered. The gap was immediately noticeable to me and I ordered a 17-55 the very next day. Plus the IS is really nice! The only exception is if you plan on going full-frame in the near future, but it sounds like you are sticking with crop bodies.

Back to gaining experience, I highly recommend second-shooting for at least a season. You will learn so much! And then you'll be better prepared to make a decision on whether you are ready to strike out on your own.

Best of luck!
Bryan

[bps]

OP, do you have any input from the feedback you've received?

Bryan