which type of photography work is more stressful?

I haven't shot any, but weddings sound like they would be the most stressful. Unlike portraits you can't tell them you have to re-take the shot (in most cases), and there are so many things going on at the same time it can be stressful trying to capture most of it for the clients.

I prefer shooting sports, while at times there can be a lot of action going on, it's not the end of the world if you miss a shot.

While I've never shot a wedding, I can attest to the fact that flying halfway around the world to shoot a landscape and then being skunked with bad weather or technical issues is, well, not fun.

The good thing about a wedding is that they only last a day.

Wildlife

If you screw up tracking them you could get killed

Karl Johnston wrote in post #10187357
Wildlife

If you screw up tracking them you could get killed

Especially if you have decided that UWA is the only way to get the 'look' you want (and you don't have a remote). Besides most carnivores have really bad breath.

picard wrote in post #10183610
how do photographers cope with stress of demanding clients?

It's all about managing expectations. When people think you're awesome, they tend to demand less anyway because they trust you.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #10185303
I know I can deliver before I take on the job. If there's any doubt in my mind, then I try to define their actual needs beforehand, & if there's still doubt in my mind, I'll recommend someone else to do it. Life is too short to deal with unrealistic expectations.

Well put. This is true no matter what business you're in.

don't you lose enthusiasm for photography when it become a career ?

picard wrote in post #10269600
don't you lose enthusiasm for photography when it become a career ?

Only if it doesn't allow any creative freedom.

picard wrote in post #10269600
don't you lose enthusiasm for photography when it become a career ?

Photography can remain a past time as well as a source of income. It is possible to maintain separation of the two. A commercial photographer can still derive personal gratification from doing landscapes or macro work, for example. Or a portrait shooter might like to do school sports on the side as a pasttime.

I think the most stressful type of photography work will be whichever one you don't have the confidence to know that you can deliver the goods. If you walk in knowing that you have the right gear and the knowledge and skills to handle whatever situations you're going to face, the stress level should be minimal.

It seems that weddings are often listed as the most stressful, but I'm willing to bet that experienced wedding photographers suffer a lot less stress than a GWC with his first camera who suddenly decides he can make a few bucks shooting weddings.

Press photography, when you've been assigned 6-8 gigs in a day and the pictorial editor is breathing down your neck an hour before deadline asking you if you've filed all your images..

Meanwhile, you haven't eated in 8 hours or peed in 6..

"No boss,, I've still got 20 or 30 to post process"..

Veemac wrote in post #10271563
It seems that weddings are often listed as the most stressful, but I'm willing to bet that experienced wedding photographers suffer a lot less stress than a GWC with his first camera who suddenly decides he can make a few bucks shooting weddings.

Less stress, yes. No stress, I don't think so.

Too many unpredictable things to interfere with obtaining the shot list which the bride/mother/planner insist upon in the booking, plus the unique technical issues which present themselves depending upon time and venue. So each one is unique, even though you might have had similarity of situations, and that creates the stress of a unique solution.

I think many studio shooters who go into weddings eventually cannot cope with people (bride/mother/planner) creating stress, on top of the unique solutions that need to be invented at a moment's notice, along with the unpredictability of bride or groom (no show, late, drunk, angry), along with the difficulty of recreating the day (when disaster strikes). Yes, other types of photography present unique problems, but I can't think of many that have the many types of pressure that wedding coverage can throw at someone all at the same time.

What type is more stressful? Any if you get it wrong, lmao

yogestee wrote in post #10271666
Press photography, when you've been assigned 6-8 gigs in a day and the pictorial editor is breathing down your neck an hour before deadline asking you if you've filed all your images..

Meanwhile, you haven't eated in 8 hours or peed in 6..

"No boss,, I've still got 20 or 30 to post process"..

Stress used to be shooting something for a feature story, then blowing it in the darkroom by accidentally pouring fixer into the tank instead of developer (accompanied with an immediate barrage of cursing as you realize that you screwed the pooch), then having to rush back to reshoot the feature story and then try again to develop and print it, and then to rush the print to the printer for screening and running the story! Meanwhile you haven't eaten and have to pee in the darkroom sink. Long live digital.

Any kind if you have the client breathing down your neck . . .