stepping in to wedding photography

7/29/2019 Stepping in to Wedding Photography

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Stepping in to Wedding Photography

Wedding photographyis a topic that many of our readers are interested inlearning more about. Today Charles Clawson fromblog.chaselliot.comshares sometips on getting into Wedding Photography.

Wedding Photography is unique among all other photography mediums. As aprofessional photographer you have free reign over an incredible event full ofemotion, action and beauty. Being able to use your skills to capture these momentsforever, and have them be cherished by your clients is an honor wedding

photographers take very seriously. It isnt for the faint of heart. The pressure is ashigh as the clients expectations, but it can be a very rewarding occupation. For thesereasons, wedding photography is quite a competitive field.

Image byforbescreative

With camera equipment simultaneously rising in capabilities and dropping in prices, it

means more and more photographers have been able to make the leap from enthusiastto professional. For those already established in the industry, they might resent theadded competition and the downward pressure on prices, but for those photographerswho have what it takes, now more than ever are opportunities to start the transitioninto becoming a true professional photographer. In this article I identify 5 things youcan do now to prepare yourself to make the leap.

1. Analyzing the Aesthetics

Start comparing your pictures with those of established photographers. Professionalswant their work to be seen and are constantly sharing their favorite images. Take

advantage of this wonderful free source of knowledge. Scour both web and printsources and learn from the best. In analog style, I recommend starting a physical
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scrapbook of images you like. Get a few of the jumbo wedding magazines and startripping it apart. Look for poses and techniques that youd like to learn to duplicate. Ifyou are more computer oriented, I find having a folder of great pictures Ive stumbledon a valuable reference. Dont worry if the pictures seem beyond your level. This will

be a process and youll advance to higher levels in due time.

Things I look for in photographs:

Lighting - Pay attention to the quality (harsh/soft), angles, and colors of lightused.

Posing - Posing can be a difficult skill to learn. Some will utilize actual posingmore than others depending on your style. As a skill, it can be learned andthere is nothing wrong with mimicking poses youve see in others work.Remember, artists have been duplicating the human figure for as long as therehas been art, so chances are you arent stealing a style from anyone still living.

Capturing the moment - Look for the photographs that capture the

beautiful simple moments of a wedding day. Often I shoot random happeningsthat otherwise seem unimpressive, but being able to take photographs that arenatural and full of emotion make great and memorable pictures. As easy asthis sounds, it takes a keen eye and a quick hand to avoid missing the fleetingmoments. This is a must have skill as clients now increasingly seeking out thatwedding photo-journalist style photography. A little harsh but still aninformative read is this article from the well known WPJA oncapturingmoments.

2. Getting the Gear

Invest in high quality glass. Many photographers put excessive weight in the camerabody, when the truth is, as a professional photographer you have to expect yourcamera body to be obsolete in as little as 3 years. Not a pleasant reality. The flip sideof the coin is that a good lens will hold its value almost indefinitely. Some lenses haveeven been known to increase in value. Start slow but buy the good stuff. Your safest

bet is to stick with the major manufactures and avoid zoom lenses with constantlyvarying apertures. Choose lenses that allow you to lock down the aperture to at least awide f/2.8. Dont pass out at the total price of your complete kit, instead, build it piece

by piece.

3. Building your PortfolioNOW!

Building a wedding portfolio can be a challenge. Many fine art photographers withincredible skill find it difficult to make the switch into wedding photography simply

because their portfolio lacks wedding images. To move past this hurdle you may haveto volunteer yourself as a wedding photographer for friends and family. Start gettingword out of your ambitions and opportunities will come. If your invited to a wedding,dont leave your camera at home. Another option is to attend a wedding photographyworkshop where live models are brought in (often in wedding gowns) for you to

practice your techniques on. These are fine to use in your portfolio in the beginningbut should be transitioned out as you build a quality gallery of your own unique shots.

Its important that early on you set up some sort of portfolio organization system,ideally with a star ratings. As your pictures improve so should your galleries. Since a
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photographer should always be improving, this means his public portfolio shouldnever stay static. Save yourself searching through long forgotten events for goodimages and start organizing your favorites early on.

4. Maximizing your Web Presence

As you build a good portfolio, you need to make it accessible and get your servicesonline. To do this, there is a mind boggling array of options, from completely free tofully custom designed sites. You can find pre-made website templates for

photographers that require little changing for about $50 at Template Monster. Formore expensive complete turnkey web solutions look to companies like BluDomainor BigFolio. DPS readers can easily add to this list. For a great album generator forshowcasing your work I recommend starting with JAlbum. Its open source, has someincredible skins and best of all its free. Other popular online galleries includeZenfolio, Pbase or even Apples iWeb.

5. Be Patient and use this Time Wisely

Generating a flow of clients is going to be a slow process. Use the time you have nowto get a solid foundation for the busy days down the road. Create a solid package pricelist and breakdown. Search out vendors youll be dealing with for prints, albums andother products. Design some promotional materials you can provide to clients.Research bridal shows in your local markets and most important of all keepshooting.


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Sample Wedding Photography Agreement

As a followup to ourWedding Photography Agreement post one of our readers,David, has emailed us this sample Wedding Photography Agreement that he feelssome readers will find useful. David writes:

Please let your readers understand that it should be modified (dates, parties,

locations etc) to fit their needs, They should also add in any use or modeling release

clauses they want included.This should be useful in any US state and possibly other

common law countries. This contract is not copyrighted and is not posted anywhere

else.

Wedding Photography Agreement

between

J Smith Photography Inc. & Jane Jones/John Brown

This agreement is between J Smith Photography Inc. of 136 E. Main Street, Suite10B, NY, NY 10022 (Photographer) and Jane Jones of 123 4th Avenue, 17th Floor,

NY, NY and John Brown of 10 South St NY, NY 10028 (collectively the Bride &Groom) for the purposes of providing photography services between 11am and 12pmon September 21, 2008 at the Park Ave Church located at 11 West St City, NY 10022and between 1pm and 6pm on September 21, 2008 at the Long Island Country Club

reception room B located at 212 South St. Anytown, NY 10066.

1. Scope of Work:

Photographer shall provide photography services for Bride and Groom consisting of:

(add shot list or description of services, number of pictures, packages provided etc)Details!!!!

2. Fees:

Photographer shall provide photography services describe above for the flat fee of$19.95 (Nineteen dollars and Ninety Nine Cents). Bride & Groom agree to pay toPhotographer the partial payment of $10 (Ten dollars) no later than 60 (sixty) days

prior to wedding date. Bride & Groom agree to pay remaining balance of $9.95 (Ninedollars Ninety Five cents) and any additional expenses as described in clause 3 below,no later than 7 (seven) days after wedding date. In the event that wedding is cancelled

by Bride & Groom for any reason, Bride & Groom agree to forego return of the $10partial payment.

(Note if all fees are due in advance then say so. Amount, date due, return policy,

cancellation fee etc)
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3. Additional Expenses:

Bride and Groom shall pay all food, beverage, and lodging costs for Photographerwith a cap of $200 (Two Hundred Dollars). Bride and Groom shall pay for car servicefor photographer on day of wedding not to exceed $50 (Fifty dollars).

4. Indemnification:

Bride and Groom shall indemnify and hold harmless Photographer from any loss,damage or liability resulting from Bride and Grooms violation of the terms of thisAgreement or any agreement involving Bride and Groom and the Photographer. Brideand Groom shall indemnify Photographer and hold him harmless from and againstany claim by any other person or entity resulting from the performance of his servicesunder this agreement.

5. Arbitration:

Any dispute arising under or in any way related to this agreement shall be submittedto binding arbitration by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with theAssociations commercial rules then in effect. The arbitration shall be conducted inthe state of New York. The arbitration shall be binding on the parties and thearbitration award may be confirmed by any court of competent jurisdiction.

6. Assignability and Parties of Interest:

Except as otherwise provided herein, the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall

inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the respective successors and assigns ofthe parties. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, will confer upon anyperson or entity not a party to this Agreement, or the legal representatives of suchperson or entity, any rights, remedies, obligations, or liabilities of any nature or kindwhatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in thisAgreement.

7. Independent Contractors:

In providing services pursuant to this Agreement, the Parties shall be independentcontractors, and no party to this Agreement shall make any representations or

statements indicating or suggesting that any joint venture, partnership, or other suchrelationship exists between any of the parties except as set forth herein.

8. Entire Agreement:

This Agreement constitutes a single integrated contract expressing the entireagreement of Bride and Groom and Photographer with respect to the subject matterhereof and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous oral and written agreements anddiscussions with respect to the subject matter hereof, and, except as specifically setforth herein, there are no other agreements, representations, promises or inducements,written or oral, express or implied, between the parties hereto with respect to the

subject matter hereof.


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9. Amendment and Waiver:

This Agreement and each provision hereof may be amended, modified, supplementedor waived only by a written document specifically identifying this Agreement andduly executed by each party hereto or the authorized representative of such party.

Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, no course of dealing between theparties hereto and no delay in exercising any right, power or remedy conferred herebyor now or hereafter existing at law, in equity, by statute or otherwise, shall operate asa waiver of, or otherwise prejudice, any such rights, power or remedy.

10. New York Law and Location:

This Agreement was negotiated, executed and delivered within the State of NewYork, and the rights and obligations of the parties hereto shall be construed andenforced in accordance with and governed by the internal laws (and not the conflict oflaws) of the State of New York applicable to the construction and enforcement of

contracts between parties residing in New York which are entered into and fullyperformed in New York. Any action or proceeding arising out of, relating to orconcerning this Agreement, including, without limitation, any claim of breach ofcontract, shall be filed in the state courts of (New York?) County, New York, or in aUnited States District Court in the Southern District of New York and in no otherlocation. The parties hereby waive the right to object to such location on the basis ofvenue.

11. Counterparts:

This Agreement may be executed in counterparts. The execution of a signature pageof this Agreement shall constitute the execution of the Agreement, and the Agreementshall be binding on each party upon the date of signature, if each party executes suchcounterpart.

12. Severability:

If any part of this Agreement is determined to be void, invalid, inoperative orunenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction or by any other legally constituted

body having jurisdiction to make such determination, such decision shall not affectany other provisions hereof and the remainder of this Agreement shall be effective as

though such void, invalid, inoperative or unenforceable provision had not beencontained herein.

13. Clause Headings:

The clause headings in the Agreement are for reference only and do not form a part ofthis Agreement.

J Smith Photography Jane Jones and John Brown

By: ________________________ By:______________________

Date: _______________________ Date:____________________


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Name: Name: ___________________________________________

Title: Title: __________________________Owner________________

Address:____________________Address:________________

____________________ ________________

____________________ ________________

Taking Better Photos By Taking More Photos

While Im a big fan of digital camera users learning techniques to improve theirphotography another technique that can help with improving the chances of thatperfect shot (is there such a thing?) is simply to take more shots.

I learned this the first time I was asked to photograph a wedding for one of myfriends. To say that I was nervous would be an understatement (Im sure I didnt sleepfor days before the wedding). Id never done anything like that before and to be theofficial photographer was scary.

In the lead up to the day I decided to buy five extra rolls of film (yes this is back inthe 90s before I discovered digital) to have in my case just in case something went

wrong.

On the day of the wedding, in my anxious state, I ended up using all of the film thatId wanted to use PLUS the five extra rolls. Over the day Id shot close to 600images!

I was kicking myself for going so snap happy in the days after the wedding because Ihad to cover the extra cost of the film and processing due to my own mistake butended up being really happy with the results because when you shoot 600 shots in afew hours youre bound to get some good ones (and I did - quite a few in fact). Thecouple was really impressed with the variety of shots that Id taken.

In the many weddings that I shot after this time I never shot that many images again -but I did learn the lesson of taking a few more shots than was necessary.

The beauty of Digital Cameras is that if you take this approach you dont end up witha bill at the end of the day! Digital cameras allow you to take as many shots as yourmemory card will hold and to delete any shots that are obviously of a poor quality asyou go.

Of course taking this approach doesnt mean you dont need to frame your shots well

or use the other techniques that I talk about on this site. It also doesnt mean you needto end up with loads of shots that all look exactly the same as each other.
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In the next post Ill run through 10 ways to shoot more without just taking the sameshot over and over again.

stepping in to wedding photography

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