How I came to shoot weddings and not much else...

An Exception

An Exception

An Exception

Soldato
Joined
8 Aug 2010
Posts
6,453
Location
Oxfordshire
WARNING: This was not intended to be a wall of text, but one paragraph led to another.. and another..and so on...

I got my first DSLR back in April 2010 with the intent of becoming a 'professional photographer'. The Canon 550D had received good reviews, and reviews also said the 18-55 kit lens was very capable. This looked like a reasonable investment to become a 'professional photographer'.
Before that photography wasn't even a hobby, I was just looking for a way to earn a living without having to do something I hated.

Now that I had the tools, I wasn't sure what I wanted to take 'professional' pictures of. I was mainly looking at getting into something like fashion or commercial photography. I began watching strobist DVD's from the likes of people like Zack Arias and David Hobby. I began making snoots and barn doors from empty Frosties packets and everything!

I spent allot of time learning how to light, until one day I happened to watch one of David Hobby's recent (at the time) DVD's.. Lighting in Layers.
Towards the end of the DVD series David Hobby and some students went to the Howard County Conservancy. David Hobby went on to explain that he chose that location as he wanted to divert the resources to a worthwhile cause. (I'm paraphrasing) He said that he could have just hired out a studio and booked a model instead. He said that while it is fun and cool at first, that type of shoot soon begins to feel hollow.
Then the penny dropped, I didn't want to invest all this time and money to do something that would end up feeling like a hollow pursuit. I felt I was right back at the beginning wondering.. "now what"?

At this point I was spending allot of time in this forum. I began to notice Raymond's wedding pictures. I hadn't even considered wedding photography as an option, but something about it struck a cord with me.
I had decided without doubt that's what I wanted to do, the only question was where do I start.
I started a thread in the forum asking for advice on how to find work as a second shooter, but also hoping that someone here would say "hey I have a wedding coming up, you can tag along if you like".
I asked Raymond if he would consider letting me me second shoot at one of his weddings and got a promising reply.
Raymond Lin said:
There is a good chance I have a wedding in Oxfordshire next year (September)...I know I said I don't use assistants in the past (not so much to do with skill, more about the other things like attitude, dress code, unknown character), but you seem sound, and competent.

No promises but I am thinking.....lol (your shots certainly do give me thoughts, though I am concern on your natural light work and ability to "SEE" a shot before it happens.)
Click to expand...
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18198203

They say if you want to really learn something, write a book about it. I don't like reading books let alone writing them. However the equivalent to me became "if you want to learn something, talk/argue about it". Socratic debate and fact checking became my way of learning for a while. I sold off most of my lighting gear, and natural light, composition, big sensors and wide aperture lenses became my next obsessions.

Nothing came of Raymonds 'possible' offer, I assumed it was due to all the arguing I/we had been doing. :p
I never take these 'discussions' personally and I really enjoyed looking at his pictures. I was very disappointed when he got banned and his wedding threads deleted (but that's in the past :D). Content dried up in the forum.

I eventually got my first gig second shooting a wedding from an advertisement on photographers.co.uk
I would have done it for free, but I was happy the photographer was able to pay me £80. This may not sound like much, but I believe the photographers total fee was £350 for two 'photographers'. The wedding went well enough that I felt comfortable starting out on my own.

I set myself a couple of goals with my photography. I wanted it to be of a high enough standard to be featured on one of the well known wedding blogs. However more importantly I wanted at least some people to feel moved by it. The last one is the hardest imo, as it's not just dependant on what the photographer can see and capture, but the content itself. Some weddings are just not that moving/emotional. However gradually I began to achieve those two objectives more frequently.
Rock_My_Wedding.jpg


Fast forward to now, and I have been shooting wedding's solo for around 2.5 years.
I originally set out to do something I didn't hate and that was relatively easy to achieve as I set the bar pretty low tbh.
Next I wanted to do something worthwhile.

Is wedding photography worthwhile to me?

Well sometimes when I haven't vetted my clients, I'm disappointed when I discover the photography was pretty much an afterthought, and they booked me because I was available and within budget. Especially with my OCD I'm an all or nothing person, and while I still enjoy shooting the wedding somewhat, I would be lying if I said it didn't take allot of the shine off. Thankfully this is a rare occurrence these days.

The rest of the time I absolutely love what I do and the different/interesting people I get to meet.
Sometimes if I have had a particularly good days shooting and I think I have some nice shot's in the bag, it feels very similar to when you have scored a hard earned goal playing football during the drive home.
However that isn't the worthwhile part. That comes when you see/hear/read the responses to your hard work from the couple and their family/friends. Below was what arrived through my postbox this morning...

Why-1.jpg


My new camera's have just turned up, so off to play with them now. :D
 
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great read, and a promising start in wedding photography.

Please for you it has all worked out. Let us see perhaps some example of your work and hoe it has progressed over the years.

Best wishes for the future.
 
Yes I have been using 3 D800E's. I shoot with two bodies with a prime lens on each though, so I use two bodies like they are one. The 3rd is a backup or a camera that I can trigger remotely should my movement be restricted.
 
I remember you asking me, I still have the email :)

And whilst we have had our disagreement, I've always known you can take pictures right from the start.

The bride from that wedding in Oxford has had their first child just last week as a matter of fact!
 
Congratulations on pursuing your desires.

Everyone should do as you have and be fearless.

Superb!

Note; isn't the Bristol reception hall where Dr Watson has his reception in Sherlock?
 
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Nice read. Interested that you started off the bat to become a pro tog rather than changing a hobby in to a career.

Have you changed to being full time yet?
 
Well I worked for a financier company who lent money to businesses. I worked in the department that provided import/export finance through things like letters of credit etc.
It was my job to manage x number of accounts and draw up contracts between our clients and overseas manufactures, as well as advance our clients money to cover the costs of running their business. As was the nature of the job, you can't help but become somewhat friends the clients. The problem was most (not all) were in financial distress anyway, then came along the credit crunch and I was then telling allot these clients that I couldn't advance them money to pay their staff's wages, meaning their business would have to shut down and their staff couldn't pay their mortgages etc. That if we were unable to 'collect out' we would force sale of their family house and so on. It went on like this for a long long time. Eventually I dreaded going into work as the stress was becoming extreme. Colleagues around me were breaking down in tears and running into the bathroom. My managers were signed off with stress.
I looked for other avenues. I know I didn't want to do that kind of work anymore, but to save my sanity I had to find something fast. I found a similar but less stressful and less well paid job to tide me over while I worked out what I wanted to do.
Every time I spoke with my grandma she would say, "I always said you should do something with your art". I was always good at art at school but I couldn't really envision a way to earn a living with it, at least without living in poverty. So then I looked at other creative fields and photography was what I chose.

Right now photography is my sole source of income. I'm not working full time as that is not my intention. I'm looking to shoot between 20-25 weddings a year and keep it at that.
 
Yes it sure is, it's pretty much sink or swim lol!
Do you find it's changed how you interact with people?
Meeting/talking to strangers is is beginning to feel like that's my comfort zone, where previously I would have been nervous.
 
An Exception said:
Well I worked for a financier company who lent money to businesses. I worked in the department that provided import/export finance through things like letters of credit etc.
It was my job to manage x number of accounts and draw up contracts between our clients and overseas manufactures, as well as advance our clients money to cover the costs of running their business. As was the nature of the job, you can't help but become somewhat friends the clients. The problem was most (not all) were in financial distress anyway, then came along the credit crunch and I was then telling allot these clients that I couldn't advance them money to pay their staff's wages, meaning their business would have to shut down and their staff couldn't pay their mortgages etc. That if we were unable to 'collect out' we would force sale of their family house and so on. It went on like this for a long long time. Eventually I dreaded going into work as the stress was becoming extreme. Colleagues around me were breaking down in tears and running into the bathroom. My managers were signed off with stress.
I looked for other avenues. I know I didn't want to do that kind of work anymore, but to save my sanity I had to find something fast. I found a similar but less stressful and less well paid job to tide me over while I worked out what I wanted to do.
Every time I spoke with my grandma she would say, "I always said you should do something with your art". I was always good at art at school but I couldn't really envision a way to earn a living with it, at least without living in poverty. So then I looked at other creative fields and photography was what I chose.

Right now photography is my sole source of income. I'm not working full time as that is not my intention. I'm looking to shoot between 20-25 weddings a year and keep it at that.
Click to expand...


My job has a similar atmosphere. Someone breaking down in years is pretty much a weekly occurrence and staff tunover is around 12 months on average. The hours are long, the stress high, the frustration at the incompetence of the senior management unbearable. For the last 12 months the company has been on the verge of folding which I was looking forward to but it keeps hanging on. I would quit but some of the benefits are substantial (salary, working remotely from home) and I have a large vested interest increase it some how does workout with an IPO.
My actual hope is early retirement by the time I'm 40-45 and to attain that goal I'm better putting up with the current job. Packing it in and doing something completely different is always at the back of my mind and I came very close earlier in the year. However I'm very much on the fence about turning a hobby into a bill-paying venture. A lot of people I know who turn their hobbies into employment end up hating their hobbies and falling in to a trap they can't escape from.of course you can sometimes live the dream but for me I want to do my hobbies in the way I enjoy, not in the way that would maximize profit or would suit clients.
 
D.P. said:
My job has a similar atmosphere. Someone breaking down in years is pretty much a weekly occurrence and staff tunover is around 12 months on average. The hours are long, the stress high, the frustration at the incompetence of the senior management unbearable. For the last 12 months the company has been on the verge of folding which I was looking forward to but it keeps hanging on. I would quit but some of the benefits are substantial (salary, working remotely from home) and I have a large vested interest increase it some how does workout with an IPO.
My actual hope is early retirement by the time I'm 40-45 and to attain that goal I'm better putting up with the current job. Packing it in and doing something completely different is always at the back of my mind and I came very close earlier in the year. However I'm very much on the fence about turning a hobby into a bill-paying venture. A lot of people I know who turn their hobbies into employment end up hating their hobbies and falling in to a trap they can't escape from.of course you can sometimes live the dream but for me I want to do my hobbies in the way I enjoy, not in the way that would maximize profit or would suit clients.
Click to expand...

True, but unless you take that step you won't know if your 'one of those people' ;)
It is true what they say, that its better in the long run to enjoy waht you do. Most work, tends to be a long drawn out slog..right?
 
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