And land your first wedding!
There is a lot of mystique that shrouds wedding photography to outsiders and makes it look inaccessible. One of the biggest blocks for rookies in this career is how scary it looks when you don’t have the experience. I want to help you get past that.
I want you to have the confidence needed to go for it and love it.
I’ve been there. After a photography class in high school, and a stint as a photojournalist for my college, I paused photography for corporate life and family. But eventually I got up fed up with the typical 9-5 and wanted to give photography another chance. I planned, at first, to only shoot portraits and families, until a friend asked me to photograph their wedding. And here I am, 400 weddings later.
In this post, I’m sharing 5 key basics I learned that propelled me forward, resulting in a full-time career that pays my bills. I’ll be covering:
• How to choose your first camera when you’re just starting out
• What exactly a wedding photographer’s job looks like, beyond shooting the photos
• The trick to landing your first wedding, when you don’t have any weddings in your portfolio
• The types of shots that make a good wedding photographer
• How to create a customized wedding day timeline that works for the couple and allows plenty of opportunities for great photos
So if you’re looking to launch your photography business, or level up a side hustle, while delivering fantastic client experiences and an end result they will love, and earning income while doing it, then you’re in the right place.
How I finally chased my dream and now make a solid income doing something I love:
We all pretty much start out similarly. We turned something we love into what we see as a success. The paths vary a little here and there, and the definition of success is just as varied, but the spark and the desire were all the same.
Me included.
To be honest, nobody is getting rich being a wedding photographer. Rich means something different to everyone, but I am guessing that, across the whole planet, there are very few people who are living the lavish lifestyle solely on the income of being a wedding photographer, despite what their lifestyle looks like on social media.
I am making a living as a wedding photographer. It pays my bills. Sometimes it takes me to some pretty cool places. It keeps me comfortable and in a secure space.
One of the secrets of being good at this is loving it. When you love it, you bring that to every wedding and every couple, and they love you back for it.
I stumbled through these challenges myself, but you don’t have to.
Key #1: How to choose your first camera when you’re just starting out
Don’t let ‘needing the best gear’ be a roadblock! If you are starting completely from scratch, you’re looking at a $600-$700 investment to get a ‘pro’ consumer camera that will carry you through branching into weddings.
If you are getting serious and looking to upgrade, plan on around $1000 to get a camera that will carry you a long way into your wedding photography career.
I go more in depth into making this choice (and recommended models) in my blog post, How to choose the best camera when you’re just starting out as a wedding photographer
Key #2: What exactly a wedding photographer’s job looks like, beyond shooting the photos
The life cycle of a wedding is a workflow that spans from an initial meeting with a prospective couple, to helping them plan their wedding day (assisting them in carving out intentional time to get the photos they want), staying in touch with them prior to their big day (to learn more about who they are, and what kinds of shots they will most value), to, of course, shooting the wedding, editing the photos, and delivering the final product! There is a key relationship that must be built in order to deliver a great experience. This experience is critical to your success AND your enjoyment of being a wedding photographer.
Get the Guide
If you want to move forward with a strong plan that details how you can customize every wedding experience to meet the needs of the couple while also building your business, grab the Lemonade Weddings Wedding Photographer’s Ultimate Bundle. This PDF guide is completely free and contains helpful links + downloadable templates for you to implement immediately.
Key #3: The trick to landing your first wedding, when you don’t have any weddings in your portfolio
While you might not have wedding experience, you can demonstrate that you:
- Know what a wedding is all about (it’s more than just showing up to take photos)
- Are skilled in capturing the type of shots that matter most (by showing your portfolio)
You can do all that with a quality presentation that displays your skills and your knowledge. They already know you’re a rookie; experience is not what you’re selling. Instead, you’re selling your knowledge, vision, and how hard you will work for them.
For details on how to create a presentation that showcases your strengths and gives you the talking points to successfully land your first wedding, sign up for the free Lemonade Weddings Wedding Photographer’s Bundle.
The free bundle includes two Canva portfolio templates that you can customize to display your photos in a way that will prove you have what it takes to shoot a wedding.
Key #4: Focusing on the types of shots that will make you a great wedding photographer
What wedding photographers really do is photojournalism. We are there to document the experience of the couple’s wedding day, and help them remember it and re-experience it when they look back through their photographs. And that means being aware, and alert, and understanding of what may happen throughout the day that will be etched in their memory because of the emotion attached to it, and resurfaced through our photographs.
There are five types of photos that come out of a wedding: moments, emotions, action, details, and formals/posed. Even if you’re not ready to shoot a wedding, you can start practicing now by focusing on these shots, whether it’s a family session, senior portraits, or even a baby shoot.
For a crash course on the most crucial wedding photos, check out the Lemonade Weddings blog post, The MOST Requested Wedding Photos (Might Surprise You)
Key #5: How to create a customized wedding day timeline that works for the couple and allows plenty of opportunities for great photos
Believe it or not, helping a couple plan out their wedding day is actually part of your job, as their photographer. First, it’s essential to understand their wedding vision, then, building off a basic shot list, you can start plotting when and where the photos will take place. Easier said than done, as wedding days are jam-packed with activity, and there will be a lot of other folks vying for the couple’s attention! By figuring this out prior to wedding day, you can ensure you are on the same page as the couple and can communicate it with others who may have other priorities. Using an itinerary spreadsheet to calculate timeslots for the most important shots, based on the ceremony start/end time, I’m able to clearly plot the day with photo opportunities woven throughout.
Want to learn the exact method I use to craft custom itineraries for my couples (including the spreadsheet that does the calculations automatically)?
The free Lemonade Weddings Wedding Photographer’s Ultimate Bundle includes a link to the spreadsheet, as well as a customizable Canva template that you can use to present the information to your couple.
Once I understood these keys and implemented them into my business, I was able to better connect and serve my clients, while also delivering ultra-tailored service and the best possible experience. THIS is what will set you apart from other photographers, even if you are just starting and don’t have a lot of actual wedding experience.
The biggest factor in launching or leveling up your wedding photography biz is CONFIDENCE, and that gets activated by getting a behind-the-scenes look at weddings and gaining a firm understanding of the in’s + outs of the biz. With this knowledge in hand, along with the tools to put it into practice, you’ll have everything you need to move forward and start building your business.
One of the hardest things for me when I first started out was that I was doing it all on my own. The wedding photography community has too many gatekeepers, elitists, and competitive types. So, starting out, we’re all pretty much on our own. That can be scary and lonely.
I started Lemonade weddings to help people get past all of that and open doors to their dream career. To coach and mentor people and build a safe space where you can feel like you are learning from and with others in the same part of the learning curve as you are.
As a full-time wedding photographer, I know where you’ve been;
I can’t wait to show you the path toward growing a successful business, and loving what you do along the way.
I started from scratch. You can too.
Even if you’re not ready to go all in on wedding photography just yet, or if you are curious about the course but still not sure, I have something that might totally change how you view the wedding industry, and it might even convince you to become a wedding photographer.
Click below to access my FREE 20-page Wedding Photographer’s Ultimate Bundle that includes five templates that you can use right away to begin work on your wedding photography journey.
You’ll get instant access to the PDF guide and can start implementing the takeaways immediately!
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