Wedding Photographers talk about wedding Photography

Well guys, I guess I just feel like writing today. I have a lot on my mind, and I'd love to be able to share it. I have been a wedding photographer for over 10 years now, (it's hard to believe! and I think I have learned a little bit about the biz. The truth is, I have a lot more to learn. Just when I start to get comfortable with what I am doing, I get uncomfortable and feel like I should be learning more. Which, I think, is a good thing.

Being wedding photographers, there is always so much for us to learn about! We have to be good at dealing with people, we have to have an excellent presentation (in our personal physical appearance, our studio and in the presentation of our work,) we have to be skilled in finding, seeing and using light, we have to be mindful of our surroundings, we have to have attention to detail, we have to know technical info (not only with camera and exposure info, but with posing for flattering the type of subject we are photographing,) we need to be creative, spontaneous, artistic and consistent. We have to produce quality while balancing all of these things, and then on top of it, we have to sell ourselves, sell our products and try to make a profit! It definitely is a balancing act, and our industry keeps changing, evolving with technology. We need to study, learn and talk with other wedding photographers to stay ahead of the game.

Our industry is being flooded with new competition. Many people these days are calling themselves "photographers" because they bought a digital camera. Some of them may make it in the long run, but most of them will do a few jobs here and there, moderate at best and then die out because of the competition and their own lack of resolve in so many different areas that we need to excel. Today, with more people becoming photographers than ever before because of the perception that "if I have a good camera and a computer with photoshop, I can be a good photographer," it has made it harder for the true professional to make their living. I do not believe that this is necessarily justified though. As professionals, it is our duty to learn and to stay ahead of the competition. While an amateur may be able to "see the picture on the screen to see if it's good," this really doesn't mean a whole lot, because there is so much more that goes into a photo then if it looks good to the naked eye on the back of a small screen. What about an "eye" and having artistic talent? Maybe they have a little of this, but there is so much involved.

While it is true that there are successful wedding photographers who have an eye, but not technical skill, it is not true that there are many successful photographers that have the talent and technical skill, but no marketing skills. In fact, it seems that to really make it as a wedding photographer today, you have to be the best at marketing, number 1. All the other stuff is just a bonus. But when you can make all the areas click, then you've really got something. I have been able to do this in at least 1 market so far, and it works really well.

Now, about this wedding photojournalism coverage or whatever you want to call it. Here are my ideas and opinions: I think photojournalism works REALLY well, WHEN you have the following components: beautiful people, beautiful venue, beautiful lighting and people that are comfortable in front of the camera OR know how to properly carry themself (i.e. photogenic.) For a photojournalist, how can you go wrong if you have these thing? Maybe you're shooting an actor's $200k wedding who's marrying a model at the Ritz Carlton. You'd have to be a buffoon to not get great photojournalism. But what about when you have a bride who is overweight (even slightly) and the groom is not the best looking, or even a little bit shorter than she is when she has her heels on? Blend this with some harsh midday light, and people who do not carry themselves well, or did not choose the best dress to fit their body? Or how about an extremely dark venue with no walls or ceilings to bounce your light? This could be a 50-75k wedding and the people are very sweet, but you don't get the same type of images. I tell you what happens in this situation, the photojournalism style pretty much falls apart. It seems that all the shots are snapshots, with maybe a good shot here or there, but nothing you would put on your website or enter into a contest.

What do we do in these (most common) situations? We have to direct the couple for a little bit during their portrait time. As un-glamorous as it has become because of the popularity of the wedding photojournalist style, we actually need to do some directing to get these people in the proper light, proper pose, proper angle to make them look prettier, thinner whatever. Isn't that why they are paying us? People not only want just a memory of the day, they want a GOOD memory. They don't want to look back on their wedding pictures and say "Wow, I was so fat,” or "I have a double chin," or "I look really thick in that picture,” or “My skin was so blotchy under those lights.” They want to say, “I looked great that day!” or “Look how happy we were!” or “Honey, you looked hot!”

Let's be real, people don't want to look real in their pictures, they want to look like the ideal picture they have of themselves in their own mind. Now this is not true for everyone, because some people are very happy with the way they look. They are pretty and they know it...or they are just really comfortable with themselves. But this is not the norm. Which brings me to my point, that all of these photographers that say they specialize in photojournalism, and only show the images on their site of gorgeous photojournalistic shots. I'd like to see a wedding where the bride and groom were less than attractive, or were not good in front of the camera. I wonder if that couple would be happy with their photographs? Also, you see pictures on their sites that are obviously posed, but sold as photojournalism. It’s glamorous and it sells.

But what about the truth? Shouldn’t they be educated? My good friend and colleague, Steve Kurtz, calls it Faux-Journalism. Images that are directed and posed to appear to be photojournalistic, but are in fact completely created by the photographer for the benefit of the couple.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE wedding photojournalism. I sell myself as a wedding photojournalist, but mixed with contemporary portraiture. Some of my favorite shots from weddings that my wife and I have done are truly photojournalistic. But what happens if those golden moments just don’t happen?

People are different. They act differently at their very different weddings. Some groups are party groups. Some groups are older, perhaps very quiet groups. Some groups are more interested in sitting at the dinner table and talking. Others wedding groups take 5 hours to warm up. Other weddings move around the map so much, that a lot of the time is spent driving and transporting your gear and following the bride and groom. So what if the moments you hope for just aren’t happening? My answer is to create them. Your clients booked you because of the style of images you showed them on your website, so how will they feel if they don’t get the few photojournalist images where they were crying during the ceremony or laughing while hugging someone? Maybe they aren’t that emotional or expressive. Maybe during the first dance they were uncomfortably awkward and nervously chatted the whole time.. There are so many occasions where those golden moments don’t happen. It didn’t happen at the wedding, so you didn’t get them. But that’s what they wanted…you better hope you have images that do make them happy.

I guess what I am trying to say is that in our crazy world as wedding photographers, we need to be multi-dimensional. If we do these things, we can make the clients happy…which is of course our ultimate goal…as well as paying the bills. Being a wedding photographer is truly rewarding, especially when you make everyone happy!