For beginners, wedding photography can be difficult. You must master a variety of styles of photography in this field. To balance your shooting schedule with client communication, marketing, sales, and other tasks, you will need to be able to manage all of these. Each topic is worth its guide and could go well beyond the scope of this article. However, we will share a few tips to help you get started. However, it can be daunting to jump into wedding photography, particularly Asian wedding photography for your first few weddings. Your passion can blossom into a lucrative career with practice and perseverance (and some guidance from the following tips).
Formal portraits will be taken of the bride, her bridesmaids, the groom, and the groom and his groomsmen. You can also take couple portraits of both the bride (couples portraits) and group portraits with the family and friends that have come to support them. This can be tricky depending on how large the groups are, especially when it is time to communicate, pose, and light the group. A good number of wedding photos should include candid shots of the guests engaging with each other and the bride and groom. It is essential to capture candid shots without interjecting or directing your subjects. This includes selecting a background, waiting for the correct expressions, and ensuring you have enough light.
There are many ways to learn if you don’t have any experience with one of these genres of photography. You can either take a comprehensive course like the SLR Lounge Wedding Photography Training System, or you can practice with your friends and family to improve your skills. It would help if you also looked at many wedding blogs to find photographers whose work inspires and drives you to improve. This is where my next tip comes in.
Assisting at weddings is a great way to learn wedding photography. As an assistant, you will have access to professional mentors and can improve your skills without having to deliver the most critical moments. Ask your professional photographers’ friends if they know of any or reach out to them online. Lin & Jirsa Photography, in Southern California, has a link to help you find assistants and photographers.
While you may start as a professional photographer for weddings, you are also becoming an entrepreneur or manager. As much as your expertise in photography, organizing a wedding is essential. It is crucial to think like an executive before you contact potential clients. It would help if you created a workflow that will allow you to land the job and exceed your clients’ expectations.
This includes creating and integrating professional-level email responses and contract templates, collecting payments and planning phone calls (also called talk-throughs), drafting timelines, and coordinating with assistants. Photography studio management software can help you to manage all these tasks. There are many options, from simple, easy-to-use software to complex, automated systems that can be customized at various prices.
Many clients will offer you a list of photos they would like you to take. If you’re looking for basic shots, such as family photos or other essential photos, that’s okay. A short list you or your clients have created should not be considered a script for your shoot. These lists should be a guideline to help you plan the shoot and meet your clients’ expectations.