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Wedding Photography – 21 Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers

03 Oct

The post Wedding Photography – 21 Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

Wedding Photography Tips

“Help me, I’m photographing my first wedding! Give me some wedding photography tips, please!”

It’s a question that photographers frequently ask. So while I’m not a pro wedding photographer, I thought it was time to share a few tips on the topic of wedding photography.

I’ll leave the technical tips for photographing a wedding to the pros. But, as someone who has been asked to photograph numerous friends’ and family’s weddings, here are a few suggestions.

1. Create a shot list

One of the most helpful tips I’ve been given regarding wedding photography is to get the couple to think ahead about the shots that they’d like you to capture on the day.

Then compile a list so that you can check each shot off. This is particularly helpful in family shots. There’s nothing worse than getting the photos back and realizing you didn’t photograph the happy couple with Grandma!

2. Wedding photography family photo coordinator

I find that the family photo part of the day can be quite stressful. People are going everywhere, you’re unaware of the different family dynamics at play, and people are in a “festive spirit” (and have often been drinking a few spirits) to the point that it can be quite chaotic.

Get the couple to nominate a family member (or one for each side of the family) who can be the “director” of the shoot. They can round everyone up, help get them in the shot, and keep things moving so that the couple can get back to the party.

3. Scout the location

Visit the locations of the different places that you’ll be shooting before the big day.

While I’m sure most pros don’t do this, I find it really helpful to know where we’re going, to have an idea of a few positions for shots, and to know how the light might come into play. Before one or two weddings, I’ve even visited locations with the couples and took a few test shots (these made nice “engagement photos”).

4. In wedding photography, preparation is key

So much can go wrong on the day, so you need to be well-prepared. Have a backup plan (in case of bad weather), have batteries charged, memory cards blank, think about routes and times to get to places. Get an itinerary of the full day so you know what’s happening next. If you can, attend the rehearsal of the ceremony, where you’ll gather a lot of great information about possible positions to shoot from, the lighting, the order of the ceremony, etc.

5. Set expectations with the couple

Show the couple your work/style. Find out what they want to achieve, how many shots they want, what key things they want to be recorded, how the shots will be used (for prints, etc.). If you’re charging them for the event, make sure you have the agreement of price in place upfront.

6. Turn off the sound on your camera

Beeps during speeches, the kiss, and vows don’t add to the event. Switch off your camera sounds beforehand and keep them off.

7. Shoot the small details

Photograph rings, backs of dresses, shoes, flowers, table settings, menus, etc. These help give the end album an extra dimension. Flick through a wedding magazine at a newsstand for a little inspiration.

8. Use two cameras

Beg, borrow, hire, or steal an extra camera for the day, and set it up with a different lens. I try to shoot with one wide-angle lens (great for candid shots and in tight spaces, particularly before the ceremony in the preparation stage of the day) and one longer lens (it can be handy to have something as large as 200mm if you can get your hands on one; I use a 70-200mm).

9. Consider a second wedding photographer

Having a second photographer can be a great strategy. It means less moving around during ceremony and speeches, and it allows for one photographer to capture the formal shots while the other gets candid shots. It also takes a little pressure off you as “the one” who has to get every shot!

10. Be bold but not obtrusive

Timidity won’t get you “the shot,” so sometimes you need to be bold to capture a moment.

However, timing is everything, and thinking ahead to get in the right position for key moments is important so as not to disrupt the event.

In a ceremony, I try to move around at least 4-5 times, but I try to time my move to coincide with songs, sermons, or longer readings. During the formal shots, be bold, know what you want, and ask for it from the couple and their party. You’re driving the show at this point of the day and need to keep things moving.

11. Learn how to use diffused light

The ability to bounce a flash or to diffuse it is key. You’ll find in many churches that light is very low. If you’re allowed to use a flash (and some churches don’t allow it), think about whether bouncing the flash will work (remember that if you bounce your flash off a colored surface it will add a color cast to the picture), or whether you might want to buy a flash diffuser to soften the light.

If you can’t use a flash, you’ll need to use a fast lens at wide apertures and/or bump up the ISO. A lens with image stabilization might also help. Learn more about using flash diffusers and reflectors.

12. Shoot in RAW

I know that many readers feel that they don’t have the time for shooting in RAW (due to extra processing), but a wedding is one time that it can be particularly useful, as RAW gives so much more flexibility to manipulate shots after taking them. Weddings can present photographers with tricky lighting that results in the need to manipulate exposure and white balance after the fact, and RAW will help with this considerably.

13. Display your shots at the reception

One of the great things about digital photography is the immediacy of it as a medium. One of the fun things I’ve seen more and more photographers doing recently is taking a computer to the reception, uploading shots taken earlier in the day, and letting them rotate as a slideshow during the evening. This adds a fun element to the night.

14. Consider your backgrounds

One of the challenges of weddings is that there are often people going everywhere, including the backgrounds of your shots. Particularly with the formal shots, scope out the area where they’ll be taken ahead of time and look for good backgrounds.

Ideally, you’ll want uncluttered areas and shaded spots out of direct sunlight where there’s unlikely to be a great aunt wandering into the back of the shot. Read more on getting backgrounds right.

15. Don’t discard your “mistakes”

The temptation with digital is to check images as you go and to delete those that don’t work immediately. The problem with this is that you might just be getting rid of some of the more interesting and useable images. Keep in mind that images can be cropped or manipulated later to give you some more artsy/abstract looking shots that can add real interest to the end album.

16. Change your perspective

Get a little creative with your shots. While the majority of the images in the end album will probably be fairly “normal” or formal poses, make sure you mix things up a little by taking shots from down low, up high, at a wide angle, etc.

17. Wedding group shots

One thing I’ve done at every wedding I’ve photographed is attempted to photograph everyone who is in attendance in one shot. The way I’ve done this is to arrange for a place that I can get up high above everyone straight after the ceremony. This might mean getting a tall ladder, using a balcony, or even climbing on a roof. The beauty of getting up high is that you include everyone’s face, and you can fit a lot of people in a single shot.

The key is to quickly be able to get everyone to the place you want them to stand, and to be ready to get the shot without having everyone stand around for too long. I’ve found that the best way to get everyone to the spot is to get the bride and groom there and to have a couple of helpers herd everyone in that direction. Read more on how to take group photos.

18. Fill flash

When shooting outside after a ceremony or during the posed shots, you’ll probably want to keep your flash attached to give a little fill flash. I tend to dial the flash back a little (a stop or two) so that shots are not blown out. But, particularly in backlit or midday shooting conditions where there can be a lot of shadow, fill flash is a must. Read more about using fill flash.

19. Continuous shooting mode

Having the ability to shoot a lot of images fast is very handy on a wedding day, so switch your camera to its continuous shooting mode and use it. Sometimes it’s the shot you take a second after the formal or posed shot when everyone is relaxing that really captures the moment!

20. Expect the unexpected

One more piece of advice that someone gave me on my own wedding day: “Things will go wrong, but they can be the best parts of the day.”

In every wedding that I’ve participated in, something tends to go wrong with the day. The best man can’t find the ring, the rain pours down just as the ceremony ends, the groom forgets to do up his fly, the flower girl decides to sit down in the middle of the aisle, or the bride can’t remember her vows.

These moments can feel a little panicky at the time. But it’s these moments that can actually make a day and give the bride and groom memories. Attempt to capture them, and you could end up with some fun images that sum up the day really well.

I still remember the first wedding I photographed, where the bride and groom’s car crashed into a tram on the way to the park where we were going to take photos. The bride was in tears, the groom stressed out. But after we’d all calmed down, people began to see some of the funny side of the moment, and we even took a couple of shots before driving on to the park. They were among everyone’s favorites.

21. Have fun

Weddings are about celebrating; they should be fun. The more fun you have as the photographer, the more relaxed those you are photographing will be. Perhaps the best way to loosen people up is to smile as the photographer (warning: I always come home from photographing weddings with sore jaws and cheeks because of my smiling strategy).

The post Wedding Photography – 21 Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

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Shootout: Pro with amateur gear vs amateur with pro gear

10 Jun

Mango Street lab put together a fun video where two individuals, one a pro and one an amateur, shoot the same model and compare results. The catch? The pro is shooting with a kit costing around $ 500 used: a Canon T3i and 18-55mm kit lens, plus a 40mm F2.8 pancake. The amateur on the other hand is using a kit costing nearly 10x as much: a Canon 5D Mark IV and 35mm F1.4L II.

In the end, both photographers get great shots – it turns out the amateur had more skill than he let on. Despite this, the point is clear: gear alone can’t make up for actual photographic skill – something that comes largely from time spent behind the lens. And a good photographer can usually make strong images, regardless of the camera used.

Now stop reading about gear and go shoot! It’s the best way to improve.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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£10,000 of Sigma lenses up for grabs in Amateur Photographer of the Year competition

21 Mar

The UK’s Amateur Photographer magazine has launched its 2017 Amateur Photographer of the Year competition and is offering a total of £10,000 worth of Sigma lenses in prizes.

The competition is run over the course of eight rounds with monthly closing dates from the end of April to the end of November. Each month has a different theme and winners are picked by the Amateur Photographer judging panel and through an online voting system run by Photocrowd. At the end of the year, an overall winner will be selected to win the top prize.

Anyone can enter, but AP points out that entrants who live outside the UK would need to pay any applicable import tax on their winnings.

Monthly prizes will amount to approximately £1000 of Sigma lenses, cameras and flash units each, while the final winner will take away £2000 worth of kit in the shape of Sigma’s 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art and the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art, along with a Sigma USB Dock. Monthly winners of the Photocrowd vote get a year’s subscription to the magazine.

Weekly magazine Amateur Photographer has been running this competition for 26 years, but this is the first time entry has been allowed via an online system. For more information see the Amateur Photographer website and the competition’s Photocrowd page. Entry is free.

Monthly themes:

MARCH
Magical monochrome – Black & White
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art (£749.99) + Sigma EF-610 Super Flashgun (£259.99)
Total Prize Value: £1,009.98

APRIL
Hit the streets – Street Photography
SIGMA dp2 Quattro (£899.99) + VF-41 Viewfinder (£199.99)
Total Prize Value: £1,099.98

MAY
Small wonders – Macro
105mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM Macro (£649.99) + SIGMA EM-140 DG Macro Flash (£379.99)
Total Prize Value: £1029.98

JUNE
City clickers- Cityscapes / Architecture
SIGMA sd Quattro + 30mm F1.4 DC HSM Art (£1049.99)
Total Prize Value: £1,049.99

JULY
Into the wild – Wildlife
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary (£999.99) + Sigma USB Dock (£39.99)
Total Prize Value: £1,039.98

AUGUST
Creative eye – Abstract Art
SIGMA 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM | Art (£949.99) + SIGMA 82mm WR CERAMIC PROTECTOR (£104.99)
Total Prize Value: £1,054.98

SEPTEMBER
Land lovers – Landscapes
SIGMA dp0 Quattro (£899.99) + VF-51 / Viewfinder (£199.99)
Total Prize Value: £1,099.98

OCTOBER
Face to face – Portraiture
SIGMA 85mm F1.4 DG HSM ART (£1,199.99)
Total Prize Value: £1,199.99

GRAND PRIZE
SIGMA 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art (£1199.99) + SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art (799.99) + SIGMA USB Dock (£39.99)
Total Prize Value: £2,039.97

Overall Prize Value = £10,624.83

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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What Defines an Amateur versus a Professional Photographer?

02 Feb

If you’ve been taking photos for a while, this question will undoubtedly cross your mind at some point: “Am I a professional photographer or an amateur?” The idea of what separates an amateur from a professional sparks many debates, and there are many ways of looking at it.

By Bob Prosser

What the Dictionary says

Perhaps the most straightforward way of separating amateurs from professionals is looking in the dictionary. By definition, an amateur is “a person who engages in a pursuit or activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit.” On the other hand, the definition of a professional is a little less straightforward. Sources define a professional as simply as “one who earns a living for their occupation,” or as vague as “a person who is expert at his or her work.” Clearly, it’s this vagueness of what a professional is that is at the root of many debates. Still, by using dictionary definitions, we are left with the notion that if you are not pursuing photography for profit, then you are considered an amateur, and the reverse is true for professionals.

By Tax Credits

What the Government says

Regardless of how you personally classify yourself as a photographer, it’s more important to understand if the government sees you as a professional or an amateur. Depending on where you live and conduct your photo shoots, there may be certain rules and regulations you need to abide by if you are a professional photographer. For example, American citizens who make money through photography are subject to paying federal and state income taxes on either an annual or quarterly basis, depending on the amount of income earned. There are also state and federal business licenses that must be obtained, and depending on the type of photography you do, you may even need to collect sales tax from your clients.

However, one bright side to being a professional photographer in the government’s eyes is the ability to write-off certain photography expenses to lower your overall tax obligations. These licenses, fees, and taxes will vary according to where you live, but it’s important to do your research and make sure you are operating within the laws to avoid future penalties. I recommend consulting with a local tax professional to make sure you are squared away. Bottom line: most governments say that if you are collecting a paycheck for your photography work, then you are considered a professional, and with this designation comes responsibilities.

By epSos .de

As a Professional, Think of Yourself as a Business

Dictionary and government definitions aside, another way to distinguish yourself as a professional is to confidently present yourself as a business, not just a photographer. Think of any small businesses you patronize regularly, and all of the aspects that make them a respectable commercial entity. Everything from customer service and marketing, to accounting and operations are vital pieces that should be part of your own photography business.

One aspect that is particularly important for separating yourself as a professional photographer is the way you handle new client inquiries. Have a comprehensive process in place, such as a form or worksheet, that helps your client thoroughly and efficiently present the scope of work they have in mind. Also have your own rate sheets, contracts and invoices set up and ready to be filled out.

Photography inquiry form

Example work flow:

Incorporate inquiry forms on your website’s contact page that allows clients to submit photo project details ahead of time to help prequalify them. Also, have a predetermined rate sheet that you can easily refer to if you need to come up with a price on the spot. Remember that confidence is key, especially when asserting your rates.
Have a quote and contract for every job. Based on project scope, send the client a proposed photography evaluation form and a contract that outlines the services you can offer and includes details such as usage rights, delivery options, and proposed timelines. Get the contract signed by the client to confirm agreement.
After the job is complete, send client an invoice using your accounting software or an invoice template you keep on hand. Also be prepared to send over any tax-related documents such as w-9 if the client requests it.

By making the initial inquiry process easy for your client, you are not only gaining their trust in you, but also making your own work flow easier.

So what do you think? How do you define the difference between a professional photographer and an amateur?

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The post What Defines an Amateur versus a Professional Photographer? by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Amateur filmmaker builds ‘bullet time’ rig for less than $100

02 Jul

Ever wanted to add a little spice to your video creations, perhaps your next Matrix fan-fiction video, by adding a little slow-motion bullet-time effect? Jeremiah Warren did just that, employing a ceiling fan, a GoPro 3 video camera, and a handful of bits of wood, effectively eliminating thousands of dollars worth of individual cameras and rigging, not to mention computer-controlled timing equipment. Click through for more details and to see the results.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Family Photography: the Value of Professional Photography Over Amateur

30 May

Having a big family get together and want to capture the moment? Just had a baby and want to get some family shots together? Is your child off to university and you want a family shot before your kids fly the nest? Families are important, and one thing you won’t want to do is look back in a few years’ Continue Reading

The post Family Photography: the Value of Professional Photography Over Amateur appeared first on Photodoto.

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Photos of The Beatles taken by an amateur photographer fetch £30000

27 Mar

A rare set of photos taken by an amateur photographer of the Beatles’ 1965 concert at the Shea Stadium, New York have been sold at an auction for £30000 (~ $ 47000). Photographer Marc Weinstein used a fake press pass to get a spot next to the stage. According to Weinsten, the only other photographer present at the show ran out of film during the concert. Weinstein’s 61 pictures fetched £30,680, compared with a pre-sale estimate of £15,000-£20,000. Click through for some pictures and links to the full story on the BBC, and an Examiner.com interview from 2009.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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MMA Amateur Fighter: “The Filipino Delight”

14 Feb

Please follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com and www.facebook.com Our very own production team member won his fourth Amateur MMA bout this last Dec. 10! The event was Monterey Bay Fight Club’s: Coastal Collision 4. His opponent came in 8lbs over! Fights out of: IMS Academy in Santa Cruz, Ca Noble-Moreno Boxing in Watsonville, Ca Watsonville BJJ, Watsonville, Ca Gear: Canon T2i/550D Nikkor 24mm 2.4 Prime

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Amateur or Professional, Part II

18 Dec

In a recent post on the topic of Amateur or Professional Photography I asked an open ended question that would solicit responses. While I was not surprised by the polarization, I was disappointed by how personal the comments became.

I will state categorically that any professional who is not willing to share information must be quite insecure in their own abilities. Like any business certain facets have to remain confidential in order to remain competitive in a free market enterprise. Beyond that, I believe we do owe it to our industry to be honest with each other – no one, regardless of standing, is bigger than the industry itself – and that includes amateurs being honest with professionals.

Are you ready to open shop?

Many readers missed my point entirely in the opening post, that being if you are going to delve into the medium as a means of income then one should play by the rules. The one rule that professional photographers cannot compete against is the various taxes that they must pay as a result of their vocation and business. Each country and city has their own tax laws, and in Canada essentially all income has to be declared as taxable income. Should the professional photographer’s neighbour who photographs weddings on Saturday’s only for $ 300, not declare their income several things happen by default: 1. They are automatically at a 30% (the average income tax in Canada) price advantage due to tax evasion, 2. They have potentially broken tax statutes and that affects the economy of the community; and 3. They have devalued the industry as a whole. These are examples of ethics to which I was referring in the original post.

Believe me, your time, your equipment and your experience has value and as each increases so too should the value of your service. That is a basic business premise and has nothing to do with photographers feeling threatened. Should you really be interested in learning the profession, and haven’t had the opportunity to attend school, source a local photographer whose work you respect and ask if you can assist or apprentice with them for free for six months (I don’t agree with this approach personally, but if you are going to shoot jobs for free you would be doing the industry and your eventual clients a far greater service by learning from a well respected and established business person).

Beyond that, it is very much a wild west as far as photography as an industry is concerned. There are no trade union protections to benefit the photographer, and likewise there are no minimum standards of delivery to protect the client. Whether there should be is a whole other debate and one best not discussed on the DPS forum. It is very much a climate of client and providers beware.

Moving forward, let’s take the wedding photographer completely out of the picture and think in the bigger realm.

Let’s also set the record straight: NO, it is not necessary to go to university or college to become a photographer. NO, it is not necessary to apprentice with an established firm to become a photographer. NO, it is not necessary to become a student of business administration to become a photographer. However, should you be fortunate enough to have been able to pursue photography as a profession by travelling these paths you will inherently have a huge advantage over the amateur who aspires to turn a love of craft into a successful business venture.

In short, you can be the best photographer in the world but if you do not know how to manage and market your business the chances of success are greatly diminished. The aspiring pro should have no illusions – photography is a tough business and the more you can learn about the industry and appropriate business practises, the better the opportunity of success. The client will decide whether your skill with a camera is commensurate with your fee structure.

Regardless of how you have entered the profession it is possible to earn a successful living with a camera while satisfying an internal desire to be a photographer by following a few well laid out principles. The first golden rule that must be cemented in your business plan is to, well, have a business plan. The second golden rule is to learn to pay yourself first; you are, after all, starting a business to earn an income.

If you can’t accept the fact that you need a business plan, you will unquestionably be wandering around aimlessly and without direction. The business plan today must reflect the current market, and, as we all know the photo industry is rapidly adjusting itself without checks and balances. Therefore your business plan will have to be fluid; no longer can we work on a five year plan. Some would suggest a three year plan is risky and the proprietor should be giving serious consideration to a two year plan.

You are entering a service based industry and for the most part your skill level, locale and client base will dictate what you can charge as a fee. There are several web-based outlets that offer great advice, and are well worth reviewing. As a poster earlier shared, Mark Wallace (Adorama TV) has a great video on You Tube:

In this video Mark offer a huge bucket full of sage advice; however I would caution that you not plug his “days of work” numbers in your daily costs calculations as it is quite unlikely you will work 250 days on start up. To clarify, you will probably work more than 250 days, but what are your billable days? Another resource that makes life easier for calculating the daily cost of business is a calculator from NPPA found here: https://www.nppa.org/calculator .

From both of these resources there were several topics not itemized in the calculations. You may decide to work from your home, and there may be tax advantages to doing that. However, there are also going to be increased costs on the home budget that require consideration. Are you even legally permitted to operate a home-based business in your community? The calculators and Mark’s video –I could stand to be corrected—have not identified capital reserve requirements. You have expensive equipment that will most likely have to be replaced every three years due to technology advances. Should you be channeling funds into a capital reserve to lessen the blow when that day arrives? Are there tax advantages to renting your equipment?

Navigating the labyrinth of roads involved in any business will be a nightmare when starting out. You will be well served by educating yourself on solid business practices.

Spend some money on a lawyer and accountant. Regardless if you are working as a professional or semi-professional, or even an amateur, you will be exposing yourself and equipment to liability risks that probably will not be covered by any type of home insurance policy you currently have. Your lawyer will also advise whether you are best served by incorporating or working as a sole proprietor. Don’t forget about learning Intellectual Property laws, and learn who owns the results of your toil and under what circumstances. It is imperative you have iron-clad contracts so both you and your client completely understands the others position before you even accept the commission.

Good accountants are worth their weight in gold; the better ones will give you sage advice and don’t particularly care about hurting your feelings. If you really want a good gauge on how good your business plan has been prepared, go visit a local bank and ask for a business start-up loan. These folks will not lend money if they see any risk in your plan and their judgement should, and can, speak volumes.

If you want to turn that avocation to a vocation, start working on a business plan first. Make no mistake, it will be tough to succeed with long hard hours of non-paying administrative and business training that will siphon your cash flow quicker than a drop of water evaporating on hot asphalt in the desert sun.

If you are skilled and savvy enough there is always room for good photographers, and there probably always will be. At least I hope so – we all deserve to pursue our dreams providing we respect our neighbours in an honest and ethical way.

Postscript: By now I hope the readers following my posts will have recognized I am targeting two audiences. The first being the amateur who is just starting their journey, and the second being the advanced amateur who believes they are ready to advance into the profession. I would ask that you fire your criticisms toward me and not each other. Thank you in advance for following the posts. –Dale Wilson

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Amateur or Professional, Part II

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Amateur or Professional?

28 Nov

Want to do some interesting reading? Do a Google search: “should amateur photographers charge a fee?” There is obviously a lot of expertise around the English speaking world on this topic – Google returned “about 2,760,000 results.”

Some of those results are so naive they are absolutely funny. For example: “I have a digital camera which takes pretty good pictures…” and “Call a photographer in town and see what they say for advice on how much $ $ $ …” and a classic “You won’t incur (in) any expenses by using your digital camera.”

As a professional with more than 20 years experience there are several things I have learned over that time. In order of the above statements I would respond with the following:

• Cameras don’t take the picture, it is the person standing behind it,
• Yes, I’m certain every professional photographer in town would be delighted to tell you how to establish a fee over the telephone; and
• What a wonderful day it will be when we can get our equipment and learn our skills for free.

This question of “how much do I charge” often revolves around the topic of weddings. The interesting point remains that one of the most difficult and high pressure disciplines of the entire practice of photography is … wedding photography. It is a one shot deal – bad pun intended.

Is this the work of an amateur?

I know many photographers, myself included, that have tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and the knowledge to use it, know what we would have to charge to cover overhead costs even if we were doing it for free by not charging a creative fee, and know precisely what we pay in equipment costs every year; but, we wouldn’t touch a wedding job with a ten-foot barge pole. Simply put, it is not within our skill set. Wedding photography is very specialized.

What I really don’t understand is why folks would either ask, or offer, to photograph a friend’s wedding. Don’t they understand that by working at their friends weddings they will not enjoy the ceremony or festivities that follow the ceremony?

What happens when that well intended gesture goes south? Not only are you going to feel bad, your friend won’t have any pictures, and you run the risk of even losing a friendship from your well intended offering.

Equally as bad, or even worse, what happens when a guest catches a toe in the strap of your camera bag, trips and falls and suffers a personal injury? You will no longer be considered a friend of the bride, but the wedding photographer who is ripe for a lawsuit.

Another most likely scenario is that you decide to change lenses to capture that key moment; let’s say signing of the registry. In your haste to be ready you drop a lens, a lens you purchased just three months ago that cost $ 950. You want to cry as you look at it lying in pieces at your feet. Is your bride-friend going to pay for a replacement? Probably not. And because you are an amateur you most likely don’t have all-peril equipment insurance that would offset the replacement cost.

Before offering your services it is paramount a review of the costs and liabilities that will be absorbed. There is a multitude of what if scenarios that has to be explored. Beyond the cost of equipment, beyond the cost of liability insurance and even beyond the cost of losing a potential friend, there are also questions regarding taxation and industry ethics.

After reading all the above arguments suggesting why you should charge a nominal fee for your services you will have then entered another scenario. In most countries this fee will be considered income, and will be taxed accordingly. Should you decide to not report the income another topic enters the discussion. I suspect tax avoidance would not only come with potential legal consequences, but at its most basic form it raises questions of ethics.

Professional photographers contribute to the local economy. They hire local students (most often aspiring photographers who desire to learn the profession before hanging out their own shingle), they pay various taxes, they pay studio rent, they pay insurance to local brokers, and a host of other expenses that most often support local service industries and overall economy. If enough weekend Rebels (they all shoot with Rebel’s, don’t they?) start shooting weddings for free that professional photographer will eventually have to close shop and the community loses the local jobs and economic spin-off the professional photographer supported.

Professional wedding photographers today often bring a reportage style as opposed to the traditional and formal approach.

As I mention, I do not photograph weddings as I do not feel qualified. I also strongly believe that each of us has a moral obligation to ensure we do not undermine the capacity of our neighbour to earn a living, regardless of occupation.

Before you agree to photograph that friend’s wedding, be honest with yourself, your friend, your neighbour and your community.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Amateur or Professional?

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Posts Tagged ‘Amateur’

Wedding Photography – 21 Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers

1. Create a shot list

2. Wedding photography family photo coordinator

3. Scout the location

4. In wedding photography, preparation is key

5. Set expectations with the couple

6. Turn off the sound on your camera

7. Shoot the small details

8. Use two cameras

9. Consider a second wedding photographer

10. Be bold but not obtrusive

11. Learn how to use diffused light

12. Shoot in RAW

13. Display your shots at the reception

14. Consider your backgrounds

15. Don’t discard your “mistakes”

16. Change your perspective

17. Wedding group shots

18. Fill flash

19. Continuous shooting mode

20. Expect the unexpected

21. Have fun

Shootout: Pro with amateur gear vs amateur with pro gear

£10,000 of Sigma lenses up for grabs in Amateur Photographer of the Year competition

What Defines an Amateur versus a Professional Photographer?

What the Dictionary says

What the Government says

As a Professional, Think of Yourself as a Business

Example work flow:

Amateur filmmaker builds ‘bullet time’ rig for less than $100

Family Photography: the Value of Professional Photography Over Amateur

Photos of The Beatles taken by an amateur photographer fetch £30000

MMA Amateur Fighter: “The Filipino Delight”

Amateur or Professional, Part II

Amateur or Professional?

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