What I Think About Wedding Photography After 12 Years

My perspectives on the complex madness yet its exciting world

From my experience as a photographer for many years, wedding photography is not an exact science; it is not a strict set of rules and formulae that anyone can use to achieve at least some success. Photography, in general, is not a field where rules can be applied for any situation and get good results every time.

After more than 200 weddings, tens of thousands of photographs edited and delivered, and countless friends gained along the way, I can honestly say there is an infinite diversity of situations and factors that make a photograph, from light and composition to moment and subject.

On top of all these, there is the unbelievable diversity of technical aspects, and to complicate things to an extreme, the experience, talent, and vision of the photographer. I have seen and heard many incredible stories unfold right before my eyes, learning from each misstep and gaining confidence with each success.

To say just one thing about wedding photography and comprise all this madness in one perfect word would be unpredictable.

There are so many things going on at the same time, never exactly the same from day to day, changing and evolving with each and every second.

Photographers can try to make sense of whatever happens around them, but they will never be able to control the outcome completely. Something, sometimes, will surely go wrong, and each moment has different meanings and angles that can be explored.

Speaking more in-depth on my view about wedding photography and its universe, first of all, I never believed in adopting a single style and that this is the perfect formula for success. Of course, there’s nothing wrong in becoming known as the best in something, and some people view the world this way.

I was never able to go into a wedding and think about fashion or journalism, to name just the two main opposing styles in this domain. A wedding photographer must be every other type of photographer, depending on the moment and the situation.

You just have to incorporate a little bit of product photography or landscape photography, a lot of portrait or fashion photography, some sort of photojournalism, street photography, and many others.

It also depends on the subject; I could never just stand around silent and wait for something to happen when the couple is so afraid of the camera that watches my every move and direction.

Neither can I become the director of the cheap scripted movie and make everything happen on command. I believe there is a middle way, and depending on the situation, we photographers must adapt and overcome anything in order to create a story that our couple will love.

One thing I’ve learned doing wedding photography in Romania for the past 12 years is that there are amazingly talented photographers who will create masterpieces from apparently mundane situations each chance they get.

There are photographers who try their best to create beautiful stories. Even if their images taken individually are not as impressive, the full story they tell can still achieve deep emotional impact.

I try my best to be in the second group as I will probably never be in the first, except for rare sparks of creativity.

One does not have to be a naturally born photographic talent to be able to tell beautiful wedding stories through hard work and passion. It’s all about capturing moments that will never return and will be cherished by generations.

We live in an ever-changing and evolving world of information technology, and people are constantly being bombarded with visual stimuli each day. Who knows what the future will bring, so photographers are here to record the present as well as they can and wish.

One of the biggest myths about wedding photography is that you can get rich if you are really good at it. The truth is that not all the best photographers are also good businessmen, and there are an unbelievable number of things to take into account.

First of all, customers see the fees that photographers demand as full profit numbers when, in reality, a grand portion of the price is going on expenses like equipment, marketing, education, taxes, and others.

Sometimes, not even half of the full price of a wedding photographer goes to net profit, and when this is your full-time job and the wedding season only lasts for about half a year, things begin to take a new perspective.

On top of this, many think about wedding photography as a one-day job each week, as in reality, most photographers will spend another 2–5 days editing a wedding, which is a big part of the job.

So the fee for a wedding photography service is not just for the day, but more likely for a full week that will also include the cost of expensive equipment which is being worn out, the cost of promoting the business, the costs related to buying education and spending time learning and exercising and so on.

Conclusions and Takeaways

If there is one thing I can say about wedding photography and its world, it is that I love it. This sort of thing happened one day, and although I used to love photography in general, I did not imagine myself doing weddings before trying the first one.

It also increased my passion for photography a thousand times, and I can only be grateful to call myself a wedding photographer.

I want to end my story with a few takeaways for aspiring photographers and those who want their wedding photos to be taken on these special days.

First of all, you should not be afraid of failure and let this fear guide you during the wedding day. I have failed and will probably fail again, but I have never let it stop me from trying to tell a story as well as I can.

You might mess up a photo or a whole moment, but you should try to make up for other moments and photos.

Secondly, invest in yourself more than in your equipment.

As technology evolves faster and faster, you will probably never have the best tools in your bag for more than a year.

Instead, just focus on having the best things you can afford and allow you to make your vision happen, then put everything else into courses and workshops, learning everything you can from everyone you meet!

Next, you should believe in yourself when nobody else does…as wedding photography is usually a wonderful community, there are also those who will try to cut your wings.

Especially at the beginning when you are not very confident in your craft, the only critics you need are your clients, and always try to give your best and then some…but never stop learning!

Lastly, it is ok to be a little afraid and nervous during the first events or even years. For many years, I was scared about things like equipment failure, client dissatisfaction, missed moments, and stuff like that.

Eventually, I achieved a state where I think that whatever might happen, I have a solution and then a workaround or two.

Nevertheless, always have a backup for everything, from equipment to people!

Thank you for reading my story.