Fail To Prepare, Prepare To Fail

You might think that a wedding photographer just turns up at the start of your wedding, takes a few pretty pictures, and then heads home for a nice early night. Erm… without wanting to spoil the magic, it takes a little bit more than that to provide your beautiful album of photos! I’ll warn you now: this blog reveals the mundane truth of professional photography, so look away now if you were hoping for something more exciting!

Wedding photography is an amazing job, and one that I absolutely love doing, but it’s certainly not easy - although weddings can fly past in a blur, it’s a long working day when you’re trying to capture all of the most important moments. Perhaps just as importantly, the hard work begins long before the big day itself…

Professional Prep

Wedding Photography Lesson 1: to be a wedding photographer, you need a camera! If you want to learn more about the equipment I use to shoot a wedding, you can read all about it in my previous blog!

You also need to know how to use said camera efficiently, which only comes with practice and experience. As someone who has been taking photos on DSLRs and mirrorless cameras for 20+ years, I’m hopefully getting the hang of it by now (i.e. I usually remember to remove the lens cap before taking your photo)!

There’s also the need to keep my knowledge up to date: I attend in-person workshops, participate in photography societies, and follow countless other photographers online. I do these things 1) to ensure my technique is constantly improving, and 2) because I love everything to do with photography!

As well as this, there are many other practicalities that I need to consider before I can turn up to your wedding (boring things like insurance policies, plus an online gallery system to share the resulting images with you).

Personalised Prep!

So, once I’ve got the necessary equipment, knowledge and infrastructure to offer myself as a professional wedding photographer, what do I do that benefits you directly?

After you make contact with me via my website or social media, I’ll always want to meet you in person (or, if that’s not possible, via web meeting). It’s really important that we start getting to know each other - I need to know exactly what you want in terms of wedding photos, and you need to know that you can trust me with such a crucial responsibility. I never charge for any pre-wedding meetings as I consider it an essential part of the service I offer, and it’s often worth meeting again nearer the time of your wedding, so we can run through your final plans in greater detail. For example, talking through any specific shots you want (either as a couple, or larger groups) is always sensible, to give you an idea of how long this is likely to take on the day - it’s essential that we strike the right balance between getting lovely photos and you having time to enjoy your day!

Once you’ve confirmed that you’d like to proceed with me, and you’ve confirmed your venue(s), I’ll spend time researching them and (wherever possible) visiting them. Although most wedding venues have many beautifully photogenic areas, it’s always a good idea to see them in person, to figure out what might work in different scenarios. Different spots will look very different at different times of the day, and under different weather conditions - so I need to ensure that I have Plans A, B and C prepared in advance, allowing your wedding photography to flow as smoothly as possible.

Hopefully this short blog gives you an idea of the effort that goes into every wedding that I shoot; being asked to photograph a couple’s big day is a huge honour, and not one that I take lightly. I therefore do everything possible to ensure that I arrive on the morning of your wedding fully prepared for a great day’s photography!

If you’d like to discuss booking me for your own big day (and I would be delighted if you did!), then please drop me a line now!