5 CHALLENGING THINGS ABOUT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY THAT MADE ME A BETTER ARTIST

5 CHALLENGING things about wedding photography that really made me a better photographer….

1. QUICK ON MY TOES. Wedding photography is just about as challenging as sports photography. If you know…you know. You have to stay quick on your feet. If you MISS A MOMENT…it’s gone forever. Your eyes have to be tracing and diligent to know where the action and emotions are happening. You have to think fast and make decisions even quicker than your mind can process.
2. TEAM PLAYER. It’s easy to believe that you’re the most essential vendor in the wedding production…not true. It can be challenging indeed when you’re working with others who have different ideas and perspectives and when you have STRONG OPINIONS [*cough cough] but it’s necessary to realize that you’re one of a few making the entire wedding work.
   Every vendor involved is essential. We work as a team that day. The more we could respect our team members…the better the outcome is for EVERYONE. Professionalism will never speak louder then this part of the wedding industry. I learned not to assume anything. I learned to stay in my lane and rise to the occasion, if and ONLY if another team member needed me or asked of me.
3. FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS. Most people believe it’s “easy” to shoot in a gorgeous wedding location….it’s actually not true. Sometimes having a lot to work with can make you scattered brain and will cause you to shoot with no focus or story. From the moment we show up to a location to photograph, we are bombarded by CHOICES and POSSIBILITIES. One space, one second, a TON of approaches and possibilities…what will we do?
   I learned to STUDY before entering a wedding. I imagined a STORY and how I would execute it. I never want to deliver “pretty” photos, I want depth and meaning, cohesiveness and story. For it to be and feel like a collection.
4. BUILD TRUST TO CREATE FREELY. How do you get clients to trust your work in order to create freely? That was a question I asked myself early on. Probably the most challenging question of them all. Here’s what I learned…I HAD TO PROVE IT TO THEM. There is no way around this…it requires proving by creating. For me, it came in the way of creating styled shoots and being the visual director of the sessions because then I was creating what I wanted to. By doing this, I was able to show my potential future clients that I could take ideas and make them a reality and that my ideas were worth trusting. Before long…I had clients who hired me and said things like “what do you think?” “Do whatever you want!” “What should we wear, where should we go?” This opened a world of photography that became more like exciting! Every project had my touch because clients trusted it.
5. DIRECTOR of PHOTOGRAPHY. At a wedding…a lot of photographers think that things JUST HAPPEN and you just shoot what is happening [with the exception of family portraits and sunset hr]…but this isn’t really true. You cannnn do that, but then that doesn’t tell a story or bring the special elements…or better yet, leave room for the emotions to take place. You can go from a getting ready moment and think…well, go ahead and put on your dress and I’ll capture it to thinking about the space, where she stands, the lighting, and then direct something like… “ok, take a deep breath, look in the mirror…think about it…it’s YOUR wedding day, it’s here, the day is here” and then you sit back in silence and let her just take it in as you shoot. You have the ability to direct little tiny moments that could actually not just shift the collection, but shift the way that your clients experience their day. It’s a magical thing and this is the biggest mindset that has changed the way I photograph. I now understand that with direction…I can change an entire outcome.