Right before Christmas a sale popped up for the FitBit Flex (a fitness tracker) and even though I didn't "need" it, the FitBit would help me stay in shape. So of course I bought it. Over the last couple of months I have been making a conscience effort to make sure I am active. I love seeing how different activities affect my daily step count and, well, shooting a wedding sure does.

Wedding photographers make the worst wedding guests. I know that when I’m at a friend’s wedding, I have a hard time turning it off. And no one should make me - least of all the hired guns photographing the bride and groom for the day. If that sounds blasphemous, let me explain.

Being a wedding photographer is tough enough, but there are some small steps you can take to make your job easier that really add up in the long run. This helpful video will give your four lesser discussed ideas to make your wedding photography life just a little better.

Every wedding photographer has their favorite lens for photographing the couple. Some swear that shooting at 200mm produces the most flattering portraits, while others love the sweeping view of the surrounding environment that is showcased when composing with a wide-angle lens. In this video, Pye Jirsa of Lin and Jirsa Photography reveals his most frequently used lenses from over 10,000 wedding photos.

As a former computer scientist, I’m all about finding efficiencies in my workflow and making my life easier. Some people might call it laziness. Logically, after years of shooting with a traditional DSLR kit, I was ready to ditch it in favor of moving to a small and light mirrorless set up. However, no other camera body appealed to me as much as my Nikon bodies for professional shooting. The combination of the great grip and ergonomics, fast and accurate autofocus system, solid battery life, and great image quality makes them a delight to use professionally. I didn't want to let go of the camera bodies so I decided to try something else first…

Weddings are a nonstop whirlwind of technical and creative challenges, and the more knowledge and tricks you can have for both categories, the better. This awesome video follows a photographer behind the scenes at a wedding and focuses on his use of off camera flash to help you learn how to quickly and effectively turn dull and drab lighting into professional images no matter where you're shooting.

For the longest time, I avoided shooting weddings at all costs. I personally thought they were something photographers only did to make money and that no one truly enjoyed them. But as I developed more and more as a professional I started getting the itch to just try one, just to say I could do it. Soon after, I got in touch with my contact that worked weddings and lined up a job as a secondary shooter the following week. When it was all said and done, those four hours were possibly the most fun and challenging times I’ve ever had with a camera.

It's an exciting time of the year for wedding photographers and a time of plenty of chaos. Having a great second shooter is paramount among the necessities of any wedding photographer. If you're new to the genre, second shooting can be a fantastic way to get your feet wet and learn the ropes from a seasoned professional. I've put together a list, pulled from my own experiences and with talking to other wedding photographers, of the qualities we like to see in a second shooter. The better you are as a second shooter, the happier the clients and the lead photographer are, and ultimately, that leads to you being hired again and being recommended to others.

For most of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the wedding season has begun, and the first images are being sent out to brides and grooms. Delivering pictures to clients is more important than most photographers would like to think, especially for weddings. It is an opportunity to surprise customers, get referrals, and sell more prints or albums. The smallest details will help you separate your business from the crowd.

When I first started shooting flash, I would lug my big studio lights and battery packs from location to location. But after a while, this became such a hassle that I stopped doing it. I instead settled for using a hot shoe flash or just shooting with no flash at all. But this may change now that Elinchrom has the new ELB 500 TTL. Not only does this light offer a significant increase in power compared to a traditional hot shoe flash, but it also does it with a much smaller package than standard studio lights while maintaining the benefits of TTL and HSS.

When looking for new creative ideas, it seems like everything has already been done by someone. But there are still people, like Jay Philbrick, that manage to create pictures never seen or even never thought of before.

A newly-married couple have launched an online plea in a bid to recover their wedding pictures. The pair were left distraught after their wedding photographer was mugged shortly after the big day, with thieves taking the camera that still had the only copy of their wedding pictures inside.

Some days, I have such a short amount of time with the bride and groom alone that I have to decide if I should take the time to better that hand placement or get four more shots that will help fill a wedding album and tell a story. Even though the hand placement will bug me for months afterwards, I choose the story, every time.

Often times during wedding/event photography, you'll find yourself with very small windows of opportunity to capture the best shots. In this video I'm going to show you how preparation and pre-lighting will set you up for success, especially when you only have 10 seconds of time with your couple.

It is no small thing to know how to pose your clients. In fact I don't feel like it's unreasonable to say that it is the hallmark of a competent, professional photographer. Especially when dealing with couples. Most client take comfort in being directed. It helps remove doubt and awkwardness while yielding a far more professional end product. For this reason, posing can be just as important to your final images as knowing what camera settings to use. Besides, it's always more fun for everyone when you can keep the atmosphere carefree, through confident direction and fluid action.

I have to admit, when I first saw the Loupedeck on Indiegogo two years ago, I wrote it off, but after trying it, I now realize just how incredible this piece of hardware can be for photographers.

If you’re like me and live in a town of 1,300, marketing is the most difficult aspect of business you’ll encounter. Marketing with conventional methods is often extremely difficult or even impossible. In this article I will outline some conventional and non-conventional ways of marketing yourself in a small town.

Over the weekend, while millions along the Northeast were tucked away from Winter Storm Jonas, a photographer and an engaged couple despite the elements, created one attention-grabbing engagement session. The photo shoot has since gone viral and goes to show that taking advantage of unique situations can create beautiful imagery.

Have you ever had that gut-wrenching feeling of being defeated after a wedding reception? Let’s be real, it happens. There comes a point where photographing wedding receptions get so frustrating that you either dive deep into off-camera lighting, or you get out of shooting weddings altogether. I can relate 100%. Despite the terrible lighting, there are a couple ways to pull this off without just turning all the lights on in the building and compromising the receptions atmosphere. These are a few of the ways I light a wedding reception.

Wedding photography can be a rewarding genre and can also be lucrative if you can make it to the upper echelons, but just like any other one, it has plenty of drawbacks as well. If you are newer to photography and exploring your options, check out this interesting video essay from an experienced wedding photographer that discusses five reasons why you might want to think twice before you pursue wedding photography.

The recent resurrection of film and instant film cameras never really interested me until a few months ago. I love shooting digital, mostly because I can just keep going until my heart is content, but that was until I discovered this gem of an instant film camera.

If you’ve been a wedding photographer for any amount of time, you know that you are going to spend a lot of time in loud wedding receptions, and this is my public service announcement to please protect your freaking ears. All wedding photographers and filmmakers need ear protection as part of their kit for the long hours we spend in front of bands and DJ speakers at volume levels unsafe for our hearing, and so, I rounded up a few options for you to consider below.

Sometimes when on a job, things happen. You might show up and take photos of the wrong couple at a proposal shoot. You might break into an abandoned house and discover it wasn’t as abandoned as you had thought. Or, you might turn around and see the groom you’re photographing standing nearly waist-deep in water saving a kid from drowning. You know, normal stuff.

In the world of photography, preparation goes a long way. From creating mood boards weeks in advance, communicating with everyone who will be on set, to making sure your gear is in proper working order, there is a lot to do before you even shoot. Whether you are shooting in the studio, working on a large scale shoot, or just going for a photo walk with some friends, here is a simple list of steps to make sure you are ready the night before a shoot.

In the past few years, the growing number of wedding photographers and their vast range of prices have made finding your value as a photographer challenging. This series of articles will help you to navigate your prices to meet your goals and earn your worth as a wedding photographer.

Wedding photography, like any business, is bound to have its bumps in the road, and it's always unpleasant when we have to deal with them. This cautionary tale will remind you why it's important to have the proper safeguards in place no matter what genre of photography you work in.