We've all had our fair share of nightmare clients. I'm part of a Facebook group where photographers air their grievances and seek advice from their peers on how to handle certain situations. A recent topic of conversation was sharing stories of nightmare wedding clients and potential red flags they look for during their initial consultation. See below for some of my favorites.
Nothing beats the thrill of discovery — especially if that discovery involves a long-lost tape of your 80s era wedding, for example.
You’ve covered your bases for that ever elusive amazing sunset shot: you’ve checked the time for sunset, mapped the exact location of the sun, and have composed a few frames so you know what to do when you get to the location. But what about the location itself?
Although it’s fun to spend time with family and friends on New Year’s Eve, it’s also a blast to be out photographing a wedding when the clock strikes midnight. After all, this is the kind of wedding that can only happen once a year. I’ve compiled a few tips to make sure the couple gets hitched without any hitches. Many of these will also apply to snowy or chilly winter weddings.
If your partner is not involved in the photography or videography industry, you may not have thought about teaching them to become your assistant or second shooter. But what if this could be a great addition to your photography? Let's look at how this could help you build your business!
Second shooting is a great way to gain experience and fill out unbooked weekends, but there are a lot of things you can do to maximize your returns.
A bad second shooter can create many problems for a wedding photographer, so it is important go the extra mile to make sure the second shooter does exactly what you need.
After reading an article about a wedding photographer who has taken over eight months to deliver photos — only doing so when a local news station got involved — I wondered how long is considered acceptable for image turnaround times.
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.
In an effort to please everyone, setting expectations and educating your clients is something that creatives often shy away from. But why not create a shiny little brochure to educate your wedding clients?
A wedding photographer took more than pictures when she was allegedly discovered having sex with a guest during a wedding in Weatherford, Texas on November 24, 2018.
A woman from Arizona has had her late fiance's images imposed into wedding photos. She is absolutely thrilled with the results but it opens a wider discussion in this age of digital photography: where is the line drawn when it comes to creative editing?
Rain during a couple’s portrait session can be hugely annoying for a wedding photographer. A dramatic rain shot can be the silver lining, but only if you’re fully prepared, especially on the lighting front.
In a typical wedding, dozens of vendors come together to make the bride's day special. All these vendors have one thing in common: the photographer doesn't owe them a single picture.
Thomas Stewart made headlines back in 2015 when he posted a rant about wedding guests and their mobile phones. Fast forward 3 years and things don't seem to be getting any better. So should we put the cameras away?
Photobombing during client shoots is usually annoying and unwanted, but not when its Dave Chappelle making an appearance.
Yes, photographers can and do have bad days. Following your favorite photographers on Instagram, it might seem that all the photographers in the world are cruising along while you alone battle horrible days. And guess what, bad days are more common than you might think. So, it is important that we as a community learn and help each other survive bad days. I’ve created an action plan for myself that has helped me overcome difficult days and I hope this will help you as well.
A little over a month ago, I got married. Now that the dust has settled, I thought I might share some realizations I had from being on the other side of the camera lens for a change.
If the majority of what we and our clients see online are beautiful couples' portraits, is there a place for reportage wedding photographers, and how would you step into it?
When Melissa Ngo stepped out onto Taft Point in Yosemite National Park with her fiancee, Charlie Vo, and saw him drop to one knee, present her with a Ring Pop, and ask for her hand in marriage, she was shocked — probably because they’d been engaged since February. She was shocked once again a couple weeks later when Vo asked her to confirm they were, in fact, the mystery couple captured in photographer Matthew Dippel’s viral photo that recently gained worldwide attention.
In today's wedding video business market, the female demographic is vastly unrepresented and is far outnumbered by men. In this insightful video, discover the ways that one female videographer found success and is booking 80 weddings a year!
Every photographer today has a digital portfolio of some kind but only a very few have spent the time to create a printed book. In this video, we look into three very differently designed printed portfolios.
Don't have any time for roaming streets with your camera? Well, put it aside for your personal development, because it can make you a better wedding photographer!
Wedding photography is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination, and it comes with its own unique set of challenges, not the least of which is guests with smartphones jockeying for position to take snapshots. One wedding photographer was having none of it when a guest stepped in front of her, shoving the offending guest aside to get the shot.
A woman has described herself as “heartbroken” after she was one of 12 people to appear on Fox News to out a wedding photographer they say takes money but delivers blurry photos, if she even turns up at all. They all allegedly paid thousands, but had to threaten court action before receiving any photos and found what they did recover to be woefully inadequate.
In a statement made Tuesday, the parent company of The Knot, XO Group, announced that WeddingWire, Inc. and The Knot would be merging. The two companies are maintaining separate brands, but some fear the two monster companies joining may create a monopoly.
Gear cannot make you a better photographer. This statement is said over and over and I actually really believe it. But despite believing this statement to be true, I also believe that switching to mirrorless has made me a better 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.
It won’t be for everyone, but I think it’s something everyone should try at some point: shooting in black and white (monochrome) mode in camera.
Photographing your first wedding can bring a lot of anxiety and excitement. It's a big deal to be responsible for photographing a couple's most important day. Here are three tips to photograph your first wedding like a pro.
Seeing your work published in print form is an especially fulfilling feeling. This helpful video will give you seven tips to increase your chances of getting your wedding work published in magazines or on blogs.
When you're shooting a wedding, the sheer number of shots you absolutely must get can be a bit overwhelming. This helpful video will show you five preparation shots you should always be sure to get.
The wedding photography industry can be described in one way: over-saturated. With this in mind, it can be an overwhelming and discouraging thought to stick out from the crowd. However, creating a niche for yourself is a surefire way to get seen by more clients.
Looking for a unique way to propose to your photographer partner? These lens-inspired wedding ring boxes might be right up your street.
One daredevil couple took things up a notch by getting married on a “spacenet” which hangs 400 feet in the air. The ceremony was captured by two adventure photographers in Moab, Utah.
Shooting the bridesmaids is one of the more significant parts of any wedding shoot, apart from photographing the bride and the groom. In fact, you never know, a few of them may end up as your future clients too. Here is Vanessa Joy for Adorama giving her two cents on prepping up to shoot the bridesmaids.
Have you ever wanted to step up and shoot high-end wedding clients? I am sure we all have that yearning to improve our clientele circle and keep progressing. Guess what? It is not all that difficult.
There was a time in my life that weddings were my main source of income. After being laid off from my job as a scientist, my hobby soon turned into a career. When I was first starting out, I took any and every gig I could to make ends meet. However, I held a secret during that time that I would never had admitted until now. I hated weddings.
As raw processing software for wedding editing or batch editing in general, Capture One has nothing to envy from Lightroom. Quite the opposite, it’s perfectly tailored to help wedding photographers get a fast and efficient workflow.
As both the photographer or videographer, and the client, horrendous results are our worst nightmare. So when the videography of a wedding was dire and deemed unsalvageable, Josh Yeo stepped in to see if he could rescue it.
Although I've been shooting weddings for years, I've always done bridal portraits as a "day of" service. In Colorado, there wasn't much of a market for bridal portraits before the big day. Now that I've moved to North Carolina, it's an entirely different ballgame! Pre-wedding portraits are big business down South. So, how can you separate yourself from the pack? Well for starters, take advantage of the fact that you now have one resource that isn't on your side on the actual wedding day: time.
A man has proposed to his photographer girlfriend in an unconventional manner: etching a huge thigh tattoo of a vintage film camera along with the message, “Can’t Picture Myself Without You. WYMM?”
If you have a strong online presence or pay to market your photography business, bogus leads can bombard your inbox. Atlanta photographer Katie Coon received one recently.
Wedding season is in full swing in the UK. It can be a tiring and stressful time, so here are five tips to help you get through.
Since the beginning of my adventure into photography, Photoshop has been the go-to tool for cutting out a subject and creating complex masks. With ON1 Photo RAW, this process has become so much simpler.
If you're just getting into or thinking of starting out in wedding videography, you don't want to miss this. This excellent video will show you how a videographer works at an actual wedding and is packed full of helpful tips, techniques, and tricks.
Take a look back at some recent client work of yours, and simply ask the following question: Did I bring to the table a deep and thoughtful understanding of my clients' photography wants, and needs? Or did I instead find myself photographing based only on my own personal needs as a photographer?
Who we are as artists and photographers is usually a process that takes time and a deeper internal dialogue to understand, and the initial direction we go will almost always be left on the wayside as we develop our abilities and discover our passions. How do some of the most accomplished photographers in the world start in the industry and do they grow into or out of their genres?
A wedding job for one Turkish photographer took a dramatic turn last week, after he ended up in a physical altercation with his client, even breaking his nose upon learning the bride-to-be was only 15 years old.
What looks like a perfectly wonderful wedding day full of happiness and love was almost ruined by a tree that tried to throw one of its branches right on top of the couple. Trees are so rude. Luckily, the newlyweds escaped just in time, and the videographer captured the entire sequence.
