Although none of us can predict the future, it is beginning to look as if 2009 is going to be the roughest economic year in recent memory for most industries. The wedding industry, and more specifically, the wedding photography industry is no different. In fact, some would argue that our industry has been especially hard-hit by these bad economic times. From the view from my work station, It seems to me that our industry has been hit by two troubles. The economy has no doubt been a major factor in the slow-down of our industry, but I also believe that we have hit an apex in the flooding of the market with the “start-up” photographer. These two reasons together I believe, will prove to create a truly challenging market environment in the coming year.
We could sit here and discuss the reasons that caused the economy to tank, while pointing fingers at greedy lenders and irresponsible borrowers in the housing market, but that will not help us figure out how we are going to keep our doors open this year. What we do need to have a firm grip on, is that our industry, and the services and products we provide to our beloved clients are indeed luxuries and as we all know luxuries are the first thing to go out the stained-glass window when hard times come.
I myself have had numerous brides inquire about my services this year. However, getting them to sign contracts is like pulling teeth. Photographers all over the country are experiencing a bottleneck of clients who inquire, but have a hard time letting go of even the retainer fees for fear of what the economy will do next. We as Americans are fearful of what the future holds economically, and are in a “wait and see” mode with regard to feeling comfortable about spending our expendable cash. The problem is that a “wait and see” approach is the antithesis of what an economy that depends on the transfer of cash to grease the wheels of commerce, needs. However, if this were not a big enough crisis for your studio to overcome, I believe we are also seeing another major obstacle to the success of a professional photography studio. The massive influx of the aspiring photographer into the industry caused by the digital revolution.
We are indeed head-long into the digital revolution where every third person you meet is an aspiring photographer. I do not have to tell you why we are seeing so many start-up photographers everywhere we look. The digital revolution has created an environment where the average person can create a portfolio of acceptable images that they can then throw onto a free website template. Truth be told, the camera took those photos, while the upstart photographer simple pointed the camera in the correct direction. They then show this website full of images that their digital camera took to their friend’s coworker’s daughter, who herself is struggling financially during these hard times. She tells herself that this is a door that was opened for her to save some money, and she accepts the offer the photographer has made to shoot her wedding for next-to-nothing, or many times nothing at all in order to build up a portfolio of wedding images. The quality of these images is disappointingly predictable. Neither the aspiring photographer nor the bride truly realize that photography is a mixture of art and science, requiring years of training and experience to do well.
On average, I get 3-4 emails per month from aspiring photographers who are introducing themselves and offering their services free of charge in order to gain experience. Many times, the emails I receive from these aspiring photographers are not even addressed to me. I can only assume that they are copying and pasting the body of these emails into multiple emails and just sending them off in hopes that an established photographer will take them under their wings and show them the ropes. However fewer and fewer established photographers are willing to show their potential competition any sort of attention these days. They are worried more and more about their own business and its profitability in ’09, and less and less about being nice to people who are not paying them for their services.
We are beginning to see price reductions at studios all over the country. What strikes me as odd however, is that we are also hearing loud cries from photographers that these reductions in prices are “terrible for the industry” and that we’re “betraying our colleagues”, and “Unity” and “stand your ground” and so one and so forth. I can’t for the life of me understand why we as photographers think that our luxury based industry is immune to price reductions in tough economic times. Do we not notice the price tags for everything we see being slashed? Why would our services be any different? If you consider the possibility that this is the bottom of an economic cycle, and that cost bubbles correct themselves during these cycles, you can see how it’s a realistic scenario to find yourself being the one without a chair when the music stops, if you have not adjusted your pricing to an affordable amount. You could be setting yourself up to be known as the highest priced photographer in town. I don’t mean to be snide, but I hope you have the quality portfolio and the affluent client base to support that reputation. Are your clients from last year still able to afford you this year? If not, a slice of humble might actually taste good if it brings you some work.
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Help answer the question about Wedding Photography
How much did you pay for your wedding photography?I have spoke with several different photographers and I am getting an average price quote of $3300. This seems really really high to me. Is this normal? This would include 2 photographers for 6 hours and a large wedding albums as well as some prints.
How much did you pay??
This is in the San Diego metro area…
About Author
Brad Walters is an international destination wedding photographer based in Colorado Springs and Denver. His portfolio can be found at http://www.bradwaltersphoto.com/
whoa!!it looks like a PICTURE!
ur an amazing painter!:D
*sub*
See these tutorials on wedding photography: http://www.net-art.it/photomonitor/html/teoria_tecnica/ripresa-tecniche/matrimonio-cerimonia-e.shtml
Wedding photography tutorials: http://www.net-art.it/photomonitor/html/teoria_tecnica/ripresa-tecniche/matrimonio-cerimonia-e.shtml
Wow!!! Your question is very important for which I think you should go online and check this out: http://thestylishwedding.com/articles
Enjoy
Nice work, you did pretty good.
You’re really good man. You’ve got excellent talent.
Wedding photographers charge by the event, not the hour.
My wedding photographer had shot professionally for ten years, but mine was only her fourth wedding. Her experience as a pro combined with her inexperience at weddings led to a price of $750 for the day.
This included:
* Four scheduled hours of work (though she showed up early and also toured the venue with me the day before, so it's more like six hours total).
* Light editing of all pictures (color, contrast, removing any photos that had come out badly) and burning them to CD. This CD also came with copyright release, so I could print the photos legally. Most photographers charge maybe $250 for the copyright-released CD alone.
* No prints
You seem less experienced than my photographer was, so if I were you, I'd charge $500 for the above.
The high yearly saleries and $2000/gig prices are reserved for professional photographers who have lots of experience with weddings. If your sister's friend is going to you, it's because she can't afford them.
Great talent Der Mann.
Brilliant Willy, Just Brilliant =D
Incredible! He looks so life like. Just amazing…and what a beautiful subject
I know in our town we have bridal fairs at our mall and another at a local hotel. These fairs have booths set up so that businesses can get their names out there. I would start with that. Then word of mouth does wonder. Start some sort of reward program for people who refer you to other people. You may check and see if a local floral shop wants to team up with you and have packages that way. Also check out theknot.com. They are a wedding website that I believe is set up by area of the country.
I'm not familiar with any magazine with wedding photography as its main subject.
However, Inside Weddings has lots of good photos. Some of them are studio shots of course, but lots of them are actual wedding shots. I use it to help get the couple focused on the types of photos they like best during pre-planning.
equipment is not the main consideration.
Skill and experience is.
If you have never done a wedding before then before you jump in you need to work as an assistant for a while so that you do not completely and utterly mess up the couples big day.
Good wedding photography is a skill which can only be learnt with practice so going solo straight is NOT a good idea.
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Well, I do quite a few different types of photography, including weddings.
Just because you are 14 means only that age limitations apply. You have the youth and energy to craft your photographic trade for decades to come though! Having a Nikon D40 is a great thing. I shoot a D90 with a Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 and love it! The fact you can edit is a great plus, seeing that digital photography has a requisite for that kind of talent.
Now, on to your questions…
You've already have gotten started. You have a great camera, you're computer savvy and have drive. Now you need the channels to utilize those energies. How about the school paper? The local paper? Be a free-lance photographer for them! Learn what clients want and find out how you can supply it. How will you make yourself unique (differentiate) as compared to other photographers? Think about this.
As to how to further get started in wedding photography, I learned by taking lots of photographs and reading up on books in the library. I also asked other photographers (like you're doing here) on some tips. It takes time, and you have lots of that!
As for your camera, right now the D40 is fine. Learn the operations of the camera if you haven't already. Knowing your tools is of utmost importance to getting the most from them. In a few years, think about upgrading possibly. Always look to buy the best lenses you can afford. The lens will outlive the camera by decades! Read articles, look at product reviews and see what is the right kind of lenses and bodies for what you want to do. I still have my 6 year old D70 and lenses because my wife is getting into photography and she loves it.
You can do some work on wedding photography right now. Not for pay possibly, but doing some free-lance work and then showing the bride and groom your work afterwards would set you up for something in the near future. I'd say that the earliest you could get some sort of paying work is at 17 or 18. Don't ask me what you could charge… your work/portfolio quality will determine that in a few years.
What kind of pictures? What do you WANT to take pictures of? What really makes you want to snap that picture? That is the motivation you need to focus on! That is what helps differentiate your work from everyone else! I do a lot of landscape, macro, flowers/plants and specialty photography personally.
The best thing to do is:
1) Learn your camera and lenses. What/where are they good at performing? How many lenses do you really need to just start? If you only have one lens then fine. Learn its strengths and weaknesses. Know the camera operations by memory so that when conditions change, you can change the settings accordingly.
Do you have a good prime lens (50mm f/1.8), a good low end zoom (18-70/105mm), a good high focal length zoom (70-300mm)? Maybe, like me, you have a good "walk about" lens (18-270mm). Even if you just have the 18-105mm Nikon lens the D40 came with, it's a very good lens! You can do a lot of fine work with that lens.
2) Read up on the types of photography you'd like to do. Take notes. How about some classes in middle or high school? Go to the library and check out some books so you can refer back to them. That is a no-cost option! Learn the basics of exposure and composition and how to get different effects from different settings of the camera. Don't rely on your software to make a semi-good picture better. Learn to take a great picture right off the bat so you don't have to do any rework on the computer.
3) Learn from your mistakes. Why did the picture come out bad, over or under exposed? How can you work to not do that again? Why is is that certain pictures came out fantastic? What did you do correctly so you can repeat that? Since you have a digital camera, you can usually take several shots of the same subject and see how different settings make the picture change to you liking.
4) Have fun doing whatever you do. I have seen so many people get into photography and get lost in the details that they forget to have FUN!
Good luck!
Very nice!!
I suppose you have experience, a portfolio, have taken formal classes and you've done an apprenticeship with an experienced, established professional phtoographer?
In being a wedding photographer, you will find that you will have dry spells and a lot of free time on your hands; for that reason, I suggest that you expand your business to also include portraits, graduations, Christenings, and maybe even do a little of children and/or baby photos. Those are opportunities to make money ANeD to get your name known. Depending on the area where you're located, you might also want to work for a shop that does on-site photo processing (learn how to operate the equipment, machines, etc… learn as much as you can and keep your eyes and ears open).
Consider also taking a few businesses classes at the local "Y" or local community college through the Evening Adult & Continuing Education Department; it will help you in more ways than one… taxes, accounting, etc. Talented and skilled photographers go bankrupt all the time because they have no kind of business sense; learn as much as you can.
Getting started ain't always as easy as we imagine. For that reason you might want to visit a few churches and speak with the Holy Man, leave a few cards or make a professional looking circular and post it on the bulletin boards, do a few freebies or give them as much of a break as you can (use this to build a portfolio, get recommendations… future referrals) for a few people on really tight budgets. Bridal shops often don't say anything but they may expect a "finder's fee" or a tip (which I am sorely against), flower shops, beauty salons, etc. Speak with the proprietors and let them know that you're just starting out; take a few of their cards and also offer to pass them to any and all of your clients. Do you know anyone in the catering business? That's also a plus.
Don't give up. Starting is always the most difficult part! Listen, all the talent and skills in the world won't amount to anything unless you have the passion to persevere and overcome those obstacles you're sure to encounter; so, hang in there. Good luck and very best wishes.
Excellent work. Pleasure to watch. Perfect music
))