Just What Does a Wedding Photographer Do?

Well, obviously, we take photos at weddings! But recently I have commented that you can't do this as a business for less than about $1000 per wedding, and that has led people to ask.... Why not? Once you own a camera, what does it cost to press the shutter button? Digital cameras don't use film, and if the newlyweds are satisfied to get their photos on a disk, there isn't any cost involved in printing and a CD costs just a few cents. Surely it is all profit! Well, not quite. Without thinking about the cost of the equipment and the insurance, there is the cost of getting to and from the wedding, travelling to meet the bride and groom prior to the wedding and getting back to the studio afterwards... On average I will travel 300K for a wedding... Not to get there mind, but to and from my office to the couples' home, to and from the Church or other venue, and between the venue, the location for the personal photos, and on to the reception. That's fuel and wear and tear on the cars and all the other costs no-one generally associates with photography. Taxation has to be paid, and so does the cost of advertising and promoting in a very competitive market and it all adds to the cost of the photographs. But that doesn't answer the question, "what do you actually do?" So here is a rundown of an actual wedding shoot, a fairly typical one: After several phone conversations with a prospective client, a meeting is arranged at the home of the Mother of the Bride, about 45 minutes from my home. The Bride, Groom and Bride's mother are present. It is 8:00 PM. We spend an hour talking about their plans, getting some insight into the kind of wedding they are planning , what it means to them, and learning about the bridal party and the part they will play on the day. We talk about where and how they will get ready and the kind of pictures they want: Julie has seen some pictures in a bridal magazine that she likes - can we do some like that? After looking at the photos with her and finding out a bit about what she and her bridesmaids are going to wear, it becomes obvious that those photos are just not going to be possible if she gets ready at home (no space, and problems with light); but if she were to get dressed at her mum’s place, it would be a lot easier, and we decide to do that. We talk about their wedding cars, flowers and the Reception centre and make sure about times, addresses and so on. We look through some albums on my laptop, and use them as a starting point for working out the style and locations for Julie and Bob’s private session; it can't take place after the Ceremony because of the way the Reception Hall has been booked, so we organise to take their private photos while their guests are finishing their meals, just before the speeches, and I undertake to scout appropriate locations for them in advance. Bob decides that a traditional album is never going to survive in the house with their two rowdy kids (from a previous marriage) but he likes the modern Photobook concept, and they opt for that and a single framed photo - they know they will have all their pictures delivered on a DVD to print later if they wish. We finalise the details, and complete a wedding agreement that secures the day for them and details all the arrangements we have discussed. Back home by 10:00 and all the contract details are entered into my database and diary while they are fresh in my mind. One week later, I call up to confirm the details - it is surprising how often people think of something they meant to ask after I have gone home! Over the next couple of weeks, I will contact the Minister, Priest or Celebrant to introduce myself and ensure that I know about any special requirements they have: there are pastors don't allow cameras in some parts of the Church, for instance, and a respectful attitude and reasonable approach well in advance if far better than being informed about it at the start of the Ceremony! Well before the day, I visit the wedding venue, assess the lighting, look for photo locations and make myself known to people like the Wedding or Events Manager. Once that is done I can nominate an Assistant for the day and brief him or her. I also contact locations and book venues when necessary... the bookinbg fees can be quite high (Parramatta Park charges up to $270, and parts of the Sydney Botanic Gardens can be twice that for a couple of hours access), but if you don't book, the party misses out, so I do it on their behalf well in advance. Two weeks before the Big Day, a deposit is due, so a reminder goes 3 weeks in advance (I don't require the balance until the photos are ready to deliver). It’s the day before the Big Event! Time to clean and check the kit, charge all the batteries, make sure the memory cards are formatted and that both the laptop and the portable image-bank are fully charged: throughout the day I will be backing up my cards to the image-bank and to the laptop. On the day I will be at the groom’s place quite early, take some photos, introduce my assistant (and meet the Best Man and Groomsmen if I haven't already done so); I will often leave my Assistant with the Men when I move on to the Bride’s place (I will also have my wife, a key member of the photo team with me); I will take a series of informal snaps and posed pictures featuring the girls’ preparations, the dress and shoes (very important!). This is usually where I will take the best pictures of the cars as they wait for the bridal party to be ready. Half an hour before the bride leaves for the wedding, we are off to the venue to record the the guests arriving, the decorations, and the nervous groom waiting for his bride. Her arrival and the reactions when he first sees her are wonderful moments in the day, and I will go on the record the ceremony in intimate detail: my assistants will capture the wedding guests and their reactions while I concentrate on the Bride, Groom and their attendants, with special attention to the vows and exchange of rings. The first kiss, signing the Register and the presentation of the Man and Wife is easy to capture (despite typically appalling lighting!) but then you have to scoot out of the church to catch the newlyweds as they leave: usually my Assistant will leave before the wedding party and be ready as they emerge. Now it get hard: people are milling about, everyone wants to greet the newlyweds, and the bridal party gets separated... and then you have to gather them all together into some sort of order to take the group photos everyone expects, but that nobody wants to be organised for! So out comes the megaphone and the ladder (well, I don’t really have a megaphone, but the step ladder is real) and we somehow make sure everyone is included and nobody blinks, and then steal the Husband and Wife away from the crowd of well-wishers to head out for a photographer’s delight: a loving couple, a beautiful setting and my camera. And even if they usually hate to have their photos taken, suddenly we have the ingredients for true magic! I love this time, and when we get to chat about the day over the photos, I find it was just as wonderful for them as it is for me. It turns out that being directed by someone who knows what they want and how to achieve it is great fun for our new celebs. Back to the Reception and a quick tidy up, fix the make-up and I am ready to capture the Grand Entrance. My team and I are going to spend the next few hours virtually invisible as we capture the guests, the speeches and people reactions to what is said and done: the Cutting f the Cake; the First Dance; Throwing the Bouquet and later, the Garter - we will be there until the newlyweds are fare-welled and leave for their honeymoon. During the brief wait while the bride fixes the hair and dress that got a bit messed up while she was “modelling”, my assistant is setting up a portable studio, with backgrounds, studio-type lighting and a tripod mounted camera. Guests who want a special memento with the bride and groom (or just to have a family photo) can slip away from the reception for a few minutes and have a mini-studio session. It is always a popular service. Midnight: and it is home to back up all the files to an external drive (that’s 3 copies now) and uploaded to a secure online storage site. Even if the house burns down, not a file will be lost! Next day I will start looking at the pictures: just to do a first scan is going to take about 5 hours (3000 images, 1 minute per image...) and then I will start the process of colour balancing/correcting the best 1500 or so. No matter how carefully we work, many will need correction: red-eye will have to be found and eliminated; unflattering angles and lighting attended to; leaning horizons and converging verticals and lens distortion will be present in some shots and decisions will have to be made re correcting or discarding “nearly-great” shots. Next come the more detailed work: skin tones, blemishes cropping for composition or impact, merging images into composite scenes, making decisions about saturation and sharpness and setting aside images for special treatment like mono and sepia effects... for every hour spent shooting I allow 3 hours editing. Now the images are prepared for upload to the web gallery: mostly an automated task, but if you leave it to its own devices, the server will hurt you! So you have to monitor it while you clean your gear, recharge the batteries and clear your cards. Not finished yet, of course. The best of the best will be set aside for canvas and framed prints and photobooks; a representative set will be organised for a multimedia DVD program, and special favourites earmarked for promotional brochures. Within 2 weeks of the wedding, the photos will be burnt to disk and uploaded to the web. I will contact the couple (if they are back from their honeymoon!), let them know their pictures are ready, and send them the details for payment (usually by bank transfer or BPay - I don’t like to handle cash or cheques if I can avoid it). Once they have had a chance to look over their pictures and select those for their album, photobooks, prints etc. I will spend a couple of days on the layout and design for the book(s) before uploading the designs to my Publishing House. Ten days later they will be ready to deliver, but they won't go out until I have gone over them carefully and approved them... There will be some residual business - people ordering from the website, follow-up orders from the newlyweds and their families - but largely, this wedding is complete... and THAT is what a wedding photographer does!