How do you know when your ready to start doing paid work???

CyBeRkId2002

CyBeRkId2002

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Hi all,

Got a bit of a dilemma and wondered if anyone had any advice. Currently photography is only a hobby but have been considering doing a bit of part-time paid work on the side of my current job.

Now I already have one wedding lined up for the end of summer (bank holiday weekend) for my partners brother. This was a fairly easy decision to make as they have seen the work I have produced so far and always been very complimentary of it, I know the people involved and, most importantly, they probably wouldn't have had a photographer otherwise (as I am doing it for free).

I have since been contacted by one of my partners friends who has also seen my previous work asking whether I do wedding photography at all as they are looking for a wedding photographer for mid-August. They just want some fairly casual and relaxed shots around the church. I can't decide what to do. On the one hand the easy option would be to say no, wait until after the wedding already lined up and see how that goes first. This would, however, involve me turning down an opportunity to add to my portfolio and earn a little cash (was thinking of offering my services for around £150 to include a CD of selected shots).

The main other concern about doing it is whether I will be able to do it single-handedly. Unfortunately my partner is working that day so it will be completely down to me to organise everyone for group shots etc. (which in itself is a slight problem as I am fairly shy).

Any advice people can offer would be very much appreciated, the couple involved are hoping for an answer asap. Link's to my flickr here if that helps people comment on my suitability for making the jump to weddings.

Cheers,
Michael
 
Ouch, a thread about someone jumping into wedding photography, this is dangerous ground but...

FWIW, IMHO I would suggest not charging. By all means take on a wedding for someone who's on a budget, etc. but as soon as you charge you have a contract and expectations go up. If things go well you can sell a few prints and make a few quid at that end. If things (hopefully not) go badly then the gamble for the couple didn't work out but that's the chance they're taking (and should be aware of).

That you're shy could be a problem. A lot of the time you need to blend in and not draw attention but equally there are times when you need to be heard and have your instructions followed so get the best man and ushers to do the graft for you.
 
when you don't have to ask this question . . . ;)
 
CyBeRkId2002 said:
The main other concern about doing it is whether I will be able to do it single-handedly. Unfortunately my partner is working that day so it will be completely down to me to organise everyone for group shots etc. (which in itself is a slight problem as I am fairly shy).
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Hi Michael,

I'm no wedding photographer (just a keen amateur) however the above would concern me; from what I have read and understand people management is one of the key aspects of wedding photography.

It doesn't seem like easy money either, I bet it would probably be the hardest £150 you'll earn. How confident are you in your abilities to produce the goods in a pressured situation, knowing you can't repeat the moment?

I shot my first Christening the other week and whilst I'm happy with the results it's amazing how you can get lost in the moment. I went into auto-pilot mode and got through okay however there were some hurried moments, I can tell you!

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Steve
 
awp said:
when you don't have to ask this question . . . ;)
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good answer :thumbs:

My advice is that you're the only one who can answer your question! There are many questions you have to answer yourself.....do you have the skills ? do you have backup equipemnt in case of failures ? Do you have insurance ? The list goes on....there are loads of thread giving wedding advice, do a search and you'll soon see whats needed for being ready to do weddings.
 
I was in the same boat last year, a cousin asked me to shoot her photos and like you i was quite shy. never done a wedding before and pretty scared at the prospect but i jumped in and had a go. i learnt so much that day that i cant tell you how vital it was to me now been booked for my second wedding and at much higher cost!
as for the shyness i thought i could get round it by getting my mum to organise the people lets say she failed and holding the camera and everyone not doing as told i found some confidence and got the people in the right places at the right time and the day went quite well.
The first wedding you do will teach you loads and having the second lined up well be good to continue evolving the skills for weddings! id definetly get yourself lined up for your partners friend.
as for the single handed just prepair and you wont have too much to worry about,get lists of who they want in each photo then you can get the ushers to do the hard work of organising people!
Basically im saying go for it with digital you cant really go too wrong yeh they might not be perfect but they will come out and youll make a nice album. Your photos are better then most ive taken so i think youll do spot on. give it a go!!!!!!
 
bazippy said:
Basically im saying go for it with digital you cant really go too wrong yeh they might not be perfect but they will come out and youll make a nice album.
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Whilst the sentiment is nice, a digital camera isn't a failsafe tool. What if every shot was out of focus (OP - just playing devils advocate here)?
 
Thanks to everyone who has taken time to respond...

PXL8: Great advice and I think the only reason I was going to charge the £150 was to buy myself a 85mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.4 to improve the quality of my shots during the wedding. I think I have decided to make do with what I have, contact the couple involved and explain I am just starting out, am happy to go and do my best for free as long as they are not expecting professional quality results (although obviously this is what I will try to provide them with!)

awp: This is great advice in theory but my very nature is to doubt everything I do and have pretty low self-regard over my photography. If I waited until I was 100% happy with it I don't think I would ever make the move.

sdb123: If I am completely honest this is the part that concerns me the most but as I have now decide to offer my services for free I can make the B & G aware in advance that I will be attending alone and say I will need some assistance in organising people on the day. This will take some of the pressure off me but will also let me take more control if I feel up to it on the day

HCK: Technical Skills - Yes, Organisational Skills - Possibly Not, Backup Equipment - Yes, Insurance - No (need to do some reading up on this, sorry to sound really ignorant but what exactly is it for?)

Bazippy: Again, thanks for the advice and pretty sure I will just jump into now but on a free basis!
 
I can't help a great deal, and usually try and stay well clear of wedding threads, BUT.... is there any way you could get some experience either as a second shooter, or just as a guest at a wedding to watch a pro do their thing? Just to see how they manage people, situations etc? Or have you already done that sort of thing? (sorry if you have!)

Chris
 
I can't help a great deal, and usually try and stay well clear of wedding threads, BUT.... is there any way you could get some experience either as a second shooter, or just as a guest at a wedding to watch a pro do their thing? Just to see how they manage people, situations etc? Or have you already done that sort of thing? (sorry if you have!)

Chris
 
may I suggest, that if you choose to do these, you do them for free. As soon a s you start charging the game really changes and regardless of what they tell you now they will expect you to perform on the day as soon a any money changes hands and you become a pro, regardless of £150 or £5,000 pounds. By the time you've bought PL etc you'll make a loss on £150 anyway.

Many togs would jump at the oppertunity to use these weddings as a way to start you portfolio and that is certainly worth a considerable amount in itself, with the added advantage of no real expectations on you. Do it for that chance alone.

I think using weddings as a way to fund any initial kit purchases is probably not the best idea. I think that incommon with any other area of business, be it tog, painter or plumber if you are being paid to do a job you need the kit first.

Being shy needn't be a problem, I'm quite a shy man but you do need to learn quickly to be assertive when you need to be. Use the best man and ushers to manage the groups, but they are a highly variable bunch - from great & really helpfull, to window dressing only ;-) you can't rely on that for the day.


If you do decide to do them have a hunt around here for advice on gear and managing the day. I know wedding threads get a bit heated and there are lots of dummies thrown, but , for the most part, people are really helpful and most threads contain alot of useful info although you do need to sift the wheat from the chaff a fair bit.

Cheers

Hugh
 
again thanks to all who have taken time to respond. It has raised far more issues than I had originally considered. Not as easy as it all seems is it? :(
 
You may find that commercial work is no longer fun and may lose interest in photography altogether.

Showing your snaps to people is always a pleasure as they generally only get to see the 'good' ones. If it's no good, it gets binned. With weddings, you have to have the shot - good or bad and I imagine it could get very tense if the money shots were blurred or people had their eyes closed etc. I am sure they have very little patience at the time and you won't be able to chimp every shot.

Personally I would much prefer to be second shooter and capture candid shots of people. But stepping up to the plate to be the main event would be my idea of hell!

Just be over-prepared if you do go for it and good luck!

Graham
 
blue max said:
You may find that commercial work is no longer fun and may lose interest in photography altogether.

Showing your snaps to people is always a pleasure as they generally only get to see the 'good' ones. If it's no good, it gets binned. With weddings, you have to have the shot - good or bad and I imagine it could get very tense if the money shots were blurred or people had their eyes closed etc. I am sure they have very little patience at the time and you won't be able to chimp every shot.

Personally I would much prefer to be second shooter and capture candid shots of people. But stepping up to the plate to be the main event would be my idea of hell!

Just be over-prepared if you do go for it and good luck!

Graham
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when I shoot a wedding it never feels like a job, its difficult sometimes & the pressures always on to deliver but I, and others here enjoy that.Landscapes, now thats stressful :lol: Don't forget its a celebration as well and you're part of that.

you do need to chimp everything though.

Hugh
 
No it's not as easy as it seems. :) There is a lot of being in the right place, at the right time, positioned well and with the right bit of kit in your hand and that only comes with experience. This is my first full season and I'm now about 7 weddings in and I'd say I'm only just finding my feet in that I can now get the shots that I can visualise.

I started off second shooting (and still do quite a lot) because the more exposure you have to weddings the better. Every venue is different, every couple different but there is a lot that you start to recognise as being similar. That's when you start to get in the right place, at the right time and one reason why I always advocate second shooting for a while. You learn the order of the day, you learn the "must have" shots. I have about 22 must have shots just in my head!

The other key skill to getting good images is knowing how to "manage" the couple. Setting their expectations for the day, getting them to allocate that key time with you and you alone and knowing what to do with them when you do get your time. Have you any experience in posing couples? I have now developed a couple of what I call "quick and dirty" methods of getting couples to behave the way I want them to so I can get shots that look quite candid but are staged for their benefit. there is nothng worse than a couple of frightened rabbits in front of a camera and I often spend some time with them before the wedding doing some fun stuff that helps them relax on the day.

Here's an example of a posed shot for you.

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You need to keep your wits about you and be on the lookout for locations that are useable in the conditions. Have you got bright sunlight? if you have you will need to find some shade, if it rains what's your plan B?

Some of it is also down to knowing the couple and what they want from the day so please have as many discussions on that as you need. I always ask mine for guidance on the kind of pics they like so I know what their influences are. I have some that want a really fun day. I'm doing a pre wedding shoot with a great couple on Friday and they are having a bouncy castle for the kids at their wedding and want shots of them on the bouncy castle. You really do get it all!
 
I will give you my very limited experience having "done" two weddings, the first was an accident, being the only guest there with a camera (pre dslr) so there were no expectations and it was very relaxed.

The second was nearly two years ago now and they were friends who decided to get married with only a few weeks notice. They had been to a wedding fair and booked car, cake, dress, videographers etc but the photographers were booked up. As I had covered various dog events for them they asked me, I originally said no way but they persuaded me so I got insured and bought a second-hand second camera and we agreed a price for the five albums they wanted etc.

I had nightmares for the two weeks beforehand and hardly seemed to sleep. The wedding went fine and I learned a lot - mostly about how to get people into a group (standing on a picnic table with a dog whistle helped :) ). I took a lot more pictures than the ones they had asked for, including ALL the guests in their couples/families as this worked well as they entered the venue, and the B&G ended up buying a lot of extra prints especially those of all their guests as gifts, plus I included a Photobox photobook as I did not know of others at that time. As the wedding was a dodgy time of year I had also taken my studio kit in case of bad weather but we were lucky.

Would I do another wedding? I would love to but ONLY if I could do it in an emergency if the original photographer pulled out at the last minute or as a second shooter as I know I can do it, but to do one arranged months in advance and go through those nightmares again - no thank you. :D

Edit to add picture: This was one of my favourite sessions of the day and one of the pages from the photobook - I had noticed we could see the Church from the road so before leaving for the reception I asked the guests to all stay in their cars when we stopped as we were going to take some pictures on the way back - it was a good thing there was no traffic coming the other way, you can see how narrow the road was
bandg1.jpg
 
ok, thought it was about time I updated this thread with a 'what happened next' type post.

A couple of days after my last post I went along to meet the B&G, explain my experience and kit limitations and strongly recommend they go with a pro. After a while discussing they told me they were not even going to have a wedding 'tog until the last minute when their daugther recommended I give it ago. Anyway, to cut a long story short I told them I was happy to go along and do the best I could for them, and hopefully provide them with some piccies that they were pleased with. They only wanted me for a few casual shots, the ceremony and a small number of group shots afterwards.

Explaining that as this was my first wedding and that I would like to contact the Reverend and arrange a time to have a quick nosie round the church they suggested I go along to the Wedding rehearsal which was last Monday. This was invaluable in working out potential angles inside the church, where I would need to be for which bits along with getting a rough idea of the lighting conditions.

Anyway, the wedding was today and I am pleased to say that the preparation I made helped no-end and the day seemed to go fairly well and having spent the remainder of the day editing the shots I have some that I will be quite pleased to give them. Obviously, as it was my first-time not everything went without hitch, namely:

  • My memory card was full and needed changing at a really awkward time and I realised I had left the spares in my bag on the other-side of the church
  • A prime lens is not a particularly good idea for group shots, particularly when the group size's are always changing and the widest you have is 35mm
  • I had my wide-angle attached when shooting the signing of the register when in actual-fact my 35mm or 24-70mm would have been more suitable
  • Organising groups is HARD, even harder than I had imagined and the main area if I decided to make a career out of it that would need some serious development

Cheers for all the help and advice on here and a few piccies will follow in about a week for anyone interested, as I would like the couple to be the first to see them.

Cheers,
Michael
 
If you wait until you think you're ready, you may never do it.

At some point you need to just do it. It's the same with most things, not just wedding photography.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
If you wait until you think you're ready, you may never do it.

At some point you need to just do it. It's the same with most things, not just wedding photography.


Steve.
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Agree, the marketplace will decide if you are ready....
 
CyBeRkId2002 said:
Obviously, as it was my first-time not everything went without hitch, namely:

  • My memory card was full and needed changing at a really awkward time and I realised I had left the spares in my bag on the other-side of the church
  • A prime lens is not a particularly good idea for group shots, particularly when the group size's are always changing and the widest you have is 35mm
  • I had my wide-angle attached when shooting the signing of the register when in actual-fact my 35mm or 24-70mm would have been more suitable
  • Organising groups is HARD, even harder than I had imagined and the main area if I decided to make a career out of it that would need some serious development
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I always appreciate this sort of experience feedback, and it will be genuinely helpful to people so thanks for sharing. Bet those cards won't leave your side again!
 
weddings are not hard, its people that shoot weddings that tell you it is. there is no real difference shooting a wedding than anyother photoshoot.
 
Very true - Biomolecular NMR spectroscopy isn't hard either is it? :)
Seriously it's a long time since I did a wedding but it was just treated like any other job - as a pro you have to get every job right first time.
 
If you feel calm and confident when using your camera in front of a group of people Knowing this is a one off and you have to get it right and when you can use your equipment without having to stop and think how do i use that setting that's when you are ready. For me it was when a friend was getting married for a second time and he had no money for a wedding photographer i shot the event and took 4 bookings just off that wedding alone that was almost sixteen years ago and i dread to think how many weddings
 
Rudesing said:
Thanks for the update! Makes an interesting read.
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akr said:
I always appreciate this sort of experience feedback, and it will be genuinely helpful to people so thanks for sharing. Bet those cards won't leave your side again!
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Thanks for the feedback :D

A few of the better piccies can be found here. Would really appreciate feedback from all you experienced wedding tog's to help me improve.
 
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