A wedding is one of the most beautiful moments in everyone’s life. Each bride and groom wants to capture those rare moments in beautiful pictures to cherish them for a lifetime. It is one of their most important days and they want to feel and look their best on the D-day pictures. If you are in love with wedding ceremonies, enjoy being a part of them and have good photography skills, you could become a wedding photographer. A wedding photographer doesn’t essentially require a certificate, they can capture the ‘Kodak’ moments in a wedding, as an amateur photographer. And if you are amazingly skilled at photography, have a certified degree, and good at handling the technical aspects of a camera, then well you can become a professional wedding photographer. Before getting to know everything about wedding photography, let’s first understand what it is.
What is a wedding photography?
Wedding photography is a specialized type of photography which deals with capturing pictures of people involved or participating in a wedding ceremony. The photography activities generally covers – pre-wedding, wedding, and reception ceremonies. Wedding is a $40 billion industry in India, out of which wedding photography gets a good slice of the pie. As quality photography is considered as a status symbol, more and more people are willing to pay up to INR 3 lakh to cover 1 or 2 day wedding ceremonies.
Want to become a Wedding Photographer? Things you should know
Job description of a wedding photographer
Wedding photographers capture beautiful permanent visual images of the different ceremonies. He/she usually works at the wedding location taking pictures of the bride, groom, family, relatives and various ceremonies. Depending on the couple’s lingual group and culture, the wedding photographer takes pictures of the most important moments of a wedding. A wedding photographer can earn a paycheck on contractual basis or per-day basis.
Here are top things you should be aware of when you are interested in wedding photography:
- Equipment – Even if you are the best wedding photographer, you would still require the best camera, lenses and equipment to capture all the important moments of a wedding perfectly. Besides, when you carry high-quality equipment you are more likely to get hired for more wedding events. Because good camera means high-quality pictures and people love that.
- Take up photography classes – This is absolutely for the amateur photographers who has not yet received any formal photography classes. Taking up a photography course will help you acquire the necessary skills that can lend more artistic appeal to a picture and increase your reliability as a professional wedding photographer among customers.
- Get along with people – Working in a wedding means you need to get along with the bridge, groom, parents, relatives, event planner and more, to click the best possible pictures. Also it’s good to maintain a good rapport with event planners, as they need to plan out weddings frequently which mostly need an amazing photographer. When you maintain a good network, you tend to open up doors for future opportunities.
- Understand client’s requirements – Even if you have worked for a dozen wedding clients, when you approach a new client always try to understand what his/her expectations are. You need to understand whether you are working for the bride, groom or an event planner, try and understand what your client’s exact requirements are and give your best shot. A wedding is a very special personal event, so ensure that you meet every photographic needs of your customer.
- Be ready for time schedule – Getting a wedding photography deal takes a lot of time right from the start. Whether be it corresponding via email, taking and following up calls, meeting clients, taking pictures on the wedding day and editing in the later stage, it takes a good amount of time. Before taking any wedding project, understand the time you need to invest in.
- Create a portfolio – When you are advertising your photography skills for wedding, ensure you have a good portfolio that has a number of quality wedding pictures, showcasing your skills as a wedding photographer. Action speaks louder than words, no amount of self-proclamation can help you get new clients but a good portfolio can. It can showcase your skills as a wedding photographer to your potential clients.
- Present your best – Every wedding photographer has a unique style, carry that! Take your work and yourself seriously, it does count. How you treat your work and yourself will also be reflected in your clients’ treatment. As wedding is a major event in a person’s life, so bring your best to it and deliver the best results.
- Pricing – When it comes to wedding photography paycheck, it tends to be get delayed in most of the cases. Have a discussion with the client and ensure that you at least get a part of the fee, before the wedding shoot starts.
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