.....so do you " do " weddings??

[ricstew]

is my most frequently asked question.......no I don't is the answer.......but.........the pressure is on...
Why don't you do weddings.....? ummmmm houses don't whinge, cry or throw up on me? Hmmm I cant say that.....so why not?.......I will think about it......

So why don't I want to do it? I know the families, the venues, ( yes plural )........I did some many years ago in film plus debs and stuff...I didn't stress out then.......whats holding me back now?

The opportunity is there.....

cheers
Jan

[steve munro]

You have a choice and you choose not to do them. I work professionally with the moving image and consider myself to be quite a camera-##### in that I'll film most things...except weddings. Someone asked me that question the other day - "why not?" and I couldn't really answer them except for I choose not to. They pressed for greater detail (maybe they wanted to hear the camera-snob in me come out) but I realised there need not be any other answer than "I choose not to". When the choice is no longer afforded to me then I may re-evaluate my opinion but while I have the option of choice then I choose to exercise it
Steve

[bb45pz]

I always use the line "I don't have enough backup if something goes wrong". Backup gear, backup photographer if I have an accident or I'm sick etc etc. It's also a chance to point them towards the advantages of using a specialist wedding tog.

That's not really mentioning anything about my lack of experience in the area also

[Xenedis]

I don't, and won't, shoot weddings.

For starters, photographically, they're not interesting to me.

Additionally, there are actual wedding photographers out there, who do that stuff for a living. There's too much work, a lot of pressure, it's a hugely significant day in most people's lives, and given there are people out there who have interest in that field, as well as the necessary experience and demeanour to handle it, it's best left to them IMO.

At a wedding, I'd rather be a guest than a photographer.

[Analog6]

Additionally, there are actual wedding photographers out there, who do that stuff for a living. There's too much work, a lot of pressure, it's a hugely significant day in most people's lives, and given there are people out there who have interest in that field, as well as the necessary experience and demeanour to handle it, it's best left to them IMO.

The pressure I fond frightening and I am always a bit people shy. That said, I'd love to have a go but it would have to be a very small affair and only if I got to know the coupe and could meet them well beforehand, be in on the planning and do some pre-wedding tests to see if they liked my work. I'd be so afraid of letting the couple down on that most important day.

I believe I could do a good job, but not at some huge shindig.

[Longshots]

I have, I do them occassionally. I actually enjoy the actual photography day/s, but dont relish the production systems required afterwards.

[mongo]

.....so do you " do " weddings??

Yes, but only in the capacity of a free foraging invitee (the food and drink is usually excellent) . All that other photographic stuff can be done by someone who wants the responsibility of not disappointing highly emotional (and some times over demanding/unrealistic) B&Gs. You have been warned.

Only exceptions to this story are if you are someone like PaulMac who has exceptional talent in this area; appears to do it for a living; and seems to love doing his work.

[William]

Yes/No , Not anymore !! been there done that , To much stress, And PP afterwards , How do you think they would feel if you said , Sorry , I stuffed up can you do it again !! No way thats going to happen, So now I just say no thanks , Being back up would be good with the food and drinks thrown in

[arthurking83]

I'd like to do one(maybe two). Only for the purpose of 'experience'. I know that this type of photography is of no interest to me in any way. I would do one(or two) as a favour, interest only to see what the fuss/excitement is all about, and only by invitation to do so.. but as I see fit, and believe it should be done. Yeah, all abstract and weird looking.

Would I say no to (wedding)offers I'm not interested in? Yep! for sure. Why? because!!

... because I'm not really interested, would only be seeking to indulge with the right people, situation, event and ceremony type, and location.

Besides .. it's very hard to use a macro lens with reversed lens attached to the front thread to get 3x magnification .... in a wedding environment!

[kiwi]

Yes, not a lot, but 3 or 4 a year if they come to me based on a recommendation. As said before Im pretty comfortable doing them with what I think is all the necessary backups etc. I dont think im a wedding photographer per se, but I do enjoy them, and so far so good re happy couples. A bit self defeating but Ill say that I think Im an average photographer, but get the job done. I can only get better as time passes but I wouldnt even dream of taking a wedding on unless I thought I was "ready" and "able"

[kiwi]

oh, talking about weddings

check this one out

http://www.rachelthurston.com/blog/?p=5188

[arthurking83]

That is definitely the coolest wedding(and set of images) I've seen

[Wayne]

I did one for a very close friend, my first one. It was a terrible experience, but much of that was my friends lack of co-operation, planning and time allocation. I was given 20 mins to do formal pics, the crowd of guests during the ceremony were seated and standing all around the B&G and celebrant with no aisle, no passage etc to get into any decent position for taking pics, and most all of the guests didn't care one bit if they were impeding my access. It is something I never really wanted to get into, and doing that one and only wedding simply confirmed my lack of interest and desire, even though in that country town there was plenty of opportunity to make good $$ and many people asking would I also do theirs.

I'm not a patient man by anyones measure, and dealing with overly difficult, demanding or self obsessed brides and grooms is something I neither need or want. I would simply refuse to deal with them.

[Art Vandelay]

I'd do weddings if the market evolved to a point it was acceptable for the photographer to just hang out in the carpark and catch what he can through the windows with a 600 f/4.

Hats off to those that "do weddings" properly. It's not one of the genres you can stuff up and do it again next week....

[JM Tran]

Just got back home from a lovely wedding shoot - 12 hours with my 2nd photographer, lovely young Croatian couple

I love weddings, because Im great at it, and I thrive under pressure and I see weddings as the ultimate test of professional photography - it is a combination of portraiture, fashion, landscape, photojournalism, macro etc all rolled into one day, or within 5 mins of each other depending on the situation. I see it as a test of creativity and spontaneity and discipline, how to improvise and make something from nothing, how to direct and pose the 'models', how to create and visualize compositions and lines to form something in front of the lens. I like the pressure and demands because I like being challenged like back when I was serving in the Army.

Although I enjoy it, weddings are only my secondary genre of professional work, fashion/editorial and travel docos being my main focus. Will post up some wedding pics of today later

[steve munro]

@JM Tran - you have class Loved the way you put that (although I'd have to disagree with weddings being the ultimate test of professional photography, I like how you pitched it as going into battle...)
Steve

[ricstew]

Isn't it odd.......most of us would like to have a go........but don't trust ourselves to do the perfect job.......wouldn't it be cool to set up some practice! My personal position is that there are a couple of excellent wedding photographers locally but all I hear is ........insert whinging voice here........." they are toooooo expensive " ( yeah right....do you know what goes into shooting a wedding??...I also know you booked into the most expensive local venue ). So slap me over the head with a wet fish!
Dunno......maybe if I could set up some pre wedding stuff ........
Waynes story send shivers up my spine......time restraints/lack of organisation are the greatest fear for me!

[mocallaghan]

Dunno......maybe if I could set up some pre wedding stuff ........

That sounds good - i've tried to coordinate some friends to do it, and we can't find time together to do it.

[arthurking83]

I'd love to see some of this Macro wedding photography .. but then again I'm probably more fussy when it comes to descriptions of genres.

I'm not entirely convinced on the merit of comment that wedding photography is the ultimate test of professional photography .. I've seen many professional photography genres that appear to be a lot harder to conquer than weddings, but once again, I believe I have a broader mindset when it comes to photography, and that is, I don't just concentrate on aspect of photography whether it's done as a profession, concerted hobby activity or spontaneous endeavour.

[JM Tran]

I'd love to see some of this Macro wedding photography .. but then again I'm probably more fussy when it comes to descriptions of genres.

I'm not entirely convinced on the merit of comment that wedding photography is the ultimate test of professional photography .. I've seen many professional photography genres that appear to be a lot harder to conquer than weddings, but once again, I believe I have a broader mindset when it comes to photography, and that is, I don't just concentrate on aspect of photography whether it's done as a profession, concerted hobby activity or spontaneous endeavour.

Think of ring shots, jewellery etc, close ups like that, thought it was a bit obvious to u

I believe wedding photography is the hardest test as you are shooting for someone's future with only 1 shot at it, you are under pressure and demands to constantly deliver, and usually a lawsuit or an appearance on ACA or Today Tonight or career suicide in your local area if you stuff it up. Hey if you guys know of something that incorporates more genres into a day's shoot, and is harder mentally and physically let me know, Im just giving my opinion here.

I believe there are physically and mentally harder gigs, like being an embedded journalist traveling with a front line unit in Iraq in 2003 or being in the midst of a global disaster. But that is different, and not something that is easily accessible to everybody and most people would never get the chance to play photojournalist. With weddings, anyone can be a wedding photographer