Questions about wedding photography are pretty common when it comes to conversation between myself and other photographers, especially those photographers who don’t photograph weddings. What kind of lighting equipment do you use at the reception? How many pictures do you take on a wedding day? How do you handle a dark church? All are very important questions when it comes to the art and business of wedding photography, but the most common question is probably “How do you tackle wedding photography?”

The actual process of starting, handling and then tackling wedding photography seems to be at the forefront of a lot of non-wedding photographer’s minds. Let’s face it, being a wedding photographer sounds pretty glamorous. The beautiful details, the eventful celebrations, the overall joyous-occasion…who wouldn’t want to photograph a couple in love on one of the most special days of their lives? But wedding photography isn’t always rainbows and butterflies, so considering it with at least a little bit of caution is a good thing in my book. Wedding photography, while loads of fun, is a lot of shooting hours, a lot of editing hours and a lot of responsibility…these are people’s once-in-a-lifetime weddings we’re talking about! I think it takes a special kind of person with a lot of experience, knowledge and energy to be a wedding photographer.

So for those of you who are considering becoming a wedding photographer, this blog post is for you. It’s a list of things that I think are CRUCIAL for tackling wedding photography. This is a gift-giving industry and we need to take it seriously.

1. EXPERIENCE. If you get nothing else out of this blog post, get this. Wedding photographers NEED EXPERIENCE! Don’t think that just because you have a “nice camera”, have taken a few family portraits in the backyard and have posted them to Facebook means you can magically shoot a wedding, too. Weddings are day-long, once-in-a-lifetime, invite-the-whole-neighborhood, break-the-bank events. They involve a lot of people, a lot of emotions and a lot of time-sensitive occurrences. What happens if the wedding party is late to the ceremony and your picture-taking time has suddenly been cut in half? What if the church is super dark and you aren’t allowed to use a flash? I recommend preparing yourself by gaining experience in two ways…observing and second-shooting.

2. OBSERVE. For years, my mom, who is also a wedding photographer, would take me to her weddings. I wasn’t allowed to do much…carry her bags, get her a Diet Coke, load her film, and push a button or two while the camera was on the tripod. While I wasn’t physically photographing the weddings, I sure was doing a heck of a lot of observing…learning how to conduct family pictures, how to communicate with the officiant before the ceremony, the must-have pictures of a typical wedding, and the basics of good wedding photographer etiquette. If you don’t have a camera or business yet, or if you aren’t comfortable with doing any actual shooting at a wedding, seek a professional wedding photographer who will let you simply observe. Going to a wedding as a guest is completely different than going as working professional. Seeing that first-hand without having the responsibility of taking pictures will help you learn what a wedding photographer actually does.

3. SECOND-SHOOTING. If you think you’re ready to do more than just observe, seek a professional wedding photographer who will actually let you shoot. When I moved to Waynesboro, PA in 2008 and needed help gaining experience, I was so nervous that no one would be willing to take me in. But I found two photographers right away who, along with my mom, gave me more beneficial knowledge and know-how than I ever expected. I learned the ins and outs of a typical wedding day, the challenges that might be presented, the dos and dont’s when it comes to wedding photographer etiquette, and I became a better shooter…which leads me to my final list item…

4. BECOME A GOOD SHOOTER. I knew from the very beginning that my shooting skills were not up to par to actually consider myself a photographer, so I learned how to shoot manually and use editing software from other professionals and photography resources. It wasn’t until I felt comfortable enough with using manual camera settings and Photoshop Elements, along with my second-shooting experience, did I decide I was ready to fly solo on weddings. When it comes to weddings, you need to be ready for every and any light situation…a dark church, a colorfully-painted getting ready area, a reception room with no windows, a super sunny outdoor ceremony…weddings are constantly moving events that can’t always slow down because you need time to figure out how to use your camera. You need to be ready to “go with the flow” and get great pictures without having to worry about whether or not you can actually handle the situation technically (with your camera). Observing and second-shooting will definitely help you accomplish that.

You also want to be able to deliver a good product. Since weddings are once-in-a-lifetime events, the pictures are also once-in-a-lifetime. After the big day is over, sometimes the pictures are the only thing the couple has to recall the beginning of their journey. Every couple deserves beautiful pictures from their wedding day and good shooters can deliver that.

Well, I hope it didn’t seem like I was preaching throughout this post…I just think it’s important for people to realize that yeah, “shooting a wedding” or being a “professional wedding photographer” sounds fun and glamorous (and sometimes it really is!), but it’s not a job to be taken lightly. It disappoints me to hear about photographers shooting weddings with little or no experience. I know you need to start somewhere, but start with gaining experience first and know how important wedding photography really is.  A photographer friend of mine (thanks, Courtney!) recently reminded me that photographing a wedding is a gift. Like I said earlier in this post, a wedding is one of the most special days of a couple’s life. A day that they’ll never be able to relive. A day that they’ve spent months planning and sometimes large chunks of change to make their dreams come true. A day that marks the beginning of a very special, treasured, beyond-important life journey. Being asked to photograph such an event is a (serious) gift indeed…and I hope if you’ve ever photographed a wedding or plan to do so in the future, that you did or will treat it as such.

P.S. I hope no one thinks I’m a meanie-weanie after reading this post. I’m hoping I educated and encouraged…and I’m sorry if I upset anyone.

Double P.S. All the pictures included in this post are from Chris and Ally’s wedding. They’ll be on the blog next week. 🙂