I posted this on another forum and a couple of people PMed me and suggested I post it here for new people to reference. So, here it is - feel free to add to it



This question is asked at least every other day it seems - so I decided to write a concise thread on exactly what you need to think about when booking and photographing weddings.


In my opinion - these things are required:

Main & Backup Camera
Main & Backup Flashes
Main & Backup Lenses
** NOTE ** Your backup equipment needs to be of the same calibur as your main equipment. A client expecting digital images is NOT going to be thrilled when you shoot their wedding with your old FILM camera you're using as a backup.
2 Sets of Extra Camera Batteries
Flash Batteries (6-8 sets per flash per wedding)
at least 30 gigs of Compact Flash Memory
Good Camera Bag that you can haul around for 6-16 hours without hurting yourself
Photoshop CS2 or CS3
External Hard Drive
A solution for Offsite file Storage

A way to proof the images.(Online, in person, proof book, DVD slideshow, etc...)

Credit Card or Savings account with at least enough money to cover the following things:
Complete set of gear (in case of theft or loss)
Rental Car (in case of wreck or breakdown)

Liability Insurance
Equipment Insurance
Business License
Sales Tax ID
CPA
Either an Attorney or a PPA Membership (to review your contract and help with any legal issues that may arise)
A good, solid, lawyer-approved Wedding Contract.

In my opinion - these things are recommended:

Portable car camera battery charger
Laptop
Bookkeeper
Assistant
A good, solid, lawyer-approved Album Design Acceptance Contract.
Sample Albums
Album Design Software
Sample Prints/Canvas, etc...
Client Information Packets

Recommended Lenses (another frequently asked question):

I typically use a 70-200L 2.8 IS for most of the ceremony. I have a 24-70 2.8L on my backup camera in case I need it to get people coming down the aisle. If it's an exceptionally dark venue then I'll use my 85 1.2 instead of the 24-70 on my second camera body.

24-70L 2.8 or the 16-55L 2.8 is what I use for group formals and wider shots of the venue and crowd (like the dance floor).

I typically use the 85L 1.2 for portraits of the couple - just because that lens rocks. I love that it puts me far enough away from the couple to get natural interaction and delivers amazing results.

Those are my "have to have" lenses.

I use a 100mm 2.8 Macro for ring shots and details. I occasionally use it for getting ready (makeup) shots too.

I have a 15mm Fisheye - I use it occasionally on the dance floor at party-people type receptions because it really helps capture that "party crowd" kind of mood.

I rarely use any of my other lenses at weddings. I do feel it's important to cover every spectrum as far as lenses go (close, mid-range, far away) but what you actually pack in your bag is totally a personal preference based on your shooting style. (Another good reason to second shoot - discovering your shooting style before investing thousands of dollars in equipment is nice).


Required Skills:

Remember - this is a once in a lifetime event - if you're not 100% confident in your photography skills, just don't do it. Learn more before taking on wedding photography.

You absolutely must be able to do the following:

Photograph in dark churches with no flash.
Change camera settings in a fraction of a second.
Understand and be proficient at bouncing flash.
Understand metering modes and how to meter for someone in a black tux and a white dress standing next to each other.
Know how to use your flash in manual mode.
Have the ability to pose large groups.
Have the ability to light large groups in a dark church.
Have the assertiveness to control large groups while posing and photographing them.
Be able to take control of the situation when needed.
Be able to sit back and realize that it's THEIR day, not yours.

I recommend that you also know/learn how to do these things:

Be able to shoot in the dark outside at night with nothing to bounce off of without using on camera direct flash.
Use your histogram.
Learn off camera lighting (not necessary - but very helpful in many situations).
Understand the flow of a wedding day and that it can change at any given moment.



Getting Started:

I completely and totally recommend second shooting, assisting, or interning for another photographer for at least a FULL YEAR before booking weddings on your own. There are so many different types of weddings, types of brides, types of churches, reception venues, lighting, ceremony types, wedding sizes, wedding party sizes, that there's just no way to walk in to it 100% prepared. There are so many situations that can arise, little details you never knew were important to know, and things that people would never even think to mention. The experience you would get from second shooting/interning/assisting would be invaluable. Some photographers pay you - others don't - but the knowledge you will gain from working under a good, established wedding photographer is invaluable.


Long term (recurring) expenses that need to be considered:

The cost of your business license.
Income tax (federal and state) - that takes about 40% of your profit.
Gas to & from the event.
Batteries (I don't use rechargeable because I've never had good luck with them - I spend $30-40 on disposable batteries for an average wedding).
Meals, snacks, etc... you have to purchase that day.
Liability Insurance cost.
Equipment Insurance Cost.
Paper goods (contracts, forms, marketing materials, business cards, etc..)
Office supplies (pens, staples, paperclips, paper, printer ink, etc...)
Phone
Equipment itself (camera, lenses, bads, memory cards, computer, hard drives, software, etc..)
The product you're providing.
Attorneys fees or PPA membership.
CPA & Bookkeeping
Adding additional hard drive space
Webhosting
Blog Hosting

Gear Purchasing/Rental/Repair -
Keep in mind - I usually have to replace my main camera body every 18 months to 2 years, they just don't have that great of a lifespan. Considering I shoot over 100,000 frames in a given year - you're still looking at replacing a camera body every 2.5 to 3 years with heavy use - and that's if nothing breaks sooner than that. Lenses will last you a lifetime - but ideally all your gear needs to be sent in for calibration and cleaning every 1-2 years. I don't know about Nikon - but with Canon that runs about $175-200 per item you send in. The more equipment you buy the higher that insurance policy goes up. CF cards need to be replaced over time.



Pricing wedding Photography:

According to much market research it was determined that the average professional photographer HAS to charge $2200 in order to BREAK EVEN on wedding photography. Obviously you're LOSING money if you charge less than that.

Charge for your TIME (the average SMALL wedding takes more than 20 hours from start to finish, MEDIUM sized weddings take 40-60 hours, LARGE weddings take 80-120 hours and that's with having lots of experience).

When pricing your packages you should first determine how much it will cost you to photograph the wedding (see above for a reminder of all the things that will cost you money). Then determine how much you need to make hourly (if you're going to be in business you do need to set yourself an hourly rate - an figure you're comfortable with, keeping in mind you will lose 40% of that to income tax). Determine how many hours you will spend on this wedding. Consider emails, phone calls, photographing the actual wedding, downloading cards, backing up images, editing, album design, album changes, printing, etc... in the amount of time it will take you. Take your hourly wage and multiply it by the number of hours you will spend on the wedding. Add the included COGS marked up at least 3.5 times. That's your minimum that you can charge.


Offering Product:

Things to consider when offering albums...
Do you have the ability to design them?
Do you have software to design them with?
What type of albums will you offer?
What companies will you use for albums?
Have you seen the product and worked with the company you plan to offer the albums through?
Do you know it's a good product?
Do you have a sample to show your clients?
How is the customer service?
How long is the turn around?
How long is the turnaround for a reprint if they mess it up?
How long is the turnaround for a reprint if YOU mess it up?

When pricing albums you should be paying yourself for the design and marking the product up at least 3.5 times (at LEAST) in order to make a small profit. You should pay yourself enough for the design that you could use that fee to pay a design company to do it if you become unable, for any reason, to design it yourself.

Will you sell digital files?
Loaded question - has it's benefits, has it's drawbacks, nobody can determine that but you. If you do sell them - keep in mind it's not likely that you'll sell them prints or album upgrades and price it accordingly.


I don't recommend jumping in head first - it is the most important day of many peoples lives, you can't redo it. Second shooting or assisting is REALLY the way to learn it - it's the ONLY way to really learn it - and even then you'll still end up surprised sometimes. I'll probably add more to this post later - that's just what I could think of right now

Well, you go girl!!!! Fabulous points and very well written. Funny, I have even forgotten about some of the points you brought up that help determine and explain pricing! Can't wait to see you:)

WOW Melody. Thank you for this post! Saving as a favorite.....

Dayum, baby... you shoot with a lot of lenses.

I have a 70-200 VR and a 17-35 2.8... I'll stick a crappy, used 50 1.4 on occasionally. For my first two years, I shot with a tamron 28-300.

This is all really wonderful information. But it's a little unrealistic to think that you need all this gear to start. Most people starting out are probably going to be shooting friends weddings and cheapo weddings.

You have to cut your teeth somewhere. Someone shooting their first wedding is probably going to have a hard time finding someone to pay $2,200 for their first gig. What you are proposing would send people into $20,000 in debt to start, which is also a bad way to start a business. I'd rather see people cut their teeth on cheaper weddings, moving up and buying gear when they can afford it.

Did you start out with all this gear? And were you 100 percent confident when you shot your first wedding?

This is excellent Melody!

I was definitely not trying to slam you, Melody.

I think you're absolutely right. If you want to make a sustainable business, you need to charge... heck, I'll go further... $3,500 and up to make any real money. Your first couple of years should be learning years, as you suggested, spent second shooting and picking up some starter gigs.

... unless you come with a ton of newspaper or commercial shooting experience... then I think you can climb the ladder a little more quickly.

Carry on...

I was at a high school function recently. A 9th grade girl mentioned to me that she was going to start shooting weddings next year, adding, and I do quote, "when I get enough money to get a camera."

They should sell your post with the camera, like in the front of that "quick start" card, before the "first: charge the battery" part.

16-35L 2.8 ?


Also here is a tip for creating your website -- just copy from someone else.

May I borrow this list?

If everyone read that first and followed it this this would be a much more lucrative business due to supply and demand.

Thanks so much for this post!! I'm just starting out... and I can't tell you how often even I get annoyed.

I'm really taking time to build my skills, saving my money for equipment, and researching everything possible about side of the business. I have high aspirations for myself and I think it's entirely reckless not to put in some real effort and time.

And it really bothers me when I talk to people that don't really understand my caution. Ugh, it takes a hell of a lot more than a nice camera and a craigslist ad to be a wedding photographer.

I went to a wedding recently and the photographer was a joke. He had a rebel and the kit lens -- that's all. He used the pop-up flash. And he was practically on top of them for the ceremony -- it was the most distracting and unprofessional thing I've ever seen!

So, fast forward a month... I actually see the photos and honestly they were bad. Real bad. As in most people can do better with a point and shoot bad. I asked the bride where she found him... Craigslist for $2000. Ugh.

She's clearly dissapointed and told me that the best photos she has from the wedding were the ones that her cousin and I took.

She paid 2000 for someone to come and shoot her wedding with a kit lens and on board flash? Yikes. 2K is a bit pricey for CL at least around here.

I admit I shot my first wedding with one camera, BUT I did rent a good lens and I did it for free as a gift to a friend who would have had no pictures otherwise. I will have another body before my next one! I am also in the PPA and got a tax ID number and have a lot of the stuff that Melody said (batteries, CF cards etc and so forth).. So I am like you.. just starting out BUT I am working my tail off to be the best I can be for being a newb.. I soak up all the info I can!! And I will always continue to try and improve myself.

*applause*

Sweet!

That's so much better than when DJ told that Jasmine all she needed was a 20D and a few business cards.

This is fantastic mel, I mean wow all this valuable information AND good looks what more could someone ask for?!? Seriously though you practically summed up all my thoughts on the subject into a very clear and concise guide. Amazing!!

I can honestly say that there really should be no rush for you to become a wedding photographer, even doing all these things you still will continue to gain experience and get better after you shoot more weddings. Dr.'s and other professionals study for years and years before being qualified to have their own patients - its the same really with wedding photography. I think everyone needs to take it slow and find their comfort level. For me, my comfort level was ~ 60 weddings second shot with ~ 40 different photograhers. I don't get comfortable easy . I shot maybe < half dozen weddings that I was the primary photographer during that time as well, and they came out ok. No one is saying its not possible but I don't think that should be the focus to building a solid foundation for a BUSINESS.

You may think that taking it slow is...well slow...but second shooting and learning as much as you can will equal more "bang for your click" when you do actually start shooting. Your images will be better, your clients will be happier and you will ultimately make far far faaaaar more $$ sooner and feel good about doing it.

Bravo Melody, Bravo!

...unless you are old as me


Very awesome Melody! Very solid advice, very realistic, truth! You should bind this up and make some money from it. Can you say Amherst?

Wow, great list Mel! Now are we allowed to share that list if we attach your name, website, and a great big giant YOU ROCK!! to it?

lies lies lies! its all lies i tell ya. melody doesnt know what she is talking about...

i throw about 6 of these into my shootsac (one for every pocket) and i am good to go!

Don't forget a 7th one for Uncle Bob's backup.
You know they love it when you do that.

In all seriousness though, very informative OP, thanks Melody.

Oh my god, can we PLEASE make this a sticky? PLEASE.

Thanks so much for posting Mel. I hope anyone even considering doing wedding photography reads this... but one can only hope.

I don't know about that.... it sure worked for Jasmine!

Hi, Mel,

This is a great list. I have so many new photographers that come to our Pictage meetings and I am always amazed at what they are booking with so little equipment.

I would add into the list Photoshop and/or Lightroom skills. It was a huge obstacle for me coming from shooting film for 25+ years (I've had a 35mm camera since I was 10). Time management and organization are also often overlooked. Plus, you have to learn how to get through a sales presentation with confidence.

Thanks for sharing!

regina

Can I blog this, with a credit to you??? Pullleeezzzzz???

Add me to the list of people applauding this post. I would also love to share it with another forum -- with credit to you, of course! Can I?

Ashley -- I couldn't agree more! I have gotten so frustrated with people not understanding why I push back on doing weddings myself. It really has nothing to do with my lack of self-esteem or modesty. I know I'm capable of taking good pictures...but that's not what someone wants on their wedding day. They want to be blown away, and I want to know that I captured every ounce of what they were feeling that day. Anything less and I won't feel like I accomplished what I was paid to do. So with that said, I too have taken a lot of time, done a lot of reading & research, and have worked with another photographer to try to get to my goal. I have yet to be there.

THANK YOU, MEL. I'm going to hang this list over my desk and read it every day.

I just posted on another thread that I've been getting referrals to do weddings based on my work with children. I've always known deep down that those are two completely different things but I think I fell into the trap of being pressured to take the step toward weddings. After reading this post, I know that I need to take a step back and get more of my ducks in a row before then.

Thank you so much for posting this! I have slowly been compiling my own "to do", "to buy", "to practice" lists and then I came across this - so much invaluable information all rolled into one post. I feel like I've come across a treasure chest... thanks for taking the time to write and share!

I also want to thank you so much for sharing this! It's very insightful and very REAL.
I have several friends and acquaintaneces leaping into the wedding photography business because they've repeatedly been told they take amazing pictures by friends and family. I think/hope that someday (a long ways away) I might also venture into this, but long after I have studied the art and acquired the necessary skills, contacts, experience, etc.
I've printed this out as a reminder of all that, so thank you!

Thank you so much for your informative and well thought out post.
Stepping into this role is not something anyone should take lightly and for myself personally I would not be too intrigued with a photog that did take it lightly.

This information is every bit as beneficial for the photog as it is their potential client.
Bill