My 10 month experiment OR why I hate wedding photography...

[rubbertree]

^haha!

I loathe wedding photography AND doing family portraits! I did this as a job many years ago and despised it. I thought it was because I hated weddings and families, which I do (not so much families, but you know, posing people, people not cooperating, children) but the time involved in a wedding is excruciating.

 

[Antithesis]

Yeah, thanks everyone. It seems like I'm not the only one.

I still plan to enjoy photography to its fullest, and I think not really concerning myself with making money from it will bring a lot of the initial fun back. I'll still continue to pursue a career in some relation to it, but for now I'm just going to finish school and see what happens.

 

[twozero]

i completely see where you are coming from, but to make this a sticky and scare people away from at least trying it would be a horrible thing. i hate that you (and those that agree) did not like it.

I, on the other hand, really enjoy it. Granted I mostly only do the "second shooter" thing, but I have done a few on my own and loved it. i loved the planning, the arranging, the shooting, meeting new people, "mingling," and even the processing.

I don't do it 100% full-time but I do it for about 18 weekend out of the year (just weddings anyway) and do quite a bit of other photography off-and-on throughout the year.

To generalize and say that people should leave their hobby as "just a hobby" is a bit pushy.

I don't want to sound negative, but I just want to make sure that people who may come across this post realize that though it may not be for everyone, it IS worth giving it a shot. and if it does become a "job" then quit like any other job. make it as fun as you want it to be!

 

[shivaswrath]

Sorta off topic, sorta not:

I'm considering opening up an imaging company that will, clearly, use cameras - any business owners on here, can you write off the first year up front expenses?

I have a feeling I'll be at an operating LOSS in 2009-2011, just worried about getting audited. . . .

 

[epp_b]

Choose to do something that you will really enjoy. There are a ton of applications for photography out there, not just shooting weddings. Only shoot weddings if you really love it.

I've come to believe that you should only shoot something if you enjoy it to begin with, ie.: only shoot weddings if you would be attending weddings in the first place for the fun of it (if there is such a thing).

I think that, if I decide I want to make any money from photography, it would be selling prints of stuff I've done for fun on my own time and/or covering the odd local event. "Enough to pay for the equipment", I say.

Well that's it for my rant. I'm pretty happy to collect unemployment and actually look towards the possbility of getting my masters degree. Oh, and I'm getting rid of all my equipment and buying a d40 or a rebel XT or something. I've grown tired of deluding myself into thinking that big expensive gear and lenses will make me a better photographer.

Eh... before you do that, I'd suggest a either a D80 or higher for Nikon or a 30D or higher for Canon. The entry level models are perfectly good, but after working with higher end models, you may find the lower end models' inferior handling and feature set to be frustrating.

Funny I heard it was more like "When your hobby becomes your job it's not a job anymore" LOL Guess that works the opposite way with wedding photography.

Funny; another way to put it is: find something that you love to do as a job and you won't have to work a day in your life