No desire to shoot a wedding ever again!

Ajay · Dec 9, 2007

Long post, I know, so thanks in advance to anyone who actually reads the whole thing. Hopefully someone out there can relate.

I've realized after today that I have no desire to ever become a wedding photographer. It seemed like everything about this wedding was doomed to derail in some way or another.

Photos started late because we had to wait for the mother of the bride to arrive with the flowers for the groom and his men; and she locked her keys in her car on the way to pick them up. I got to spend a lot of time taking fun shots of all the guys while waiting for the girls to get ready.

By the time the bride and bridesmaids were dressed and ready we only had about half an hour to do the girls pre-wedding photos. We ran out of time of course and subsequently ended up with zero decent shots of the bride by herself or any fun poses with her and the bridesmaids outdoors.

The reception was held at the same church, so they only gave us about 30 minutes to do post-wedding photos so as not to keep the guests waiting. We ended up taking close to an hours worth, but they had so many different combinations with family that we didn't get hardly any shots of just the bride and groom and none outside.

The lighting in the reception hall was horrible of course. I did the best I could with my SB-600, but a lot of the photos still came out with some harsh outline shadows. We were going to try and sneak the bride and groom out of the reception to get a few pictures before it got dark, but the church people were rushing us through the reception so they could get the wedding guests out before a Christmas play they were having that night.

We finally got a chance to step outside and take a few photos, but by this time it was almost completely dark. A few of the couple together came out decent, but I am not satisfied with any of the bride by herself. I told her if she is willing that sometime after her honeymoon, if she wants to get her hair done again and have her dress on again we can do a bridal shoot so she has some decent photos of herself.

When I got home tonight and finally got a chance to sit down and do a slideshow of the photos I didn't feel quite as bad. After editing out similar shots she is still probably going to end up with 400 or so pictures. There are several shots that I'm quite proud of.

By far I mostly enjoyed taking shots of the flowers and ringbearer pillows and decorations. Do wedding photographers ever have an assistant just to take those types of shots? That is the only way I could see myself doing another wedding. The stress and responsibility totally outweighs any joy I might get out of doing this sort of thing regularly.

Thanks again to anyone who actually read this whole thing. :hug::

den9 · Dec 9, 2007

i dont think id ever do a wedding, too much pressure, id probaly wind up getting hammered at the reception

FrimpyEIBW · Dec 9, 2007

Ajay said:
Long post, I know, so thanks in advance to anyone who actually reads the whole thing. Hopefully someone out there can relate.

I've realized after today that I have no desire to ever become a wedding photographer. It seemed like everything about this wedding was doomed to derail in some way or another.

Photos started late because we had to wait for the mother of the bride to arrive with the flowers for the groom and his men; and she locked her keys in her car on the way to pick them up. I got to spend a lot of time taking fun shots of all the guys while waiting for the girls to get ready.

By the time the bride and bridesmaids were dressed and ready we only had about half an hour to do the girls pre-wedding photos. We ran out of time of course and subsequently ended up with zero decent shots of the bride by herself or any fun poses with her and the bridesmaids outdoors.

The reception was held at the same church, so they only gave us about 30 minutes to do post-wedding photos so as not to keep the guests waiting. We ended up taking close to an hours worth, but they had so many different combinations with family that we didn't get hardly any shots of just the bride and groom and none outside.

The lighting in the reception hall was horrible of course. I did the best I could with my SB-600, but a lot of the photos still came out with some harsh outline shadows. We were going to try and sneak the bride and groom out of the reception to get a few pictures before it got dark, but the church people were rushing us through the reception so they could get the wedding guests out before a Christmas play they were having that night.

We finally got a chance to step outside and take a few photos, but by this time it was almost completely dark. A few of the couple together came out decent, but I am not satisfied with any of the bride by herself. I told her if she is willing that sometime after her honeymoon, if she wants to get her hair done again and have her dress on again we can do a bridal shoot so she has some decent photos of herself.

When I got home tonight and finally got a chance to sit down and do a slideshow of the photos I didn't feel quite as bad. After editing out similar shots she is still probably going to end up with 400 or so pictures. There are several shots that I'm quite proud of.

By far I mostly enjoyed taking shots of the flowers and ringbearer pillows and decorations. Do wedding photographers ever have an assistant just to take those types of shots? That is the only way I could see myself doing another wedding. The stress and responsibility totally outweighs any joy I might get out of doing this sort of thing regularly.

Thanks again to anyone who actually read this whole thing. :hug::

Sure, you can have an assistant, or second shooter. I learned by being a second shooter..and by reading textbooks. I recommend: Wedding Photography/ Art, Business and Style by Steve Sint. I got it at Barnes and Noble, but you can also get it on Amazon.com.

And, I understand how you feel, but the things that happened were beyond your control. There is stress involved, but it does go away. I still get the jitters before a wedding, but you do work through it.

Believe me..The money you can make from a wedding is amazing, and the fact that you had 400 pics to choose from despite everything that went wrong is a triumph in itself.

Don't give up. Speedbumps like this make you more prepared for the next wedding.

jstuedle · Dec 9, 2007

Did my share a long time ago. Bought that Tee shirt, won't go back!

Lisa B · Dec 9, 2007

I've actually been known to turn down weddings in the past because of all the horror stories i've heard...i'm not completely put of by them for future reference though...

Rick Waldroup · Dec 9, 2007

First off, let me say that my hat goes off to wedding photographers.

I told someone once, that I had rather face down a raging rhino than face a bride and her mother on a wedding day.

Like a lot of people, I shot weddings when I first got into photography. I hated it from the beginning, but I was making decent money. The end came one day while I was showing a bride and her mother the proofs and they were arguing and bickering back and forth about the photos (it was enough to make your head explode) when I finally told the bride, "Look, in a couple of years, it probably won't matter because you'll be divorced by then and the photos will be in the trash." The bride started wailing and I thought her mom was going to kill me.

I never shot another wedding.

It takes a certain kind of personality to shoot weddings and that is why I admire those photographers so much.

Alex_B · Dec 9, 2007

Rick Waldroup said:
The end came one day while I was showing a bride and her mother the proofs and they were arguing and bickering back and forth about the photos (it was enough to make your head explode) when I finally told the bride, "Look, in a couple of years, it probably won't matter because you'll be divorced by then and the photos will be in the trash." The bride started wailing and I thought her mom was going to kill me.

:lmao: brilliant!!

Lisa B · Dec 9, 2007

thats just made me want to shoot weddings for the opportunity to say that to someone....

Alex_B · Dec 9, 2007

Lisa B said:
thats just made me want to shoot weddings for the opportunity to say that to someone....

Oh, you could just walk in at a random wedding and tell the bride!

I am sure you will make lots of friends on that day :mrgreen:

Lisa B · Dec 9, 2007

When i got married, we didn't have guests, or pictures. Saves a lot of hassle.

Alex_B · Dec 9, 2007

no pictures in my case either!

But then, I never got married anyway. Saves a lot of hassle

Lisa B · Dec 9, 2007

At the end of the day, me and him are going to spend the rest of our lives together, plenty of time for pictures

Like this drunken one...

Ajay · Dec 9, 2007

Some great comments on here! I'm glad I'm not the only one.
I thought I wanted to shoot weddings after the photographer for my wedding spent most of his time at the bar getting smashed. We actually had to go get him before the cake, dance, garter, etc... I decided that I wanted to give other people the kinds of pictures that I missed out on.
Well, definitely don't feel that way anymore. Will leave it to those special people that actually find joy in the craziness.

Chris of Arabia · Dec 9, 2007

Lisa B said:
At the end of the day, me and him are going to spend the rest of our lives together, plenty of time for pictures Like this drunken one...

Good grief! You didn't hold your reception in a Las Vegas hotel in the early hours of a Sunday morning did you? Who won?

jols · Dec 9, 2007

I seemed to be on my own here. ha ha ,

i love shooting weddings, the only thing i worry about is the weather as i like 90 per cent of my pics outside.

i have never met the mum of bride until the wedding day so i dont have probs there :lol: