Road Map to Event Photography

[atseeyob]

I am taking my second photography class (I just did the basic), and would like help on selecting classes. My near future plan is to do event photography, mainly wedding. Class choices includes 'Digital 101', 'Digital 102', 'People Photography one', 'Using Flash', 'Designing an Image', 'Adobe Photoshop'....

In addition to that what do you think I should do to make me a good event photographer.

By the way, I have Canon 30D with kit lense (28mm-135mm)

Any advice!!

 

[Iron Flatline]

People Photography seems like a natural way to go. Event photography is about capturing people, either posed or candidly. You're going to want as much experience around people as possible. You want to learn the timing of when they're going to look just right, and you're going to want to know yourself, and how people respond to you as a photographer... and how to downplay possible negatives, and take advantage of your natural strengths.

 

[Big Mike]

Yes, 'People Photography' does sound like it might be useful. Of the classes you listed, I would also consider 'Using Flash' and whatever photoshop classes you can take. Remember that you might shoot 1000 or more images during a wedding...and you will be left to edit a large number of those. The better/faster you are with Photoshop etc, the more you can pay yourself (on a per hour basis).

If you can find a class that deals with the workflow and or business side of it...that would really help. I took a class called 'Designing Wedding Photography' which was very helpful.

 

[JIP]

All 6 should just about give you a good start. The thing about wedding photography especially if you intend on going it alone (as opposed to working for someone else) is you need to wear about 100 hats. Before the wedding you need to be a salesman/web developer/marketer. After the agreement you need to know how to do some portraiture if you want to shoot engagement shots plus you need to know how to calm a panciked bride that calls you 1 week before with sudden last minute changes to everything. during the wedding you need to be a photographer/herder of people/calmer of nerves (of both the bride and groom)/you may need to be a referee plus you will probably have to throw in some hurried beautiful formal portrait/location photography that will take about three times longer than the couple have allotted. After the wedding you will need to be a photoshop expert/editor knowing wich ones of the several thousand or so shots you have taken you can eliminate and wich ines you need to spend beaucoup time on to make look stunning. After all this the selling comes back in the picture because even though you factored in a nice profit to your initial price you always want to sell more than the priginal package. So you see the classes you named will start to cover the technical (I did say start to) aspects and after that you need to figure out how to become a businessman as that is just as important as the photgraphy.

 

[atseeyob]

Thank you all for your advice

 

[f8lranger4x4]

I would say maby the people photgraphy one. For you and A photoshop class is a must to atleast for me it helped me achive what I was able to do in the darkroom with my digital pictures.