For the last couple months I’ve been jotting these notes in my phone of little tips for us photographers. Here they are with a bit of an explanation. I hope they can help you.
1. KEEP A Change of clothes stashed in your car and shoes too.
You never know if you’re gonna rip your pants or step in a puddle or have a drunk guest spill on you. Our job isn’t over if we mess up our clothes, we’ve got to keep working, so be smart and have some extra clothes and shoes with you.
2. Always carry your camera out of the event with you.
Don't pack up and walk out cause you're going to miss one last epic photo. I promise. Or when you say bye to the couple, 9 times out of 10 they’ll say oh wait can you get a photo with so and so. Which is awesome, I’m happy to. But if you have already packed up your gear it sucks.
3. Put some extra cash in your camera bag just in case.
You never know when you need to tip valet, have someone run and grab you a snack, whatever. Always great to have some cash on you to get you out of a pickle.
4. Cull the entire wedding before delivering sneak peeks.
This is probably my biggest one on the list (I know I’ll say this more than once). Culling sucks and it’s hard. Turn on some good music, put your head down and do it. You’re going to deliver sneak peeks, so force yourself to do it prior to that. That way you’ll have your cull done and a handful of edits in the first 24-48 hours. You’ll have a great start to editing the whole wedding.
5. Introduce yourself to every single vendor as soon as you get to the event and thank every single vendor upon leaving.
Give the vendors love. Give them sneak peeks. Send them the final gallery or highlight gallery. This is my third year of weddings and now 80% of my bookings are coming from vendor referrals. Read this: https://www.tonywodarck.com/education/2019/6/8/vendor-love-tips-for-photographers-on-how-be-an-awesome-vendor
6. Get Sun Seeker App
I rarely, if ever, go to a venue before the wedding day. If I get there 15 minutes early I can scout the spots I like and use this app to know where the sun will be at what time. Really helpful when there are mountains or things that will block the sun prior to sunset.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sun-seeker-tracker-compass/id330247123
7. Get Honeybook!
Okay, second time saying this. This is the most important thing on the list. I struggled with spending a few hundred dollars right away with my business. But if you’re doing more than 5 paid gigs a year, this is 100% worth it. Having a system to track the workflow of all your projects, send invoices, send questionnaires, keep track of your finances, etc. It’s amazing. It’s truly like hiring an assistant. It has streamlined my business so well. If you use my referral code, you get 50% off and I give you a free 30 minute mentor session to answer any questions you have. Honeybook related, or business or whatever I’m, here to help. Use this code: http://share.honeybook.com/h2RQc
8. Pull the couple away at sunset. Work with the coordinator on timing that.
That’s when the light is best. Duh. It also gives the couple a break in their wedding to have a moment to themselves. I can get all the photos I need in like 10-15 minutes in good light.
9. Ask the officiant to step out of the way for the first kiss.
Introduce yourself before the ceremony, pump them up, they usually aren’t pros and are friends of the couple. But also, ask if they don’t mind stepping to the side. I’d say about 25% of them end up remembering, but either way it helps the photo in my opinion.
10. Some of your clients won’t give you the high-praised response you want and deserve.
People will react and communicate differently to your delivery. Don’t stress. Have confidence in you and your work regardless of the reaction or lack thereof. THIS IS HUGE. And something I need to continue to learn. Even couples I never hear from, I might talk to them in passing later and they go on and on about how much they love the photos. But they didn’t even reply on the delivery. It’s weird, but it’s something that’s best for you to just get used to. I think most couples assume you know they love them. It’s weird, but yeah. Be okay with it.
11. Get a sticky metal hook in your bag for hanging the dress.
So simple. It allows you to put the dress wherever you want. If you don’t shoot weddings. Think of this tip as what can you put in your camera bag that you may randomly need and could help you out in a lot of shoots. Zip ties, extra batteries, super glue, snacks. Whatever it is.
12. Leave room on the sides and top and bottom for group photos.
Still trying to remember this. I’ve had to photoshop a few photos for couples because they want 8x10 or certain size prints and how I shot it doesn’t allow for that. Leave room on the sides so they can crop.
13. Play music they love at their engagement session.
Most of you know this by now, if you don’t do this. Buy this speaker and get going: https://amzn.to/2LPfXbE The flow and experience of the session is just as important as the photos. Don’t forget to give them a couple breaks.
14. When shooting indoors, turn off the artificial lights and open the windows.
Indoor shots can look bad when there’s mixed light. When artificial light and natural window light are mixing it makes it hard to get a good natural white balance to your photo. If possible help guide where the couple gets ready by some nice window light. If it isn’t possible, you can move them and stage some photos if need be.
15. Challenge yourself with every shoot.
Motion pan. Double exposure. Pano. Whatever it is, find ways to try new things and continue to push your skills.
16. Shoot all the family photos at the same settings.
This has been huge. Get your cameras set to the right settings and fire away. Now your list of 10-20 groupings or whatever is fine, you just snap away and you can batch edit that huge part of the wedding all at once. Makes this part painless.
17. Bring beverages for your couples for their engagement shoot.
Pack a cooler and provide them with some drinks. They’ll greatly appreciate the service and thoughtfulness. I try to make all the parts of my experience like a 5 star hotel. Gifts, unexpected surprises, great customer service, and complimentary drinks. Hahaha.
That’s it for now. Maybe I’ll do another one of these in a couple months. Hope one or two or all of these helped you. What did I miss? Leave a comment below or shoot me a DM. I love hearing from you.
RECENT EDUCATION ARTICLES
A visual breakdown of lighting & composition to help you take better photos.