DD wrote:

I'm interested in hearing from people around the world on their thoughts
regarding choosing wedding photography as a vocation. If you could take
a moment to answer these questions, I would be most appreciative of your
input.

I did weddings while in college, which might count as some experience; I
was working for someone else, though, so I have none with the actual business
of things. I didn't do any selling or anything, I just went where they sent
me.

1. Where do you see yourself on the socio-economic scale regarding your
income? i.e. well above average, above average, average, below average,
well below average.

One big reason I abandoned photography in general as a profession is because
you can make more money for less work doing just about anything else.

I can afford to do the photography I want because I'm not a professional
photographer.

(This is discounting those few superstars, of course.)

2. Do you do it full time as your only source of income or purely as a
part-time supplement to existing income? If you are doing it full time,
do you only do weddings? If not, what percentage of your income do
weddings provide?

3. How many weddings do you do annually?

I did 2 weddings per week -- one on Friday night, one sometime Saturday.
It was enough money for a college kid to make ends meet. Of course, the
big difference is that I was guaranteed to get paid a certain amount, no
worries about making the business work.

(Obviously, as a college kid I was not doing the high-end weddings on
my own. That would have been more money, but requires a bit more
experience. Weddings are hard.)

5. Do you find it a rewarding profession? In other words, do you feel
you could have done something else instead of doing weddings?

If your interest is in photography, and you're looking for a way to make
it your profession, run away. Really. Wedding photography is not about
photography, it's about people. Sure, you need to know the equipment like
you know how to breathe, but when you're out there, it's all about dealing
with people; that's the skill that's going to make the difference for you.

The richer the people having the wedding are, the more this becomes true.
Doing a wedding is often an exercise in navigating a political minefield,
with your success dependent greatly upon whom you make friends with in
the morning. (The mother of the bride is usually key.)

And weddings are hard. You've been to weddings, and it doesn't look like
that big a deal, but it's a situation where you have to get certain things,
you only get one chance to do it, not getting it is a complete disaster,
and everyone seems to be working against you. Getting through that isn't
about being a good photographer.

Also, it sucks having to dress up for a wedding every weekend.

--
Jeremy |