Do you make a living as a wedding photographer?

Bandicoot wrote:
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.

Second REALLY good point. I have a second cousin who does weddings.
He is a skilled photographer who makes the technical aspects of the
job 'disappear' so they don't get in the way - but the reason he is
so good isn't that: it's because he can make everyone he meets both
like him, and do what he tells them. That's a rare skill.

That's the main reason I could never do weddings. I just don't have
the patience for dealing with people like that, and I know it would
show in the results.

--
"I ain't evil, I'm just good lookin'..."

"DD" wrote in message
...
In article .com,

In case it wasn't clear in the original post, I am merely interested in
hearing from people who do this for a living. I have absolutely no
desire to become a wedding photographer, but I am intrigued by the
amount of money that seems to be changing hands for this service.

I looked at a few US Wedding photographers sites and the average price
for a wedding seems to run at about $2,500 per date. Assuming the
photographer books a minimum of 4 shoots of this nature per month, that
rounds out at $10k gross. Take off about 25% for costs (being generous
here given the output that seems to be offered) the "average" wedding
photographer should be grossing in the region of $7,500 per month. Is
that not an above average income for working only a few days per month?

This thread is not intended to be about whether you are good enough or
whether you can deal with people. I am interested in the financial
aspects of running a wedding photography business ONLY.
--
DD
www.dallasdahms.com
Central Scrutinizer

Way off target here Dallas...
You won't get the answers you are seeking. Try asking your doctor to justify
his income, you'll have more chance of success. The grass is always greener
on the other side of the fence, mate. Particularly if you live in the desert
:-) Come on down to the tropics and see how bad it gets with all this green
grass.

Behind my 324i BMW, the studio full of expensive cameras and the manicured
gardens I maintain (at a cost of many hundreds of dollars a week) for bridal
and portrait photography - all to impress people into spending money - there
is a huge mortgage, burdening me with over a grand of debt payment every
week for the next 20 years.

I pay for it all mostly from the profits I get from other business ventures.
If I had to support this sort of lifestyle out of Wedding photography alone,
I couldn't do it yet to the casual observer, I'm doing well out of it. Same
mistake you are making, Dallas. Read my first post to this thread... Nothing
could be truer yet you choose not to accept it. Your loss mate.

Poverty is relative. When I'm doing it hard, you could be living high on the
hoof. When Goldie Horn is broke, I could pay out my mortgage with a single
month's rent she pays. Why do you want to know so much about other people's
business if you have no interest other than curiosity? Here are a few words
of advise Dallas:

"Ours is but to do and die, not to question the reason why".

"Bandicoot" wrote in message
...

but the reason he is so good
isn't that: it's because he can make everyone he meets both like him, and
do
what he tells them. That's a rare skill.

I hate people like that, and I make it a point to never do what they
want.....:^)

"Charles Self" wrote in message
...


Not bad for a few days' easy work, eh? And, of course, there's no
pressure, no interference, and it's a wonderful life. Nuts. I'd rather
shoot rattlers around my ankles than do weddings. Come to think of it,
I've done both, and the rattlers were easier to control. Just drop the
temperature in the room.

How do I get into the rattler shooting business Charles? Sounds like it
might be profitable (for a change)?

"William Graham" wrote in message
...

"Bandicoot" wrote in message
...

but the reason he is so good
isn't that: it's because he can make everyone he meets both like him, and
do
what he tells them. That's a rare skill.

I hate people like that, and I make it a point to never do what they
want.....:^)

You're like me: jealous of them. I can readily get people to do what I want,
but they sure won't like me afterwards.

"BigPix" wrote in message
...

"Charles Self" wrote in message
...


Not bad for a few days' easy work, eh? And, of course, there's no
pressure, no interference, and it's a wonderful life. Nuts. I'd rather
shoot rattlers around my ankles than do weddings. Come to think of it,
I've done both, and the rattlers were easier to control. Just drop the
temperature in the room.

How do I get into the rattler shooting business Charles? Sounds like it
might be profitable (for a change)?
Sell and write an article on venomous snakes. The pay sucks, and the bennies
are non-existent.

"Charles Self" wrote:
Not bad for a few days' easy work, eh? And, of course, there's no
pressure, no interference, and it's a wonderful life. Nuts. I'd rather
shoot rattlers around my ankles than do weddings. Come to think of it,
I've done both, and the rattlers were easier to control. Just drop the
temperature in the room.

How do I get into the rattler shooting business Charles? Sounds like it
might be profitable (for a change)?

Sell and write an article on venomous snakes. The pay sucks, and the bennies
are non-existent.

It's one of those businesses where, if you are successful, you
just manage to stay alive... ;-)

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)

"Charles Self" wrote:
but the reason he is so good
isn't that: it's because he can make everyone he meets both like him, and
do
what he tells them. That's a rare skill.

I hate people like that, and I make it a point to never do what they
want.....:^)

You're like me: jealous of them. I can readily get people to do what I want,
but they sure won't like me afterwards.

Leadership is the art of getting people to do what you want them
to, and thinking it was their idea to start with.

(The main step is giving others credit for coming up with your
idea all on their own! The crew gets credit for every specific
thing they do, the leader gets credit only for having an
effective crew. This mechanism is *most* important when
individuals do have ideas...)

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)

"DD" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
says...
...(good stuff snipped)...
Why don't you see about getting a concession in a shopping centre
to take kids pics? It's a lot easier.

(applause) - nice post, BigPix..

Frankly, if you are asking those questions, DD, you're not even close
to ready, nor have you done any homework..

And before you ask, yes, I did weddings a for a few years, working for
a metropolitan studio with a very good name, using Bronica MF equipment
in the days well before digital. It was interesting and I learnt a lot
(and had a 3 month apprenticeship while I did that learning under
supervision), but after about a year, it became hard to inject fresh
ideas and be excited by the results. The clients still loved my stuff
(it was fresh to *them*), but I lost interest and found it was eating
into what had been an enjoyable hobby. I stopped before it killed my
photography, and it took a couple of years to get re-motivated.

You need to be an organiser - in fact you will end up running a lot of
the wedding becasue no-one else wants to, and they will quickly realise
you know what you are doing! You need to be flexible and patient, yet
quick to react, you need absolute faith in, and knowledge of, your
equipment (of which you must have two of everything if you are
serious), you need to understand the protocols of churches, religions
and cultures and be able to discuss options in detail with couples and
their families, ministers and celebrants, you need backup areas/plans
for bad weather, you need to be able to diplomatically deal with the
inevitable morons (eg who will set up video lights in the church
without even asking permission, etc) and you need to know your market.
I see little evidence of most of those...

But there is also the 'downmarket'. Plenty of folk couldn't tell the
difference between good wedding photography and their... They will be
satisfied with almost anything - although if your prices are too high,
they will get Uncle Arthur to do it because he has a professional
looking camera and a flashgun..

In case it wasn't clear in the original post, I am merely interested in
hearing from people who do this for a living. I have absolutely no
desire to become a wedding photographer, but I am intrigued by the
amount of money that seems to be changing hands for this service.

I looked at a few US Wedding photographers sites and the average price
for a wedding seems to run at about $2,500 per date. Assuming the
photographer books a minimum of 4 shoots of this nature per month, that
rounds out at $10k gross. Take off about 25% for costs (being generous
here given the output that seems to be offered) the "average" wedding
photographer should be grossing in the region of $7,500 per month. Is
that not an above average income for working only a few days per month?


You'd be right if it were only a few days a month that we work. But it
takes several days to postprocess and edit a thousand or so images
(presuming an 8 hour wedding, two photographers) and then there are albums
to design, prints to order, etc. It's about 30-40 hrs per week, exclusive
of the wedding. Still not bad, but more hours than most people think. And
then there's promotional work, meeting with prospective clients, bridal
shows (we just did one last Sunday), gear to maintain, and so on.
We have about 20 weddings booked for the next year, already. And they
average about $2000 per. After Jan. we will probably book the rest of the
year, the holidays are a prime time for proposals.

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com

"Bandicoot" wrote in message
...

Second REALLY good point. I have a second cousin who does weddings. He
is
a skilled photographer who makes the technical aspects of the job
'disappear' so they don't get in the way - but the reason he is so good
isn't that: it's because he can make everyone he meets both like him, and
do
what he tells them. That's a rare skill.


That's my wife's job! ;-)

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com