WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN.
A year after the pandemic and things are rolling in the wedding industry. This has been my busiest year yet and I couldn’t be more thankful for the places I’ve been been, the things I’ve seen, and the people I’ve met. I just wrapped up my last full wedding weekend of the year and have some thoughts…..
Redd wedding. Shot on Nikon Z6 and 24-70mm F4.
Gaymon wedding. Shot on Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm F4.
Wedding photography is not easy, in fact, far from it. I remember a few years ago, getting my first second shooter gig (assistant) in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and having minimal equipment, walking around aimlessly not knowing which way I should looking and who I should be shooting. HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED. I know a lot of folks that consider weddings photography an easy money grab, and while there’s a lot of money to be made here, there’s a massive long term and mentally exhausting grind.
Pepe wedding. Shot on Nikon d610 with 50mm 1.8.
Milner wedding. Shot on Nikon Z6 with 80-200mm F2.8.
Speaking of the grind, that would be my main takeaway from this year. If you want to dive deep into the wedding world, LEARN HOW TO NAVIGATE MONEY VS HAPPINESS. I cannot stress this statement enough. Going into this year I began to see bookings just roll in. I work for a few wedding companies as a subcontractor but I also shoot my own weddings. So between these two things I have photographed about 30-40 weddings this year. And that completely blew me out at times. Burnout is a real thing and I learned that the hard way this year. There were countless weekends where i photographed weddings on back to back days and basically had enough time to sleep between them, let alone enough time to charge batteries, dump memory cards, charge batteries, etc. It was exhausting and many times, overwhelming. My biggest takeaway from this year was learning how to navigate this.
Gaymon wedding. Shot on Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm F4.
How do I navigate this? SCHEDULE LESS, BUT CHARGE MORE. Here’s why I feel this way………. I’ve gained a lot of experience from weddings this year. Shooting 30-40 is a vast amount of weddings, meaning a vast amount of experience and knowledge gained. As a result, I feel as though my art and time are more valuable at this point. Hence the price change. Preferably, I’d like to shoot one wedding every two weeks next year. Allowing myself to make money, but then giving myself time to have a free weekend and do as a please. Hopefully this will be a “sweet spot” , providing a great balance.
Kale Wedding. Shot on Nikon D610 with 50mm F1.8.
Ilgenfritz wedding. Shot on Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm F4.