AboutDon Wood Expertise I have been a professional photographer for 26 years. Wedding, portraits, passports, copies, groups pix, reunions, etc. Specialty in photography of large groups. I also have worked in newspaper photography for most of my photographic years. I have built and maintained a b/w darkroom, and a color darkroom.
Experience I have been a professional photographer for 35 years. I am transitioning to digital photography so I might be able to help in that field. I'm retired now but am still able to be helpful in the field. I have built a b/w, color darkroom, worked in a color lab, worked in the newspaper field both in darkroom and as a shooter.
Expert: Don Wood Date: 3/30/2008 Subject: Wedding photography
Question I'm a photgraphy student and am doing a career research paper on Wedding photography. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?
1. How did you get into Photography?
2. Why did you want to become a photographer?
3. What type of photography do you do?
4. What types of cameras do you need to use in order to get your shots?
5. What type of schooling do you have that helps you in your job?
6. What does your job consist of?
7. What type of people do you deal with on a daily basis?
8. What is the most difficult thing about you Job?
Answer I became a photographer because I love being able to record history of an event. To explain, every photo freezes a certain moment in time, that person will not advance its history any more in that picture. As a wedding photographer I am a people person, meaning that I am continually trying to get a particular shot or group of shots, I have to move people around to get the particular shot and I have to make them want to do it. I came up the old way, I paid my dues learning my craft while working at the craft. Nowadays, you can go to school to learn the general specialty of the craft. Any training you get now will benefit you, you won't make the mistake. You'll make your own mistakes. Take advantage of your schooling, get as much training as possible, go to the photography and art museums and study their exhibits to help you develop your photographic "eyes". You'll be doing this the rest of your life, you'll study each picture to determine how the photographer did it, what exposure he used, etc.
One uses the camera he needs for the job. With the new digital cameras, one doesn't need to have a large camera and lots of heavy equipment to lug around just to do the job. I remember that I had to wear a jacket with a lot of pockets just to carry the flashbulbs I would use on the job. Right side was for the unused bulbs, left side for the used bulbs. Then I got a strobe light, which enabled me to take more shots cheaper.
One deals with a variety of people, the bride and groom, their parents, grand-parents. I once did a wedding, the mother of the bride wanted all the picture I'd shot, then when she learned the price, she didn't want any picture. This is probably the most difficult person to deal with, they want until they find out the price, then they don't want.
Get as much schooling as you can, both in photography and in business classes. Running a business is not just in taking the pictures but in knowing how to arrive at a proper price structure. You must learn to figure in your expenses, rent, food, gas, camera and computer purchase and maintenance. It's easy to arrive at a small price because of the price of the paper. But when you also figure in the price of the computer, the ink, the software, your time spent producing the product, you realize that it should be a lot more expensive than you thought.
Wedding photography is generally excellent as a part-time job. You can always defer the computer work to the evenings after your full-time job. I always suggest newby photogs to remain in their day job until the arrive at the junction where the photo income is more than the income of the day job. Then you make the decision as to whether you want this job to be the primary one or to continue with the 9-5 job. You will learn that you will have ebbs and flows with the business. IE, during the late winter-early spring season you will be showing your work and making bookings. Many people will want to see you, when they learn the price, they may not want to continue with you. Resist the temptation to lower your prices to accommodate them, they will probably wind up ordering a lot, and then failing to come get the pictures and finish paying for them.
Lots of luck to you in your future. Many people study for one career and then learn that they are most suited for a different career. I started out to be a teacher, after 8 years I changed to floral preparation, being a designer, then I became a photographer.
Keep in touch, if I need to answer additional questions for you, I will do so. Good Luck,
Don
