Expert: Don Wood - 5/23/2006

Question
Dear Mr. Wood-
I'm doing a research project on wedding photography as a career and was wondering if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions:
1) How and why did you become involved with wedding photography?
2)What do you consider to be the hardest part of your job? The most fun?
3) What advice would you give to someone interested in your field?

Answer
Hardest part of being a wedding photographer is the hours. It pretty much kills Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays. It is a difficult job because you are working with so many different people. You must be the one to keep the flow going but doing it in such a way that you don't appear to be pushy. You are catching a person at a very important part of their lives. As such your job depends upon how well you can catch that sentiment. Remember that you are recording history every time you push the button. But for every good side of the story there is the cold hard fact that after the caterer, hall rental, cake purchase, clothing, (gowns and tuxes), all the other expenses, there might be not enough to pay your bill. This means that you may be waiting a while for the where-withal to pay your lab bill, if you're using film or to pay for your ink and paper, if you're supplying these services, or the lab bill if you're letting a lab do it for you
You must decide how you want to be perceived. Are you going for the avant-garde images, or for the photo-journalistic look. This can be fun for you. You're working with people having a good time.
I remember I was showing a parent my work, she wanted most every picture until I told her the price. I didn't sell any pictures to her.
To be a photog in a small town you must be able to do most every photo job that comes your way. It's either feast or famine, you have too much work to do that you despair of getting it done, or you're waiting for the phone to ring, the people to come in to book your services and then after you give your best pitch to the prospect, she then goes down the street to find someone who will do the same job for cheaper. Or she may decide to have a friend do the pics if she supplies the film, she'll have the pics. But you have a reputation to uphold, her friend doing it for free may not be able to provide the pix because she doesn't have the ability to do so. But, oh well, it was cheap.
Get as much education as you can, not just in photography but in business, because photography is a business. You're in it for the money, if you don't get the money then how can you continue in the business.
Courses in psychology may be helpful so definitely take several of these classes.
That being said, it is a business that can become a second job since it is mainly on week-ends and evenings. Just bear in mind that for every 10 people starting out, 2-3 may make it for the year, and maybe 1 may make it for 5 years. It appears easy but it isn't. If you go to college, get some business training before you start out. I do wish you well, I hope I've helped, don't hesitate to ask me to add something more in order to answer a question.Thanks.
Don