Breaking in to weddings.

[B Rock]

I've had a couple leads on weddings from word of mouth but I can never follow through since I have never shot a wedding before. All of the brides just go on since I have no sample "wedding" images. I completely understand where they are coming from and I know they want that special day to be perfect. Besides shooting backup for a wedding for another photographer is there any other way I can talk them into it. I just don't really know what to say to them about the matter. I'm confident in my work and feel like I could shoot a wedding but I just don't quiet understand how to make them confident in choosing me. Any help is appreciated!!!

Brock

[Cygnus Studios]

Being a 2nd shooter will be your best bet, there are plenty of people looking for students/cheap shooters.

Another option is to get some models and create a few wedding scenes. This will give you a chance to build a look.

If you really want weddings without doing the above options, search craigslist. There are tons of ads of people looking for someone to shoot a wedding. You will have to do it cheap, but it will give you the port you are looking for.

[B Rock]

Hmmm. Thanks for the insight. It looks like I might just have to second shoot. I'm thinking about offering my current prospect a free engagement session. It would help my portfolio and maybe if I do a good enough job they will give me a chance. It is a family friends niece so I wouldn't feel too bad about doing it for free either.

[Mnemosyne]

I don't know, I got offered a few weddings just by my work alone. And I haven't shot a single wedding. Although both of them fell through due to changes of location (as in 5 states away changes in location) that I can't afford to travel to at this point. But the fact that I had a strong gallery of images helped seal the deal.

Do you have an online gallery anywhere for people to look at? If you just say you're a photographer but have nothing to show it, that might be holding you back.

[B Rock]

I have my gallery at http://www.brocklawsonphoto.com It is relativly empty at this point right now. I have lots of images on my flickr but I don't think they are high enough quality for my portfolio. I guess I just need to keep shooting and eventually things will fall into place.

[jbakerphoto]

You might check out http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum/. In the wedding section they do ask for people to assist/second shoot or tag along and alot of them are from the dallas area...Like me...

I agree just keep shooting and things will fall into place...

[Mnemosyne]

Yeah, I have just under 5200 photos on my smugmug (although I'm guessing only 10 to 20 percent of them would go on any website I did).

But those 5k plus photos represent 4 -5 years of shooting, the last 3 of which were for the school paper.

Just keep going at it.

[mercphoto]

I don't know, I got offered a few weddings just by my work alone. And I haven't shot a single wedding. Although both of them fell through due to changes of location (as in 5 states away changes in location) that I can't afford to travel to at this point.
That's why they pay for your travel expenses. ;)

[Mnemosyne]

HA. They offered to pay for my hotel, but they moved the wedding to save money(by reducing the number of guests, so they say). They were only offering me $400 to drive an hour and shoot all day.

The bride also said that her cousin, or someone that was going, could do the photos.

Not really worth it. Didn't want to pay for the gas, and a plane ticket would probably be outrageous.

[goldenstarphoto]

I got a lot of contacts through the meetup website. I find it more reliable than craigslist, less flakes and more people who are serious about photography. I did a search for wedding photographers in Dallas TX and found 34 groups. You can use these groups to gain leads, network, and here in Sacramento one group puts on a fashion show to help models, designers, and photographers, they even do "trash the dress" sessions which would help your portfolio. Here's a link to my search:

http://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=wedding+photography&country=us&locationPickerRef=0&dbCo=us&dbOutsideUsLink=&dbZip=95825&zip=75201&op=search&resetgeo=true&style=&submitButton=Search

No...I don't work for meetup.com :wink Just thought it could help you if you hadn't heard of their website before.

Good Luck!:thumb

[JohnBiggs]

I would say just because you are confident in shooting portrait type situations does not make you ready for a wedding.

Please go second shoot a few it's fairly easy to find someone who will use you.

After you second shoot (not assist) at least 2, then decide if you are up for it.

[Mnemosyne]

I have to agree with JB on that. Portraits are staged and created by the photographer. but covering an event takes a WHOLE different type of mentality. Quick eye, quick thinking, and a total understanding of what settings you want, and need. The ability to change them on the fly based on changing light conditions. Most of that is unnecessary in portraiture, because you can play with settings if you get it wrong the first time. But if you miss a moment at a wedding, you can't go back and do it again. And a bride won't be happy if you miss the big moments in the most important day in her life.