Are You in the Zone?

To shoot or not to shoot? And just who exactly are you shooting for? When it comes to weddings, I feel like many of us are scrambling to maintain a fine balance between shooting for our clients, our vendors, and our publications. But where to draw the line? Here’s some of my thoughts when it comes to making the best choices in wedding photography:

Stay true to yourself. Remember, your style and your personality are the reason why your clients hired you. Yes, price has something to do with that as well. However, it’s important to maintain a level of stability in who you are as an artist. Or course you can be flexible with your style, who shouldn’t be? We grow and change over time as individuals. With so much time between the creation of the photos that sold your clients on hiring you and the day you capture your client’s wedding images, several years can go by. With all of the other studios that come and go, you’re bound to see thousands of new images between now and then that could have some artistic impact on your style. There’s nothing wrong with inspiration. Just remember that your original style is what attracts your business to you in the first place. Don’t go and do a 180 on your wedding clients at the last minute because you doubt yourself.

Work as a team. Through your years of shooting weddings, you will create lasting relationships with vendors that compliment your style and enhance your images. Everything from floral design to lighting, from makeup to hair styling. All of it directly affects the overall look of your photography. As you build a strong referral base, you create a team of vendors that you work well with and create a strong unit to provide your bride and groom a unique wedding experience. The key that holds this team together is your images. You alone are the vendor that provides the photos that allow your teammates to showcase their work and refer business to you. Many photographers feel like if they focus on detail shots, they’re losing focus on the event itself. True, everything requires a fine balance. However, the bride hired these other vendors for their work and services, so it’s important to remind her of their beautiful work through your photos.

Have a game plan. Take all of your misconceptions of being a “fly on the wall” and throw them out the window. Your clients didn’t hire you because of your cat-like reflexes. You can’t build a business based on your ability to react quickly to situations. You need a system, a pre-planned approach to each wedding. Yes, it does create consistency among the types of images you capture. This isn’t a bad thing. It shows experience and reliability, allowing the bride and groom to feel confident in your level of expertise and years of experience. Once you’ve established your game plan, you’ll have more freedom to capture those unscripted moments. The more you plan for your “required” detail shots, the more time you have to show off your feline impromptu photo moments.

All in all, your image of professionalism and experience will become more evident to your clients through your practice of consistency and teamwork when it comes to shooting weddings. Yes, you were hired by the bride and groom. However, your skills at being a good team player will help you provide better images for your clients as well as your teammates. And through your relationships with your vendors and your clients, you’ll be doubling up your referral base through your brides and your fellow wedding professionals. And isn’t two better than one?

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