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Archive 2014 · Getting into wedding photography

  
 
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Getting into wedding photography


I'm starting out small and cheap but this November I'll be getting out of the military and trying to go photographer full-time in NY, likely the NYC area.

I still need some equipment (flash, backup body, etc). Currently I have a Nikon D610, 85mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 180mm f/2.8, 14mm f/2.8.

I want to add a used D3, flash, light meter, reflectors.

What else should I consider?



Jul 29, 2014 at 06:42 PM
jamesmorophoto
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Getting into wedding photography


there are thousands of posts that will answer every question you have. I suggestion you google your questions rather than asking people to drudge up info that's been regurgitated a 1000 times over.


Jul 29, 2014 at 06:47 PM
Evan Baines
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Getting into wedding photography


Fingerstyle78 wrote:
I'm starting out small and cheap but this November I'll be getting out of the military and trying to go photographer full-time in NY, likely the NYC area.

I still need some equipment (flash, backup body, etc). Currently I have a Nikon D610, 85mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 180mm f/2.8, 14mm f/2.8.

I want to add a used D3, flash, light meter, reflectors.

What else should I consider?


Its a tough business, and I wish you the best of luck both with your transition to civilian life and with your photography.

My FAQ up above may give you some useful resources for starters. You're welcome to PM me if you have any specific questions I might be able to help with.



Jul 29, 2014 at 07:00 PM
LeeSimms
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Getting into wedding photography


Yes to a 2nd body — no to light meter, tripod, reflectors, modifiers.

You need speedlights — many of them. Canon has the 600 system — Nikon has the Phottix Mitros.

I have five Canon 600exRTs and two flash-less controller panels (when I want to travel light).



Jul 29, 2014 at 07:28 PM
SloPhoto
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Getting into wedding photography


Start with a cheap second body and a flash, those are requirements.

After that, read and experiment before you spend a whole bunch of cash. You could easily shoot a wedding on that kit and any other gear should fit how you want to shoot, not just what someone else uses.



Jul 29, 2014 at 08:05 PM
glort
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Getting into wedding photography



If you are even thinking of gear at this point, you are already on the road to failure.

What you should be considering is how you are going to write your business and marketing plans, what your target market is going to be, how you are going to get clients in the door, who you are going to appraoach for referals, what your advertisng budget is and where are you going to spend it, what the competition is like in your area, what your price point is going to be, What your USP will be, how much it's going to cost to set up your business and register it, what your first quarterly budgets look like, how long is it going to take you to edit the images, are you going to do albums, digital files or both? how many packages are you going to offer? what sort of research have you done into the local market and what do the numbers and demographics tell you, have you got an area at home to see people, do you need to set it up, what furniture or equipment do you need there?..... and so it goes.

Most of all you should consider the most important question of all......
Why would someone book you over the competition?

If you think any of this is unessacary or boring or you are going to worry about that stuff once you get on your feet, forget the idea of going into any business for yourself and start looking for a job to utilise the no doubt valueable skills you already have.

Worrying about gear at this point is just crazy. There is so much more you ought to be concerned with.
If I had to go shoot a wedding tomorrow with what you have, I wouldn't be worried even though I'm totaly unfamilliar with it being a canon shooter. You would well know, you adapt and overcome and use what you have at your disposal. You have enough gear to do a wedding already and when you book your first one, the deposit will pay for you to get the backup body you need. OR will it?

Therefore, the problem is not gear but rather getting the work in.

You would well know there is a lot more to a milatary operation than what weapons the personell are carrying and it's the same with being a photographer, Plumber, Chimminey sweep or any other business you can think of.




Jul 29, 2014 at 08:41 PM
fstopperdown
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Getting into wedding photography


Shoot as often as possible.... everything and anything.




Jul 29, 2014 at 08:41 PM
ohsnaphappy
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Getting into wedding photography


Military...two bodies...get a Holdfast Moneymaker. Remember that marketing yourself is a big part of this business


Jul 29, 2014 at 09:08 PM
Ziffl3
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Getting into wedding photography


Nice gold nugget glort.

And a personal invite from Evan. And do study the FAQ.

OP ... these are valuable little tid-bits.

While there is a cool - personal gratifying upside to shooting weddings and doing it well.... the reality is it can be a cold-rough business.

-Mark



Jul 29, 2014 at 09:11 PM
LeeSimms
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Getting into wedding photography


the reality is it can be a cold-rough business

If it was easy, they wouldn't call it work.



Jul 29, 2014 at 10:57 PM
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Getting into wedding photography


jamesmorophoto wrote:
there are thousands of posts that will answer every question you have. I suggestion you google your questions rather than asking people to drudge up info that's been regurgitated a 1000 times over.


I have obviously researched and googled a bunch. What I am asking for is dialogue with pros and possibly networking in the NYC area. If you don't care to engage then don't. Responses like yours are not needed, desired or called for. It's easy to ignore a post that you don't feel like engaging. I suggest you do that in the future.



Jul 30, 2014 at 02:29 AM
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Getting into wedding photography


glort wrote:
If you are even thinking of gear at this point, you are already on the road to failure.

What you should be considering is how you are going to write your business and marketing plans, what your target market is going to be, how you are going to get clients in the door, who you are going to appraoach for referals, what your advertisng budget is and where are you going to spend it, what the competition is like in your area, what your price point is going to be, What your USP will be, how much it's going to
...Show more
What I am asking for is the minimum gear that I need to get a start. I don't want to have holes in my kit and at this point I know my camera and my gear and I have a couple weddings booked over the next few months. I just want to be sure that I am adequately prepared so that I can deliver a product that I can be proud of and add to my portfolio. These are very important days for the clients and I need to know that I have all my bases covered.

My main concern is poor lighting at venues in Alaska. Shooting outdoors is no problem and the weddings are all outdoors at this point. What I'd like to do is be a second shooter but there are so few photographers here that it's very hard to find those opportunities. I have no problem with working hard or post processing, this is a new aspect of photography for me and I am just looking for tips from people that are doing it now as pros, things I may have not considered. My price point is very low at this point as I am new to this and I'm looking to build a wedding portfolio. I know I can take great photos given adequate lighting and create a product that clients will love. I'm just a bit apprehensive about charging $1K if there are things that I am not considering.

At this point I am offering a very basic package of digital images delivered at a low price point ($500) as I have a full time job for the time being and I am really just looking for experience. As I grow into the business I intend to expand that as well as the price points. This is also a concern. Being in Alaska for now I feel that this is ok starting out as there is a dearth of capable wedding photographers in the area and a ton of weddings.

Any insight into starting a full time business is appreciated, be it gear/kit related or accounting advice etc. I don't plan on spending much more on gear at this time unless it's absolutely needed. Currently I do portraits, senior pictures, wildlife and a lot of landscape/aurora shooting. My hope is to open a studio and expand into weddings in NY. Thanks for the response, I take all advice very seriously as I want my business to be successful and learning from other people's experiences is very important to me as I hope to avoid mistakes made by others if at all possible.



Jul 30, 2014 at 02:47 AM
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Getting into wedding photography


ohsnaphappy wrote:
Military...two bodies...get a Holdfast Moneymaker. Remember that marketing yourself is a big part of this business


Marketing is something that I am new to. What approaches are you finding most advantageous? I am pretty bare bones right now, word of mouth, Linkedin, and a couple wedding services. Right now I lack wedding content and I feel that starting out (right now) is a very crucial time to get things right.



Jul 30, 2014 at 02:50 AM
amonline
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Getting into wedding photography


Well, you definitely seem to have the drive, but it sounds like you're trying to jump in too fast. If you want to be successful, take your time. Sure, you need some gear, but why not second shoot with others for a year first? Get a good feeling for what you're about to take on. It's much more than most people expect. So, what have you done so far?

As for the post telling you to read through the forum, it's probably the best bit of advice you'll get. There ARE thousands of thread asking the same questions you are asking. However, I'd point out to read the sticky first. Then, search for some threads on gear. There are tons. The info is already here. Seriously.



Jul 30, 2014 at 03:24 AM
fstopperdown
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Getting into wedding photography


The biggest variable is time...

It was something impossible for me to overcome balancing a family and a day job.

If everyone honestly accounted for time...
meetings with clients (successful and failed)
bridal/engagement sessions
Post processing
Shooting the wedding
Post Processing
Meetings with client
Album Design
and day to day running of the business...

For everybody it is different. My WAG... one hour shooting for every four not shooting?

Somehow find a way to outsource as much as possible. Maybe shoot more portraits. Maybe a shoot and burn business model?

This is my business model the second time around.



Jul 30, 2014 at 08:17 AM
LeeSimms
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Getting into wedding photography


Marketing is something that I am new to. What approaches are you finding most advantageous?

It's a numbers game. You want as many faces in front of your work as possible. Most won't like your photography / pricing / service matrix enough to hire you, so you need your grazing audience to be huge. It's a lot like dating. Be charming in front of a zillion women and one will want to date you, lol.

This year I'll shoot 70 weddings. 30% of my clients are through the front door (SEO, Social Media), 30% are from former client referrals, 40% are from venue referrals (with some vendor referrals thrown in).

It's a challanging business, but they all are (well, any business worth being in). If you have an internal sense of marketing and networking, you'll go far.



Jul 30, 2014 at 08:41 AM
fstopperdown
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Getting into wedding photography


I thought this was helpful...

" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Vanessa Joy You Tube video



Jul 30, 2014 at 09:52 AM
maxwell1295
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Getting into wedding photography


Here's the difference between a great reply and a pretty crappy one...

Evan Baines wrote:
Its a tough business, and I wish you the best of luck both with your transition to civilian life and with your photography.

My FAQ up above may give you some useful resources for starters. You're welcome to PM me if you have any specific questions I might be able to help with.


and then there's this...
jamesmorophoto wrote:
there are thousands of posts that will answer every question you have. I suggestion you google your questions rather than asking people to drudge up info that's been regurgitated a 1000 times over.




Jul 30, 2014 at 10:00 AM
OlafSiebert
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Getting into wedding photography


insurance ....


Jul 30, 2014 at 03:21 PM
Fingerstyle78
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Getting into wedding photography


I'd love to start out being a second shooter, I've reached out to some local folks here with no luck thus far. Hopefully it will be easier when I get back to NY, but I was hoping to have several weddings under my belt by then. Wedding season up here is coming to a close very soon as we expect 6" of snow by Halloween lol.

I'd be interested in a couple tag alongs when I get to NY though as I will be on terminal leave and getting paid for a couple months without having to worry about a job as much as I would otherwise.

Thanks for the insightful comments.



Jul 30, 2014 at 08:00 PM
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