What I Learned From Answering The BIG Question As A Photographer

[@guyphoto9437]

Good advice. I'd like to add a few things. Rather than meeting them for a dinner or lunch, I recommend meeting them at your studio, or a coffee shop, or office, where it's a business type meetup. Take your contract with you. Your contract, whether you get it from PPA or make your own should include: When and where the wedding is going to happen, how many bridesmaids/groomsmen there are, ring bearer, flower girl, former spouses, number of people attending, etc. It should also include a place to write down any person who the bride or groom or family definitely wants photos of and who they don't want photos of. I've had a lot of weddings (I too shot weddings for 40+ years) where I had specific instructions to not shoot the ex in a group shot of family. So, you need to exclude a former husband or wife from the family photo and take them separately. In many cases, they don't want an ex in a current family wedding portrait with their son or daughter, they may want just their current spouse. If the bride and her bridesmaids are having their hair, etc., done you need to note that so you can show up there and get some photos, same as where the groom is getting ready. Often this will be many hours before the wedding occurs. You need to know where the reception will be. Sometimes it will occur where the wedding does, other times it may be miles away. I still use Shoot Proof and (even now shooting portraits, models, headshots, etc.) I shoot RAW and JPEG. I immediately cull the photos and then post low-res JPEGs on shoot proof. The ones they selected for their album, or depending on their order, strictly digital photos for their phone, etc. I finalized in Camera Raw and Photoshop, post them again on Shoot Proof and they can then download them. My wedding contracts also stated that they needed to feed me and up to two assistants, depending on the size of the wedding, If you have 15 bridesmaids and groomsmen, it's going to be a large wedding. My contract also stated that I was the head photographer, and called all the shots so that a videographer didn't get in my way. My contract also included, and I pointed this out clearly to the bride or mom who was booking me that I was not responsible for not photographing someone in the formal portion of the ceremony who had gone to get a smoke or was nowhere to be found. It takes up to 15 minutes to find someone who the bride insists be in a formal photo and if you have 3 people you need to look up that's 45 possible minutes you're using up on the formals. I've had a limo driver tap me on the shoulder many times and tell me I had about two more minutes and the wedding party was going to have to walk to their reception. Time is of the essence at a wedding. I'll stop here, but one final note. I always got a 50% retainer (in my state a deposit is refundable a retainer is not), and the remaining 50% had to be paid a week prior to the wedding. As Hanson Fong once said, "Get your money up front because after the wedding you're just another bill." And in addition to PPA insurance I'd get a good liability policy, PPA really doesn't cover much of that. I know you're giving advice to beginning wedding photogs (good advice mind you) and I apologize for the long post, but sometimes it's good to know what you're getting into--it's far different than a headshot.

[@danielmartinphotography]

Good info there! We also give a shot list out it comes with our contract I forgot to mention that! You are very correct to mention find out about x spouses, we learned that the hard way many many years ago, lol.. Our last 15 years we got paid in full no less than 30 days prior. It just has to be done that way, too many issues if not. Thanks for the great info, hope you're doing well!

[@jamesmgreen15]

Thanks so much...............

[@jamesmgreen15]

Apart from RAW do you have certain preloaded setups in the camera? Min / Max ISO, Min/Max SS?? In a fast-paced environment, people will come down to their level of training not up to it, and every little would help???

[@danielmartinphotography]

@@jamesmgreen15 I really don’t, if it’s a bright shot outside and then inside shot I just eyeball it. I will jump between manual, Tv @ Av. I use very little presets if any.. My presets are in my head. lol…I know most everyone does, I’m just stubborn! And I would recommend everyone to use them, more do as I say not as I do!😎🤣..