thoughts on wedding photography

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

I'm halfway through the booked weddings of the year and coming up on one this weekend. After all the weddings I've shot, I'm still undecided about if I really want to do weddings all the time. I mean, I do love being a part of someone's big day. I love meeting the bride and groom and getting to know them. Sharing in those intimate moments while hiding behind my lens. I really don't mind the chaos and how things are never on time. I really like sharing all of that with Josh and chuckling about how great of a team we are. I've been amazed when looking through the recent weddings pictures and how few duplicates Josh and I get. We're just in sync. The money is decent and someday could be really good. And I love that there is always some point during the day that I tear up...it never fails.

But then there is the amount of time one wedding takes. Not just the actual day but all of the processing and album design. It's becoming more difficult to keep up with everything else in my life when I've got so much wedding work to do. And it's also dealing with some not nice people. The family member that wants to make sure you get EVERY shot. Or the relative that insists on taking pictures you set up even though you ask them to wait until your done, numerous times. There is also the chance of not clicking with your bride and groom. So far, we've been very lucky. But there are a lot of bridezillas out there and I'm sure to land one some day. Let's not forget about the PRESSURE. You better have your crap together. I almost missed the kiss two weddings ago because the pastor just announced it out of no where. (It's like, c'mon...stick to the schedule!) That same wedding we had a flash break right before formals. There is also the thought in my mind, what if my memory cards fail and I lose pictures.

So I just don't know what I want to do. I'm already being contacted for the 2009 wedding season. I do think that Josh and I decided to somewhat take next year off. We already have one wedding booked in March and a possible wedding in the summer. I just don't think I could work full time being away from my kiddo and then already know I've got to spend a whole Saturday away (plus all the additional work it takes to finish up a wedding). So I guess we'll see what next year brings... That's the hard part about being your own boss. No one to tell you what to do.

Labels: knight light