
My job was to get candid shots of the guests and wedding party
With the nuptial season charging on us like a pack of credit card-wielding brides at a wedding dress discount sale, this is also the time for those of you considering a career in photography to start thinking about how you get into the wedding photography business.
Of all the specialty branches of photography, the one providing the most reliable and consistent income is wedding photography. Anyone who thinks they can just hang up a shingle and launch into the business without experience is not only doomed to failure but reckless as well. Screwing up your own future and trashing your reputation in the local photography community is one thing, messing up a new family’s memories of a lifetime is unforgivable.
For most of you the path to a career as a wedding photographer starts with being second shooter and gear mule for a more experienced photographer. Since it’s been a while since I shot a wedding, I decided to go back to my friends in the wedding business and tag along as a second shooter.
With permission, I accompanied Karl Leopold at ImagesForver.net to cover a wedding in Cocoa Beach orchestrated by Kristi Parks at Sun Kissed Weddings as the second shooter. I’d also like the thank the Farris family and their wedding party for being such good sports and wish them the best on their new life together.
What I discovered is that, even though I’ve been taking pictures for 20 some odd years, I had developed some habits that don’t fit well in wedding photography, an experience I found both painful and a little humbling.