Wedding requests come often during the year for me. I select a seldom few, though. Reasons vary in a pretty wide range. Today’s wedding photographers seem to get into wedding photography for the money.. and that is totally what I do not do. I do not market for weddings.. I do not advertise for weddings.. I do not go to bridal shows.. and really.. I just hardly accept jobs as a wedding photographer.
When I am called for a wedding, I normally start throwing a billion picky questions at the bride to get a better idea of what they want.. but even better, what I want. One of my biggest drawbacks from weddings is the amount of absolute horrendous quality of photographers are out there today getting into weddings thinking they are some artistic guru. I just do not want to be part of that – nor Do I want to fight to prove to anyone how bad these other photographers really are. I just don’t find it worth it at all.
Another key aspect is the fact that the wedding party rarely wants to give the time to get great pictures. These bridal portraits are just that – a bride gave me time to create really great bridal pictures. That, to me, is a rare event. If a bride or a groom do not want to give me a few hours of their time to create spectacular pictures for them, I just won’t accept the wedding job. It really is that simple. I received about 12 wedding requests this year so far.. I have accepted only 4 of them. What do I do with the other 8? I apologize, congratulate them and tell them there are millions of other photographers out there. I am normally asked for a recommendation to someone local.. and frankly, I have yet to meet anyone that are truly artistic and stands out to me as a great photographer.
Now, if you are a photographer reading this, don’t be offended. I have an extremely high bar of expectations when it comes to this. I am always, always looking to better myself. How could I of done this shot different? Where could I have gone to make this a better perspective? See, most photographers just don’t do that… and really, I dare you to tell yourself with a straight face that there isn’t a flood of garbage in the photography world these days. Go look at 99% of flickr. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying I am the best… I am far from it and I love learning more and bettering each and every click.
But, if you are reading this and agreeing that it sounds familiar, keep your chin up. Stay who you are and never change. Strive to be different. Don’t do what everyone else is doing.. because really the odds are, they are doing it wrong.
More to come..
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