Behind the lens...

It’s funny how many times people say to me "it's easy money" when referring to wedding photography. It’s a common misconception that a photographer just needs to turn up to the wedding, take a few photographs, leave, invoice the happy couple and sit back happy knowing that they have just earned on average £170 an hour for the past hour.

I WISH!

What is not commonly known is that taking the photographs is actually only a small part of what is involved in running our business. Here is a simple breakdown of what is typically involved in a wedding shoot.

1. Acquiring the contract.

Unfortunately there is more to gaining contracts than saying "I'm a photographer" and waiting for the phone to ring. We need to have all our literature, prices and service packages in order and kept up to date, along with the legal documents and insurances. We then need to market and advertise these services through whatever means are available and exhibit at wedding shows and events, maintain an up to date website. All this does not come cheap.

2. Handling the contract.

Working out what the couple is looking for and developing their package to suit them. Planning the schedule for the wedding so the photographer is able to give you the best possible service and manage the available time for the day.

3. The wedding.

Preparing all the necessary kit and making sure it is clean and in full working order. Travel to the various locations the photographs are to be taken. photography the lovely bride and brides maids getting ready, move on to the wedding venue to photograph the nervous groom with his best man and groomsmen. Take pictures of all the guests as they arrive and try to organise people so nobody is missed out. Photograph the bride as she arrives and getting out of the car. Take candid shots of the ceremony. photograph the signing of the register follower by the new Mr and Mrs leaving stepping out into the world. Then provide candid coverage of the reception. take time alone with the bride and groom to get artistic shots and then go home and collapse in an exhausted heap.

4. Processing the images.

"WHAT?!" I hear you ask.... Another common misconception especially with the advent of Digital Cameras is that once the photographs are taken that’s the photographers job done. Not the case at all. It's actually just the beginning. Just like in the days of film negatives we still need to process our images, the only difference now being that instead of using chemicals in a darkroom we are able to do it on a computer while enjoying a sunny day. see the example below which illustrates just how important this stage is. When you also realise on average each edited image takes on average between 20mins and an hour to complete and we have to do between 40 and 120 of these fully processed images like this.

5. Image Selection.

Once the images have been processed the proofs are then sent away to the couple for selection for the album. A CD of all the images is also sent to the couple if this is part of their selected package and a web gallery is put online for the family and friends to view and buy images if they wish.

6. Album design.

Once the images have been chosen the album pages are then designed around the selected images. Again this process usually takes around 8 hours for a 30page photobook. see example below.

7. Order handling and suppliers.

images are setup to be processed by our various suppliers for the products selected as part of the couples package. Canvas wraps, wall mounts, desk prints are then ordered and tracked.

8. Delivery of goods.

Once you're orders haven arrived they are then made available for collection or delivered to you at your convenience.

I hope this helps to show just how much goes into providing a top class wedding photography service. It's a good job I love this job so much coz it's really hard work! :)