To Be a Fly on the Wall at a Wedding Day

[Read Time 3 Minutes]

Even if you're NOT interested in wedding photojournalism, you'll still benefit greatly from this week's topic because the bottom line is… you're still documenting this day for your couple.

Let's start at the end - This is NOT your day. This day belongs to everyone except you. If you can accept that, you'll be just fine.

I've met very talented photographers - brilliant artists with a camera who talk about weddings like a canvas for them to pour their brilliance upon...they are NOT.

I know weddings are amazing, and some weddings are more amazing than others, but this day is about the couple and their families. Your job is to preserve that day for THEM, not you.

If, in the process of your pictorial preservation, you capture something amazing that will help in the future marketing of your services, that's fantastic, but please don't go into the day looking for that.

Try to picture yourself spectator and not a player. But a spectator with a camera.

If you approach this day as an observer, you'll not only see more, but you'll see things differently. You'll find yourself LOOKING at angles, reflections, and details - light and shadows and the almost magical interplay of all these elements. You won't just be standing waiting for the next thing to happen - you'll be hunting for something to shoot.

This is what makes weddings so much fun!

Now, as a caveat, when I talk about looking for things, I'm not necessarily talking about shooting “the things.” You know what I'm referring to - the invitations, save the dates, etc. that the bride brings for you to shoot. Those are cool to shoot, too, but I see those more as requisite details, like the dress and the rings. I'm talking about the unique items - notes, mementos, small things unique to the venue and customized items, that set the scene without being too obvious.

There's also the endless supply of activities happening completely away from the bride and groom.

A wedding day isn't just an event people show up for. In every wedding, family and friends are working behind the scenes to make everything perfect.

These are moments so easily forgotten (or completely unseen).

Imagine the couple revisiting their photos years later and seeing a favorite aunt and uncle helping to put the finishing touches on the reception decor, a moment they missed the first time around and would've never seen if you weren’t looking for it.

It's the little things that make a wedding day so memorable…and these are the things you look for.

In no other photography work (or any other career, for that matter) do you get to wander and explore and seek out something quirky or funny - touching or mysterious - beautiful or emotional.

Enjoy this process because in 10 hours, all these little things will go away and no one will ever see them again.

I've mentioned it before, and I tell every bride when we meet that a wedding isn't something you buy as a package (not counting Vegas, of course).

A wedding day is made up of a hundred little things, each chosen, gathered and assembled to create the wedding day. That's why EACH wedding day is uniquely special.

Hunt for these things. Move around and look for the unexpected moments that make this day memorable for the couple.

Excel at this, and you'll be more than just a photographer. You'll be the one who brought this entire day back to the couple through your photos.

The mindset of being a wedding photographer is one small part of the "inner game of wedding photography. THIS is what I write about each week in this newsletter.

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If you're interested in becoming a wedding photographer but don't know where to start, I can help.

Shoot me an email at [email protected]