The Preamble

I don't think there's an in-between.

As a photographer, you either love weddings or you don't. If you don't love them, that's perfectly fine. You're not alone (hint: this might not be for you). If you love them, you know why, and that "why" keeps you coming back for more every...single...week.

I take that back. There IS an in-between - you’re a photographer who doesn't know enough about weddings to know if you love them or don't love them (how can you hate weddings?). This is what INSIDE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY is about.

You're a creative person. You may be (or think of yourself as) an artist. But you're definitely creative which puts you in a unique situation when it comes to your photography. It is yours, after all, but that's the unique and challenging part of wedding photography.

When it comes to weddings, your artwork is not about you. Whoa, don't run away just yet. This is really good news for you, my creative photographer friend. As a wedding photographer, you have a client...and that client loves what you do...and is willing to pay you money IF you will create for them. Can you do that?

Welcome to the world of wedding photography!

You see, this is a creative outlet for me, too, because I love weddings. I love talking about weddings and wedding photography, and I love helping others get started as wedding photographers (or get better if you've already started).

“But I can watch how to shoot on YouTube,” and you certainly CAN, but this isn’t about shooting.

In fact, my plan is to talk fairly little about what to do with your camera.

There’s SO much more to wedding photography than the camera

INSIDE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY is about the inner game of weddings and building a business as a wedding professional.

Not long ago, an aspiring photographer came to me to “pick my brain’ about what it takes to be a good wedding photographer. She was proficient behind the camera but was unfamiliar with the details and nuances of the event.

I started a list of things that would be good to know as a new wedding photographer. Once I reached 100 things, I realized I should probably organize things.

I broke down the topics into four rough categories - Before the Wedding, During the Wedding, After the Wedding, and Business/Creativity

I cover a lot of areas, but in INSIDE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY, I’ll share things like:

• Getting started as a rookie

• Meeting with brides (and what to say)

• Screening out Bridezillas

• Dealing with parents (both married and divorced)

• Dealing with “ambitious” relatives with cameras

• Destination weddings

• Post-processing process (easiest one I’ve ever seen)

• Embracing “The Glow”

• Becoming “The One”

• Plus a LOT more! (I did mention I had a long list)

Why should I listen to you? Are you famous?

Well, I won’t say that I’m famous…except in my own head, but that is a good question.

Who am I? I’m Chris Humphrey, and I’ve been a wedding photographer since 1998 when I shot my first wedding. At that time, I didn’t know what I was doing or what I was getting into, but after assisting with a local pro for a summer, I knew I had found my happy place.

500+ weddings later, I can safely say I’ve seen it all. Grooms not showing up, monsoon-like rains (at an outdoor ceremony), cakes toppling, wedding dresses ripping, yes, those are the juicy things people like to hear about.

I’ve also seen 500+ couples profess their love for each other in front of God, family and friends and experience the greatest joy in their lives up to that point.

I’ve also had the honor to preserve that day for them with photographs.

I think that’s enough preamble. Let's get started with the goods!