I can’t remember whether I mentioned it at the time, but way back in August some good friends of ours hired me to be one of three photographers shooting at their wedding.
I still remember how thrilled I was when they asked me—I had just recently purchased my fancy pants digital SLR camera, and I was beginning to discover more and more what joy photography brought me. This was my chance to prove myself.
The wedding was absolutely gorgeous—highly photogenic, and I enjoyed myself more than I ever expected to. I drove home that evening satisfied that I had captured some truly unique moments, and that the bride would love my photographs.
But here’s the catch. Because of our very casual agreement, the bride and I never set an expectation for when I would deliver her disc of edited photos to her. And because I am the busy, procrastinatory person that I am, the school year started and I still had not edited her pictures. Unacceptable, I know.
Well, I’m lucky that she’s so forgiving. But I hope the photos were worth the wait. Today, I delivered to her a slidehow of (in my opinion) the best photos from her wedding. (You can view that set here on Flickr) Her reaction as she watched it was absolutely priceless. I felt a warm fuzzy feeling watching her. I love the fact that my simple photos can remind her of one of the happiest days of her life—fantastic!
As it happens, this evening I met with another couple to discuss photographing their wedding. The bride is the daughter of some long-time family friends. Tonight, as I talked to her, her parents, and her fiancee, I caught some of that infectious excitement again. I really can’t wait for their wedding at the end of December. (And don’t worry; we already set a delivery date for the photos. 
)
I would be the first to admit that I am no kind of hotshot wedding photographer. I do not have the skill or the experience that the people who charge thousands of dollars do. Also, I think a walrus has more business sense than me.
But what I do have is an intense passion for capturing important moments in people’s lives in a beautiful, memorable way, an eye for detail and composition, and a growing technical skill. At the very least, I have promise. I have no idea what I will do with that promise, but… for the time being, I am loving every minute that I spend photographing people.
November 21st, 2006 at 8:41 am
gorgeous photos. your understanding of light, depth-of-field and composition is extremely complex and comprehensive considering your precious small age number. wanna know how hotshot wedding photographers become hotshots? they shoot LOTS AND LOTS of weddings. and, like you, lots and lots of other stuff too. by the time your age number is appropriately less small, you too, will probably be a hotshot photographer of any variety you desire — wedding or otherwise.
additionally, the thing that makes the best wedding photographers the best (imo) is their attention to the details that make a wedding a sacred occasion, and their understanding that almost every wedding has that sacredness to it. they seek out and find those details rather than just shoot the event. your shot of the bride is one of those. the lighting in that shot beautifully reflects the inner light shining out of most brides. having been a bride myself, i can attest that on your wedding day, you actually feel the way she looks in your picture. bravo. keep up the great work.
November 21st, 2006 at 9:07 am
I don’t know if you are charging or not but the way I was once told how to work out a quote is to work out how much it would cost you to hire the equipment you would use on the day (should, god forbid, your camera or car was stolen) and how much it would cost to drive there and back.
Once you have that, put your price on top.
Some of those pictures are stunning, Erin. Great job!
November 21st, 2006 at 10:09 am
Gorgeous shots! That kid is priceless! hehe.
Keep on following your heart–you’ll never regret that you did.
November 21st, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Erin: Your work is top notch.
I would imagine photographing at a wedding can be a bit on the nerve-racking side… you want to make sure you get everything and don’t miss anything.
I think it’s great that you were one of three photographers at the wedding. It allows you to be more creative and not have to worry about getting every angle of cutting the cake, etc. That might be the way to start out… offer to work on the cheaper side as an additional “artistic” photographer to build up both a portfolio of wedding shots and the comfort of learning how to do it on your own.
Then, you can start charging the thousands of dollars because your work is right there with the best of them.