Photo Credit: www.newviewphoto.net
This is the second half of my conversation with a wedding photographer. Click here to read Part One The Lament of A Wedding Photographer.
1. Digital photography made things easier for you. Did it make your costs go down?
A. I don’t have to pay for film anymore, so that’s a good thing. But those costs shifted to the printing side. I used to take film in to the print guys, and then wait for a week until they called me to pick up the prints. Then I’d go through them all to see what bombed and remove those pictures.
Now I have to spend a lot of time looking at the pictures up front, and if they need altering I have to do that, which takes a lot more time. Then I take the digital copies to the print guys, who charge more because laser printers cost more than developing film used to cost, as well as the paper being more expensive. All of that, and the couple might not like most of the pictures and then won’t order them all, and I lose out there because of all the time I put into it.
2. So, costs went down in one way, but put more work on you in another?
A. Yup. It takes time away from the other work I do, because at a typical wedding I can easily take a thousand pictures or more. That’s more than I would take with film, since I can erase my SD card and use it again, and I can buy a bunch of them, and it gives me more opportunities to get some special shots that couples and guests might like. I load the pictures on the internet and then direct their friends and families to the page. But I need to make sure only the good pictures end up there; my reputation is always at stake.
3. Sounds like a tough way to make a living.
A. It’s not so bad when you consider the alternatives. I get to work for myself, which is great. Most of the people are great, and I get a lot of work from working weddings without having to advertise. I could work every weekend if I wanted to. So, I’m in control of at least a big portion of my income. And people will always get married, so I won’t have to worry about business drying up unless people stop liking me. I did have more people asking for deals this year because of the economy, but I held firm on my price. And I still did as many weddings as I wanted to. Everyone can’t say that. It can be a lot of fun, and it can be challenging. But I can’t think of anything else I’d like to be doing other than this.
See more:
How to Choose A Wedding Photographer
10 Biggest Mistakes When Hiring A Wedding Photographer
Fixing Common Photography Problems
