r/WeddingPhotography

What are your thoughts on them? Especially the ones that cost a lot, do you think they are worth it? I'm always concerned that the client will notice it's not a real wedding and idk something about that just feels deceptive to me (because real weddings are SO different and way more challenging). But I've never done one. Do you think they have helped you book dream clients? Would love to know your opinion!

I've been photographing weddings quite some time.

I've always noticed that couples almost never talk about these “epic portraits” afterwards.

What they seem to remember, and post on their socials are those tiny moments between their families, things they didn’t realise were happening etc

Bridesmaids seeing the dress for the first time, their grandparents or the kids running around.

I’ve been rebuilding my website recently and it’s made me question something:

Have we become too focused on making weddings look beautiful and not focused enough on helping couples remember how it felt?

Question for couples and photographers, what photographs mattered most to you?

(Im Interested to hear honest answers)

Hello everyone,
I’m a new editorial wedding photographer. And i like the style very much and have shoot 2 weddings with two canon R8 with 28-70 f2 and 85 f1.2.
I just upgrade to R5 for more resolution and double cards slot. I felt that i didn’t used the 85 at all so i sold it. Now i need another lens that fit into the style together with the 28-70 f2. I have the 35mm 1.8 and 50 1.8. I need a light lens so i can do off flash handheld camera in right hand and flash in the left cause i don’t have an assistens. I think like i need fast lens also for natural light but i feel like my rf 28-70 f2 is enough if i put it on the r8 cause it handle low light situation better if i pump my iso.

I want to use just RF lenses I’m standing between and i kan choose just one for the moment.

Rf 15-35 2.8
Rf 14-35 f4
Rf 24 f1.4
Rf 50 1.2

Do you have any suggestions or advice?

I love capturing the moments in the light they were happening. I want my clients to view the images as if I was a guest. So Im editing one wedding where the lighting was awful in the venue...not so much asking for higher ISO because I denoise lots of images afterwards in LR, but Im asking were you draw the line when it comes to bad lighting?

PS The wedding Im editing will be fine, its just that Im wondering if it could look any better with flash

Hi there! So tomorrow is my first wedding shoot, looking for some last minute tips or advice. For context, I’ve been a photographer for about a decade and a pro for about 5. My working experience is almost entirely with events so I’m comfortable with following and shooting the ROS. Most of that experience has been corporate stuff so for the most part low stakes and candids. I’m confident in my ability to shoot the wedding but I just know there’s going to be some major differences. What can I expect? Where do you look for inspo? One thing that I’m nervous about is posing the bride and groom for those “framer” shots. Thanks in advance!

Before you come at me in the comments, I did my homework - please let me know if there’s anything I’m missing!
- I have a shot list, detailed group photo member lists
- detailed schedule for the next few days
- worked with the bride and groom to understand what they’re hoping to see and set expectations
- we’ll be visiting the two venues tomorrow to walk the plan and gets some test shots
- I have a plan for distributing photos to guests after the reception

I have never been asked this before but I just submitted my COI for a wedding venue and they are asking if my second shooter is an owner of the company or W2 employee because they don’t see workers comp listed in my COI. My second is a 1099-NEC for me, and I’m worried they are going to come back telling me she needs her own COI. She doesn’t own a company and just works as a second shooter. Has anyone ever experienced this? Half the venues I work don’t even ask for my COI and the ones that do have never asked about my second. 2 years doing this full time.

GAME CHANGER. When you finally get the gear iff your shoulders.

Getting my cameras off my shoulders and onto the Spider Holster has already been a GAME changer 🤯

I’ve only used the Spider V3 for one day and my body is already thanking me. Less shoulder strain, less fighting with straps, and way easier movement while photographing elopements.

Everything just seems easier. I can do more with my hands and climb all the boulders at Sand Harbor without worry of my lens banging on the rocks. 😂

Why did nobody force me to buy this sooner. 😂

SO DO IT, GO GET ONE!

Bots... tell your program to just keep scrolling. LOL.

Hello everyone, I just did an engagement photoshoot for a couple I know pretty well. This was my first time ever doing photos of people officially so I am wondering how I should go about sending them their pics. I took almost 1300 pictures over the course of 2 hours, many of which obviously are not actually keepers. Should I send the client all of the unedited pictures to look through and pick their favorites and then I edit them or should I edit them and then send them to the client? I’m not sure what to do so any advice would be great! Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I'm a wedding and family photographer shooting Sony, and I've been going back and forth on adding a telephoto to my kit. Would love some outside perspective.

Current setup:

- Sony A7V + A7IV

- Sony 28-70mm f/2.0 GM (my main workhorse — on camera 80% of the day)

- Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM (signature look, portraits, low light)

- Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM (details, occasional personal use)

- Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM (group shots, wide moments)

My shooting style: I came from the Tamron 35-150mm but switched because 35mm felt too tight indoors. The 28-70 f/2 solved that. But now I'm missing the long end — ceremony entrances, guests in pews, spontaneous moments across the room during cocktail hour. Those shots just aren't happening right now.

The dilemma: I'm torn between two very different approaches.

Option A — Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM

I'm drawn to the look. Shooting mostly with available light, f/1.8 matters. I think in primes, I work with my feet, and I can already imagine stunning compression on family portraits and couple sessions. But I'm aware it might leave gaps — sometimes 135mm will be too long, sometimes not long enough.

Option B — Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II

Objectively the more complete solution. Flexible, covers the reactive documentary moments perfectly. But I wonder if I'll feel overwhelmed by the zoom range when I'm used to primes, and I'm giving up a stop of light and a lot of character in the rendering.

For context: I primarily use available light, I shoot weddings and family sessions, and the tele range is genuinely new territory for me — I'm not sure yet how I'd naturally work with it.

Has anyone made this choice? Do you find the 135 limiting on weddings, or is it a creative constraint you've learned to love? And for those using the 70-200 — does the zoom range actually help you, or do you end up parking it at one focal length anyway?

Would really appreciate hearing from people who've used either (or both) in real wedding conditions. Thanks.

Three years into freelance photography and I am trying to shift away from weddings and into corporate headshots and event coverage because the contracts are more predictable and the repeat business potential is much higher. The challenge is that messaging HR managers and marketing coordinators through a linkedin outreach automation tool or even manually has produced almost nothing, my DMs are a graveyard of nice portfolio replies that never turned into a second conversation. I cannot tell if I am reaching the wrong people, sending the wrong pitch, or if the corporate market just does not get sourced this way. What is the most realistic path for a freelance photographer to break into corporate clients who are not actively searching but would book if the timing and pitch were right? And separately, is there a way to use linkedin message automation for follow ups without it coming across like mass messages on linkedin that nobody asked for?

Thinking of moving my ad spend over to a hitched setup, I'd benefit from the backlink if anything else, its not much more than I spend now on ads per month

Edit - thank-you everyone for your feedback! The dude on the phone was really convincing so I appreciate the real world results from you all! Its food for thought at the minimum :)

I’ve been invited to one of my close friends wedding, they also invited my other half a two young kids to the ceremony (registry office) and then to the reception later. I have a photography background but never done a wedding I was messaged the other day asking to do photos at the ceremony, my kids won’t sit still if I’m not with them so my other half has offered to not go and take them out instead and then just go to the reception later. So I’ve gone from guest to now working, there has been no mention they will pay me, how would I go about asking to be paid and also how much? I asked them what they wanted and they sent back a brief list of family members with bride and groom but I know they’ll want more. I don’t mind doing it but I don’t want to be walked over. I know they’re trying to do a budget wedding but feel it’s a bit cheeky not to offer payment, different if I offered to do it but they asked me after invited us. Growing up this friend would always take advantage of my kindness but now I have a family to think about I feel if they want me to work then I should get paid

I am about 12+ years into my wedding photography career.
I love what I do and have very good client feedback and I consider myself solid.
I like the price range I’m at and make a good living.

I would love some tips for injecting more art and fun little creative ideas into my day without necessarily jeopardizing the quality and stability and of my current work. I usually have a 2nd photographer with me who mostly shoots and sometimes assists throughout the day, but I rotate about 5-6 people so I feel like changing how I do things might be difficult with new/rotating shooters.

I have a lot of toys, lenses, lighting that I’d like to try more of, but they often end up staying in my bag or not getting a lot of action.

I usually show up early, have a mood board and some ideas in mind in my notes, but I find that the day is non stop and I don’t get to reflect on them much. I have used assistants before but I found they weren’t really able to help me focus on that or it felt like too many people.

What do you find has been a game changer for you? Less/more travel? Longer amounts of coverage or a “full day coverage” type of pricing? A second photographer who acts more as an assistant? More time to “huddle” with the creative team? Having your 2nd photographer be the one to get the “solid” moments while you get creative? Training a 2nd/assistant from scratch who uses your equipment? Shooting/2nd shooting some weddings for free just to have fun with it? I usually second shoot a few weddings a year with a few creative goals in mind, but ultimately am serving the lead shooter so not everything gets to happen on those days. Styled shoots are also an option, but aren’t quite what I have in mind.

I would love to level up in this department, especially if you have been there before and would love advice! TIA

Hey everyone! I’m looking into getting a solo 401k and wanted to see how many of my fellow photographers have one too. I’d love to know why you choose one over the other.

View Poll

I’ve never encountered before: the wedding planner told me directly she has hired a second shooter for detail shots during a wedding day coming up. She said she will be respectful that I’m the main photographer and that this has “nothing to do with me”. I find this to be very odd, and technically goes against my contract with the clients. I don’t want to start any drama over it but it makes me nervous there will be some photographer will be simultaneously shooting that I don’t know, for maybe even the whole coverage, I’m not sure.

What if they are a stress or get in my way? Am I overthinking this or is this weird?

I've been shooting between a Canon R5I and R6III, and I've consistently noticed differences in tones between the two camera profiles. Notably the R5 produces photos that lean more "magenta" and the R6III lean more "green"

Because of this, there has been some noticeable inconsistencies that, to me, seem off-putting and distracting.

I've already experimented with profiles like "Camera Faithful", but I didn't find it at all consistent with my editing preference of true-to-life for colors. Camera Neutral seemed better suited, but, again, the inconsistencies persisted.

I know this is vague, I welcome any follow up questions for clarity.

I still have my original hard drives of client photos and all dating back to 2014 and while I've never had a client ask personally for older photos (as much of everything is online at a gallery at Smugmug) I am a little cautious at keeping the RAW images and all just out of habit.

I had a former mentor tell me he put them in safety boxes at a bank but I'm thinking that's kind of... overkill possibly? Is it worth hanging on to them or just wiping them for future use with prices of drives increasing each year?

I have mostly Western Digital MyBooks and a few Toshiba desktops.

Hi everyone! I work closely with brands in the wedding industry, especially around Meta Ads and client acquisition. If you know someone struggling to generate quality enquiries or make their ads work better, I’d be happy to connect and see if I can help. Always open to conversations and referrals :)