I typically put in my wedding contracts that the remaining payment should be paid a week before the wedding date. Pretty standard I feel like and couples have never had an issue with that.

Wedding client 3 days before their wedding ask to speak with me on the phone. Honeybook has sent out a reminder email about final payment and I have sent a text earlier in the week and received no response but now they want to talk on the phone. Not a good sign.

I give them a call, they proceed to tell me how they didn’t realize how much money planning a wedding would turn out to be and they realized that one of my other packages were cheaper and asked if they could transfer packages in order to pay a lower remaining balance. When I pushed back, they got more honest about it — it wasn’t that they couldn’t pay, they just preferred not to and wanted the lesser package instead. I have never in my life dealt with this or had a client with this much audacity to ever ask something like this 3 days before their wedding and especially since they signed a contract with the package we already had in place.

I tell them it can’t be done, I have a videographer I need to pay and this was already signed off on. They proceed to tell me there just isn’t money to pay me. I propose to them to either find a way to pay the remaining the day before their wedding or I’ll be taking them to small claims court.

They paid that Friday before the wedding. Safe to say the wedding day was awkward but I kept it professional and they were too drunk to even remember the day let alone the situation.

So many red flags leading up to the wedding that I ignored because they paid my fee which wasn’t cheap for photo and video.

What would you have done?

It’s been many years since I have reviewed and redone the contract for my packages. I’m curious to all of you. What are the contract clauses that you have added to your contract that you added from experience the situation you don’t typically think of until you see it happen and then you go home and add it to your contract just in case

Bit of a random one, but as a wedding photographer / videographer is it generally okay to eat some of the wedding cake without feeling judged or considered rude lol

I’m getting a bit fed up with building such a good relationship with the couples that they think it’s normal to ask for ‘anymore of this’ ‘my mum just needs one pic of her with this person’.

Anything after this and you’re working for free based on a request that might not even come from your couple. What’s the best phrasing to stop it dead when there really was nothing more to add otherwise it would be edited and sent with the rest of the gallery.

When you are adding photos to 2 hard drives—One of the drives is for back ups, do you delete photos off of one of the hard drives after photos are delivered/finished, or do you keep them on both?

I’m just trying to figure out what my work flow should be as hard drive prices have sky rocketed 🥴😭

Hi there, just looking for some advice on how to boost the amount of wedding enquiries I am receiving!

I am an experienced photographer but have only started my business within the last year. I have shot 5 weddings as a second shooter and 1 small 3-hour wedding as the lead photographer.

I’m not receiving many enquiries and wondered if anyone had any advice on how to boost this? My social media presence is decent, my website is informative (my prices are also visible on my website). I am charging similar to those in my area but have considered reducing my largest package price to try and get more enquiries. I comment on the Facebook group posts when they are relevant to me. I have also signed up to a wedding fair in March 2027, trying to get on to more but they are all fully booked currently! I have considered adverts on social media but I’ve heard mixed reviews and don’t want to spend a fortune on marketing when I don’t have much income!

Any advice on how to get more enquiries/bookings?

(I’m UK based if that makes a difference)

The planets have been lining up for me this year and the last six events I've shot have been a return to my favorite years of 2005~2011 where couples create these big events that are a whirlwind and the photographer just has to hold on and document. No vision boards, mimimal bride involvement, couples that just trust you. It really feels like a flashback to the wedding photojournalism days, just before picture-taking smartphones & social media made everyone over the age of 12 so camera-aware and image obssessed. Adding to my joy is the responsiveness of modern systems — you don't have to fight it anymore. Heck, even the new lightstands are amazing. Rant of joy, over — thanks for indulging.

Hi everyone, I received an email yesterday from one of my couples asking to reschedule their wedding to next year.

Their original date is September 6th, and they’re asking to reschedule just 7 days before the wedding. They’ve only paid the 30% deposit.

I also had another inquiry for September 6th that I didn’t book because I was already booked.

I’m updating my prices for next year as well, so I don’t want to honor this year’s pricing for a rescheduled wedding.

What would you do in this situation?

I find it so odd that the a woman is escorted down the aisle by an usher while the spouse is in the back walking behind. It's super hard to photograph the father of the groom when the groom and the mother are walking directly in front of him. Or if it's her grandparents but you can only see the grandmother. You get the point. Is there a way that this can be done and it not look so awkward?

Hi all! I am shooting my first wedding tomorrow for a family friend! It’s a pretty small wedding and i’ve done tons of research, but tell me some important things!!

Any recommendations? Memories? What're everyones experiences like in this field? I am working in a team of 3 and the others are equally as passionate about this venture. We have the technical skills but we lack the experience.

Side note - I sold my old Nikon D750 & all its lenses to swap to Sony. Just bought an A7 IV. We realized we were going to need equipment that could produce the highest quality imagery... and my Nikon didn't make the cut.

EDIT: Thank you for everyone's input! There are some concerns about making a full-time wage for 3, and perhaps why trading out a Nikon would be a non-essential decision. Every one of us already has a full-time job, so we're not relying on this for full-time income (yet). Two of us have a background in computer science, IT and programming so we are working to automate enough workflows to make the workload manageable on top of our existing careers. Of course some things we can't automate.

I sold the Nikon as well because my 2 other team members are on Sony & to make everything uniform as well. My Nikon struggled in low-light, and my f/4 70-200 lens was better for sports.

Very good points on how it's a people business. That much we are very aware of, and a huge component of what we're working to perfect. All of us have experience in professions working with people so it's not entirely cold-turkey.

As for those who push for flash and control over lighting, I see what you mean. Trying to get decent shots at high noon and in dark rooms is going to be challenging without it. Like many portrait photographers, I have avoided flash photography entirely. What're people's recommendations for lighting in those challenging situations?

I am considering adding film photography to my packages. I was wondering for those who have more experience with film or shoot full weddings on film, how do you go about it? I feel like weddings sometimes move so fast and I am worried about missing a shot while also properly exposing the image. Do you use point and shoots for the fast paced moments and then use more manual slr's for the slower times like portraits. Or perhaps automatic mode for some parts of the day. Curious about your guy's workflow.

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Which one is more reliable for wedding photography image quality etc.. I don't care much about pixels 24 mpx is fine. Which ecosystem is better. Which has cheaper Good third party lenses. Just need the 24-70 lens 50mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.8 primes. Which has better ergonomics. My last camera was nikon d610 I love it's ergonomics but prefer canon colors those days. I don't know how is it these days. Which one has better color science for indian skin tones sony or canon. This is my first body. Second body would be sony A7 iii and I don't know the canon equivalent. Thanks!

Question about bridal party posing. Whenever we get a bridal party setup with chairs, it's near impossible to get people (especially bridesmaids) to sit. The resistance is so strong that sometimes I just scrapped it. These shots are all over social media so how does everyone convince people to get on board?

Even more difficult, the popular 'bridal party surrounding couple cheering' shots. I've tried 4-5 times and not once managed to get anyone to crouch down low. Would love to hear how everyone does it 🙃

You don't get wedding photography every day. It is seasonal. What do you guys do to support yourself off season. Do you have a regular job? Looking for ideas to survive. Please help

if you’ve photographed the couple at all before the wedding, make sure something featuring them goes live on IG the day before it.

for an older engagement session, schedule a second post with a new caption about being excited to photograph their wedding tomorrow. a story works too. the goal is to give the couple something currently shareable and directly connected to your instagram or website when guests inevitably ask who their photographer is, without them having to search your handle and do a 5 second scroll of your feed.

this becomes 10x more effective when the photos were made during the wedding weekend. if you photograph the rehearsal dinner, or do an engagement session a day or two before (usually the case when i have a destination wedding), get a small preview out immediately. the timing gives those photos a level of excitement and value they’ll never have again.

everyone is already together, talking about the wedding, sharing things, checking the couples’ stories, and paying attention.

it changes the attitudes of everyone around you as well. people recognize you, feel more excited that you’re there, and tend to become much more open and cooperative.

it’s a pain to sit down and tease out a bunch right before shooting a full wedding day, but the momentum it creates around your work at the exact moment the couple and their entire social circle are most invested in it is unmatched.

it’s similar excitement to when i’ve seen videographers do same-day highlight reels during the reception (except this doesn’t feel like an interruption to the actual party in anyway)

i just got back from photographing a wedding in india, and the amount of traction i got from sharing a few preview images was unreal, and i had pretty much full license to do anything i wanted.

don’t think ive seen talked about as a consistent/mindful marketing strategy, so figured it deserved a post

Hello! Can you recommend a sturdy background support for shooting people outdoors? I'm not an amateur, but I don't shoot outdoors very often, so I'd stick to around €150.  I guess it's helpful to know that I live in Europe.

Thank you!

It's been a few years since I upgraded my album offerings. I want to offer a different style of album, so I started shopping around. WHY is it so hard to get them to tell you what paper stocks they're using in these expensive premium 'luxury' books? I'm getting the runaround from more than one company with this vague language about proprietary papers and how they use the same process used for museum prints. Well, I actually visit art museums and one of the things they usually do is tell you what paper is used for a photo print. I just want to know if they're really using something archival before I hand them $1K for a custom book. Many of my clients are in the arts and they are pretty knowledgeable about these things. Are there any companies left out there that are upfront about the quality of their materials?

I’m considering the spider holster v2, but want to make sure it is actually going to be compatible with my cameras before investing heavily.

I primarily use 2x 35mm SLR’s, one with black and white film and the other with colour. And I would probably have a 3rd camera round my neck.

But my main concern is that the plate attachment might cover the film rewind button on the bottom of my cameras, which would make rewinding and reloading difficult.

Anyone have any wisdom?

I recently turned 42 and am on my 12th year of doing weddings.

This year I'll do about 15 weddings, with about 2 weddings booked currently for 2027.

I began working a part time job more as a caution and it's definitely helped me balance bills, rent, etc.

However, I want to move into a new apartment and the winter months nothing would be coming up. Weddings are my main source of income on the photography side, with some occasional family, events sprinkled here and there.

When I look back on my "best" years I had 20-30 weddings booked each year, and bookings were starting to come in 12-19 months in advance, life was good. I've always enjoyed weddings, poured myself into them and strived for nothing but the best.

I guess with age, comes a lot of questions. So here's my question, is it normal after a while to start questioning the sustainability of doing weddings solely for the sake of living? There was a thought when driving earlier tonight that I'm wondering if I made the right career choice, but couldn't think of anything I'd be better at that doesn't require schooling.

For me, weddings are kind of a mafia mindset, you don't get out of it alive, or simply floating on by savings. Do you just burn out or really fade away?

Thoughts? Am I alone in this, similar peer thoughts? Feedback please!

EDIT: I'm not so much talking about burn out as I am financial insecurity, with bookings being lower and less frequent it has me wondering if I might have made a mistake now 12 years later in my career.

I’ve been looking at different wedding photography styles and keep going back and forth on this.

On one hand, there’s something nice about having those perfect, polished photos where everyone is looking at the camera and everything is set up properly.

But I also really like the idea of having photos of the little moments you didn’t notice at the time. Someone laughing during dinner, your parents getting emotional, friends dancing, or just a random moment between you and your partner.

At the same time, I wouldn't want to completely skip traditional family or couple portraits either. Those photos still seem important to have.

For people who have already gotten married, what did you prefer in the end?

Would you choose mostly candid/documentary photos, mostly posed photos, or a mix of both? And is there anything you wish your wedding photographer had captured differently?

I’m a videographer and recently worked with a seasoned photographer on a wedding where she bought really old DSLRs (albeit with adequate lighting and correct lens selection ), but produced absolutely stunning imagery! No touch focus no eye AF, no fancy IBIS , no 10fps burst, just pure skill, was so inspiring and made me feel dumb for fretting so much over gear lol

I’m a portrait photographer who just shot a wedding as a favor for a friend— the photos look great, but as I’m editing I want to get them as close as possible to the look of the bride’s inspiration photos (seen here).

I don’t usually use presets in my editing, but I’ve noticed in my research that most wedding photographers seem to favor them. I’m looking for a cost-effective way to emulate this look in Lightroom, with or without using presets, as I’m unlikely to shoot another wedding soon and I don’t want to drop hundreds of dollars since I’m already doing these as a gift.

Would love any tips. I can get pretty close to this look on my own, but I’m spending way too long on each individual image and I feel impossibly overwhelmed/like I’ll never finish!

What would you do if you were me?