If you’re thinking about starting out in wedding photography, or are just curious about what is involved in wedding photography as a career, I thought writing out a “day in the life…” post might prove useful.
Most wedding photographers love doing this (I know I do!) but wedding photography is a lot of hard work. Hopefully this post will help anyone thinking about a career in this field to understand what is involved day-to-day.
I’ve broken it down into a typical weekday (taking care of administration) and a weekend (going out on a wedding shoot).
Typical Weekday
08:00 – 09:00
Start work by checking emails. Replying to sales enquiries, client requests and messages from other vendors
09:00 – 12:30
Run through post-production from the previous week’s engagement shoot
12:30 – 12:45
Quick lunch break
12:45 – 13:30
Call existing clients and return calls to sales enquiries
13:30 – 15:00
Complete post production on the engagement shoot, create online gallery and email the client
15:00 – 16:00
Carry out work on our website including advertising, SEO updates to improve website traffic, and fixing any issues that may have arisen
16:00 – 19:00
Run through post-production from the previous weekend’s wedding shoot (this typically takes 3 hours a day for around a week to complete)
19:00 – 20:00
Get through some administrative jobs such as accounting and taxes
Typical Weekend (Wedding Shoot)
Night Before
Charge batteries and prepare all necessary equipment and backups
06:30 – 08:00
Clean and pack all necessary lenses, camera bodies, lighting, tripods. Double and triple-check batteries and memory cards!
08:00 – 10:00
Meet with second shooter and drive to the wedding preparation location
10:00 – 12:00
I shoot the bride and bridesmaid preparation while the second shooter covers the goom and groomsmen
12:00 – 12:30
If a “first look” moment is requested, the second photographer will lead the groom out to a pre-set location while I bring the bride out
12:30 – 13:00
Grab a quick bite to eat and drive to the ceremony location
13:00 – 14:00
Prepare for ceremony photographs and shoot candids while we are waiting for the procession to begin
14:00 – 15:00
Shoot the ceremony from all key angles, capturing the reactions from family members and close friends
15:00 – 15:30
I will shoot the couple as they greet and hug their guests while the second shooter heads to the venue to get detail shots of the room while it is still empty
15:30 – 17:00
I will shoot the formals of the bride and groom and the guests, while the second photographer takes photos of the champagne reception
17:00 – 18:30
Guests are seated and dinner is served. At this point we will take a 20 minute break to get a bite to eat while the guests are eating (nobody wants a lens in their face while they’re eating anyway)
18:30 – 19:00
One of us will cover the people giving the speeches/toast, while the other photographer covers the reaction shots of the bride and groom as well as the guests
19:00 – 20:00
I capture the main images of the cake cutting and first dances, while the second photographer will cover the reaction shots of the bridal party and guests
20:00 – 21:00
Capture some photos of the open dancing, as well as one last large group formal with everyone on the dance floor
21:00 – 22:00
Pack up all of our gear, say our farewells and take our stuff out to the car
22:00 – 23:30
Drive home, and begin backing up all of the images onto a hard drive
23:30 – 01:30
Arrive at home, put equipment away, and continue to back up all of the images from the day to ensure that we have at least duplicates of every shot
01:30
Pass out!
