Five Other Things Wedding Photographers Do

FAQ

January 31, 2017

One of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer is that it’s not a boring job. Not in the least! It’s one of those jobs where you wear lots of hats and do lots of things outside of your official job title. Since as wedding photographers we play such an involved role and have such an intimate view of the wedding day, we end up getting to help out in a variety of ways. I thought it would be fun to share a few of those!

  1. Art director One of the things that most people don’t realize is how much work goes into taking a great photograph. It’s not just the lighting or the camera that makes a photo special…it’s also the styling, posing, and mood of an image! While photographers who work in other fields might have an art director on set to help create those moods, most wedding photographers rely on themselves to be the day’s art director. Of course, there are some photographers who don’t do this at all because they take more of a documentary approach. And on the other end of the spectrum, there are photographers who take staging things to the next level by bringing their own stationery or other props in an effort to make the wedding look as “fine art” as possible. Both have their place for sure, but my personal philosophy is to create beautiful images of the wedding day as it actually happened. I will style and/or remove distracting elements (like trash cans or exit signs) in an effort to create beautiful photos, but ultimately, I want the focus to be on your memories and the story of your actual wedding day!
  2. Pharmacist
    I keep all kinds of “just in case” things in my camera case, including lots of medicines like chewable Pepto Bismol, Tums, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Benadryl, hydrocortisone cream, and even an instant ice pack! I’ve learned to keep these things on hand for myself (because you never know!) but I’ve also passed out my fair share of Pepto to soothe a bride’s sour stomach and shared ibuprofen with groomsmen who had a little bit too much fun at the Rehearsal Dinner.
  3. Weatherman
    Since weddings go on despite whatever the weather decides to do, a photographer also often acts as a makeshift meteorologist. I keep the Dark Sky app on my phone and weigh the odds of rain and/or wind with the timeline. I can read a weather radar like a pro and interpret percentages like the best of them!
  4. Sherpa/pack mule
    Since many photographers keep a camera bag handy for quick lens changes, we’re also known to be somewhat of a stand in sherpa or pack mule on a wedding day. I’ve been known to hold onto any number of random things from the bridesmaids’ lipsticks (for touch ups) to the bride’s phone or the rings!
  5. Dance instructor
    One thing that happens when you become a wedding photographer and attend over 125 weddings is that you’ll eventually learn all of the organized dances that happen at a lot of weddings, like the Wobble or the Cupid’s Shuffle. I’m not even sure if it’s possible to NOT learn these dances after all of that time! At any rate, I’ve photographed at least a few weddings where few, if none, of the guests knew the moves to one of these dances and of course, I was more than happy to demonstrate to get things going!

That’s just a small sampling of some of the ways we serve our clients beyond just photography! We love being a part of each of these wedding days and it makes us so happy to be able to help make the day go more smoothly in any way we can. One of the best things about the job is being able to add to the experience each of our clients has on their wedding day.

Interested in working with us? We’ve got a couple 2017 dates left and we’re booking for 2018! Email me for more information!

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