Tuesday, May 20, 2008

By the way with that last post I admitted to having shot weddings. Generally not thought to be a good idea, to admit to it that is. It's funny how taboo this is. It's like there's a hierarchy in photography and perhaps it goes something like this: weddings to commercial to editorial to fine art. If you admit to having dabbled in any of the levels below you it's as though you are tainted. I think this is pretty weird because we all have to start somewhere. When you've just finished school and you are offered really good money for a few Saturdays a month it's hard to say no. Plus I found that weddings taught me a lot, especially how to work fast and under pressure. Of course we all want to climb that ladder and shooting weddings can get real tired real fast. And it definitely feels good to give them up when you can.

Basically I think that there are two ways that newby photographers seem to progress, at least for those of us that start out with no money that is, no trust fund kids included in this list please. So either you start out shooting whatever kind of photography work that you can get paid for and do your own stuff on the side, or you work a steady job manning phones or something and then do your photo stuff on the side. I took the former route and it suited me well. It allowed me to use my photo skills and taught me a lot of business skills too. But it seems as though my type can get a bad rap. Those that worked a full time job till they hit the big work that they were aiming for seem untouchable because they never slummed around doing stuff like weddings. Well while we were getting paid to shoot they were manning phones. That's all the rant I have in me for tonight.

Searching for that old wedding photo got me looking at some other ones that I've shot. And so since my wedding is definitely on the brain I will be showing more wedding photo outtakes in the next 2 weeks. Bear with me. Regular programing will resume in June.

8 comments:

  1. This post struck a note with me too...you're hitting home lately!

    While I am both college educated, and a photographer, I am self-taught, and boy do I still have a lot to learn. I have shot a few weddings, and I can certainly see the draw of giving up a few Saturdays for a decent income, it's just not where my heart lies. I've struggled with this decision for some time now and am still drawn to the occasional paycheck of a wedding.

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  2. Would love to see more of your wedding photos Kate!
    Hang in there, the wedding is soon and you will feel so relieved when it is over :-)

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  3. Nice post, Kate.

    Passport photographer might be a little bit lower than wedding photographer.

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  4. There are also the people who shoot I.D. photos for bus passes. That is even lower on the food chain than passport photographers.
    -C-

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  5. Yes, I remember the home stretch of the last two weeks before my wedding. I suddenly understood the point of eloping. But when the day came I had the best time! I wasn't stressed; we just enjoyed the day. Good food, lots of loved ones, belly dancing, putting his ring on the wrong finger and laughing... stuff we planned and stuff we didn't.

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  6. Hey Kate, I stumbled across your website while searching for something on the web and ended up on your blog to see what you were up to. However I was saddened to see the bashing of my industry. Although wedding photography may not be where your heart lies, it is not a lessor form of photography although you and too many other people in the industry unfortunately feel this way.
    So for all you wedding Photography bashers, perhaps you need to be educated.
    Check out these links and then tell me that wedding photography is a lessor form of the arts.
    Jeffrey de Belle
    de Belle Photography
    P.S. Congrats & good luck with your wedding !!
    Wedding Photography links:
    http://www.jeffascough.net/
    http://www.joebuissink.com/
    http://www.angelicaglass.com
    http://www.denisreggie.com/

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  7. Hey Jeff,
    Way to represent! No offense intended, just my personal opinion. I think that people who enjoy wedding photography definitely have a lot of fun and a great career ahead of them. Great to hear from you. I hope you are doing well!
    Kate.

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  8. Congrats guys I heard you were getting married but was not sure when. I came across this blog by accident but hope it will go well or has gone well .

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