If you can photograph a wedding you can photograph anything.

A quick look at the skillset required by the average wedding photographer to stay on top of the bridal photography market.

At a lecture the other day, given by a wedding photographer to other photographers, the lecturer asked: “Who here has photographed one wedding?” virtually every hand went up so he followed up with a secondary question of: “Who here has photographed or would be prepared to photograph a second?” Virtually every hand went down! I think three out of sixty or so admitted to having photographed more than a single wedding all of those three were professional wedding photographers!
So why aren’t there more wedding photographers about (other than the guys who shoot one and give up)? I think it’s because of the skillset needed to shoot a wedding. Think about it, you need to picture the dress, shoes, flowers and all those girly things the bride needs to get ready – that makes you a still life photographer. She (the Bride) has spent a fortune on lingerie and might want a picture of it – you need to be a boudoir photographer (see it’s not all bad news!). You’ll need some reportage or documentary style pictures of the bride and bridesmaids getting ready - you might call it “street” photography or “fly on the wall” photography. The car arrives for the bride – suddenly you’re an automotive photographer followed in quick succession by becoming a portrait photographer as dad comes out with his beautiful daughter for a quick snap! This is also your queue to leave – you now need to be at the church long before the bride who is probably about to leave! Your talents now have to be a negotiator to get the car driver to drive REALLY SLOWLY while you become a racing driver to get to the church ahead of the bride – it might be four miles or forty – good job you tested the route last week!
You manage to get to the church before the bride (because you have to!) You take a quick architectural shot or two of the church plus a landscape to give the overall picture then track down the groom and best man for some portraits and a snap or two of the rings using your abilities as a macro photographer. Inside the church for a picture of the flowers and church interior – guess what? You’re now an interior photographer or is it low light photographer – well both actually!
By this time the bride is about to arrive so some more quick reportage photography of her arrival and adjusting the dress. Plus the odd group portrait of bride and bridesmaids, with car, and dad, and the vicar or priest!
And so it continues fashion photography for the dress, beauty photography for the close up portraits, group photography for the family. Low light photography at the reception, more still life of the tables at the reception, bride and groom in the car, first kiss, the list is endless and when does this all have to be done? Second Saturday afternoon in December starting at 2pm in the rain and a gale force wind, it’ll probably be dark as well!
So in the space of one afternoon you’ve been a still life, portrait, group, boudoir, interior, exterior, close up, macro, landscape, documentary, reportage, automotive photographer (what no nature photography!) You’ve also had to negotiate with vicars, drivers, mums, dads, brothers, sisters’ friends and granny. Be a racing driver, font of knowledge (you’ve been to more weddings than anyone else – so who gets asked which side the button hole goes on?) Yet remain a calming influence in the midst of chaos and all with a smile in the pouring rain, dark and cold of December. Oh yes, and you get just one chance to get it right!
Could this explain why there are so few wedding photographers about – many try it, few stick at it! And I think those of us who do stick at it are completely nuts! So why so we do it – simply because we do love a good wedding! But we should be able to tackle just about anything else that comes our way…

Adam Szczepanski - Documentary Wedding Photographer