10 Reasons to Choose Wedding Photography for a Career

Being a wedding photographer can lead to a whole host of benefits that can improve your life and make your time more fulfilling and worthwhile.

I have been a professional photographer for many years. I finally made the choice to move across to wedding photographer and I was so glad that I did. I have detailed below the benefits that you can look to enjoy.

1. Freedom to work when you want.

Don’t underestimate the power of free time and being able to work when you want. This generally goes for being self-employed however I find it particularly relevant when it comes to wedding photography given that you only work on the weekends.

Studies have shown that when employers give their employees flexible working their mental health improves. Whether this means the intrinsic value of feeling trusted to work on your own term, lowering the times you have to commute or just being able to flex your hours around your schedule. Any of these reasons work just as well for being a wedding photographer

2. Free time

My second point is free time. Although weddings are a year-round even the most popular and therefore most frequent time is weekends.

Hypothetically let’s say that you manage to do one wedding every weekend of the year. In such a situation you would effectively be cutting the days worked by ~1/5. This means you get 500% more time to do what you want!

3. Financially

Everyone knows that it costs a lot to organise a wedding. This very much applies to wedding photographers too.

Around west London and greater London the average cost for a photographer is approximately £1,500. For what would effectively be 2 days’ work (including editing). This is a huge rate. What this means is that if you manage to secure just 20 weddings which is more that doable a year, you will be able to have a salary of £30k!

4. Challenge yourself creatively

Before I worked as a photographer I was a chartered accountant and a financial analyst. I loved testing myself mentally and loved what I did. However, I was always looking for creative outputs. What I love about wedding photography is it allows you to combine the need for humans to develop creatively with a way of performed better in your career.

5. Entrepreneurial ship in other areas

You don’t have to stop with weddings! Another great factor is that if you want to move into other areas of photography from portraits, business or fashion this is a great way to start. The experience you gain here working with different environment and different people creates an amazing basis for you move into other areas of photography.

6. Wage progression

You won’t start out charging £1,500, however you have the opportunity to get there. Every wedding you do is more experience and a greater ability to sell yourself to others. For every 15 weddings you do you can start charging more and more. As long as you are improving and still love what you do you can always pursue further goals. I have met photographer that charge £5k per photo shoot and they do over 20 a year – That is £100k for 40 days’ work. It is not impossible

7. Skills progression

Every blog you write is an opportunity to move up the ladder which is google ranking. Every wedding shoots you do is another way to sell your experience. The more galleries you have the more you can refine the best photographs that you have. All of these skills and all of these attributes will be new skills that you have learnt and can therefore translate onto other business ideas. Never underestimate the skills you learn when being self-employed, and never stop looking for new opportunities to improve and make more money.

8. Longevity and prestige within this industry

With the advent of new technology, for example, driverless cars, comes the worry that you job may not be around one day. One thing that will always happen is weddings and people will always want a professional to take their photograph. However, the camera technology will improve and make it more accessible to other people will always want to bring some one in. That means this profession comes with a level of security that is not afforded to some people.

9. Entertainment whilst working

Another amazing part of the job is it is actually enjoyable. The time flies, as you are having fun. You really get to test out all the things that you have learnt since the last wedding. It is also great because you are getting to take pictures of people at their best, smiling and having a good time. This sort of enthusiasm then rubs off on you.

10. People and location

Finally, the people you meet and the places you visit can be amazing. It is not often in a job you get to see such amazing location with such amazing people.

The clients I have worked with are truly amazing people and I am so glad I chose wedding photography as a career as it gave me the opportunity to meet them.

If you want to read more about photography or wedding photography than please visit my blog for further details