Why I love being a wedding photographer

Why I love being a wedding photographer.  This post could also be titled how almost quit my job.  Being a wedding photographer is a tough job.  However, not in the way you might think.  I spoke to a Mayo Clinic cardiology fellow (a doctor training in a fellowship for a specialty) recently, and he thought being a wedding photographer would be a lot of pressure!  I thought that was pretty funny.   I think being a cardiologist would be a lot of pressure!  I’m taking pictures of the most important day of a couple’s life, but at the end of the day, they are just pictures.  I don’t actually have anything to do with their physical well being!

 

Pressure

Ironically, even though I deal with a fair bit of anxiety, I don’t feel a tremendous amount of pressure on a wedding day.  Please know I take my job very seriously!   I know a wedding day is one of the most important days of a couple’s life.  The day that marks the beginning of their life together as a family.  I know there are no re-takes, no re-dos, I have one chance, one day, to capture each couple’s special day.  I also know at the end of the day their love for each other and their memories are what they will have left from the day, along with their photos.  So making sure I capture their day, as they envisioned is so important!

Even I don’t quite understand why I don’t feel a tremendous amount of pressure.  It may be  part of my weird quirk to stress over little things, yet remain calm in the face of big things?  I get nervous before each wedding.  Honestly, I still get nervous before each shoot, so magnify that before each wedding.

But when I arrive at each wedding, early in the day…  I feel so much excitement.  I find my groove, my bliss as I begin capturing the details the couple has spent so much time planning.  At my most recent wedding, I stood at the edge of the ceremony site, drinking in all the beauty.  Soaking up all the details of the couples relationship they had shared in personalizing their big day.  I took a moment just to thank God for giving me this wonderful gift of being a wedding photographer, that I get to call a job.

 

Tough Job: Wedding Photographer

Oh, so I said being a wedding photographer is a tough job.  Well it is in some ways.  The competition is fierce.  When I started my career as a photographer I thought all I had to do was learn to take good pictures.  Ha ha!   Well if that was the case, I wouldn’t call it a tough job!  I am constantly striving to improve my photography skills.  I don’t ever want to stop learning and growing.  For me though, the tough part is the marketing.  I’m quiet and shy by nature.  One on one, I think I can carry on a conversation with most anyone.  But go out and sell my skill set!?!  That is completely different than talking to someone and seeking to learn more about them.

 

Social Media

Personal marketing is the trend for wedding photographers.  It makes sense that you’d  want to feel like you know your wedding photographer.  Feel like you can trust your photographer from the beginning.  I’m trustworthy, I just prefer to live my life quietly and only share a bit  on social media.  I’m not a teenager and don’t always keep up on the latest social media trends. (Side note:  my business Instagram doesn’t even have reels yet and I’m still not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse).

I don’t post regularly on my personal social media account, so for me the goal of posting daily on my business social media, is a lofty goal!  So yes, I’ve thought about just throwing in the towel.  Just giving up on being a wedding photographer because social media is not my thing.  Making sure a website ranks well and is seen on the first page of a Google search is a back-end part of the business that I’m learning, but still have so much progress to make. 🙂

 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

But as I sit here on “vacation” in Michigan’s beautiful upper peninsula, in a TSC parking lot uploading a wedding gallery, I am reminded all over again why I love being a wedding photographer. After all, if I as the photographer, enjoy looking back at their photos and reliving their day, how much more will they and their families enjoy it!  And that makes the fierce competition, trying to keep up on social media, and learning SEO (how websites are ranked) all worth it!

I love being a wedding photographer because I love emotions!  I get to be there when two people commit their lives to each other.  I get the honor of capturing the memories of one of the most special days of their lives.  In a month , five years , even decades from now, these photos will remind the couple, their children and grandchildren, of the day two became one and committed to a lifetime of togetherness.  The emotions of love, joy, tenderness and passion will be captured so they can feel like they’re  living their wedding day all over again.  So as each wedding day starts I pray for my couples, their marriage, and their families.  I pray to be a blessing to them and to capture their day well.  That my friends is just the beginning of why I love being a wedding photographer!

Below I’ve shared just “a few” of my favorites!  I may have gotten a bit carried away…. Honestly I’ve loved something about every wedding I’ve been blessed to capture, but including them all here would have been over the top!  Thanks for following along.

Enjoy!

Ally & Brandon 

The Lodge at River Valley Farm

 

Aimee & Noah 

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park 

 

Autumn & Drew

 

Alex & Geoff 

 

Megan & Matt

Rustic Barn at Hopewell 

Sara & Peter 

Elizabeth & Brad

Freemason Hall 

 

Caitlyn & Jordan 

Orchard Ridge Country Club

Recently engaged?  Check out wedding planning tips here:  Top 5 Things to do When you Get Engaged   and  The Next Steps: What to do After You Get Engaged

To learn more about the Simply Seeking Photography wedding experience click here:  The Wedding Experience 

blessings,

Julie