I’ve been the primary photographer in more than a hundred weddings over the last 17 years. Being a wedding photographer can be very rewarding, both emotionally and financially, but it’s also a very demanding profession that requires a pretty broad range of abilities and experience: technical skill, artistic vision, the ability to charm and manage both clients and guests, and if you’re gunning for the top, vendors and venue staff, too. If you take it seriously, it can be a very satisfying career, but it can also be really tough to navigate the challenges you need to overcome to grow your business, especially considering how much the income from weddings can fluctuate. That’s probably why you’ll find so many wedding photographers who also have a 9-5 job, lol.

Here are a few of the things I think are most important to consider before you jump in:

WORK/LIFE BALANCE

Long hours and irregular schedules can have an effect on personal relationships. Wedding days themselves can easily stretch to 10-12 hours or more, even if it’s just a six hour wedding, and the day doesn’t always end just because the wedding is done, depending on your routines. And the rest of the business is no less demanding: extensive editing time, client meetings, marketing efforts, business socializing, taxes, creating and managing client data – the list goes on. This can make maintaining a healthy work/life balance a constant juggling act, especially for the people who do it full time, and if you have a family with children, even working a 9-5 and shooting weddings on the weekend can easily steal away almost all of your personal and family time.

CONSTANT LEARNING

The industry is constantly evolving – new trends, technologies and techniques – and photographers who are serious about growth are also going to be dedicated to lifelong learning. This means investing in workshops, online courses, mentorship, researching the latest gear and software – you don’t need to constantly update your gear (some photographers take incredible wedding photos with ten year old cameras), but you do need to keep up with the latest. This ongoing commitment to improvement is crucial for staying competitive, but it means even more personal and family time eaten up by work requirements.

INCOME POTENTIAL

Whew, this one’s almost impossible to nail down. The income of a wedding photographer can vary widely – some part-timers earn a few thousand a year, the average full-timer in America earns around $60,000 a year. In California, the average is anywhere from $70k to $117k a year (higher cost of living). What you earn can be influenced by all kinds of things: your level of experience/talent, your reputation, marketing skills, your location, which type of weddings you photograph (backyard soirees vs lavish mansion weddings vs three day affairs on tiny islands in the Pacific – each commands a very different fee). Yes, there is absolutely the potential for high income from weddings, but it’s very important to note that wedding income can be unstable, with fluctuations based on seasonality, economic conditions, even popular opinion.

IT’S NOT CHEAP TO BE A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Wedding photography can require a substantial investment up front: high-quality cameras, lenses, lighting equipment, editing software, backup gear, and if you’re really motivated to jump to the head of the class, mentorship, training (seminars, conventions, online courses, etc) and these costs can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars. And then there’s the business costs: vehicle wear and tear, gas, taxes, business permits, owning/designing a website, designing/printing marketing material, taking out ads on social media/local media…the overhead isn’t quite as bad as running a brick and mortar can be, but it can get pretty steep, and if you want to have a studio location as well, you’re definitely going to have serious overhead.

THE SCHEDULE IS GREAT! (OR IS IT?)

One of the most appealing aspects of being a photographer is that you get to set your own schedule and wedding photographers are no different, though there’s a certain level of rigidity that exists with weddings that you don’t see with portrait or event sessions. But you do get to choose which weddings to take on and that can allow for greater control over your time and lifestyle. But remember, this flexibility comes with a serious side effect: you need to be great at managing your own time. Without a boss or manager dictating your schedule, it can be difficult for some people to adjust to all the “freedom” you have from day-to-day and you can easily fall behind.

SO WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

If you’re great at business management, a fantastic photographer, great with people AND excellent with time management, you’re going to kill it as a wedding photographer! But most of us are not all of those things at once, and that means it’s going to take awhile to build up your business to a point where you can depend on the income. So what it really takes to be successful is patience and consistency. It’s that feast-or-famine nature of wedding photography that can be one of the biggest stresses for newer photographers, especially in relationships where one side of the couple is covering most of the bills while the other side is working to build the business. Having a very understanding partner will go a long way towards giving you the support you need to make it through the lean times. This is also why many people choose to keep their 9-5 until their photography has reached a certain level. Peak seasons may bring in a flood of income and make you feel like you’re winning the game, but those slower periods can hit you hard, and if you don’t prepare in advance, it can break you.

IS IT REALLY ALL THAT HIGH PRESSURE?

Yes, it can be. Even at just face value, wedding days are high-pressure environments, with almost no room for error. Photographers have to be prepared for anything from unexpected weather changes to equipment malfunctions to irate family members throwing tantrums. The long hours, clients with ultra high expectations and the emotional intensity of the day can be very physically and mentally draining. When you add in the fact that you’ve been hired to photograph something that is a once-in-a-lifetime event that can never be duplicated in the same way again, you can suddenly feel pressure like you’ve never felt before. If you make a mistake during the big day, there are often no do-overs, period, and on their big day, your clients are counting on you to be the experience, the talent, the calm and the motivator, all in one. That can be more than a lot of people can handle. This is why second shooting can be so useful – it lets you learn the ins and outs of a wedding without the intense pressure that can come along with being a primary.

YOU ALSO NEED TO BE GREAT WITH PEOPLE

There are introverts who are successful wedding photographers, but they are few and far between, and definitely the exception to the rule. If you want to be great at photographing weddings, people skills are going to go a long way towards helping you get there. Building rapport with clients, guests, family, venue staff and other vendors is essential for a successful wedding photographer. If you’re able to put people at ease with charm or humor, manage expectations and navigate potentially stressful situations with grace and professionalism, you’ll already be leaps and bounds ahead of a lot of others.

DON’T FORGET THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT

One of the aspects of photographing weddings that a lot of newcomers don’t consider as deeply as they should is the fact that a wedding can be an emotional rollercoaster. Photographers witness and document some of the most intimate and meaningful moments in people’s lives. This can be deeply rewarding but also emotionally taxing – if you can absorb all of that with no problems, that’s great! But many photographers end up sharing in the joy, tears and stresses of the day. Learning how to (and remembering to) prioritize self-care will be a significant stress-reducer.

SO SHOULD YOU BECOME A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?

If you have a passion for storytelling, a willingness to embrace the unpredictable nature of both the industry itself and wedding days, if you’re comfortable with an initial (and maybe even long-term) lack of stability and you can manage clients with very high expectations, then you may just love being a wedding photographer! The path to success in this industry can be demanding, but there’s no doubt about it – those who thrive in this profession find it to be a fulfilling and creative outlet that they adore being a part of. Hope this helps, Dani!