With the tariffs coming to Canada, I unfortunately have to stop using American companies and hopefully support my own Country. I’ve been a long time photobiz and squarespace customer, which I love both products, but it’s time I look for an alternative.

If not Canadian, second best is anywhere but the US

I am.

I've been running Google and Facebook ads, as well as posting every 2-3 days on Instagram.

Just ran a new blog too.

But last real inquiry was January 7th and it's been super quiet since, I'm certain things might pick up but normally Nov-Jan tend to have more people inquiring for the later part of the year like Aug, Sept, Oct... and so far it's been really quiet.

Is anyone else experiencing a bit of a "freeze" with inquiries?

Just started out and still learning and buy some hardware.

What lens would you recommend for weddings if you only wanted to have 1?

I har read if 2 then 35mm and 85mm is loved by many, but if i only want to go around with 1 in the beginning than what to buy ?

Any help is appreciated :)

This is the official listing of reddit wedding photographers. Brides, grooms, assistants, networking photographers, planners and anyone curious to find a local wedding photographers... check out the list of your fellow Redditors and wedding photographers!

Wedding Photographers: Please post in this format...

[COUNTRY], [STATE], [CITY] - [NAME] - [COMPANY NAME (w/ site/IG link)]

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So i have a canon powershot sx 540 hs and want to start wedding photography and all I am wondering is it good enough to photograph wedding ?

Hi. I asked this in another group as well and decided to take the question here. I am photographing a wedding in a little less than a year. Context: I do not regularly do weddings. Someone we know is asking us. My husband will be shooting with me with a 70-210. I don't personally like the creaminess of 1.8 vs 2.8 with foliage, and the wedding will be outside, so the aperture isn't a significant consideration. I don't like the idea of a 70-200 but will put up with it temporarily as a rental if there's a significant and clear advantage. I can only afford purchasing 1 lens on top of me having a 40. Points for consideration - I am wondering if it's very likely I'll need more than an 85mm reach. Would I miss the shorter focal length of the 85 vs the 105 on a full frame? How often is longer than 100mm needed for a wedding?

Hi!

I had a question about a wedding I'm shooting for a long-time friend this summer. I'm on a pretty tight budget. I typically use an office camera to shoot sports photography, and I don't have a full kit of my own right now. I own a Canon 7D, but I have no lens for it after the one I had broke.

It's an indoor wedding, so I don't want to get any F Stop above 4, of course. I could get some new lenses for my 7D, but as an older DSLR, I'm not sure it's actually worth it. The noise is going to be overwhelming at times regardless, and I'd really like to do a great job for my friend.

I've been looking into Olympus Micro 4/3 cameras. They seem to do great for those lifestyle photoshoots, and the lenses seem pretty capable. The noise isn't ridiculous, and for still, non-action shots, they really seem to do great. I was curious if anyone had any advice. Again, I'm on a tight budget, so if I start over with a new body, a cheaper route like M43 is what I've been considering.

Thank you!

PS: If you do recommend M43, Olympus isn't the only one I'd consider. Please let me know your recommendations!

A place for gear talk. No question or post is too big or too small. Photos welcomed.

Tips on the division of labor (ie. one full time photo + one full time video vs. both doing a little each, or combo of both?). Other advice?

Hey everyone!

I hear people all over the place (not necessarily in our industry) talking about how much they use AI in their work. I'm curious if / how people in our industry are using AI, aside from the obvious applications of editing / culling. I hear it talked about so much but haven't really figured out a productive way to use it and I can't tell if I'm missing out on the AI train or if the talk I hear is mainly just overblown hype or stuff in other industries that wouldn't work for us.

Thanks!

Hi guys!!

I’m starting to shoot some weddings this year and I just want to check if I can use my current camera or if I will need a new one?

I am currently using my Canon 500D and just want to see if anyone else has used this for wedding photography and if so, would you recommend?

Thank you! x

Ask or talk about anything at all that you might think does not fit as a main thread. Nothing is too small, too basic, or too off the wall. Newbie questions are welcome.

A bit of context I’ve had a portrait photo business for about half a year and have enjoyed editing off the cloud based light room. I’ve spent about a week trying to edit off Lightroom classic and I’m actually loosing my mind. The organization, the exports, the filter button that seems to be in a different place every time. So frustrating but I feel I have to master it since I have booked a few weddings later this year. Are there any wedding photographers who use the cloud Lightroom for weddings? Am I making this a bigger deal than it should be?

I was a small town wedding photographer for many years. It was always me shooting the getting-ready candids, then the ceremony, then I’d try to get everyone together for portraits after and before the reception and or cake cutting. Things always went smoother when I just took control and started directing pretty much the entire wedding day (around the photos I needed). If there was a planner, I’d try to team up and get their help wrangling people.

I made up my own thing, that I am 100% sure was not optimal. What do y’all do? And what do the photographers who get $20k per wedding do differently than the $2k wedding photographer?

I say thank you to the bride and groom in person when I leave of course - but do you guys send a thank you text the night of the wedding after you leave? I don’t want them to feel pressured to respond, but I also don’t want to just go off into the night without saying one more “thanks for having me”.

Hi all,

Quick (irrelevant?)!backstory: I recently got laid off from my job and decided to take a leap and peruse my dream to become a wedding photographer. I’ve been a hobbyist photographer for over a decade, with some paid gigs here and there, but I’m going in hard this time and not giving myself an option to quit.

I have been struggling with workflow quite a bit, one of the issues being many different SSDs, which I need to take with me everywhere if I decide to edit outside the house. Recently I found out about NAS, but it seems like such a giant topic for research, so I wanted to ask: would something affordable like Synology DS223j work for offloading&backing up files on that private cloud + backblaze after a wedding day? And then I’d have access to those files anywhere with internet connection?! That would be tremendously helpful!

Please let me know your thoughts! Thank you!

Ask anything! All questions from brides/grooms/couples/other vendors can be asked here in the weekly thread. All other threads from non-wedding photographers (brides/grooms/couples/other vendors) will be removed and asked to be reposted in these weekly threads.

I want to start off by saying that I do not see this an alternative to a 28-70 f2 or even a 24-70 f2.8, I see this as a replacement for a 35mm.

After an eternity of considering whether I should upgrade my 35mm f1.8 to the f1.4gm, I decided to go for the Sigma 28-45 f1.8 for only $300aud more, and I have 0 regrets.

I watched all the reviews I could, read everyones opinion on it, and no one I saw raved about the lens. Everyone to me seemed to want to like it, but would compare it to the impossible.

Eg: "It's too heavy" - It's an f1.8 zoom, of coarse it's heavier than a prime, there's a lot of glass and metal in there.
"It doesn't go wide enough" - Neither does the Canon or Sony 28-70 and 99.9% of people RAAAVE about those lenses, saying "You only need 1 lens to do everything!"
"It has too much vignetting and distortion" - 1 button, Enable Profile Corrections
"It doesn't have enough range" - Compared to what at this price point? Again, for an extra $300 over the 35mm f1.4, I gained additional 28-34mm and a 36-45mm focal ranges at the cost of only 2/3 of a stop of light and 7cm DOF over the 35mm f1.4 at 2 meters.

I think people need to change their expectations of this lens and look at it a little more objectively.
The flexibility that this lens has given me over a 35mm is all the reason I needed to solidify my thoughts that this lens is a perfect accompaniment to having either an 85mm or a 135mm on my hip.

Not to mention it's less than HALF the price of the 28-70mm! Infact, I can currently get the 28-45 f1.8 and and the 85mm f1.4 GMii for less than the price of a 28-70 f2.
That is one sexy Combo!

"But you should just get a 24-70 f2.8 if it's about the price!"
No, because the Sony 24-70 f2.8 is $300 more than the Sigma, and at 2 meters the DOF is 12.2cm more at 45mm and 35cm at 28mm focal lengths!

But what about the weight? Well, considering it's less than 100grams more than the sony 24-70 f2.8, I'd say it's pretty reasonable, and I'd like to know where the people complaining about the weight of that lens are?
Also, I came from an era before mirrorless cameras, when my 85mm lens alone was over 1kg.

In short, this lens is sharp AF, focusses fast AF, has a nice short zoom throw and allows me to go closer or wider than the 35mm in confined spaces, while still giving me the feel of a prime lens, and I LOVE it.

If you're a Photographer who's considering getting it for anything other than an alternative to a 35mm, this will not live up to expectations. But if you're getting it instead of a 35mm, then this lens is damn near perfect!

Hi all, I have been asked to shoot my first wedding. The couple is really low key and a family friend so I think it’ll be a great first opportunity. Photography is my hobby but one I am passionate about so I have invested money into my gear, editing software, etc. With that being said, I of course want to go into this in a professional manner and produce great photos for the couple. I shoot on a sony a7iv and have a 35mm and 85mm lens. Will these work for a wedding? I will be shooting alone and am worried about swapping back and forth between the lenses all day/picking the right lens for the different moments throughout the day. Should I invest in a zoom lens? TIA :)

I'm a Canadian wedding photographer, and a couple I know (both Canadian citizens) has asked me to photograph their wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The contract and payment will be handled in Canada—I'm just taking the photos while at the destination.

I've reached out to the Office of the Embassy of Canada to the Dominican Republic in Punta Cana for guidance, but I’d love to hear from anyone with firsthand experience. Do I need a work permit or special visa for this? Are there any restrictions on bringing professional photography equipment into the country?

Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

I have an option to set up a studio and I need to purchase a lighting kit. Any suggestions on where to get a decent set? Also, suggestions would be great for a basic set of backdrops. Tia

I've been working as a second shooter for a couple of years now as a contract photographer.

When it comes to the technical side of things, I feel confident—my settings are always dialed in, and my shots come out well for the most part. However, I don't feel like I'm overly creative. I stick to the standard shoot-through angles and experiment with different perspectives here and there, but I often feel like my work lacks that "wow" factor when it comes to creativity.

This isn't my full-time job—I contract with a company and step in when they're super busy or have multiple weddings on the same day.

So, here's my question: Do you think creativity can be taught or learned? Or is it just one of those if you have it you have it and if you don't you don't. If so, what avenues or resources would you recommend? How can I start building this up?

I’ve just launched a rebrand to my photography website and I need to start working on improving SEO. I know that I need to optimize my images by adding alt text for each one and I know that I need to start blogging. In your experience, which task would be the best to prioritize first in terms of the impact to SEO? I have a virtual assistant helping me so I want to make sure I am tasking her with the best thing to start with.

thinking of incorporating my fujifilm x100v more into my weddings. would it be reasonable to add a “film inspired” package? rather than a film add on for clients? this would make my workflow so much easier and more time efficient.

could also possibly use as sneak peeks too to save some time?

What is your rule of thumb for timing when you show up on a wedding day? Are you a 1 hour before hair and make up is scheduled to be done kind of person? More time? Less time? Do you let the couple choose the start time and stay your contracted hours?

I haven't found what I prefer for this, and many times in the 2023/2024 seasons felt I showed up too early. Timeline planning meetings are coming up with some of my spring brides and I'd like to have a better idea of how to handle this aspect of the timeline.

*not elopements/micro-weddings

I tend to end up building something custom every time and am thinking I might just do away with collections, and I'm curious whether collections are even still the industry norm.

Feel free to expound on your structure in comments!

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Had a bride spend an hour with me in a consult only to tell me she’s using a family friend for photography. Now with this situation I get it. Mama stepped in (we know the fam as a past client) and lowered the budget.

However, it got me to thinking…does anyone in the group have specific verbiage they can point to (either on their site or in their introductory emails) that have helped lower the ghosting or wasting of their time meeting with unqualified individuals? We post pricing on our site and also attach it to the first email. Any help much appreciated!

Doing some updates on my end and decided to look around at my colleges sites to see their designs, I am aghast at folks charging min $7,500 with links/outdated sites. Like my god, just check it once a month minimum to make sure you aren't getting like 4 pages that say 404.

Long story short, I shoot families/getting into newborn/milestones. My cousin asked me to capture their wedding (knowing this isn't what I normally do nor do I really want to...its a lot of pressure I feel) but they were comfortable with it.

Now the issue is a lens. I currently have a 50mm, 70-200mm, and the R10 Kit lens I think 18-45mm. I was already looking at adding to the collection and it was between the 35mm and 85mm. Is there one that would be better for the wedding than the other? Or maybe a whole different lens you would recommend?