The wedding season 2024 is in full swing… And this is what I learnt so far

1 Jul

This is my first year of being a photographer and video producer full time.

Last year I quit my job as a marketing manager in the real estate world, where I’ve been since 2014. This would have been my 10th year. However, I did dabble as early as 2012 and 2013 with designing ads and other print work, but in 2014 I took on a bigger role for a Swedish real estate company in Mallorca, and from there it grew to be my life more or less.

Anyway, all this is a side note. To make a long story short I decided to go for my dream last year and the bookings started to come as soon as I made more effort. I submitted some entries to my first photography competition and it went really well. So, I took it as a sign that I was on the right path at least.

And now June’s been full of shoots - and all though it can get overwhelming when the backlog is piling up, I’m so so so grateful for this year.

For the places I get to see and the people I get to meet.

And this is what I’ve gathered from the first 6 months of a full year as a freelancer and wedding photographer/videographer.

To have a wedding planner can be a plus for both the couple and everyone involved. But sometimes it can ve quite the obstacle for the photographer. There’s a trend going round, and influences I personally think come from planners, that you shouldn’t spend more than 20min for portraits with you photographer. This to me is really stressful. Fine, if you don’t have a lot of expectations of what can be achieved within this time and you’re happy to miss out on a few things on the shot list, but I prefer when the couple talk to me and we can talk through the timeline together. Once 20min was planned for photos. I warned it was going to be difficult. In the end I had 3 min alone with the couple in total. To me, that’s not close to enough. But at least the couple was happy in the end.
Weddings in Mallorca tend to be quite late in the summer due to the heat, mostly. This creates super crammed timelines which can get stressful for everyone. I’ve done full day coverage crammed into 6 hours once. Needless to say, we didn’t pause until we left…
Formals/family group photos… Have a detailed list. Leave no room for “should we done one with JUST the bride and her side of the family?” At least not at the designated formal photos spot. Variations can be done during cocktail hour /cava and canapés in a less formal fashion. I mean, if we had all the time in the world. I would be happy to do a million variations. But not when all we have is 15 minutes…
FOOD! Feed your photographer properly! Yes, I’m vegan, but it doesn’t mean a plate of steamed vegetables will keep me full. Pasta, rice, lots of bread and potatoes will be a lot better than a few carrots and leafy greens. If I can’t get a bit of “Heura” (a good source of vegan protein that you could also fool your guests with, no one will know it’s not chicken), a vegan burger or something a bit more filling.
It was worth investing in a CRM! Last year, mid season, I started using a new system where I could host all my galleries AND it could handle all my bookings. Last week I got a comment from a couple saying how great the booking process felt, and how impressed they were with that. That made me really happy! As weddings clients usually aren't returning customers… I understand it’s not easy to know the difference between photographers. But I’m really happy to offer this service which makes it possible for my clients to book me in the middle of the night if they wish! I don’t have to send out (almost) anything manually. They just sign the contract and pay the deposit by card. How cool?

Things I need to improve…

Trust that I will have packed everything correctly. I have 100% of the times, so it’s not likely that I’ve forgotten all of my cameras this time either…
Take more breaks. Just because my back doesn’t hurt right now doesn't mean it won’t later…
Learn my new CRM fully. I always tend to forget to activate downloads and I was so used it being activated automatically. So, sorry to all my brides and grooms that started to feel like tech rookies because you couldn’t find the download button ;)