Wedding Photography

  As I sit here in my hotel room in rain drenched Seattle I start thinking about the last few years of my life. In early 1999 I started my photography career as a photo assistant for a wedding and event photography studio in Long Island. The company was very well established and even though I was in college for photography I learned more in 2 weeks there then I did at school. Not to say my school did not have an excellent program but I always knew I was not an "artistic" photographer. I never wanted my work up in galleries. I was a portrait photographer. I loved having people in front of my camera. 

    The wedding and event industry was great to me for so many years and I went from an assistant to a photographer to owning a studio. Up till this year 95% of my work was wedding's, mitzvah's, sweet 16's and other private events. I loved shooting events and loved dealing with clients and knowing that I was giving them memories for the rest of their life of their special days. 
  There are jobs in the industry that I am sure are stressful but there is nothing like event photography in my opinion. You have one shot to get it right. There are no excuses, no second chances, no room for errors. You have little to no control over the conditions or where you shoot. You generally shoot in the worst lighting conditions imaginable and if it rains or snows or is windy everyone looks to you for answers. You are part photographer, part therapist, part referee. It is one thing in event photography to be a technically proficient photographer but it all comes down to how you deal with people. The client needs to know that you are not going to lose it when a curve ball is thrown. You have to be able to make people laugh at the drop of a dime and while doing all this be conscious of every single person in the wedding party and keeping everyone happy. Oh yeah, and while all this is going on you have to be getting amazing pictures. You have to be the calmest person at the event. You have to be a ninja during the reception. You have to blend in while getting all your shots and leave the guests to have a good time. 
  Photography and video are also the only things left after the event. The florist, the caterer, the dj, everyone is done once the wedding is over. The photo and video are just getting started. There is the editing of the photos, the creation of the albums, the corrections to the layout and then finally the delivery of the album. Depending on the client and what happens it could be months. Some clients are very easy and love everything...and some clients need to be walked through step by step with their hands held throughout the whole entire process. Either way you have to keep a smile on your face and make sure the process goes smoothly.
  Most people never see the back end. Most people think photographers spend all of their time with a camera in their hand making images. That is what we wish were true. 80% of the time is spent editing photos and emailing clients and talking to vendors and selling yourself. That is true probably in most aspects of the photography industry, not just event photography. The wedding and event industry is a beast. It is looked on with disdain from some and aww from others. I would say that it is one of the toughest, most demanding jobs in the business. You have to be a product/ fashion/ portrait/ food/ landscape/ macro/ photojournalistic/ traditional / family photographer all wrapped in one. 
  To all of the wedding photographers doing it; my hats off to you. You are all doing an incredible service and it makes me proud to have been one of you and to know a great many of you. 
  The last 14 years of my life have been an amazing journey and I have met so many amazing people. From other photographers to clients and people in the business. I can not thank everyone enough for everything. I would also like to take the time to extend a huge thank you to my friends and extended family at MME Entertainment and Productions. I know consider them part of my extended family and thanks to them I have gone to places I would have never thought and met people I would have never imagined and photographed events in the highest of high end halls. Thank you to everyone there.
  Can not wait to see what is next and what life has in store.