Building a wedding portfolio even if you haven't shot a wedding Pt. 2 - Help from your friends

Issue #14.2

[Read Time - 6 minutes]

You do not need a ton of photos to start your portfolio.

It’s true that you need a portfolio to build a wedding business, but you can’t build a portfolio until you’ve shot some weddings.

This is pretty much the definition of a Catch-22 situation, but there are options.

If you can gather a handful of moments from a friend or relative’s, that is a great start!

I discussed this in much more detail in Part 1 of this 2-parter (Click Here to Read)

The good news is that you’re not going to book a monster wedding right out of the gate, so you can start small, get a few fantastic photos, mix in a great story behind each one and you’ll plenty of photos to show off to a prospective couple on a bit of a budget (did I mention my first portfolio was seven black and white 5x7s and one of them was really out of focus?)

But what if you do NOT have a wedding to get photos at?

I have three options for you that do not involve crashing any weddings.

The first is my favorite, and as a bonus, you get great photos AND make a nice couple extremely happy in the process.

Start with your relatives - sisters or brothers and their spouse and work down to your friends who are semi-serious. They can be married or dating it doesn’t matter as long as they are a real couple.

Ask them to play models for you.

It is best if they are an actual couple because I’ve seen actual paid models get paired up to act as a “couple” at tradeshows to help a photographer demonstrate posing, and it’s just missing that spark of realism.

Recruit an actual couple for a free 30-minute photo shoot. I like putting a time limit on it, so your “talent” knows what to expect. You’ll get more yeses that way, too.

They don’t have to be in a wedding dress and a tux. How about a suit and a sparkly party dress? Or just ask them to wear something nice. That’s all you need.

Let’s do a photo shoot!

Take your couple to a local church or scenic venue, preferably one with some cool architecture, and get some cool shots of them just being a loving couple.

It’s easiest to keep it outdoors, so you don’t have to fuss with lighting, and I recommend later in the day when the light is best.

You have a captive audience for 30 minutes, so take this great opportunity to play.

Find inspiration online from famous wedding photographers (yes, there are actually famous ones) and borrow some of their poses. I do not recommend borrowing too much from fashion magazines because those poses can get a bit too...fashiony, for lack of a better way to put it.

And, for you, this isn’t just a photo session and a way to get photos for your portfolio. You can use this as training for working with couples - posing them comfortably and making them feel at ease during the shoot.

Getting them to interact with you, guiding them, controlling the light all while moving quickly is a huge part of the process and this is great practice.

You always want to remember that when a couple is with you, YOU are in control.

They look to YOU as their guide, and they’ll almost always expect you to tell them what they should do.

Rarely will they feel so empowered to tell you what they want. Most will just stand there until you tell them.

This is why planning ahead with your poses and scouting out the locale is a good idea. You want to move quickly and with confidence.

They’ll play along when they see you guiding with focus and intention.

Important Note: If you look unsure, they’ll FEEL unsure...and not just about the photo shoot. Relax, have fun, talk to them and practice your skills.

Spend QUALITY time with your free “talent.”

Explore locations, different times of day, and even challenging situations. You have nothing to lose.

You can shoot without failing and use your very best shots as another piece in your wedding portfolio.

And as a postgame review, talk to them and ask them how you did. Use this as a learning opportunity because you won’t be able to ask a real couple, “So, how’d I do?”

No couple? No problem.

My second recommendation is to visit all the top churches and public venues around your area and get spectacular location and architectural shots.

Showing the photos of how you uniquely capture these iconic places at the perfect time of day is infinitely more valuable than showing your couple a cool shot of the mountains from your camping trip.

These wedding locations mean something to the couple, and if you show them a stunning photo of a church (even if it’s not their church), they’ll be impressed with your talents and attention to these important wedding details.

Each one of these photos adds another piece to your portfolio BEFORE you even shoot a wedding.

By doing this photographic “research,” you’re also becoming a bit of an authority on the local wedding venue scene.

When you’re scouting these places, take notes and turn those notes into a narrative you share with your couples.

Tell them about the nuanced details of their church and how there’s fantastic light at the time they’ll be taking photos. Or there’s a local botanical garden that makes for great photos on the way to the reception.

All of these stories behind the photos turn your portfolio into more than just a collection of cool shots - they are a peek into your process, and your process sells you just as much as your photos (I think even more).

Shooting the wedding details…and making friends.

For the third option, you’ll have to be a little bold.

Visit a local party planning store (the place where people rent tables and centerpieces) and find one that has a nice showroom. Here you’ll find tables set up with various themes to show off to potential clients.

As the manager if you can take a few photos of their tables. Be upfront and tell them you’re a part-time professional wedding photographer and you’re building your portfolio.

Get shots of the cool details you’ll see on a wedding table. Keep the shots close so they look like a real table at a wedding and shoot ones with window light to enhance the realism of the shot.

When you’re done, send the manager your photos and tell them they can use them for social media if they’d like.

Don’t forget to leave your contact info in case they need any shots from their events or if they know a couple who doesn’t have the budget for a photographer.

Now you’re shooting, building AND networking!

Building your portfolio is something that never stops.

Pretty soon, as you shoot a few weddings, freshen up your portfolio with new photos. Again, you don’t need more than a dozen, especially if you’re telling the stories behind each one. Just keep your portfolio fresh!

Final Thoughts

If becoming a wedding photographer is important to you, building a portfolio should also be important.

You don’t (and shouldn’t) have to rush this.

Weddings are a great playground. Consider being a “plus one” for a friend attending a relative’s or friend’s wedding. Less crash and more covert.

Just keep it cool and Read This First

You can reach out to party planners about doing stylized photo shoots but those are a lot of work for you and the planner and I think it’s too much to bite off at this early stage. You’ll get PLENTY of opportunity for those later, I promise!

I know I sound like a broken record, but being a second shooter is the BEST way to start, in my opinion, and it’s an excellent way to build your portfolio.

The most important thing is to START. Don’t let a little thing like not being able to attend a wedding hold you back. You have options!

“Never despise small beginnings, and don’t belittle your own accomplishments. Remember them and use them as inspiration as you go on to the next thing. When you venture outside your comfort zone, wherever the starting point may be, it’s kind of a big deal.”

– Chris Guillebeau

Building your first wedding portfolio is one of the little parts of the “inner game of wedding photography.”

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