How Finding Your WHY Will Make You A Stronger Photographer
Issue #11
[Read Time < 5 minutes]
On the day I moved to my new “home,” the town where I started my own family and built my wedding career, I did as any good aspiring photographer would do...
I found the best camera shop in town.
Lucky for me, it was also the best place for local photographers to process photos, so it was plenty busy that day.
One of the nice things about a local camera shop is meeting other people who share your affinity for photography. It’s like a networking group without the awkward, “So...what do you do?”
Being busy that day, I got to meet a few local photographers.
One particular encounter stuck out to me and shaped how I viewed my entire mindset as a wedding photographer.
I chatted with a pretty nice guy and mentioned I had just moved to town.
I told him I assisted a good wedding photographer for a year, shot a couple of weddings of my own and was excited to start shooting weddings here in town.
I’ll never forget his response, “Yeah, I shoot weddings too but I’m just doing it to make money until I build up my portrait business.”
All I could do was nod like, “Yeah, I get ya.”
The problem was I could not DISAGREE more.
This was the moment I knew Wedding Photography was NOT going to be something I did just to earn money until I could pursue something else.
Photography was a passion, for sure, but being a Wedding Photographer was what I wanted to be.
This encounter helped me create my WHY.
I’m a big fan of Simon Sinek and his mission of finding your “why” in your business pursuit.
I think it’s important to have a defined sense of purpose when you’re building your business.
It creates a foundation.
Becoming a wedding photographer is no different.
I know I’m a bit biased, but a wedding photographer has a very unique role on the wedding day, and it requires someone with a unique set of skills and personality (kind of like Liam Neeson without the violence).
This is where YOUR why comes in - WHY you want to shoot weddings.
Motivationally speaking, many photographers are attracted to weddings for the money. I won’t deny it, you can certainly charge more for a wedding than your basic family session, but you’re also doing a LOT more and spending a LOT more time doing it.
Your “why” belongs to you, so as you’d expect, this all starts with you.
I can’t tell you who is qualified to be a successful wedding photographer and who isn’t, but I can tell you that your why will be a reflection of the kind of brides and grooms you choose to work with.
That’s the way business works.
It’s really not my business who wants to be a wedding photographer or why, but I’ll offer my WHY and perhaps it might inspire you and your WHY.
My WHY for becoming a wedding photographer
I want this day to be perfect for my couples. I know it might not be, but if there’s a chance I can help make it happen, I will do it.
This is a crazy, awesome, emotional, hectic, beautiful, fun and exciting day.
It’s almost impossible for a normal person to take in all that emotion AND pay attention to the hundreds of details that make it amazing.
If I can help take care of some of the details and allow my couple to enjoy this day to the fullest. I will.
Another part of my WHY is sharing this day with everyone.
Sure, it’s the bride’s day, but it’s also the groom’s day and a momentous day for the parents and grandparents.
Everyone at this wedding holds a special place in the couple’s hearts, and I love sharing this with all of them. Chatting, laughing, and extending my services to everyone is fun, and it’s good business.
There are also photographs. Oh, yeah, the photos.
My bride did not hire me with the hope that she’d get great photos of her day. I showed her incredible moments when we first met, and that’s what she expects to get.
It’s my job to make sure I get her great moments.
Full disclosure, I’m not a fan of staging things during the day. My style is journalistic, and I try to stay as true to that as possible. But let’s be real, things like the sparkler-filled grand farewell don’t just happen.
Sometimes, someone needs to be in control of a memorable moment like this - Set it up, step back and let the moment happen...and take lots of photos.
My comfort zone is to do what needs to be done and help make this day great for everyone.
The photography part is the passion point for me.
When I combine my passion point with my comfort zone, I get my WHY.
Again, your WHY is yours.
What attracts you to weddings?
What keeps you coming back for more?
Embrace that.
Photographing weddings is not for everyone, but for those who love ‘em, they really love ‘em. I know that feeling.
This is what I want for all wedding photographers. It might sound a bit possessive, but I think of this profession as a bit of a calling - something important that should not be done simply for the money.
But don’t worry, if your WHY is strong enough, the money will come.
“If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY.”
― Simon Sinek
Building your first wedding portfolio is one of the little parts of the “inner game of wedding photography.”
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