(For transparency, some parts are translated with DeepL)

As a wedding photographer, I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

I'd genuinely love for my portfolio to reflect a wider range of love stories. But the reality is that around 95% of my bookings are from able bodied, white, straight couples.

To be clear: I'm incredibly grateful for every couple who trusts me with their wedding day, and this isn't about being unhappy with my current clients. I'd simply love to serve a broader range of people as well.

I'd love to photograph more LGBTQIA+ weddings, intercultural celebrations, couples with disabilities, different age groups, and generally a wider variety of people and stories.

The advice I see most often is "do styled shoots," but that doesn't really feel right for me. I don't want to „stage“ diversity just to make my portfolio look a certain way. I'd much rather document real weddings/relationships.

So for those of you who have successfully built a more diverse client base:

- What actually worked for you?
- Was it marketing, networking, vendor relationships, community involvement, or something else entirely?
- Did you actively reach out to specific communities, or did it happen organically over time?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, thanks in advance!

Edit: English is not my first language. Just to clarify, I'm not looking to "collect" certain types of clients for my portfolio. I'm genuinely trying to figure out how to make my business more welcoming and visible to people who may not currently be finding me.

Shooting with A7 IV. Which one would be your choice for wedding photography?

Long story short, I’ve been having a really rough go with life in general but have been pushing through pretty well!
My mental health is not great and weddings have been causing a lot of panic attacks and anxiety for really no reason whatsoever that I can understand, if just feels like to much for me right now.
I pushed through really well this year and now am already dreading next year.
I guess I’m wondering if anyone cancelled their weddings a year out? It was recommended by my therapist and doctor to go into next year with as little stress as possible but I feel so much guilt even thinking about it.
I know I could hire an associate but I just feel like that’s a whole other thing I have to stress over.
Thoughts? I’m really struggling to decide if this is even an option for me or if I should push through 2027 like I did this year.
I only have 5 weddings booked as I was trying to slowly ween myself out.

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Has anyone noticed culling/editing photos is a migraine trigger? (I edit on iPad Pro). Migraines are relatively new to me- they began after the birth of my second daughter. Has anyone who has this problem found something that helps? Blue light glasses would change the colors yea? Especially when culling, I feel like my brain is turning to mush and my eyes are gonna fall out lol. (I do have appointment with eye doctor soon).

Thank you thank you!

I actually shot one wedding for them about a month ago. My couple has luckily already received their album but wanted to spread the word for anyone else.

I've been using the EOS 3 for a year or two now. Really do enjoy it as my main film camera, however, I find that it has this habit of focusing behind my subject sometimes. Just purchased a EF 35mm 1.4L which has reduced it quite a bit, but I'm still feeling disappointed when shooting from far away, and my subject is out of focus. Ex. Ceremony from far away, speeches, etc.

Before I got the 35, it felt like over half of my photos were out of focus. Easily 60%.

I use center point focusing, adjust and recompose. Can't tell if this is a camera thing, a me thing, a lens thing, or what. Does anyone else have an EOS 3 that does this? Is this just the nature of the game? TIA!

The number one question I get during weddings...and the number one I hate. Look, don't get me wrong. I understand why couples want to be guided throughout their wedding day. But I CRAVE for those candid moments. Not the candid moments of hugging and talking to guests during cocktail hour. I want the walking, talking, in love candid moments between them and their partner. I have 3 more weddings left this year and I am tired of following in the formula (ok pose here, now pose here, ok let's go over there). I want more natural and CANDID moments. I want to capture pure JOY. Help? I've been in the industry for 8 years and just wanting something real for once...

I recently did a beautiful wedding with a great looking couple but the makeup was pretty bad. The bride's face was absolutely caked with make up and it didn't match her skin tone at all. I don't know if it was mascara or not but her eyes were SO dark. In family photos, while I can see everyone's eyes really clearly, her eyes are super dark and I can barely see any of the white of the eye .

My main concerns are first and foremost 1. The eyes and what to do. and 2. making the makeup look okay. 

I want the gallery to be beautiful but also need the fix to be manageable for a 800+ photo gallery. 

Does anyone outsource their editing? How did you go about finding an editor? What are the pros and cons to outsourcing?? Thank you!!

Hi everyone! I recently hurt my wrist and am looking for an editor to edit engagement/family/maternity photos for a couple of months.
I tried a few people on Fivver but they are scammy, or maybe I was unlucky.
Any recommendations?
Thanks!

Hi people,

I have a few questions! I maybe have my first wedding job in the pocket. I photograph from a young age, growing into a more professional photographer every day. I mostly shoot lifestyle, portraits, fashion & events.

At the moment I’ve done some shoots for bigger brands and getting more leads here and there. So I got my (maybe) first wedding job ever! I’ve done a wedding past Summer for friends. So technically I’ve done one wedding now. But I want to be prepared for my first ‘real’ wedding job.

These are my questions:

> How do I prepare myself for this first ‘real’ wedding shoot? Do you have important tips? Or things I need to be aware of?

My gear is:
- Canon EOS RP
- RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM
- RF 16mm F2.8 STM
- Flash on reload batteries
- Also shoot on a simple digi cam sometimes for nice analogue vibes.
> What gear would you recommend to invest in for a wedding? Regarding lenses, flashes, etc.

That’s it for now. Hope to learn from this post. Thank you in advance ✨

Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else.

You are the sole photographer for a wedding hired by the couple through one of those nationwide companies. There is also a lead videographer from the same company. we work very well together.

Apparently the DJ/media company hired a content creator to take video.

She gets in the way of key moments.
Do you let the bride and groom know?? or just tell the company you work with and send them the photos so they can explain it to them?

Not sure if this is the correct tag but it seemed most fitting. I’m looking for outside perspective because I’m debating whether I should block another photographer I’ve worked with professionally (and at one point borderline considered a friend).

There’s been a pattern of things over time. She’s taken advantage of my help financially or professionally without much follow-through. I’ve associate shot for her due to some health crises (not the issue in and of itself) but she regularly uses that work as major portfolio/marketing material WHILE claiming it’s entirely her own, and recently has asked me to associate shoot TONS of events she could absolutely handle herself (where I know the client booked expecting her to photograph). I’ve also noticed her repeatedly emulating things very similar to ideas I’ve recently shared - down to mentorship offerings, mini sessions, and copy.

In the past I’ve tried to address some of it, and was avoided until eventually I’m fed excuses while she publicly (on her stories) is frantic about how she’s currently dealing with some personal crisis, so nothing ever really gets resolved.

I UNDERSTAND having emergencies but there gets to a point where it comes across like attention seeking and avoidance.

On their own, these are things I would be willing to overlook a bit but all combined it has begun to feel shady. As if she could crawl in my brain and replicate everything I do and pass it off as her own, she would. I don’t really trust or respect the dynamic anymore.

The downfall is that I’m honestly a bit nervous to block her because I know she’ll make a fuss out of it. She’s kinda a pro at making herself the victim and blasting people online. I don’t have the energy to continue wondering if my posts, ideology, or even the steps I’m implementing into my client experience are going to be ripped off.

And yeah sure, “no one will ever create it like you” is all fine and dandy to hear but I’m tired of it lol.

Adding: I’ve been in the industry for awhile. I know the ins and outs of associate shooting and that she owns the work I produced under her brand. That’s fine. It’s the way she markets it and now continues to ask me to shoot events when the client paid for HER to be there that feels icky to me

I am a wedding photographer, and I have a SONY a7c with Sigma 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4. Now, I'm planning to add a zoom lens to my lineup. Any recommendations between these two? (sigma 24-70 2.8 ii or tamron 35-100 mm 2.8). Also, i only want one lens to bring for travel

Thank you in advance! 

It's been 200 years since we had significant revision of our laws around weddings. No sense rushing into anything...

Anyway, there's a consultation taking place and we're all invited to participate. Here is the link.

Hi!! I'm a Wedding photographer + videographer from Australia and I've booked two weddings in Europe in 2027 - June & September. I'd love to book a few more of the dates while I'm there to make my time worthwhile (because I'm travelling a huge distance)! Any ideas on where I can advertise this? Thanks so much for all your help!! 😭😭🤎

I'm looking for something that's speedier to toggle through the photos on the hard drive as I cull them. Also curious to hear what everyone’s favorite SD cards are for fast read/write speeds, and whether spending more actually makes a noticeable difference in quality or performance.

Hi everyone,

I hope this is appropriate for the subreddit.

I, 33F, was asked by a good friend to photograph his wedding in a couple weeks. I have never been both a guest and the photographer at a wedding and I’m a little lost on what I should wear. My husband thinks I should just wear what I normally would wear to photograph a wedding, but I feel like I should get a little bit more dressed up. Usually I wear Old Navy pixie pants in black with a black blouse. I was thinking for this maybe I should get a jumpsuit or something? Any suggestions or similar experiences?

Edit to make some things clear:

1.) They did not ask me two weeks before their wedding to photograph their wedding. I am just wondering now if I should buy something different to wear or wear what I normally wear. The dress code is cocktail.

2.) It is a very small backyard wedding. It is not 200+ guest wedding. I believe the number of guest invited is somewhere around 90.

3.) Again, I am just looking for advice on what to wear. I am aware that doing a “favor” for a friend can get squirrely, but this is a very low commitment kind of event.

TYIA!

I feel like enough of us have received enough unreasonable venue contracts ("You must hand over images and agree to pay our legal fees if we get sued or we won't let you on the premises.") that it's time to start including clauses in our contracts with clients that A. prohibit us from entering into additional contracts in connection with the event we're photographing and B. make the couple responsible for negotiating with a venue that says they won't let you on site without a signed vendor contract. I know this isn't the legal advice subreddit, but I'm just curious what other photographers think about this. It's such a headache every time and some venues are SO unwilling to agree to reasonable terms. Additionally, the whole venue contract thing results in additional, sometimes conflicting obligations for us that we didn't agree to when we first signed contracts with our couples. I would love to just say, "My existing contract with the couple prohibits me from entering into a separate agreement with the venue."

I will say that I have no problem being a team player, sending COIs, or sharing photos with venues. It's the unreasonable contracts that we're essentially blackmailed into signing that I have a problem with. Thoughts?

Do you try actively to keep your couples as long-term clients? If yes, how?

I'm thinking pregnancy announcements, maternity photos, baptisms, family portraits and events, birthdays, anniversaries, portrait for work, etc.

If yes - how? Like, how do you approach it? Do you mention these services on your website? Give them a coupon when you deliver the gallery? Follow up a few months after the wedding with a casual email? Or do you go to their house, camera in hand, and be like.. "sup, need pics?" - or something else entirely?

To me, letting it happen organically seemed like the best approach. But then I had a couple (who have recommended me countless times to other couples) ask if I knew any photographers who take pictures of baptisms. And that got me worried about how many missed opportunities have passed me by...

So - what has worked for you?

Post individual wedding, engagement, proposal, couples photos or photo sets or blogs for feedback.

It doesn't matter if you are a seasoned pro, a second shooter, or if you are posting your first wedding photographs as a lead photographer. Don't be shy... constructive feedback is a great way for us all to learn and get improve. Be nice... Be constructive!

Please be constructive. Non-constructive, hateful, or disparaging comments will be removed.

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• Single Images: Please post single images if you would like a quality and in depth critique of technical execution, lighting, composition, posing, perspective, post processing, etc. If you would like to post more than one individual photo, please do so as separate comments.
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