Is she even a wedding coordinator?

Wedding coordinators, please understand when to step in and when to disappear.
Your job during a first look, entrance or any other emotional moment is not to adjust every strand of hair and every fold of the veil every few seconds.
Fix everything before the moment starts.
Once the bride is walking in, once the groom turns around and once they begin talking to each other: please step away.
At a wedding I recently filmed, the coordinator kept lingering around the bride during her first look and entrance, constantly adjusting her veil and dress. And I mean CONSTANTLY.
She even interrupted the first look while the couple was talking by loudly saying, “one moment, let me fix this.”
I still don’t know what she was fixing.
That audio is now part of their first look.
Then when she wasn’t fixing something, she came into the shot with her tripod. I had set up a beautiful wide shot while working around the photographer. The photographer wasn’t in my frame. The coordinator somehow was.
And then: “We’re running late.”
Please 😭
We are running late because I have had to redo shots and moments after you interrupted them.
Please don’t interrupt photographers and videographers in the middle of posing to tell us what pose we should do next either. We have a train of thought. We are watching the light, composition, movement, timeline and what we still need to capture. Having another person directing the couple at the same time doesn’t help us work faster. It slows everything down.
You also don’t need to step in and pose family groups unless the photographer actually asks for help. Helping gather the correct people? Amazing. Calling out names? Amazing. Keeping everyone nearby and organized? AMAZING.
Standing beside the photographer and directing the group yourself? Please don’t.
At one point I genuinely thought she was going to cut the cake with them too. But to my surprise she only stepped in one final time to move the plates closer to the couple because obviously they could not have possibly managed that themselves 😭
We can’t always stop everything during someone’s wedding and say, “please get out of my shot.” We’re trying not to create tension on somebody else’s wedding day.
So please have enough awareness to know when your job has been done.
Brides hire coordinators to make their lives easier. To keep things moving. To protect their timeline. To solve problems quietly behind the scenes.
Not to become part of every important moment.
Fix the veil. Fluff the dress. Gather the family. Prepare the entrance.
And then please, respectfully, GET OUT OF THE SHOT.

Hey everyone!
For U.S.-based wedding photographers who have traveled to Italy or Spain to photograph a wedding and then returned to the United States, I have a question about the legal requirements.
What visa, work permit, or other authorization did you need to legally photograph a wedding in Italy or Spain?
I’m specifically talking about flying in for a wedding you’ve been hired to photograph, working for one or two days, and then flying back to the U.S. — not relocating, opening a business in Europe, or staying long-term.
Did you enter as a tourist, apply for a specific work authorization, or use another legal arrangement?
I’d especially appreciate hearing from photographers who have actually done this and can share their experience, including how they handled the paperwork and how long the process took.
Thanks in advance!

Ok, so I know this gets asked all the time. I have been a pretty loyal Sandisk user my entire career but before I drop $3k on newer SD cards (was shooting UHS-I V30's but quickly realizing this shit is too slow for my new cameras) is there really any difference in quality between Sandisk or Lexar. I think the savings is like $300 but always open to thoughts!

I'm curious what everyone is paying (or charging) for second shooting these days, and what factors go into determining that rate.

I know the cost of living has gone up so much across the US, and I absolutely believe photographers should be compensated fairly for their time, experience, and skill.

But I'm also curious how everyone is navigating the differences in experience levels.

For example, I have no problem paying a higher rate for someone who can walk into a wedding day, confidently handle different lighting situations, use off-camera flash when needed, anticipate moments, and work independently.

Where I struggle a little is when someone is asking $75/hour but is still learning some of those fundamentals, like using off camera flash / working in challenging lighting. Or someone who only has one lens kinda thing... no back up gear

And I don't mean that unkindly! We all started somewhere, and I love seeing newer photographers grow. I just think there's a difference between hiring someone who's still developing their skills and someone who can confidently handle just about anything a wedding day throws at them.

So I'm genuinely curious to hear from both lead photographers AND second shooters on this. I'm not looking to debate anyone's worth, just trying to understand how everyone is approaching fair compensation while also accounting for different levels of experience.

I just received an email about it. Not that Zola was much better, but at the very least it wasn't a part of the TKWW scam.

Email came from Zola CEO and as you can imagine it is vague, and it doesn't give actual date when companies are merging. Supposedly Zola will remain independent and with their own team that is leading it.

Good lord I am tearing my hair out with Pic-Time. I've been with them for two years and I've continually had issues, predominantly with the Lightroom plugin.

First, renaming files caused all sorts of issues - fine, I'll rename them before uploading.

Next, galleries won't load for viewing - just a loading screen and no images. They advise not to use Pic-Time Safari on an M1 Max because that combination is known to cause problems. I start using Chrome for all my Pic-TIme work (30+ wedding galleries a year). OK.

Galleries won't sort. I'm going through the process of trying to sort by date captured, or file name, or whatever, and screen recording the process, showing that it doesn't work. Hit sort, nothing changes - still in whatever random order is was in before. Absolute nonsense behaviour. Send the video. They can't recreate it. Half an hour later, the scene has now sorted itself. They advise me to upload galleries one scene at a time as a workaround. Like - WHAT.

Sort doesn't work on iPhone. I do a screen capture, demonstrate it. Weeks later I get a message saying the team are still looking at it, and asking questions that just don't make any sense (like have you tried doing this in the full photographer interface, which is basically the only way you CAN try to do it on a phone.

A client wants to upload some photos to their gallery. I tick the box allowing that, and tell the client to go ahead. They come back to me confused saying they can't. I contact support and eventually find out that in Pic-Time 2.0, this feature doesn't work. Known issue. No idea whether it's been resolved.

The AI support chat is very very limited. The support staff are often friendly - I think because their messages are at times AI-written - and sometimes they have been helpful. But the issue isn't really the support. It's the design. They've put some much energy into the aesthetics and features of Pic-Time 2.0 that the platform is now really buggy. The plugin is a disaster.

I've only ever used Pic-Time and I love the way it looks. I like the physical product store. And moving my galleries away is going to be a horrible task. But it's killing me, these technical issues.

Just me?

I recently got my first few weddings under my belt this year (yay) but had a lot of experience second shooting beforehand, so its new for me communicating with other vendors as the photographers I second for handle all of those contacts. I feel that there seems to be some nuances about how I’m supposed to communicate with other vendors. For some context I’ve been very very lucky to second shoot quite a few luxury weddings now. The planners especially but all vendors were always very considerate of photo timelines—making sure we had time to capture the design, happy to make adjustments if we were slightly behind, communication throughout the day, working with you etc. We were always friends by eod even as a second shooter. Contrary to those experiences, for my first wedding I literally just felt like a the planner hated me from the get go. She knew it was my first as a main shooter which I’m sure affected the way she felt about me shooting and I understand that. But she was very hard to get information from, had to hassle for the timeline, and made me feel like every question or suggestion I was stupid. I wasn’t pushy at all but I needed these things to do my job. Barely any communication during the wedding (which would’ve been great considering the venue was double booked-found that out on arrival with the couple) The other vendors all knew each other as this was a destination wedding, and I felt like none of them would give me the time of day. I was confused and honestly felt like a loser.
At one of the other weddings the caterers were just plain horrible to my second and I. The couple had made it a point for us to sit down and have dinner as they paid for us to, the caterers saw us in the vendor room next to the kitchen—said they were busy and didn’t have time for this and literally shooed us out! I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong!!! I genuinelyy feel like I am easy to work with. I aim to be understanding, respectful, and friendly to everyone I encounter. Should I not have reached out to the planner as much? Should I initiate all communication throughout the day? Am I being hazed for being new to the industry? Should I just grow a pair?
If you’re willing, can you share a glimpse into how you communicate with other vendors? Are there boundaries / nuances beyond from what I might know as I’m just starting out?

Hey everyone,

Obviously shooting so many weddings and families every year builds up soooo much data. I’m wondering if anyone here deletes their raw photos after like 2 years to avoid having an unmanageable amount of data to store. Obviously I’d keep my favorites from every shoot but I’m not that attached to every photo I’ve taken for clients. My contract says I will keep photos up to one year and it’s up to the clients to download their images in time. Does anyone else do this so they’re not having to pay for like 15tb?

Had a night mare weddings yesterday. I met with the couple when they booked me back in February. They wanted a simple wedding at their church and reception at a local community building. I picked it up because I went to school with the grooms brother snd we were close friends back then. Shot their engagement shoot back in spring, they are mid 20s and shy yet seemed nice.
The church was a remodeled bowling alley into an independent church. When I walked in I seen a bridesmaid getting her hair done giving me evil death stares. After shooting some photos of the dress the bridesmaid turned to me and said "yeah I was the one that was messaging you about my wedding a month ago and you told me you didn't want to shoot my wedding... It's all good I found the RIGHT photographer."
I remembered her right away, from her messages she had bridezilla written in red marker all over her and I politely responded to her I'm going to have to pass on being her photographer after a few terrifying messages.
When it came time for the bride to get into her dress she was crying because she gained weight and it was very tight on her. I didn't have much to work with for photos. Very little decoration, all the church walls were painted neon orange and it was raining heavy outside. The brides mom told the florist "I'm not paying for these, they are so ugly" she ended up getting a discount. The flowers were quite beautiful, and I was relieved they purchased real floral instead of hobby lobby. I said to my self oh boy, this is going to suck.

After the ceremony while shooting family photos I was given nothing but trash attitude from the brides family.
They absolutely could not believe that I was capable of using my strobe while the room was dimly lit to get photos of them on stage, rolled their eyes when I asked them to stand over here or pose like this or that. The brides aunt kept fluffing the brides train out in an unflattering placement after I properly positioned it. But I made it through it.
Then I arrived at the reception hall after a 5 minute drive to the community center. The place was PACKED with tables and chairs where no one had room to stretch out their elbows. After shooting their entry and everyone starting eating it was starting to get dark outside. I was wondering how I was going to accomplish shooting their "hang on the wall or just married photos" as I call them of just them two.
Heavy rain and no where outside to shoot even if it was sunny. And no where inside. We discussed at the engagement shoot what we would do in the event of rain.
Shoot at a covered spot at the local park. She decided she didn't want to leave her guest when I asked her. I was panicking a little and made the decision to pull her parents aside and ask them what they wanted me to do, with no room inside the reception hall or areas outside to photograph them. I showed them some photos I took of the wedding party on the stage back at the church, I said these are decent but they deserve better photos. They went to talk to their daughter, she got FURIOUS. I heard her yell "well he needs to figure out how to do his damn job”

walked over and tried to calm her down a bit. I ended up convincing her to listen to my advice and drive right down the street to the covered park spot with the brides maids/ groomsmen along. Every photo she had a pissed off brat expression on her face. The sister telling me how I should do every photo standing right behind me pulling photos up on her Pinterest board. After a few minutes of that I took one of my cameras off my harness and said "you want to take them? Please teach me." After 15 minutes of shooting what I needed she said "can we go now?!" When they were cutting their cake noticed they had no plate to put the slice they share on, I walked over towards the food table to grab one and her mom was on her way with one. When I reached for the plate she snatched it back and walked past me to deliver it to them. I shot the photos of them cutting cake and began packing my gear up. The brides sister said
"whewwww yeah go ahead and leave boy!" and took one of her heels off and threw it at me smacking the wall.

I have shot around 160 weddings in my 7 years of wedding photography. I have had 4 "I need a drink when I get home" bad weddings ironically all of them being budget church weddings. But I had never had one so bad I had to walk out or it cross my mind. I will never takes up another low budget wedding and go through this again.

1. Trends are simply a way to think outside of the box, but never meant to say what's truly in.

2. It's more important being true to yourself and how you treat your clients versus the perception of how we glorify ourselves on socials.

3. Being able to document people is really a joy in itself, from happiness to sorrow.

4. When we aren't trying to be something, or trying to fit in and just let go then we become a lot more authentic ourselves.

5. There's always going to be drama, sometimes it's from newer photographers starting, or others who envy something about you -- best you can do is not feed into it.

6. Gear is only a fraction of the creation of the art we do, I still shoot on a 5D Mark 4 and a 35mm 1.4 II -- to some people that surprises them.

7. Having lesser of some particular shoot can be a good reflective time to ask yourself if you want to keep doing it, but also gives you a chance to prove yourself if you WANT to keep doing it.

8. If you've taken it too seriously, or even yourself too seriously, there's always still time to apologize and change.

Full disclosure I would call myself a low to mid tier photographer as far as pricing and style (documentary style, artsy, NOT high end editorial). I have a BFA in photo but I’ve only been working weddings for about 4 years. I started doing it full time 2 years ago and the business has been really succesful and booking solidly, although I do book mostly for videography. When I do photography, it’s usually for couples booking a combo package with video and I have a regular team working with me.

I did a wedding for a bride that seemed chill but since the wedding has made me increasing nervous that she’s going to hate her photos. She was so anxious for sneak peaks and then didn’t like how she looked in them, asked for more. I’m working to finish her gallery before my deadline (as she’s been asking) but I have this horrible feeling she’s going to hate it. Specifically the way she looks in her photos. Honestly the photos aren’t bad but she doesn’t look great in most of them, but I can’t help if brides are stressed or making weird faces all day!

How do I handle this?

edit to add: I’ve already been paid, but I want her to be happy. I specifically market myself as documentary style and typically do not offer a ton of extra direction outside of formal portraits. Technically speaking the photos are good, some of the best I’ve done and probably better than much of my older portfolio. She has been saying that “some of the photos just don’t look like her”. And a few specific issues that I don’t even see really (she mentioned her hair being out of place, or a double chin when she is thin & gorgeous in reality). I’m great with Lightroom but I don’t do photoshop work and have never been asked to before :( and I don’t charge enough to outsource this really.

Hey everyone!
I’m trying to figure out how to get started as a second shooter for wedding photographers in Europe, particularly in Hungary, Austria, Germany and neighbouring countries, but I’m struggling to find opportunities despite spending quite a bit of time researching this.
I’ve been working as a freelance photographer for the past six months, averaging around 4–6 paid shoots per month. Photography isn’t my full-time occupation at the moment, but I’m actively building my business and would like to gain more wedding experience by assisting or second shooting for established photographers.
I’ve watched a lot of the available YouTube videos and other content about becoming a second shooter. Most of the advice seems to revolve around joining local Facebook groups, networking with wedding photographers, contacting studios, and looking for posts from photographers who need a second shooter.
I’ve tried exploring these routes, including searching Facebook groups for specific cities and countries. However, most of the second-shooter opportunities I come across seem to be US-based. I’ve also struggled to find active, dedicated wedding photography groups in Hungary, Austria and Germany where photographers regularly post about needing a second shooter. I’ve found some relevant groups for Italy and Greece, but the same approach hasn’t really worked for the countries closer to me.
At this point, I’m wondering whether I’m looking in the wrong places or whether the European wedding industry operates differently from what is commonly described in online advice.
For photographers working in Europe, particularly Central Europe, I’d really appreciate some practical insight into the following:
● Where do you actually find second-shooter jobs?
● How do you approach established wedding photographers?
● Are there country-specific differences? For example, is the approach different in Hungary compared with Austria or Germany? Are there local wedding photography communities or platforms that I’m probably overlooking?
● Is assisting a better entry point? Would it be more realistic to contact wedding studios and offer to assist with lighting, equipment, guest coverage or other tasks before expecting to be hired as a second shooter?
● How important is wedding-specific experience? I have 7 years of wedding photography experience from my home country , although I’ve been working as a freelancer here in Europe for the past six months.
I’m not necessarily looking for full-time employment. I’m happy to take occasional bookings, travel to nearby cities or countries when practical, and build long-term working relationships with photographers whose style and approach I connect with.
I’d especially appreciate advice from people who have actually found second-shooter work in Europe.
Thanks in advance!

Coming up to wedding season and upgraded my camera from the A7iii. Honestly not sure which one to pick. From researching it seems like lossless compressed L seems like the best bet for weddings but Im unsure!

Long story short, I need to replace some screws. Any help is appreciated!

My client's wedding got cancelled very last minute due to the recent hurricane. They hadn't heard back from the venue yet for rescheduling when they asked me if I'd still shoot on the same day of their wedding as they're essentially having an impromptu wedding at a loved one's house instead for whoever local can make it and understandably if the hurricane allowed. I agreed if all was well, and thankfully we all didn't get affected much if at all from the storm. I've worked enough weddings and events to go with the flow and get the list of photos completed, as well as worked smaller, intimate weddings at homes, so I'm fine with rolling with this and my clients are rockstars in doing the same.

That said, they're essentially having two weddings. When they do reschedule the 'official' wedding again, I'm not sure what to do for payment or even charge anything at all. Force majeure doesn't apply as I'm still shooting the full time and date we initially agreed to, just a different wedding. I don't feel right about them paying me for two weddings, yet I know I can't work for 7 hours for free. Also, although not close and mostly friends in college, this is still a friend, and they were already stressed about money and had loved ones help out last minute to get more coverage from me. I'll also say I was PUMPED about the venue, as I've never shot at it before and really want to and am getting back into wedding photography after being out of it for a bit since a loved one passed.

Question: Do I just compromise by working the 'official' wedding for free but less hours, work the full hours at a huge discount, or do full hours for free but less stressed approach and if I get tipped that's just extra? Also, whichever you suggest, even if something else entirely, may you help with language/how you would say it?

Note: They could have the impromptu wedding and decide to forgo the other, so this is just if they mention the rescheduled wedding while I shoot their backup home wedding. Still learning and relearning, so appreciate any advice.

Hello there!

Looking for any advice/tips/etc. for traveling to Colombia with gear to photograph a friend’s wedding. This is my first international wedding and I am doing it as a favor for a dear friend, not for ‘work’ since it felt perhaps easier logistically. But any helpful advice is welcome and thank you in advance!

2 days out from a wedding I ended up in hospital due to severe vomiting and not being able to keep anything down, I was discharged yesterday feeling a bit better but still not right.

The moment I was sick I found an associate and informed my couple to keep them in loop, unfortunately waking up day of the wedding im not right, ive told the couple ill let them know if ill be there the morning of to see if I can pull through but I don't think its smart of me to do so

I received a message from the groom last night saying he really hopes im feeling better because his fiancee is upset as she has been following me for years and really hoping I can be there for their wedding

How do you get over the guilt?

I am struggling to edit on my laptop.

My WB is everywhere if I don’t edit in the same place with the same natural light.

I have a MacBook Pro and turned on the photography display setting, so my screen stays consistently lit regardless of the space I am in. D

Has anyone used this lamp? Or what do you do to edit on the go and have your WB and light consistent?

I think this might be more of my own expectations instead of the clients, but:

How do I create/foster a consistent level of quality/execution for each engagement session?

Backstory:
I've recently partnered with another wedding vendor, which has resulted in an increase in engagement sessions. These sessions are used by myself and then vendor for marketing purposes, and each session is tailored to each couple - so no two sessions are alike based on photo preference, personalities and goals. I've had sessions where all the boxes were ticked (weather, location, couple, vibes) just everything was going right and I could have shot an hour over our scheduled time. On the flip side, I've had sessions where it felt like no matter what I did, I just couldn't hit the high of those previous sessions (this could be me just internalizing) and wanted to run after 30 minutes.

Session Prep:
My process involves setting up a video call to get to know the couple and their goals from this session. I'm not telling them that I only shoot at specific locations and during specific conditions, but asking them their preferences, does this location have significance, how would you describe yourselves, what kinds of photos are you drawn to, etc.

I also cover clothing during this time and drive home that they both need to be dressed at the same level - I learned from a previous session where the female partner showed up dressed in nice capris, shirt and shoes, and her partner showed up in sneakers (not the grass cutting shoes thankfully) black cargo shorts and a white t-shirt. I also encourage couples to do an outfit change part way through their session for both casual and dressed looks.

I find that getting images from them to have on hand during their session also helps me when I get too excited or off track and lose focus. It also helps when I'm at a loss for things to do with the couple, but I don't feel like I am able to recreate the magic of those other sessions.

On Location:
I do a rundown when we meet up about poses that I will put them in (these are the safe shots to get them comfortable) and then as they warm up I start to incorporate other poses or prompts they've supplied along images I've wanted to recreate or attempt for myself and the vendor. I cover posture during this time as well, informing them about walking, and if they're in a static pose and I ask them to turn, that they need to move their feet when they move their body - not just turning from the waist.

After I've put them into a pose or a setup and taken my shots, I will show them what I've just captured so that they can let me know how they feel and if anything needs to be changed. This came in handy during a previous session when one of the partners informed me that they don't like their profile, so I adjusted and continued the session avoiding putting her in poses showing her profile.

If the client has supplied images for a mood board, I keep those open on my phone and will ask them to get in a certain setup. If that doesn't work then I will show them the reference image and actually position them to match the image. I also ask them for their inspiration images with the hope that these are poses they like and are comfortable with.

What Next?
Is there anything more I can do when I encounter situations where I don't feel the magic or it doesn't seem to be flowing as smoothly as it could?
Do I start saying I will only shoot under certain specific conditions to recreate the feeling from my more successful sessions?
Are there special techniques or hacks for couples that I'm missing?
Is this just one of those things where not every session is going to be a home run?

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently reviewing my website and looking for some perspective on how to handle pricing transparently without losing potential clients.

Right now, I’m debating whether displaying prices directly on my website does more good than harm when it comes to attracting the right clients.

I’d love to hear what has worked best in your experience!

How important is it to make your Instagram display name “your city + wedding photographer”? I’ve had my display name like this for 5 years and get a decent amount of inquiry’s via Instagram. But Im wondering if I changed my display name to my business name of that would drastically hurt our search-ability.

Just to be clear, I’m not taking about username. But the display name is what shows up at the top of your profile.

To all of my full-time photographers, when did you feel you were ready to go full-time?

I currently work full-time for a company, as much as I love the people I work with. I just don’t feel fulfilled.. I just feel like I get so stressed at this job when I thought it would be my dream job other than being a full-time photographer.. I’m really struggling with it because half of me really wants to stay at this job because I get paid really really good for what I do, I love the people I work with, but on a day-to-day basis I just feel there’s more I should be doing with my life.. I don’t really know how to explain it other than that. I think what I struggle with is taking that leap of faith into going full-time and knowing if I can make it work or not.. was there anything that pushed you to become full-time? 🥲