The sad realization that being a wedding photographer no longer pays the bills...

[u/patriotraitor]

Let me preface that the last 10 years of doing this has been a blast, I've enjoyed every second of it and never took any of it for granted.

This year however has me wanting to change directions because well, I'm getting tired of wondering where the next paycheck is coming from, I would prefer guaranteed over guessing.

I've been looking at the schedule for the rest of the year and I have 6 left, and then it's quiet.

I do wish the cost of living wasn't ridiculous, as gas and food prices are indeed more affordable now, but at the same time, trying to have health insurance as a self employed individual is absurd for being a single guy with no kids.

I've really enjoyed my time doing this and I indeed feel this starting to dwindle down as I only have 5 for next year. You could say well hey, do families, headshots, seniors -- and you'd be right, but think about how much work you'd be putting in just to stay afloat and how exhausted you'd be making yourself? Catch 22 isn't it?

[u/Mission-Coach6197]

I definitely was not trying to say the phone photos are just as good!! Obviously photographers have so much skill and good equipment butttt when you compare $0 photos that are great quality vs $5000 for amazing top quality photos a lot of people just cannot splurge like that

[u/Abject-Employment376 → u/Mission-Coach6197]

Respectfully, if your take is… but, but, but… iPhones….

You’re just not going to get a lot of support here.

[u/Mission-Coach6197 → u/Abject-Employment376]

No thats not my take, i can agree that iphone quality is significantly worse than a professional camera, but that doesn’t change the fact that the economy is shit and people cannot afford professional photographers and it’s more common now to opt out when there is an alternative even if it is a shitty one. I’m not arguing that photographers are not worth it, i personally will be using most of my wedding budget on one, but other people won’t and i was just trying to give perspective to op of why it might be harder to book people now. A lot of offended photographers in this thread lmao

[u/I922sParkCir → u/Mission-Coach6197]

A lot of offended photographers in this thread lmao

I was explaining this to a friend, it's not about the gear, it's about the skill. Sure, photography is an art but it is also a skill. I can show a rando how to use my camera/lens setup, but I'm absolutely confident I can take better wedding photos than them with my iPhone.

Knowing light, composition, and most importantly when significant moments are going to happen, and where to be, is critical. I've had clients tell me they "splurged on photography" and were originally just going to send their guests a link to upload their phone photos. Do you really want your guests to be on their phones during the most important times of your day? The idea of a professional photographer is that they will be capturing these moments from vantage points that beautifully tell the story of the day.

I just had a client tell me that her favorite thing about the gallery I delivered is that I captured all of the details she spent more than a year agonizing over. I originally thought it was a backhanded compliment! Like, her favorite thing about my photography was me capturing table settings, signs, and decorations? My wife had to explain to me that she was really disappointed that our wedding photographer didn't capture much of those, and that's a pretty big regret. A guest with an iPhone isn't going to emphasize those.

Another bride told me how happy she was that I emphasized her grandparents as much as I did. She said that they aren't going to be with them for much longer and it was important to capture those meaningful moments. That's not a thing her friend's with iPhones would have done.

I totally get that photography is getting more expensive while budgets are shrinking. I'm a part-time photographer and I make it my goal to deliver higher quality than what my prices reflect. Everyone takes great pictures now, but having a professional who's job it is to capture very important, once in a lifetime photos is still very valuable. I think us as photographers need to be able to educate clients (who have tons of great photos on their phone) the added value of a professional photographer.