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Wedding Photography – the Photojournalistic Approach
by Larry Rotta (circa 2003)

All photos used in this article are copyright by Larry Rotta of Elan Photography.

Photojournalistic wedding photography in Vancouver , B.C., Canada , has been growing in popularity over the traditional type of ‘posed’ wedding photography. But unlike the traditional style of wedding photography, there are so many more aspects that one has to consider when hiring or becoming a photojournalistic wedding photographer. 

The word itself: ‘photojournalistic’ implies that the event will be captured on film (or at least until digital becomes mainstream in Vancouver ) whose images will tell the story of what took place. Specifically for wedding photography, the word ‘photojournalistic’ also implies adding an ‘artistic’ edge. It is in my opinion that these two elements of being an historian and an artist at the same time are what make Photojournalistic Wedding Photography such a challenge.

For the time being, I will keep my points short and sweet to help keep your eyes (and attention) from straining. For more detailed analysis on what makes a good photojournalistic wedding photographer, I will be responding to e-mails about this post.

A ‘Vision’ that sells
For most, capturing the moment is really not an easy task, especially when trying to conserve film. Most photojournalistic photographer “wanna be’s” shoot an over abundance of film in the hopes of capturing a ‘moment’ that the couples will consider worth remembering. A friend once told me that a monkey, given the chance to shoot off 1000 photos, is bound to get at least one good shot. This is not photojournalistic photography, but rather a gamble that there will be at least a few good shots. In other words, a machine gun approach in the hopes of achieving greatness before developing a ‘vision’ worthy of selling.   

This ‘vision’ is really what separates a good photographer from a great photographer.  Most photographers place too much emphasis on technical aspects of taking pictures and rarely remember that it is their ‘vision’ that sells and not just the fact that they know how to use their equipment. Most couples are unaware of the term ‘vision’ which is why it is so important for you, the entrepreneurial photographer, to engage in conversation and explain to them that they are paying the big bucks for your ‘vision’; how you are going to make them look great;  and NOT just the number of hours you’ll spend at their wedding day.

But, for the few who have what I call the ‘magic’ eye…or who have had at least opportunities to develop a keen sense of what to photograph…that is where taking good photojournalistic shots abound. This is probably the most important aspect of a good ‘candid’ or ‘photojournalistic’ wedding photographer.

Many of the good journalistic style wedding photographers that I have come across have one thing in common, and that is that they never really started off as a wedding photographer, but rather fell into the field as a spin-off from their past career or hobby. Some were sports photographers and others from the fashion industry. Most knowing/anticipating when to press the shutter just in time to capture a fleeting moment or an uncontrived facial expression.

So, if you don’t already have this ‘magic’ eye…or ‘vision’, how can you develop your senses to start you on your path to greatness?  The answer is simple:  Shoot a roll (or more) of film each day for a year. I am not kidding you. A good friend of mine is well on his way to becoming a great candid photographer and he claims to have shot over 10,000 frames during his first year (which is slightly less than a roll/day/year).  Expensive? Yes. But no school or pages read can duplicate what he has learned from being out in the field day-after-day shooting candids. 

Food for thought: digital cameras are great for saving on film costs, but watch out for the ‘machine gun’ approach mentioned above. Using film will discipline you to shoot only what is relevant and will humble you when you get your results back.

Equipment
It is essentially the photographer that creates his/her ‘image’, but they cannot do it with equipment that hinders their creative process. 

For me, the two most important aspects of equipment for candids is that it first has to be fast enough to capture those spontaneous moments and second it has to be robust and reliable enough to handle the many different types of shooting situations encountered with this type of wedding photography. You would be amazed at the number of horror stories I hear about failing equipment. Flashes burning out, cameras jamming, batteries leaking, fuses blowing, the list goes on and on. There is no such thing as a re-shoot for a wedding!

The speed of the equipment makes a huge difference
So, how does one know if the equipment is good enough to handle the job? As much as I hate to generalize, I’ll have to for this next point and that is the more expensive the equipment, the better suited it is for this type of wedding photography. Everything from camera bodies, lenses, flashes, tripods and even camera bags fall into this generality. As an example, let’s take my camera setup of an EOS3 body with a 17-35mm lens. Now hey, that’s a pretty expensive outfit right there…how could you possibly improve on that $5000 worth of equipment? Well, recently I traded in the EOS3 body for an EOS1-V and the 17-35mm for a 16-35mm lens.  Why?  I was finding that I was shooting in adverse conditions such as rain and at the beach where windblown sand is common. So I decided to upgrade the body and lens combo due to the fact that the camera body and lens have rubber seals to make them resistant to water and dust. Was it worth the $2000 upgrade? Absolutely. I just finished a wedding last week where it rained (monsoon’ed) but the bride and groom found great pleasure in having their photos taken in the wet. The shoot went without a hitch and the bride and groom expressed great thanks in not having to shoot indoors.

So how do you trust your current equipment twice as much as you normally would? Well, the answer to that is to make sure you have twice as much equipment! Or better yet, how about three times as much equipment? Sounds funny? Not really when you think about it. I remember one time when a photographer (not me...I was too busy videotaping this one) had accidentally dropped his camera onto some rocks rendering the camera (and the lens) useless. He then pulled out the ‘spare’ camera/lens and began using that for about 5 minutes when it had accidentally landed in the nice pond that the couple was posing beside of.  End of story? Not quite. I was quite impressed by the fact that this person had a third backup camera in their car in case of an emergency such as this. Voila! The day was saved and so was the person’s name thanks to the upfront investment of additional backup gear...basically tangible insurance. 

The lesson I learned here is that no matter what happens to your tools...your equipment…if you aren’t well prepared for the worst, it will ruin the couple’s day and yours and haunt you for years to come. I know of several photographers who quit shooting weddings because of just one bad incident that they weren’t prepared for.

How much to charge
Charging for your time is not really what was intended for the professional photographer. It’s kind of like asking Picasso how long will it take to paint a masterpiece and how much he would charge per hour. Not really what true artists have in mind. Rather, look at your work and compare it with others. Is your work better, worse, the same, masterful? Do you think people would spend literally thousands of dollars on you when they see your work? Granted, most people today are bargain hunters and ask questions such as “how much do you charge per hour and how many prints do I get”. I agree it is important to keep up with the ways of today, but keep in mind that it is up to you, the professional photographer to incorporate the cost of your ‘vision’ into your price list and to inform your potential clients that they are paying for your ‘vision’.

Many photographers charge a ‘day’ rate, but knowing that this is not a common term used by the public, I suggest quoting a rate equivalent of a ‘day’ rate such as an 8-hour package. If you are only shooting for 4 hours, then give them a 4-hour rate…not necessarily half of the full 8 hour rate, but reasonably priced so that you don’t price yourself outside of the market. Remember, with the photojournalistic approach, you are shooting quite a bit more film than you normally would with a standard ‘group shots only’ wedding. On average, I shoot about 20-25 rolls per 8-hour wedding…all depending on how things go.  For a 4 hour shoot, I might go through about 15 rolls of film. Not exactly half of the 8 hour package, and so your prices should reflect that.  (i.e., a 4 hour package price should be close to your 8 hour package price)

One photographer, two photographers or three???
When I was shooting weddings for my own use, I realized that I was getting good shots because I was not encumbered by having to worry about getting the ‘family’ type shots. So as the main photographer was snapping away, this was my chance to sneak behind bushes, trees, etc. and take some truly candid moments. Now that I’m the primary photographer, I have made it my trade-mark to ensure that I have at least one backup photographer around which I sometimes use as a decoy. Basically someone who knows how to shoot and can handle getting a set of group shots while I sneak around to get some really nifty candids.

Three photographers are even better, especially if your client is seeking more candid type photos, but most couples cannot afford to have three of them there. A better alternative is to hire a photographer’s assistant. They will help carry your gear so as to free you up for greater shooting possibilities. As a bonus, they can also shoot as well if you, say, perhaps have a misfortunate accident which prevents you from shooting that day. I remember two times (yes that’s right…two times) where I could not shoot due to the stomach flu.  I basically told the assistant what to do and what to shoot. Obviously the pics won’t come out exactly as you would take them, but at least you can be rest assured that the assistant will know how to load film, and operate the camera in cases of emergency.

Vehicles
All depends. The taller the vehicle the more interesting the shots will be if you are traveling alongside of the limo. However, smaller vehicles tend to zip in and out of traffic a little more easily if getting to the next location is more important to you.  I have tried everything from small compacts to larger SUV type vehicles. I find that the best all-around vehicles for shooting weddings in Vancouver are hatchback type cars with folding back seats. They can handle all the equipment and carry your team, are relatively inexpensive on gas, cheap to maintain, and maneuver through traffic fairly well. 

A hint of advice: try dressing up your car for the wedding day with pom-poms or wedding ribbons. Not only will you blend in with the wedding party, but you’ll be amazed at how courteous other drivers (and pedestrians) will be to you. Overzealous police officers are also less likely to ‘notice’ you speeding along as you try to keep up with the lead limo.

Advertising
It’s not a regular occurrence for someone to be getting married. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. How are they to know a good photographer from a bad one, and plus, there are just so many ‘wedding photographers’ out there that finding one that suits one’s needs can be quite overwhelming. A source of good advertising is beneficial to you and potential clients.

Trade shows can be fantastic at generating business. Just think, you’ll be introducing yourself to thousands of brides and showing off your work and explaining to them just exactly how you are going to service them on their special day. Sounds easy? Not quite. First, the cost is quite prohibitive. Let’s break it down:  $3000 to rent the rather small, tent-like booth (and that’s for 3 days), another $1000 minimum for setup props, whether that be hanging murals, bolsters, truss with fancy lighting, hard wood floors (are you kidding, you’d be lucky enough to get a carpeted booth), etc. And then there is the task of ‘manning’ your booth, for 3 days, 12 hours/day. So let’s say, about $500 in lost wages or to the person lucky enough to stand around for that long. 

Now, what about those enthusiastic brides?  Some, yes, are truly out to find the ‘perfect’ photographer. But the others, from what I’ve seen and heard, is that their main intent is to get that funky little stamp on their entry form for a chance to win the grand prize.  Oh, did I mention that you also have to provide an ‘incentive’ prize to the organizers to use during the ‘giveaway’? I may sound a little sarcastic about this form of advertising, and that’s because unless you are super prepared for the event, you will get eaten up alive by all the other contenders. I’m not saying that it doesn’t work, and I’m sure many photographers have done most of their business through trade shows. But the fact remains that it is so important to make sure you are well prepared for this type of advertising.  And if you are really good, and you attract lots of people to your booth, you might just be lucky enough to have the organizers give you ‘perks’ the next time around.

It’s generally accepted that word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. But sometimes that’s just not enough to keep you going.  Especially in our economy today, more and more people are moving out of Vancouver into less stressful cities such as Shanghai ?? And the ones coming here to get married don’t necessarily know your friends or couples who could recommend you. Nevertheless, word-of-mouth is still king when it comes to booking ratios (i.e., of all the people recommended to you, most will book). As an added incentive and gratitude, try offering some ‘bonus’ money to those who are looking out for you and truly admire your work; $100 is not unreasonable as incentive to get more bookings through word-of-mouth.

Magazine advertising, especially those targeted at brides and handed out at wedding fairs is another good source. Brides can see a sample of your work and give them a better idea of your ‘vision’ and see if your photographic tastes match with theirs. However, magazine ads can be expensive, especially if they come out with more than one issue per year. It should also be noted that some magazines limit the number of photographer ads and the sizes of their ads. The one that I am advertised in costs well over $3,000 for each issue (thankfully there is only 1 issue per year) and has limited the number of different sized ads, such that if I decide not to place an ad this year, there is no guarantee that I can get a spot with the same size ad next year.

The internet and your web presence is fast becoming the way (if it hasn’t already done so) to doing good business. How many times have you come across an ad (for anything) and found yourself endlessly searching for that infamous ‘WWW.’ text at the bottom of the ad? Oh how true that a company today without a website just doesn’t seem like a company anymore, especially if your product is about imagery.  For the price of a full-page ad in one issue of a magazine, you can get a website company to design and program quite a nice website. Tired of the same images on your site, you can have it changed almost immediately. Want to enhance your images via slideshow presentation complete with swanky music? No problem. Think you are the only person with a phobia of telephone conversations with silver-tongued sales people dying to get your business? Think again. I get about 10:1 e-mails regarding my wedding packages than I do phone calls. I specifically ordered call display on my business line to monitor the number of calls I get. I long for the day that I can actually use up the 30 memory locations that it has!

I would say that during the past year, about 50% of my business came from my website, 40% word-of-mouth, and 10% magazine ads. So, why have both? Well, I find the magazine ad just re-confirms to the bride-to-be that you are indeed a ‘pro’ and are serious about doing business. However, as the percentage of bookings continues to rise through website advertising, I’m not so sure that magazine advertising will be where I spend my hard-earned dollars.

A Positive Outlook
As a high-end photojournalistic wedding photographer in Vancouver , you have great responsibility to your clients, their family and friends. In my 15+ years doing weddings, I have never come across a day where ‘high end’ photographers were, well…just the ‘photographer’. The wedding party is counting on you. They are counting on you to entertain them, to make them laugh, to pose them correctly, to make them look great! If you flinch once, their trust in you starts to dwindle fast. 

You are wearing more than one hat on that day and if it is one thing that I can say to help you through it all, it would be “Keep a positive outlook at all times”. This is rather a cliché statement, but all so true. What do you do if the weather turns sour and your bride is scared to get wet? It’s up to you to encourage them to have a little fun and show them that a little rain won’t ruin their day. What about if someone has forgotten the rings?  As fate would have it, this has happened several times this year already. So what did the photographers do? We kept a positive outlook, shot some decent candids of the crowd and cheered on the bright idea of the maid of honor to use her ring…for the groom!  And what about if the couple didn’t want to book a minister or Justice of the Peace…and they asked YOU to perform the ceremonial ritual? Well, I’ll tell you what I did. I took a deep breath, addressed the guests, performed the ceremony (they were already legally married so this was just for show) and had my backup photographer shoot during that 20 minutes that to me seemed like a lifetime. You wouldn’t believe how confused all the other guests were for the rest of that day.

If you keep a positive outlook, no matter what curve balls are thrown your way, the day will go much smoother and you will always have the respect from the client and guests. 

Background
First let me begin by saying that there was once a time where I definitely did NOT want to be a wedding photographer. The responsibility of having to remember so many different poses and working under such tight time constraints really didn’t do much for me. I initially started videotaping weddings 15 years ago. I was completely happy being behind the lens of a video camera while all eyes, as it seemed, were on the main photographer. Basically, I felt safe videotaping from afar. Although I still had a responsibility to capture the event I could do so by following the lead of the main photographer.

Shooting wedding videos was fun and challenging. Eventually, I became interested in taking my own pictures of the moments that the main photographer was missing…guests having fun, kids in their dressy attire playing, the couples ‘candid’ moments, etc. I then decided that ‘capturing the moment’ using my old Canon AE1 Program (film) camera and placing those shots into my videos would add a touch of snazziness to them. I had no idea that this would eventually become the way of todays wedding photography...currently known as the ‘candid’ or rather ‘photojournalistic’ approach.

Eventually word got around that the pics I was taking for video were exactly what couples wanted, images that were truly candid and not overly posed; images where the couples could relax and enjoy the day without having to exercise their facial muscles in order to ‘strike a pose’ artificially. When asked to be the main photographer for one of Vancouver ’s Miss Chinatown weddings, I promptly refused the offer…twice! However, (and I have no idea how it happened) the couple managed to get me to shoot their wedding. The results were much more than I expected. The bride was fun, spontaneous, and radiated her smile throughout the day…basically a ‘model’ bride. But most importantly she gave me the freedom to photograph whatever I saw fit. From there it all began…my quest to become one of the best photojournalistic Vancouver Wedding Photographers.

I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

Cheers!

For those interested, here is what I currently use for equipment:

Films of Choice

• Fuji NPS, NPH, NPZ
• Kodak Portra 400 & 800
• Kodak TMAX 400CN & Kodak Portra 400CN
• Kodak E100S slide film

More Photos by Larry Rotta

Editor's note: Larry Rotta received an Outstanding Achievement placement in Fuji Canada's 2002 wedding photography contest. You can visit Larry's Elan Photography website.

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