Our BEST blog posts on how to be the BEST wedding photographer in one easy place to find!

Beginning Wedding Photographers: Must Have Gear

Whether you’ve been a photographer for a month, or a year, or five years, we all know one thing about photography gear: It’s never ending. There’s always something you don’t have. You finally get something on your wish list, then another lens or body pops up. It adds up quickly…so quickly.

If you’re a beginner photographer, this can be very discouraging. I’m here to tell you: YOU DON’T NEED IT ALL. You don’t have to have 10 fancy lenses and bodies to be an amazing photographer. So what do you NEED to be able to photograph a wedding? Here are my suggestions.

Be Intentional

Best wedding advice you’ll ever hear: Don’t just shoot to shoot. Don’t just shoot to shoot. Don’t just shoot to shoot!

The bride and groom that hired you do not need 2000 snapshots of mediocre photos. That’s what their Grandma is there for! Trust me, I had the collection of snapshots from my family cameras. What I hired my wedding photographer for was to tell the story. Be intentional with every snap; tell their story. They won’t care if you give them 200 photos, or 600 photos as long as their day is covered from beginning to end.

Not only will this create a more beautiful wedding gallery or wedding album for the bride, but it will make you LOVE your job even more. I promise. Quality over quantity. So how is this done?

Wedding Day Lighting

Oh boy, lighting is probably the HARDEST part of any wedding day. When planning an engagement or family session, the photographer has more control over the light. We can choose locations and times of day that are best to capture soft, gorgeous light. This allows us to capture our subjects in the dreamiest way.

On the wedding day location, timing and intensity of light are pretty much out of our control. Our lighting is usually the opposite of what we want which makes us work a bit harder to create those dreamy pictures. What we can do is work with what we have. Proper education, equipment and preparation can help you work with any and all lighting conditions, even in a pinch.

Working with Videographers

Photography and videography are VERY different. In order to be able to capture a day with photos AND videos, you need two separate professionals. It is SO fun to work with a videographer and see the same day unfold in video clips. Videographers have a talent that I can’t even comprehend to tell a story of an entire day in just a few minutes. If it’s your first time working with a videographer, it can be intimidating. Just remember these 4 simple things.

How to Take Group Pictures

Group pictures…the dreaded part of the day for pretty much everyone. Of course the family wants the pictures and the memories, but when it comes time to gathering everyone, suddenly everyone remembers how much they hate being in front of the camera.

All Brides are Beautiful

Pinterest. Inspiration Blogs. Instagram. Perfectly curated wedding feeds all around us. “Ideal” Clients.

Because there is so much emphasize on LOOKING perfect and attracting Pinterest-worthy weddings, photographers are forgetting what is MOST important. To me making the bride – any and all brides – feel like a real life princess on her wedding day is most important. No matter how old (or young), no matter how big the budget, no matter how many wedding details. Every bride is important, every wedding is beautiful, all stories deserve to be told. Every bride is beautiful. That doesn’t mean we have to agree with their wedding colors or styles always, but make sure you’re focusing on making them feel like a billion bucks no matter what they choose on THEIR day.

How to Rock Bride Meetings Every Time

An essential part of an amazing wedding photography experience is setting the tone with the prospective couple! The best and easiest way to see if you will be a good fit with a couple is an in person meeting with them at the beginning of the process. Part of being a photographer is that you are constantly on the job hunt! Consider the consult your job interview with the couple. Put time and effort into making your bride meetings effective and organized. After your they view your website and social media, this will be the first chance to wow them with your personality. The meeting often becomes a two way interview. They are seeing if they can be comfortable and relaxed in front of you and if they can see you being the person they want around them constantly on their wedding day. You are in turn showing them all the amazing things you hope to provide them. Here are three things to remember throughout the consult to rock your bride meetings every time!

How to Be an Amazing Second Shooter and Why it’s Important

A second shooter is a photographer that is asked to shoot along side a main photographer to assist and get a second angle for the main shooter. Most weddings include two shooters because of all that is going on in a wedding day. Its very beneficial to the main photographer to have a helping hand, but it’s even more beneficial to the second shooter. Second shooting is the #1 way that photographers can learn, improve and grow their portfolio. Not to mention that all it costs is your time!!

Essentials for Surviving Wedding Season

Post-wedding hangover.

It’s what we call the day after a wedding. I don’t drink so I’m not sure exactly how it compares to a real hangover. But basically you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus. Somewhere between forgetting about eating and using the bathroom, lugging around heavy gear and using lots of adrenaline to catch the big moments, your body is fully exhausted.

Over the past few years I’ve figured out a few remedies to avoid and recover from the post-wedding hangover. The key is to implement at least one of these ideas then slowly work up to all of them. Just like everything in photography it can get expensive. In comparison to my weekly chiropractor trips in the past, these are a no-brainer for me now and totally worth the cash.

How to be a GREAT Wedding Photographer

Kylee Maughan

Kylee Ann Maughan is a family and international brand photographer based in small-town Northern Utah. She has been a business owner for 13.5 years, and also runs a successful and award-winning associate team. Kylee hosts semi-annual retreats, speaks at conferences and teaches online courses about running a small business and marketing. Her niche in coaching is helping moms turn their passion into profit, while being the mom they dream of. 

kyleeannphotography.com/kylee