What annoyed you today?

[Jediboy]

Makes you wonder Jinky.
Hope it all goes well when the time comes. Like you say, think of the benefits it brings. 

[Jediboy]

WAMT?!

I have two flat camera batteries and I can't find either of my two chargers anywhere!!!
I thought it may be a poor attempt at hide and seek by the wife but she assures me it's nothing to do with her. 

[Karen]

These are exactly the kind of things that made me pack in my wedding business. Yes the money is good once you build up a reputation but i was beginning not to enjoy it and thats the time to get out. I obviously didnt regret it as im enjoying my photography again. I do commisions when im asked but not weddings. Ive just shot a farm and that was great fun in big welly boots. Last year i was so glad i had packed it in when i broke my elbow as that would have been a disaster.

[jinky]

I enjoy each wedding at the time but they are so full on I find  I can barely walk the next day with bad back and knees which is what made me think of ceasing. Been some family emergencies lately that have been awkward where I have had to fit around bookings and feel it`s time to retire fully now and just enjoy my own photography  and time a bit more.

[donoreo]

One of the reasons I have always said you could never pay me enough to photograph a wedding.  Nope.  No way. 

[Andrew]

Interesting how I hear about making a living from photography becomng more and more difficult.

I'm not saying it can't be done, and can't be fun, but it certainly seems like you have to put an awful lot of your life into to get anything out.

I suppose it's a bit like any art - only a few ever really have what it takes, or the the lucky breaks, to pull it off and get into the big money league.

Then I look at the issue of fame nowadays and wonder if you really do want to be that successful.

Really - who would want to expose their lives to the whims of the Daily Mail and the Murdoch Daily's? 

[jinky]

Yes I`m glad it`s holiday money for me rather than a living - I`d have been homeless long ago. Mind you that`s largely because I don`t do anything on the business side and just take what comes my way from referrals.. Of the ones I`ve done I`d say only 1 has annoyed me greatly and I fear this one will be the second as the bride and groom seems so lazy and shiftless that nothing is planned / organised.
I`ll be going out with a bang as my last one will be my eldest daughters. I`m just shooting a few aspects of it though and have secured the help of another guy who is doing the elements when I am busy on wedding matters and then giving me the raw files to edit with mine.

[anglefire]

I've done 2 weddings now - both for friends, and both for friends that liked my style - and accepted that if nothing came out, it wasn't the end of the world - both came out fine and are happy with the results. I did it as a present to them. The second one, the groom doesn't like fuss so the whole affair was very low key.

But I wouldn't do it for money - I don't have the right character. And I enjoy photography too much to do it for a living!

[jinky]

It works well for me most of the time. I like the banter and the freedom of expression. Looking back all but 2 customers have been a pleasure to work for with the other 2 it`s been a personality clash as much as anything else. Both had "lost" or "been let down"  by other photographers - makes you wonder. With these 2 one the shots worked well at least and the other is still to come. In some ways I wished I`d got into the wedding photography game may years ago but now I fear my age and aching body works against me  hence calling it quits next March and taking no more bookings.

[Karen]

Im the same i wish id done it years ago and i think having someone that you can trust to do it with you must be an enormous help and take the pressure off.  Its a very stressful job although very pleasureable most of the time. I like you was shattered the day afterwards. It was a big decision for me as i had built the business up to be successful and i still get people asking me to do it but ive never regretted stopping

[donoreo]

Interesting how I hear about making a living from photography becomng more and more difficult.

I'm not saying it can't be done, and can't be fun, but it certainly seems like you have to put an awful lot of your life into to get anything out.

One question: can it be done WITHOUT shooting weddings? 

[Andrew]

yes - it can be done without shooting weddings. Ask Tim Wallace - don't recall anywhere that he has shot any weddings in anger so to speak.

I would imagine that Martin Parr has never shot a wedding either - but then shooting weddings has changed beyond all recognition since film days.

No one offers a contract based on how many rolls of film they will shoot or demand that the photographer is not liable for images getting lost in the post or the developing process.
Red Eye is no longer acceptable. Unwanted blemishes are no longer acceptable.

Yep, the iPhone culture wants instant and free pics - let them shoot them with their smartphones! 

[donoreo]

I wonder if back in their history they did not shoot weddings to pay the bills when starting out.  Yes, the instant nature of smart phone photos.  And filters.  Sometimes it is scary.  Still a funky filter does not make a bad photo anything but a bad photo with a funky filter. 

I remember weddings in the 90s where they put out disposable film cameras for all the guests.  I always liked that, but those photos were never part of the official wedding photos. 

My own wedding in 2004 was shot on 35mm and medium format.  My groomsmen were hitting on the photographer too, she was a rather attractive Australian blonde.  I was given the negatives a few years ago when the studio was clearing out all the old equipment. 

[Reinardina]

What annoys me, is that you cannot buy anything on line these days, without being bombarded with newsletters and offers. Even unsuscribing does not always work.

[Paul Montgomery]

I've done 2 weddings now - both for friends, and both for friends that liked my style - and accepted that if nothing came out, it wasn't the end of the world - both came out fine and are happy with the results. I did it as a present to them. The second one, the groom doesn't like fuss so the whole affair was very low key.

But I wouldn't do it for money - I don't have the right character. And I enjoy photography too much to do it for a living!

Ditto - did my Sister in law's wedding recently as a favour as they only wanted a low-key event and I got them to agree in front of witnesses that as I was an amateur doing it for free there was a risk that the pictures would be worth exactly what they were paying for them. Ultimately I enjoyed the day and they were pleased with the results, but there's no way I'd do it again...