Behind the Scenes | The Wedding Process

The StudioWeddings

May 24

What Goes Into Being a Wedding Photographer

Hello!

I get asked, "how many hours do you put into a wedding?" or, "what do you do all day?" quite a bit. My impression is that some people thing I come to a wedding, snap pictures, then go home and party! (Side note: I'm not that cool. I wish I had parties to go to!)

This impression is my fault to an extent. On my website and on the blog, I talk a lot about the images, and the pretty stuff, because that is the BEST part! So I figured that I would tell you a little bit about my process - how we get from that initial inquiry till delivering the images from the wedding. It may be a little more complicated than you think!

I get an email or a phone call asking about a wedding date.
I usually send a starting pricing & request to set up an in-person meeting.
If I get an email back - we set a date!
Before meetings, I always send an email reminder with directions.
We'll meet at my studio, learn their story, discuss packages & options, look at albums, and create a sample timeline to see how much coverage they need.
After, I email a thank you from consult with timeline we created, and ask about any more questions they may have.
If they decide to book, I email a contract & invoice.
Then I try to get a phone call (or continue emailing) to discuss the engagement session (i.e. style, locations, etc).
Sometimes I collaborate on a Pinterest board with them to get the style exact!
More email reminders for the engagement shoot!
2 hour engagement shoot on-location.
I back up the engagement photos on THREE hard-drives (just in case!)
I edit the engagement photos within two weeks.
Then I send sneak peeks, blog, and upload all the images for the clients.
After the engagements, there's usually a little break, but I keep up with my clients in our private Facebook group!
The next step is to schedule a final meeting to discuss the timeline.
We meet at the studio for about an hour to finalize the timeline, family groupings, and details.
I then email the timeline to my second shooter & have a phone call to discuss details.
The day before wedding I email my clients to wish them luck and confirm one more time.
Shoot 8-12 hours on the wedding day (so much fun!).
The same night I come home and upload all images to three different hard-drives.
That night I also usually edit a sneak peek for social media.
I edit the wedding within 4-6 weeks from the date.
I create and send a gift to clients while I'm in the editing process.
Throughout the process, I upload sneak peeks & blog posts.
The best part is uploading the final gallery & delivering it to my clients.
I also meet with them for ordering any prints or albums (again at the studio!).
If an album is ordered, I spend a few hours designing it, and redesigning it based on my client's feedback.
Final product delivery.

Whew! That's a lot of steps. I hope that helps you understand a little more what goes on behind the scenes. If you're a current client, now you know where you are in the process. If you're just curious about what I do, now you know!

xoxo,
Katie