May was an incredibly busy month for Weddings, certainly my busiest single month to date which is great news but it’s been tough as a result. Mixing my self employed photography with part time employed work has been demanding, as some weeks I’ve been constantly working and even when I get a day it’s being spent editing.
The downside to this is the wear and tear on my equipment. I’ve had a shutter go on my beloved Canon 1DX which needs to be sent for repair with and expected cost of between £400 to £500 and my 70-200 lens has also retired itself suddenly during my latest wedding. It’s been an essential part of my gear for 14 years now and has served me well in that time. I need this lens, so an immediate replacement was ordered which has cost me £2200. This is the reality of a photography business and it’s why we need to charge what may seem like large amounts for coverage of events. Fortunately income has been ok but an issue I’ve encountered this month is a delay to payment of invoices which is frustrating and is causing me issues I didn’t really anticipate.
We work hard during a wedding, we are always ready for any eventuality constantly watching during what can be 10-12 hour days. We have stressful situations to organise with group photos, confetti shots, full coverage of the ceremony, couple shots, speeches, candid photos, cake cutting, first dance, party shots as well as continually watching the weather for sunsets or gaps in the rain to take advantage of situations. Constantly in touch with registrars, vicars, venue co-ordinators and DJ's. We have to quickly scout a venue on arrival for places to take photos with lovely backdrops and react to ensure everything runs smoothly and doesn’t interfere with the couples enjoyment of their big day. Deal with all kinds of different lighting situations that present themselves throughout the day. Ensuring the bride is comfortable, keep track of her bouquet and make sure both have refreshments on hand. All the time maintaining a calm exterior and being happy and personable to everyone we meet and chat to. This is while ensuring batteries are charged, memory cards have space, flashes work and we have back up equipment to ensure things are recorded in the best quality possible. This is all ignoring the fact for every hour we spend taking photos we have at least 2 hours editing the photos after the event. It’s tough and deserves to be decently recompensed for!
As it stands at this present moment I have at least £1200 in unpaid invoices, when you consider my issues with equipment this month, this has a major impact on cashflow. So when you are booking photographer please consider how important we can be and what a difference we can make to your day. I recently did a wedding and was given the ultimate compliment, I was told that I had actually enhanced their day. I couldn't wish for more apart from the ovation I was given when I left the wedding on Saturday lol. That was a first but it was appreciated. Maybe they were just glad I was going...
Onto my weddings for this month….I have been lucky enough to visit some lovely locations, meet some fantastic couples and share their joy and love. Considering what I’ve said above, I love what I do and I’ve had some lovely days. Six weddings in total for May here's a photo from each
Last Drop Village 7.5.22
Stirk House, Clitheroe 10.5.22
Chorley 19.5.22
Wrightington Hotel 21.5.22
Venue, Cleveleys 28.5.22
I also managed to squeeze in two pre wed meet ups, a commercial shoot and two matches for Chorley including a playoff away to York City. The York City game was an interesting one, full pitch invasion by York City fans confronting the Chorley fans, with flares being thrown into the crowd and police involved with batons. Fortunately I'd moved away prior to final whistle. Not experienced that in non league previously but young fan bases are becoming an issue for clubs. These kids did a lot of expensive damage to their own ground that night and it's a problem that will need to be addressed as these invasions are becoming more common across the leagues.
June is a little quieter but a welcome break ahead of a busy period again for July and August.
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