How do I become a Wedding Photographer?

I recently had this great idea to become a wedding photographer...probably something to do with my Adobe Photoshop class. How do I do this? Do I need a degree? How does one start with it...should I offer to take pictures of my friend's weddings? Do I need a dark room?





Any info from someone in the field would be appreciated.

How do I become a Wedding Photographer?
You don't have to go to college to be a wedding photographer but you still have to learn photography. Plus you need the right camera equipment to shoot weddings be it film or digital. No you don't have to have a darkroom for this, let a professional lab do that work. My suggestion as others have mentioned do not do your friends wedding as the main photographer if something goes wrong she will not be very pleased with you.





If you have a passion for photography then start reading about the technical aspects of photography and then applying what you have learned and going out and shooting. Take notes learn from your mistakes and try not to make them again, ask a couple of professional photographers to look at your work and learn to take criticism good or bad.





To get your foot in the door you could start by getting a part time job with a photographer and being an assistant or / and working in a photo lab.





Hope this helps,


Kevin
Reply:Try to get a job or internship, with a wedding photographer in your city.
Reply:Well it depends on how you want to do your photos...digitally or the old fashion way?! If you want the old fashioned way you would want a dark room...if not just do it on the computer...


You need to build a portfolio of your pictures that way you don't seem like some random person off the streets. You have to have something that shows what you can do.


As for your friend's wedding, how much experience do you have? If you don't have a lot then you might feel a lot of pressure that you might be uncomfortable with... another thing you can think about is not taking the final photos (being the official wedding photographer) but just taking photos as if you were the main photographer, so you have photos to build your portfolio and skills.


Once you have your portfolio, then advertise, get your name out there. Flyers, business cards, websites....


Good Luck!
Reply:my oldest son worked for a year as an assistant to a very busy wedding photographer in brooklyn. i'd suggest you find a wedding photographer, and see about working for them, as an assistant (which doesn't pay much, but, you get to see what the deal is). you might not like the work, you might, though. give it a try! best of luck
Reply:You do not need a degree. If that is really what you want to be, you should start small. Try taking photos of children in your neighborhood(with parents permission). Birthday parties and other family functions first. You would not need a darkroom unless you just want to do the developing and printing yourself. Please don't be the only photographer at a very important occassion until you and other people agree you are talented enough to handle one alone. No one can afford to lose a friend so don't practice on one's special (any )day unless there is a professional there also and you are doing it for a learning experience. PLEASE!

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