How to be a Wedding Photographer and Travel the World

If you have a good sense of capturing jewelry accessories people usually wear, you have a good chance of becoming a wedding photographer. 

Brides wear different jewelry items that may include a diamond pendant, a solitaire ring, a tennis bracelet, a necklace, or anything that goes with the dress. If you know how to capture a move where that diamond stud earring sparkles like a night star, you’re almost there.   

Wedding events offer much more than a solid income. You’ve got real customers around you who might want to hire you based on your expertise. But, one of the perks of being a wedding photographer is traveling worldwide to capture various wedding events. 

Wedding Photography and Traveling

How soothing it is to capture beautiful moments and feel the emotions when two people exchange their wedding rings? Only a beauty admirer would tell. 

More importantly, you don’t have to pay for the travel expenses, let alone enjoy delicious wedding meals and meet new people every time. On top of that, you can earn handsome pay for your hard work as you capture heart-touching moments on special days.

Since it’s the most special day in a couple’s life, they want it to go perfectly. Hence, they would want you to capture everything from their wedding day diamonds, and dresses to wedding gifts, etc.  

So, if you’re not a destination wedding photographer, how can you become one? This post will discuss the essentials for becoming a quality wedding photographer and attracting new customers for your business.  

1. Target Your Local Market First

As a new photographer, you may need to start small because you don’t have an audience. And the best option is to target your local market. But how does that make you a destination photographer? For a start, every aspiring destination photographer must grind through the difficult few days to establish themselves as a reliable professional.

So, here is the reality check: You can’t expect anyone to trust you with a destination wedding as your first photography assignment. Instead, you will need to build a portfolio and showcase your skill at the local level.

Remember, people who travel the world for their wedding pay hefty sums for booking places and other arrangements for their guests. From proposal rings to wedding rings, guest lists to food arrangements, they plan everything meticulously to ensure a perfect wedding day.

In such a situation, receiving a photography assignment is impossible if you are a fresh photographer with no experience to show. So, here are a few pointers to help you target the local market:

• Ask your friends for small photography assignments and referrals.
• Volunteer for local events as a photographer to build a portfolio
• Set a low photography fee for your initial assignments

2. Keep Your Expectations Low When Starting

Destination weddings have many perks. You travel, see new places, meet more people, etc. But if there is one thing that’s not guaranteed, it’s the size of your paycheck. So especially for your first few destination wedding assignments, it’s best to keep low expectations for your photography fee.

Remember, you’re getting a chance to travel and enjoy new company, so it’s more about enjoying your work for the first few assignments. When you have established yourself as a photographer, that’s when you can be more rigid on your payment conditions.

One of the perks of low-paying jobs is the room for error. So even though you must be on-point with your photography, you won’t be too disappointed with the paycheck if the job doesn’t go as well as you planned.

Also, you have more chances to experiment with different photography ideas, like capturing unique angles for wedding day diamonds, wedding sets, and diamond styles at weddings. You can also create an impressive portfolio for wedding and diamond jewelry on your photography blog.

When you’re working for higher pay, there will be more pressure on you, and the chances of experimenting will be minimal. So, please make the most of the opportunity when it arrives.

3. Showcase Your Work on Social Media

Having a social media presence can boost your photography work. You can showcase your photography for engagement rings, diamond jewelry, and wedding sets to emphasize your attention to detail.

Likewise, it’s important to stay alert and capture candid moments. Couples love unplanned pictures, especially on occasions such as bouquet throws, exchange of engagement rings, diamond stud earring spark, etc. 

This can be a critical aspect in attracting more customers because everyone loves random, candid moments. 

4. Be Travel-Ready

Being unprepared for a photography job is the last thing you want as a destination wedding photographer. While there are several aspects to preparing for destination weddings, you must ensure that your travel essentials are covered.

Here are a few things to keep in check:

• Make sure that your passport isn’t nearing a renewal deadline.
• Keep all your essential documents ready before traveling.
• Prepare a traveling checklist for your important stuff, especially for short-notice assignments.
• Ensure that you abide by the health safety guidelines, i.e., vaccinations, etc., to prevent any hindrances while you travel.

5. Select the Right Equipment for the Job

When traveling for photography assignments, it’s essential to pick your gear wisely. Even though you might be tempted to carry all your stuff, it’s best to keep your backpack as light as possible. Typically, you will need the following essential equipment for a destination wedding:

• A couple of camera bodies
• Charger
• Spare Batteries
• Two to three lenses
• Memory cards
• A camera bag to store all your stuff

While it may seem like you’re missing out on stuff like tripods, external flashes, etc., they may not be needed every time. But if you feel the need, you may well pack them too.

The best way to organize your traveling kit is by preparing a checklist. You can even design a separate equipment kit that you should use only while traveling. You will need some different budgets and a few more photography assignments.

6. Where to Keep Your Camera

Remember never to put your DSLR in the checked luggage. There are high chances of damage as the equipment is sensitive to shocks and mishandling. Moreover, it’s too critical equipment to lose, especially when your sole purpose is to shoot the event.

So, ensure you’re there with the camera when the couples are flaunting their diamond cuts, engagement rings, diamond wedding bands, etc. The best option is to keep a hard-sided hand-carry bag with additional padding for securing your camera and lenses.

Also, remove the battery and memory card from your camera to prevent accidental powering and deletion of images from the camera. Also, it will help preserve battery charge.

7. Protect Your Gear

There are various types of people at the wedding, and you can’t trust all of them. So, it’s your job to secure your photography gear. Especially if you’re a lone traveler to a new place, make sure to protect your equipment from pickpockets. In many places, these criminal activities are a genuine concern, and you must ensure security for your gear.

For that reason, keeping a minimalistic photography kit is the ideal option. Moreover, keep an eye on your surroundings to detect any suspicious activity to prevent any chances of theft or loss.

Conclusion

Destination wedding photography can be one of the most exciting jobs for creative and aspiring photographers. So, if you know how to do it right, it’s time to start building a photography portfolio, and pretty soon, you may have an assignment at one of your dream job sites.