... Ever since we got married (a few months ago) she has REALLY been into weddings. ... She has always liked/done art since she was little but took business in college. She really wants to try to do something that uses her artistic side. Enter photography.
So she currently is a stay-at-home wife, but she is taking up photography basically from zero knowledge, just enthusiasm. She understands that it will take a while to learn the business and actually start making money from it. So the plan is for her to get a job now while she takes photography classes, fine tunes her skills, and builds her portfolio. The hope is to one day drop the other job and solely have her photography business.
OK. Keep in mind this is strictly IMHO, and without knowing your wife's work, or her personality. So this opinion may be worth exactly what you paid for it....
First of all, go back up and read
Vantage Point's post about Event Photography. Second of all, if your hasn't been reading this thread over your shoulder, bring her into this discussion. This is her future we are discussing.
I believe that wedding photography is the wrong place to start - for anyone just getting into the business. It is an extremely stressful job. The photographer has just one chance to get "The Most Important Day In Our Live's" perfect. There are no 2nd chances. Mess up a shot, Mess up their lives (at least that's what they'll tell you...) Plus, the client's are not on their best behaviour. They're stressed and tired, the bride hasn't eaten since the night before, the groom may be nursing a hang-over, and the two mothers both think they're in charge. Of everything. Including who get's into which formal shots. And Uncle Hank, who once swept the floor at the photo studio in Ottumwa is leaning into all the shots to get the same angle on his P&S. His theory being that if he can get the shot, then the Bride and Groom can save some money by using his pictures instead of paying you.
As important as the photography is, it's not the most important skill set here.... it's the circus management that makes or breaks a good wedding photographer. And the photography skills have to be so well learned and ingrained that they can continue to shoot great shots, while getting the elephants and lions to jump through their hoops.
I don't shoot weddings, I know wedding photographers (We've been shot by a great wedding photographer). I have a huge amount of respect for them.
My suggestion is to start with portraits. Really good portraits can be done with very basic equipment and skills. A good lense that runs 90mm to 110mm, a couple of basic reflectors and a good window are all that's needed to get started. And a background. That can be pure white or pure black at it's simplest. It's not going to be a versatile set up, but it's a good way to start working with people, getting to know how to photograph people, and the simplicity allows the photographer to focus (pun!) their attention on the client.
Within a few weeks or months your wife can graduate from "free, portfolio building shots" to being paid. It's important to let the first few free clients understand that this is a time limited offer. I suggest that the friend get a single 8x10 in exchange for their time. If they want more prints, they pay for them. Work out the price ahead of time, so that your wife's answer to "How much if I want more copies?" is not.... "I still need to work that out." It is very difficult to come up with a price after the fact. It's tempting to want to give the extra prints away ... they're a friend after all.
As she starts to make some money at the portraiture business, the funds can be used to upgrade the equipment (see
Vantage Point's post above.) Her set up will get more sophisticated, and more complex. All of the skills she is learning, and the equipment she is buying, will translate into wedding photography. If she still wants to go there.
At some point she will qualify as a "business" and some of the expenses can then be used to offset taxes.
The links below show some great examples of very simple portraits that I think are very good.
Eric Klemm travelled North America, photographing First Nation's People, using a white sheet as a background, outside light (no flash) and - well a very nice camera, but it was film and he wanted the ability to go big (Really Big). Any basic DSLR is more than capable for the average client. See Silent Warriors on his website (link above).
Richard Avedon made a whole career with white backgrounds. Just google his name. I think he also used flashes, but it was a basic set up.
Lloyd Erlick, though he doesn't seem to be active at the moment (the website is, though) shoots the vast majority of his portraits against a black/grey background and uses a window for light - no flash at all. I love his portraits. He also used a basic, film camera. No AF, etc
I'm not suggesting that your wife adopt one of these styles, just saying that very good portraits can be done with very minimal equipment.
I tell my students that Portraiture is both the easiest and the most difficult kind of photography. Easiest because it requires the least amount of technical competency. You've got to be good... but it doesn't have to be complicated.
It's the most difficult because you're dealing with people, and some photographers don't do people.
When I was more active as a commercial photographer, I did catalogue work (objects shot on a table-top set up), and portraits. I could work all day on a catalogue project, and come home tired. Very tired some days. I loved doing portraiture, loved the minimalist look (see links above), and would be exhausted after a 2 or 3 hour session.
Hope some of this is at least partly helpful to your wife.....
