The Secret Life of Wedding Photographers

December 7, 2009 - 11:26 am Sarah Alston - The one thing that the graph is missing is for those of us who have kids and family. I do everything on that graph, but add in the time it takes to get the kids out the door to school, make dinners, do homework, take them to karate classes, keep up with the house (laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, ect.) and somewhere in there find time to do the fun family things you are supposed to do: Birthday parties, go to the park, school functions, game nights, family nights, holiday parades, playing Monopoly, bedtime stories, playdates, ect. Some people just don't understand the work that it takes to run your own business, make it succeed, plus try and have a little bit of a life outside of work. It's tough, but it's the best job in the world!

December 7, 2009 - 11:36 am kristi wright - Great post and insight!

December 7, 2009 - 11:41 am michelle cunningham - the biggest thing people don't realize is how much we give up weekends and family time. if i actually have a weekend free i try my hardest hardest best to spend it on my family and stay away from all the work pending on my computer. for each major event shot it's a week's worth of completion processes .. and if clients take their time responding to our questions or calls then you can stretch that week into 2 or 3. it just all adds up. groan.

December 7, 2009 - 1:21 pm Ben Godkin - Great insight into the life of a wedding photographer. It helps to love what you do to keep you going. ;)

December 7, 2009 - 2:10 pm Otto Rascon - Thanks for posting this. I think that this hits the mark dead on. I sometimes wish that wedding photography was just about snapping some pictures and then we would be done. But there are so many things to focus on. Thanks and Rock on!

December 7, 2009 - 5:21 pm Brandon Wong - I love this very true, funny, and eye opening post. Thanks for sharing.

December 7, 2009 - 8:49 pm Ayesha - Ha! Those pie charts are awesome. This is funny but also so important... really spells out what makes us PROFESSIONAL wedding photographers, as opposed to just folks with fancy cameras and cushy jobs. And amen to sarah alston's comment... I chose to start this business myself because it would allow me to stay home with my little boy. But being home with him and trying to run this business... Something's gotta give, and it's usually sleep! (and a clean house...)

December 7, 2009 - 10:12 pm Kittyk - Sounds about right. But we just traded PCs for dark rooms. I have always spend more time in dark room then photographying...

December 8, 2009 - 2:36 am Guy Collier - How accurate is this! It's a conversation I've had many, many times :D

December 8, 2009 - 5:14 am Aaron Riddle - Very accurate pie chart! Props for putting this together. I say it fits my life to a "T".

December 8, 2009 - 5:31 am Evert - my personal chart also has playing online video games in it ;) On a more serious note, eye-opening chart for people that don't really know or appreciate how much time this job really takes.

December 8, 2009 - 9:14 am miami wedding photographer - Funny! :):):) The chart is accurate! :)

December 8, 2009 - 11:20 am Joe Milton - Good point Kittyk. Do you miss the smell? :)

December 8, 2009 - 1:45 pm David Martinez - Right on the money. So this is a business opportunity for someone willing to help assist in editing. That would drastically improve how much time is spent on other important tasks.

December 8, 2009 - 3:45 pm Torsten - Great article, Going to share it with my followers.

December 8, 2009 - 3:47 pm Elaine Borges-Ibanez - Wow! I actually think I spend even more hours a day on my PC editing images, designing albums, dealing with emails, preparing images to print , updating our website, and all the marketing/social networking for business purposes than suggested here! Wedding days are my favourite though - the highlight of the week! I hope you don't mind but have linked to this page and used this pie chart on our site too now! xx Elaine

December 8, 2009 - 4:04 pm Tru Shots Photography - Excellent post. Thanks for the reality check...I think this will be great for people who are not photographers to understand. I don't think the breakdown of time only applies to wedding photographers...I know photogs in a variety of genres who would agree with that second pie chart. I will be sure to tweet this post...I think it is great to share.

December 8, 2009 - 4:24 pm Tasha Prescott - Totally agree, and so very well put. I'm still in denial that I am a wedding photographer. After 18 weddings in a matter of months, I realized, not sure I want to only have that title... So for now I'm a photographer that happens to do Alot of weddings lol It's a hard job, but I still think it's one of the best... Tasha Prescott BeU Photography

December 9, 2009 - 2:12 pm Jacek Taran - That's really true! I think in my time taking pictures is less than 28% . Best regards.

December 10, 2009 - 3:50 am edward olive - time or effort quantified i spend 90 % of my energies and efforts dealing with haggling couples wanting a zillion pictures like they were from mario testino for 50 cents i almost have no energy left to take pictures any more

December 10, 2009 - 5:25 am Marcin Rusinowski - so true... some of the tast really need outsource to get more time for... partying like rockstars :)

December 10, 2009 - 5:46 am Jamie M Swanson Photography - So true. Perhaps we should be outsourcing some of our time behind a computer so we can stay true to our first love: shooting!

December 10, 2009 - 7:48 am Noelle Bell Photography - I completely agree and I'm not even doing it full-time yet! There are so many facets to this job I'm still learning. Thanks for the great breakdown! Very good reality for not only photographers, but an understanding for the customers.

December 10, 2009 - 3:07 pm R. J. Kern - 100% Totally true. And the best thing about being self-employed? We get to choose which 12 hours of the day we wish to work!

December 11, 2009 - 10:36 pm Wedding invitations - CENT PERCENT TRUE!!!!!I agree with you wholely and solely.

December 12, 2009 - 8:42 am Donna Von Bruening - I am with Sarah...being a mom and trying to balance full time demands of motherhood and family -- that is a huge part left off the pie chart.

December 14, 2009 - 11:54 am Kristin Vaughan - This is so true. The glamorous life of photographers is not always so glamorous. There is also hours of worry and frustration.

December 14, 2009 - 7:49 pm Todd Nichols - Alot of late nights for me! I'm usually up till 2am editing and more editing. During the daylight hours I spend my time in a dark room editing! Take a short lunch break and actually notice the daylight! What day is it??? Todd

January 10, 2010 - 2:00 pm Patryk Wola?ski - Hehehehe Great :)

January 12, 2010 - 3:55 am Dave Piper - Love it.. My pie chart is more like the top one though.. lol. well a couple of days a week anyway. lol. I wish. I

March 2, 2010 - 1:07 pm 3mily - I've noticed how people make those types of generalizations about a whole range of professions or occupations (from wedding photographer to at-home parent to pastor to whatever). It's like they enjoy making comments to suggest that other people don't work very hard, even though often it's said of people who do in fact work very, very hard behind the scenes.

March 9, 2010 - 10:16 am Through The Lens Wedding Photography - Great graph and quotes!