I don’t know if i wrote about this before. Maybe I did, but it probably doesn’t matter. It might need a refresher, or just to be said again.
I was reading a comment on another blog post of mine, and it reminded me of the few rude guests that say something like, “Hey, it must be freaking awesome to take down the kid of dough you make, and only work a few hours once a week.”
Ha! So after I throw a right-cross on him. I pick him up off the floor and say something like this…
On Thursday night, I recharged all my batteries from my cameras and flashes. That takes a few hours at least. Then, I pack my bag, clean my sensors, and make sure everything is there. I put the bag by the door so I know I’m finished and everything is ready to go. I usually do this step close to bed time.
I wake up Friday morning, eat breakfast, have a few cups of coffee, and then start looking for the best route to the getting ready location, the church, and the reception location. I print off the pages from google maps in case my GPS and Iphone fail me, for whatever reason. Paper hard copy is always good to have. Then, I check the bag one more time, mainly making sure I have my CF cards with me, and that my cameras are synched and are set at ISO400, take a shower, kiss the kids goodbye, and head out. Usually, this is anywhere between 10am and 2 pm that day. It just depends. I shoot all day and night, on my feet, and only having breakfast. Then, at around 7pm, or whatever, you’ll find me fighting with the catering manager for food. Now, keep in mind, I left the house at 10am, and had breakfast only. I have been on my feet and working very hard all day – photography is very physical, I probably do about 1,500 squats on a wedding day. It’s good for me though. But, my glutes need fuel at night. Also, keep in mind that I am captive. I can’t just leave. So, the catering manager always wants to not feed me, for some reason. I’m not sure what that power trip is about, but it’s a struggle at every wedding. And, it’s a general rule that the nicer the venue is, the worse they are about it. If a wedding catering manager is reading this, please give me your point of view because I don’t get it. The bride paid for a meal. We’re freaking starving at this point. The caterer always wants to feed me after all the guests have eaten. But, get this, after the guests have eaten, the events start and I have to get back to work. Feed us first, or while the guests are eating because we do not photograph people eating. It’s the perfect time to give us a meal. I would leave, but something might happen while I’m gone. I’m there to watch, observe, and capture. Leaving is antithesis to that.
So, the wedding is done. I come home after a very successful day. I’m worn out, and tired. It’s probably midnight, or close to it. I have a wedding on Saturday. So, being that it’s Friday night, I have to download my cards, and back them up. This can take a few hours. So, I grab a beer from the fridge, put on some TV, and start downloading and backing up. Once, all the images are downloaded and backed up, I stick the batteries in the chargers, and hit the hay.
Now, I wake up on Sat morning, tired and sore from yesterday, and basically do the whole thing over again. Including fighting with the catering manager (lol).
Ah, now it’s Sunday, and I don’t have any work. So, I get to relax for the day. It’s very nice to just chill out…maybe have a BBQ.
Monday rolls around, and it’s time to start working on those 2 weddings. That is assuming that I am totally done with the wedding before those 2. If it’s summer time, I could have 2 or 3 weddings every weekend for several months. WOW. So, maybe I have a backlog in processing those wedding. So, I may be working on weddings from 2 or 3 weeks ago. But, that’s not all I do. I could process a wedding per week, that’s about the rate if I have absolutely nothing else going on at all. However, for every wedding I shoot is a wedding album that has to be made. Also, from every wedding, reprints are ordered. Also, I shoot portraits, so I have portrait session and engagement sessions to shoot and process. Oh, and there’s the blogging, updating the website, and keeping people updated on facebook (very important). In addition, new clients call, and I have to meet with many of them and show them my work and book more weddings for the future. There’s quarterly taxes I have to pay, as well as general purpose accounting that I have to do on a daily basis. There are contests I have to submit images to because if I win, that gets me some good advertising. Have I mentioned advertising yet? No? Oh, well there’s that, which can take up quite a bit of time and thought. There are vendor meetings I have to go to. That’s how I get a lot of business…schmoozing with planners, and venue and catering managers. And, wow, the emails. The inbox is constant treachery. It’s so hard to keep up. As soon as you clear it and think you’re done, here they come again. I’m not complaining, just trying to paint a picture for everyone. And, that’s just all on Monday. Tues – Thurs is equally as busy.
I love what I do. I chose it. I continually keep choosing it. This is not something you can do easily if you loathe it. You have to love it; all of it. But, it’s far from just working a few hours on a weekend.
I hope you enjoy this posting, and take it for what it is. It is not meant to slam anyone, but more of a realistic look inside of what a photographer does outside of what one might “see” them actually doing.
All comments are welcome,
Jerry
Jerry Frazier Photography
