10 Fundamental Tips for Newbies in the Wedding Photography Business

By: Jasmine Monrouxe

So, you’ve decided you want to enter the wonderful world of wedding photography. Now it’s time to get prepared and arm yourself with as much know-how as possible. After all, you are going to be responsible for capturing the magic of this once-in-a-lifetime event – no pressure!
Here are the top 10 things I have learned on my journey, that are valuable to anybody breaking in to the wedding photography business.

1) Experience and second shooting

You’re new to the scene, and may not have any experience photographing a wedding, other than that time you used your point-and-shoot camera at your cousin’s wedding. So, how do you get experience photographing a wedding, in a professional setting? Offer your services as a second shooter!
There are a few reasons why this is a highly valuable experience if you’re thinking of becoming a wedding photographer. The most obvious being that you will gain on the job experience, as well as building a wedding photography portfolio. By becoming a second shooter, you will also meet established wedding photographers, and begin to network with other pros. A great way to begin second shooting is to research wedding photographers in your area, and contact three to five that you like the most. You can also use Facebook and search for photographer groups to advertise yourself. Offer your services for free to start, and you should hopefully land yourself a job pretty fast.
When you secure a gig with a photographer, be punctual and polite on the big day. Observe the photographer’s behaviour, and the way they have structured the big day. This will help you get a feel for how you will one day operate your own business. If there is anything you are unsure of, or want to know more about, asking the photographer once the rush of the wedding is over, is a great way to get a better insight.

2) Compare and prepare

You’ve assisted a few photographers at a number of weddings, and now you want to take the reins. Good job! At this stage, there is a lot to think about, and begin preparing. You need a presentable portfolio to show prospective clients, as well as prices, packages, and a solid contract. A great way to roll two of those things together is to create your own website.
This will allow you to have an online gallery of your images, along with a page outlining all pricing and further information. If you’re not a HTML whizz or web designer, don’t fret – you can sign up to a website that will offer you pre-made themes, designs, and layouts. Wix is a great place to start, you can select a yearly plan, which will give you a domain name, and eliminate all of their advertisements from your website. Plus – their website editing tool is super straight-forward and will allow you to customize your website easily. Another low cost option is Squarespace, starting at $8/month.

When you are designing your packages and conjuring up your pricing, comparison is key. Take some time to think about all the expenses involved in your business and compare this to the rate you wish to charge. Depending on your expenses, it might work in your favour to price yourself slightly higher or lower. Things to consider are: your overhead costs (rent, telephone, utilities, web fees, etc.), equipment, price of goods including wedding photography albums and/or prints, and you should also think about your own salary and how much business you hope to accumulate during the year. Remember, you are a novice – clients will not be choosing you because of your years of experience, but because of your passion and artistic flair!

You will also need to think about having a contract ready to go should a client ask to see a copy. There are loads of great wedding photography contract templates online, find one you like and do some adjusting. Important things to consider when writing a contract are: model release, image copyright, illness or injury, pricing and deposits/retainers, sizing/format of images, etc. Always have a lawyer take a look at your contract. Laws vary from place to place, and sometimes it is not my place legal guidance to others. Remember, we are photographers – not lawyers.

Read these related dPS articles for more on contracts:

• The Biggest Legal Mistake Photographers Make
• Wedding Photography Agreement (Contract) Tips

3) Sell yourself

You’ve compared, you’re prepared – now it’s time to don the marketing hat, and get your name out there. There are a few avenues you can explore, but something that always goes down well, is running a promotion or special offer. For example, you could offer a special bonus (such as 20 free 5×7 prints, or a free 16×20 wall print) on your wedding services for the first five people who make a booking. This will cost you a little to produce, but it will benefit you massively and almost guarantee you five weddings.
A great way to utilize social media (again) is to search Facebook for wedding groups in your area, and advertise yourself there. Be sure to read the rules of the group and make sure you’re allowed to advertise your services in the group, some don’t allow it and you will be blocked. Have your website ready to go, so that as soon as you get some interest, you can fire through a quick message with a link to your work and pricing.

4) Communicate

By now you should have a few people enquiring about your services and wanting to know more. At this stage, quick, friendly, and professional communication is your best friend. Have a script ready, so that as soon as you receive a message, email, or phone call you have a short and informative response ready to go. Remember, this is a script – NOT a sales pitch! Keep it short, sweet, and straight to the point.
My normal script goes along the line of, “Hello! Thanks for the message. Of course, I would be interested in photographing your wedding – please feel free to head on over to my website to see more of my work and pricing (insert website here). Do you mind me asking what is the date of your big day?” By asking for the date of the wedding, you are opening a conversation which is a hugely important part of the process. Once you have had a brief conversation regarding the details of their wedding, say to them that you will be in touch in a couple of days. This leaves the ball in their court so that they do not feel pressured, but also allows you to follow up with a friendly message and hopefully secure a consultation.

5) Meetings

You’ve secured a consultation with your first potential client – yay! Turn up 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time, this is your only chance to make a first impression, and being late is a BIG no-no. Once you have greeted your clients with a smile on your face, ask them a few things about themselves. This initial meeting is a chance for them to get to know you (and vice versa) and your process, so go in there with a clear mind and plan of action.
Spend five minutes briefly explaining a run-down of how their big day will work from your perspective, and also explain your pricing, packages, and deposit payments. Take a copy of the contract and give it to them to take home and look over, let them know if they have any questions to contact you.
After this initial meeting, follow up with them three days later, and ask if they want to secure a spot. Make it clear that in order for them to secure their date in your diary, the deposit needs to be paid. If the clients liked you, and books you as their photographer, well done! You should always have a follow up meeting at their wedding venue, so that you can explore the grounds together, talk about potential photographic opportunities, and let those creative idea juices flow.

6) The Essential List

You’ve got your first official booking, the deposit is paid, and the ball is well and truly rolling. Good on ya! Now you need to make a list of the absolute essentials that you need for the big day. These things include:

• Family and group shot list
• Bridal party shot list
• Full itinerary of the day
• Your own photographic equipment
• Any post-wedding preparations

Contact the bride and groom and ask them to send you a list of all the must-have group portraits that they want, and also ask them for a full itinerary of the day. Ask them to allow an hour for photos between the ceremony and reception, in order to ensure that they get all the photographs that they want. Make a list of the equipment you will be taking including SD cards, spare batteries and chargers. If you are including prints or albums as part of your package, take some time to do the research and find a reputable, quality printing agency.

7) Itinerary and planning

The big day is getting closer and you’re getting nervous – use the itinerary of the wedding day to start scheduling your own plan of action. Decide which shots you want, and when is the best time of day to take them. Be mindful of the time of day and position of the sun if you are shooting outdoors. You don’t want the subjects to appear silhouetted – but you also don’t want to blind your clients with the sun, as this will make for very squinty pictures.
Be sure to also schedule your own breaks – after all, this is a job and you will need a break. I find the best time to have a break is during the lunch or dinner, when everybody is busy with the food. Nobody likes being photographed with their mouth full of food, so this is a great time for you to sit down and enjoy a well deserved break and bite to eat as well. In most cases, the bride and groom will feed you (if this is really important, you can even put it in your contract).

8) Recruit the best man and maid of honour

This will make your life so much easier, and will also enhance the experience of shooting family portraits. The best man or maid of honour are usually familiar with the family members, and will help herd the groups to make sure that everyone is ready for their portrait with the bride and groom. Let the bride and groom know that you intend to do this at your second meeting, and ask for a contact phone number or email address for the maid of honour and the best man. You can then drop them a line and introduce yourself before the big day, and ask them ever so nicely if they would be willing to stick around for family portraits to help you organize the herds of family members. Hopefully, they will see you operating like a well-oiled machine and the whole experience will not be too stressful on anybody. No one likes a stressed out photographer. This will also help you get to know them a bit better before the bridal party photographs, which is a major advantage in getting more natural, down-to-earth photos of the group.

9) Have a perfectly balanced attitude on the big day

The big day is here – don’t panic! Refer to your equipment check list to double, triple, and quadruple check that you have not forgotten anything. When you turn up to the first location and start shooting, you need to be prepared to wear an infectious smile for the whole day. This will help all of your subjects relax and smile during their photos. Remember – it’s fine to direct people during the staged family portraits, but do it as kindly as you can. Find the perfect balance between friendly and assertive for this part of the day.
Self-check for professionalism, there are a few things that I think of which are absolutely unacceptable. This includes: showing signs of stress, smoking (even if the bride/groom are doing it), chewing gum, spitting, or excessive drinking. Sometimes photographing a wedding can seem a bit like a party, but this is a job and it needs to be treated as such. Be approachable, and just a generally delightful person to be around. People will remember this, and you may even find another engaged couple at that very wedding who like you so much that they decide to make a booking. Word of mouth is truly the best marketing tool ever!

10) Follow up

The big day is over, phew – you survived! Now it’s time to knuckle down and do some editing, you’ve got a whole bunch of beautiful photos that you need to begin post-processing. I use Photos on my MacBook to sort through the images, and add all my best shots to a different album – I then go through that album and spend time editing those images.
How you should follow up as communication is critical, even at this point of the process. Text or email your clients the next day, and let them know you had an awesome time photographing their big day, and that you’ve got some stunning photographs. Some people take a couple of days to edit and send their images, other people take weeks. I tend to give a timeframe of 14 days, although they are usually done within five to seven days. If the photographs are not done in seven days, drop them a line and keep them updated on your progress, something along the lines of, “Hey guys! Just to let you know I have edited around 500 of your images and only have 100 to go. As soon as these are done I will be in touch to schedule a viewing.”

Once your edits are done, schedule a viewing time so that they can choose their favourites, and any potential prints. The final step is simple – once all is said and done, ask the client to provide you with an honest testimonial. This will give you more content to add to your website, and is also a great way for future clients to read about someone else’s experience with you.
From start to finish, the process of starting a wedding photography business takes hard work and determination, but you got there with (hopefully) no hiccups. Nice work!
Want more on similar topics? Check out these dPS articles:

• 6 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Professional Photographer
• What Defines an Amateur versus a Professional Photographer?
• 4 Things You Must do BEFORE Becoming a Professional Photographer
• 3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Starting a Photography Business

Jasmine Monrouxe is a freelance photographer and animal enthusiast from England, currently based in Wellington, New Zealand. She loves travelling with her camera, and capturing the different cultures and lifestyle of the world. When she is not travelling, she is working freelance photographing pets and weddings. You can connect with Jasmine and see her work at Jasmine Monrouxe Photography or on her Facebook page.

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What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

By: Jamie Delaine Watson 

Our main job as wedding photographers is to create beautiful images for our clients. But our job is also to provide a phenomenal customer service experience from beginning to end. Throughout the last decade as a wedding photographer, I’ve developed this list of non-gear related items to bring along when you photograph a wedding.

Wedding Day Essentials

The Wedding Timeline

Six weeks before the wedding, send the bride and groom a questionnaire requesting details about the timeline, addresses, wedding party, their families and vendors. Not only will this help the bride and groom think through any details they may have overlooked in their busyness, but their answers will help you foresee any timeline delays or issues.
Some important questions to ask:

• At what address will the bride be getting ready?
• At what address is the groom getting ready?
• Ceremony start time and address.
• Reception start time and address.
• When would you like photo coverage to begin?
• Based on the number of hours purchased, what time would you like photography coverage to end?
• Will you be having a First Look?
• Please provide the timeline for your wedding day, so far.
• Are there any specific locations you have in mind for your wedding day portraits?
• Will you be exchanging gifts with your spouse or family members?
• What mailing address should I use for you after the wedding?
• How many bridesmaids do you have and what are their names?
• How many groomsmen do you have and what are their names?

Family Photo List

Under no circumstance should you show up to a wedding without a list of family photos, created and approved in advance by the bride and groom. Attempting to focus the bride and groom minutes after they’ve been pronounced husband and wife, in front of a room full of family and friends eager to talk to them, is a recipe for disaster!
Having a list you can work from, and check off each grouping with a pen, will save valuable time.

On the wedding questionnaire, request the following information about family:

• Please list immediate family of the bride
• Please list immediate family of the groom
• Please provide a list of family photos you’d like and please note the names of each person in the grouping.
• Are there any divorces/deaths I should be aware of so as to not embarrass anyone on either side of the family?

Review and take charge of the list

Review the information received about each immediate family before the wedding. Throughout the hours you’re photographing, you’ll meet at least 40 people by name! Don’t rely on your own memory. By having everything written down, you can check your timeline and remember the bride has two brothers named Matt and Joseph. Now, all you need to do is figure out which brother you met was Matt and which was Joseph. Magic!
Usually, the family photo list that the couple returns is perfect. I may re-arrange groupings for ease of the photo time (starting with the largest groupings first and peeling people away as needed) but very minimal change is usually required.

However, sometimes the list may include large group after large group of extended family. When this situation happens, send the couple a warm and polite email confirming the list. Review the timeline and see how much time is needed capture the family photos requested.
Let the couple know you are happy to capture whatever images they would like, but you may have to steal 30 minutes from another portion of the day. When you present the options this way, many couples will choose to forego large groupings for family photos and enjoy their cocktail hour instead.

Verify Addresses and Phone Numbers

You can never be too careful when it comes to details, so leave no stone unturned. Even if the couple provided the name of the venue, request the specific address to eliminate all room for error. It’s important to have addresses for the bride’s house, groom’s house, photo locations and the reception.
Basically, anywhere you need to visit on the wedding day, have an exact location and meeting spot if the location is a park, for example.

Phone numbers are a key piece of wedding day communication. Have the bride and groom’s phone numbers on file, but also request the phone numbers of the Maid of Honour and the Best Man and confirm they will have their phones with them. It’s quite common for a bride and a groom to not have their personal phones on them, and rightly so.
Have the wedding coordinator’s name and phone number printed on your timeline for easy access. It is also not a bad idea to have phone numbers of a few other key vendors. Always be more prepared than necessary.

Step up Your Experience with These Items

If you only remember half of this article, stop reading now and remember the first part. But if you want to step up your “photography game” and look like a wedding day hero, keep reading. Make gathering the following items a goal for your next wedding season.

Parking Payment

Depending on your city’s parking meter structure, a credit card may be all you need — but some cities require coins. Stock your wallet with five dollars worth of coins for parking in a time crunch. Additionally, research if your city has an iPhone app for easy parking with your credit card.

Set of Umbrellas

Purchase a set of matching umbrellas in either a solid black or a clear color so they match any wedding party — your brides will be thankful. Keep the umbrellas in the trunk of your car at all times so you’re never left out in the rain.

Extra Clothing

Wedding days can be long and weather can be inconsistent. Prepare for everything with a rain jacket or parka (depending on the season), sweater or cardigan for the reception (if the AC starts up) and my favorite – a change of shoes for tired feet halfway through the day.

Business Cards

Don’t be caught repeating your name to a potential customer over and over again so they can memorize it and find you on Instagram. Have business cards in your bag at all times.

Laptop and Card Reader

For slower receptions, you could download your memory cards to a laptop for immediate back-up. Also handy for downloading your second shooter’s images before driving separate ways at the end of the workday.

Water, Snacks, and Gum

Working on an empty stomach isn’t fun. Pack more snacks than you think you’ll need — you can keep some in your camera bag and the rest in the car for an emergency. Having gum or breath mints nearby is a bonus while talking with guests and, of course, a water bottle and staying hydrated is a must.

Wooden Hanger for Dress

I have yet to add a wooden hanger to my wedding day list, but it’s a good idea. You’ll save 3-5 minutes at the bride’s house looking for a wooden hanger to replace the flimsy clear plastic one.

Emergency Kit

Photographer to the rescue! Pack a small bag with bobby pins, band-aids, tide-to-go, Tylenol, a sewing kit, a lint brush packs of Kleenex and anything else you think a bride or bridesmaid or family member may want at some point in the day. You’ll be the hero when the bride stains her dress and you whip out the tide-to-go or hand the mother of the bride some Tylenol.
If you photograph weddings, what else do you take along besides your photo gear? Please share in the comments below...

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7 Tips to Boost Your Confidence in Your Photography

By: Anthony Epes  

All creative people suffer peaks and troughs with their confidence. It’s just part of the deal. How, then, do you pull yourself out of a dip in confidence and into a place of awesome, creative inspiration?
I have been a photographer for twenty-odd years and I still have times when I wonder, “Will I ever take another good photograph?” Our creativity can be a very delicate, vulnerable energy – so it’s good to tend to it and treat it kindly.
In this article, I will give you some simple ideas that can help boost your confidence when you are struggling with being creative in your photography.

1. Stop focusing on what you can’t do

While it is super important to know where you have weakness so that you can improve, don’t focus on it.
Our minds can quickly fall into soul-crushing, creativity-crushing tirades about all that we can’t and don’t do. So we have to walk the careful line of improving ourselves, without destroying our confidence in the process. If you are super self-critical (as I am) then I urge you to stop, at least for a little while because intense self-criticism won’t help you develop.

Now start looking at your photos and think of all of the things you do well, all the things people might have said they like about them, things you like about them. Build from there.
When you are feeling good about your creativity, you’ll be so much more open when you go out and shoot. You’ll be less focused on yourself and a lot more focused on the world. That’s the right way to be, not thinking about you, but engaged and connected with the world around you. That’s when you’ll discover awesome shots.

2. We all have a story to share

I know so many people who think they don’t have anything new or interesting to add to the world because it’s already been said and done. That is just plain wrong. Every single person has a unique story, a unique way of looking at things – regardless of how it is expressed – through writing, photography, science, music etc.
If you aren’t getting good photos, then my first question for you would always be, are you photographing subjects that you are deeply in awe of? Are you standing in front of your subject and thinking WOW?
Or are you just shooting whatever catches your eye, with a mood of vague interest?

“If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.” – Jim Richardson

What interests you may not interest me. Within the groups of photographers I teach, they each have totally different interests – and that is awesome!
The more you hone in what makes your inspiration explode, the more your ideas, your stories, your photos will be unique and interesting to others.

What I encourage is to pick one subject that you are passionate about and really work on developing that until you start getting photos you really love. It could be abstract shapes in black and white, environmental portraits, sunrises, plants, etc.
When you pick something and go deep you become really familiar with your subject. By working different ways of shooting that subject, you are definitely in with an opportunity to develop something unique.
Dig deep into whatever makes you feel excited to jump out the bed and go photograph. Get really familiar with it, work on different angles, formats, processing techniques, etc.

I know you might say, “But I have 10 different subjects I love to photograph.” I get it! The world is an exciting place. But if you want to seriously improve your photography start with one subject. You can always move on later.
Most famous photographers are known for photographing one or two subjects right? They know what they are doing! Pick something and become totally awesome at capturing it.

3. Kill perfectionism

One of the main ways to deflate your confidence is to get wrapped up in trying to be perfect; trying to have the perfect kit, waiting for the perfect subject, trying to be perfect in your execution. You may think that perfectionism is striving for the best of yourself but in fact:

“Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough – that we should try again.” – Julia Cameron

When you are locked into the perfectionist mindset you stop doing and start analyzing too much. You wait for perfect conditions rather than just get on with what you have in front of you.

Getting started, getting out there, trying your best but not expecting perfectionism is the best way to move your energy and start taking better photos.

4. Photography is a journey

My photography 10 years ago was quite different to now. Although my subjects are similar, the complexity of my images has deepened intensely as I have gotten older, experienced more, and have obviously taken thousands of more images.
We are all on a journey with our creativity, we are developing at different rates and we all doing it in different ways. The most important thing for me is to enjoy where I am at right now, and enjoy what I am photographing – otherwise what is the point?

Trying to race through into getting better defeats the objective for me of being creative. Taking photos is my time away from all the rushing and deadlines and emails. It’s my time to be totally present in the world and to enjoy being creative.
Don’t rush the process, enjoy it!

5. Create for the sake of creating

Create just for the sheer pleasure of doing it. It’s not a means to an end, it’s a beautiful end in itself. Create for no-one, create only for yourself! That’s when you start to hit really magical work – when it’s all about your own pleasure.

Look at Van Gogh. He sold one painting in his lifetime, but thankfully he never stopped painting.

6. Keep going

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” – Pablo Picasso

There are so many times I’ve felt like I would never get any good shots but I have gone out regardless, often because I was compelled to. There was one very dreary winter morning in London when I had to go to get final shots for one of my books. I trudged over to East London in the depths of night, only to be greeted by a flat gray sky when the sun finally rose.

I was convinced that the photos I got that morning were dreadful, and came back to my office, disheartened. But I showed them to my editor and she said there were a couple she liked a lot. In fact, after the book was published I’ve had several people point out shots from that morning as their favorites.
So you seem it doesn’t always matter what you believe is going on, go out and take photos regardless. Something could lift your mood; a great subject appearing, seeing some beautiful light, etc. Or you could take a collection of photos, believe they aren’t that great but find, on reflection, that they are pretty good after all.
Or nothing could work. But:

“Chance is the one thing you can’t buy. You have to pay for it and you have to pay for it with your life, spending a lot of time, you pay for it with time, not the wasting of time but the spending of time.” – Robert Doisneau

Keep going, you never know what will appear around the next corner.

7. Do it now – often, later becomes never

It’s so easy to get lost in our minds and our ways of not believing in ourselves. I think the root of procrastination is usually a lack of belief in our skills, a lack of belief in ourselves.
Let’s look at it this way – this is your one life, it’s your one and only experience of this very day. Don’t waste it on ideas of your lack and inability. You can do extraordinary things – we all can. We are creators, makers, forging new ideas out of nothing all of the time.

Push through the discomfort, ignore that stupid voice in your head that says in your mind that you can’t do this, and go out and create something that is uniquely yours.

“You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – CS Lewis

Most importantly – have fun!

I hope these ideas help you get a little more voom into your thinking about photography. I would love to hear what you think – please let me know by commenting below.

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How to Let Go of Perfection in Photography

By: Karen Quist 

In the digital era, where perfection seems within our grasp through post-processing and limitless opportunities to reshoot, it’s easy to get hung up on perfectionism. In some genres, such as product photography, it’s a necessity. Your commercial client won’t appreciate blown-out highlights on a shampoo bottle or soft focus on the wheel of a prestige car. But in many other areas of photography – especially when it comes to your personal projects – letting go of perfectionism can help unleash your creativity and ensure that you don’t miss important moments.

Beautifully imperfect.

My brush with perfectionism

Earlier this year, my firstborn turned 18 and I wanted to create a slideshow of photos from her birth to the present day. Since I was still shooting film for the first 10 years of her life, this involved trawling through printed photos.
What stood out to me was that among my favorite photos, very few were technically perfect. Some were poorly composed. Others were out-of-focus, underexposed, or badly lit. In fact – and I hate to admit this – if I’d shot these photos in the digital era, I’d have rejected many of them, or attempted to reshoot them to get them “right”. But they captured expressions that epitomize my daughter. They had caught candid moments between sisters, and snippets in time I’d forgotten, but want to remember.

Grainy, underexposed and soft, this photo of my children snuggled into an armchair reading books 

is priceless to me.

Embrace the imperfect

Almost everything about the black-and-white photo at the top of the page is imperfect from a technical stance. The subject is too centred; the sun has cast shadows over her eyes and highlighted her nose; the highlights are blown out, and the focus is soft on the eyes. To me, though, it is exquisite. The windswept hair, the tilt of her head and quirky smile capture her sweet nature, and the way she looks (to this very day) when she is daydreaming.

In all three photos above, there are technical faults. But the clumsy embrace, the dimples, those 

eyes and that cheeky pout could never be replaced by technical perfection.

While this article is not about film versus digital, it is hard to deny that the digital era has brought out the perfectionist in us all. Those of us who cut our photographic teeth in the film era will remember what it was like to accept imperfection. When you had a maximum of 36 frames on a roll of film, there was no room for rapid-fire shooting in the hope of getting one good shot. Unless you did your own printing, or were prepared to pay for custom printing, you were stuck with the composition you’d shot. There was no histogram to meddle with, no brushes to delete stray hairs, and no actions or presets to smooth everything out.

Perfectionism is the enemy of creativity

My youngest daughter is wildly artistic. She’s a keen photographer and has an eye for composition, lighting and quirky camera angles. To my frustration, she refuses to master some of the basics such as the exposure triangle and depth of field. While I think this has more to do with teen rebellion than creativity, I have learned something from her.

Technical skills are important, there’s no question, as we need to master the fundamentals of our craft. In photography, this means understanding light, how focal length and depth of field work, and the relationship between shutter speed, iso and aperture. We should be aware of the rules of composition even if we choose to veer from them.

But digital photography allows us to take our perfectionist tendencies to an extreme.

Would this photo be improved if it were straightened, and the white balance perfected?

Perfection is a myth

When you make perfection your goal, you’re often left with a sense of failure. Rather than enjoying your achievements, you waste time lamenting what you failed to achieve and what you could have done differently.

Creative minds are rarely tidy (neither are their workspaces – just ask the aforementioned daughter). Creation can be a messy business, yet making a mess is something that’s discouraged from an early age. Creativity is the explosion of paints and brushes across the table. It’s the random words smudged across school books that become poems and songs. It’s burnt saucepans, twisted ankles and spilt ink, and it’s weird composition, missed focus, and unwanted backgrounds. These messes can lead to wonderful things that you’ll miss if you are focused on reaching perfection.

It’s worth remembering that Penicillin, potato chips, Scotchguard and the pacemaker were all the result of mistakes.

I am no landscape photographer, but when I revisited my birth country I wanted to capture how the majority of South Africans live. The photos below were shot from a slow-moving vehicle, and a landscape photographer could point out their many imperfections. But I think I achieved what I set out to do, and that’s good enough for me.

Khyelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, was established during the apartheid era as 

part of the Group Areas Act, and is now home to around 2.4 million people.

Tins roofs, uninsulated buildings and a riot of electrical wires overhead.

In the background, the mountain range for which Cape Town is famous. In the foreground, the 

outskirts of Khyelitsha.

Perfection is boring

There is a long list of famous songs which were recorded with mistakes, including Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, The Police’s Roxanne, and Radiohead’s Creep. It takes nothing away from our enjoyment of them – in fact, it enhances them. It reminds us that they were made by humans, who are fallible just like us.
I believe there is something in the human psyche that craves imperfection. In recent years, we have seen a resurgence of vinyl in the music industry. The trend in photo editing, especially for portraiture, has swung towards emulating film. And it is the millennials, raised in the digital era where everything sought to be perfect, who have led these trends. Lightroom presets such as Mastin Labs and VSCO are doing a roaring trade making digital photographs look like they were shot on film.

The flat tones in this photo were the result of underexposure. Now there’s a preset to emulate this look.

In this photo, the skin tones are too green, the central composition could be improved, and that red 

bucket draws too much attention, but contributes nothing to the story. Yet the photo reminds me 

of how much fun my children had on their first camping trip, and is evocative of my own childhood.

You’ll miss the important moments

Henri Cartier-Bresson, a master of candid photography said, “Sharpness is a bourgeois concept.” To him, photography was all about capturing the decisive moment, not getting hung up on technical perfection. Get too fixated on perfection, and you’ll miss the moments that take your breath away.
Your subjects can’t repeat a candid expression because you missed focus. An embrace is only spontaneous the first time. Spend too long worrying about shutter speed or depth of field, and you’ll miss it. If it’s restaged, it will show.

Discovering what my children had done when left unsupervised with craft paint in the backyard: 

priceless.

The photo below of a woman with her teenage daughter is an outtake from a family photo shoot, snapped in the break when they had dropped their guard. Because it is out of focus, I was tempted not to show it to them, but I was so drawn to their natural smiles and the warmth in their embrace that I changed my mind. It turned out to be one of their favourite photos. The outtakes are often the best photos, when people behave spontaneously.

This photo of my daughters was shot on 35mm film. Had I been shooting with a DSLR, I may have reshot it because the focus is soft. I’m so glad I didn’t. That split-second interaction sums up their relationship – the little one’s curiosity while her big sister asserts her superior status.

A moment is only candid the first time.

Progress over perfection

Candid photography and photojournalism are all about capturing the decisive moment, no matter how imperfect the conditions. You can’t reschedule the moment your baby takes his first steps until the light is right. And trust me, if those photos are blurry and the cat makes a guest appearance at the critical moment, they will still move you to tears when you look at them 18 years from now.
Regardless of what genre you like to photograph, keep shooting. Keep learning; read widely and take inspiration from anywhere you can. Learn from your mistakes and strive for improvement, but don’t get hung up on perfection. Enjoy your photos and, most importantly, the process of creating them.

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