Why Empathy is the Most Important Trait of a Wedding Photographer
What makes a great wedding photographer?
This is a question I’ve asked myself countless times. I’m not alone in this, either, as it’s been asked by many others online.
It’s the type of topic that leads to never ending discussion, because how you define “great” is going to inevitably be subjective. Most likely, the average person is making this judgment by looking at photos a wedding photographer is producing. It’s a reasonable thing, I think, but it’s a judgment that misses the core of getting a great photograph. While the result can be great, the process that goes into making “it” happen is even more important.
Most impressive to me is how wedding photographers (in particular) can create such beautiful art from a day that tends to be quite rushed and time restrained.
As a wedding photographer myself, I show up to a venue and immediately must start making artistic judgments about the space. I also must call on my meteorological abilities to identify where the light is going to be at different parts of the day – something I’ve come to learn quite heavily as I examine weather forecasts for the day by the hour and compare with the wedding timeline I’ve put together.
Having an eye for composition is one aspect of a great photographer.
Being able to get in sync with the weather and lighting patterns, and know what will and won’t work, is also another thing that is an attribute of a great photographer.
But – a great wedding photographer gets the luxury of facing one of the hardest to crack challenges out there: taking great photographs of a bride & groom, two people on one of the most important and often stressful days of their lives, as well as their family and guests.
The unpredictability of the wedding day is what makes the work interesting to do, and a great result that much more rewarding. But, it does also bring along with it plenty of anxiety that can be hard to shake. As professional wedding photographers, it’s always a goal to minimize this feeling, and certainly not display it to our clients.
Of course, for all our internal struggles as photographers, we can sometimes lose sight of the people we are shooting for. Because of this, I find empathy to be one of the most important characteristics of a great wedding photographer. In capable hands, the photographs virtually take themselves – but being able to balance the wide range of emotions a couple may be feeling, that is another story completely.
What inspires empathy in me?
Having empathy means that you can feel and share the emotions of another person.
At its strongest, it’s the result of mutually shared experiences. These may be actual specific things you have gone through with another person, or comparable situations that share a lot of things in common that you and another person experience separately.
The strength of empathy is something that can really only come about through the result of time and life experience.
In my little world, I’ve seen and experienced some terrible things in life. I’ve also had plenty of good things.
All of these things have combined to allow me to connect with others.
It’s what fuels my interest in photographing people, and especially couples because I know pretty significantly from my own experiences the power of love and abilities it has to bring out the good in people even when things aren’t going so well. It’s pretty cheesy to put it like that, but in practice, it really is what I have felt given my 14 year relationship with my wife (who is the other half of this wedding photographer team).
On the wedding day, there is usually a feeling of anxiety coming from the bride, groom, family, etc. – it’s commonplace. At some weddings, sometimes poor familial relationships can add another layer that can be difficult to understand as an outsider. Other times, there are really unseen things at play in people’s lives that wouldn’t come up in casual conversation with “the photographer,” but being able to put yourself in the shoes of these people if you sense something to be off can go a long way.
How great photographers can learn to be great wedding photographers?
Empathy is one of the key things that enable great photographers to become great wedding photographers.
No doubt, there are a lot of skills on display during a wedding day. Mastering the technical adjustments and considerations on the fly as the day is rushing by is no easy feat. A skilled photographer (no matter the genre) could likely adapt to a shooting situation like this – but to say it’s easy would be inaccurate. We’ve been fortunate to have taught ourselves much about photography, and had a small amount of formal education on it to let the technical components sink in. Every time we go out to shoot, we need to make adjustments based on the things we have learned and continue to learn.
But, as difficult as actually taking a picture can be at times – more often, the challenge of wedding photography lies in how you choose to approach shooting the day.
Sometimes, you have to decide whether you need to step in and give more structure. Or, if you should back off and take more candid shots. After a rough day of whipping wind and snow, you may even have to ask yourself if the next big shot you have in mind is worth dragging a freezing bride back outside to capture.
All of these things (and more) are filtered through pure and simple empathy.
The shared experience we have with those we are taking pictures of.
The photographers feel the cold just as much as the bride & groom. It’s easy to imagine someone wanting space from a photographer (even if they are paying you to be there).
Being very aware of these things is critically important. It helps to create a sense of caring and compassion that can leave a lasting impression on the people being photographed. It removes the headache and stress that many have in mind when they think about getting their photos taken, and instead replaces it with a simple reality: the wedding photographer is here to work with the couple. To make their experience a positive one at any cost, and to not detract from the wedding day, but make it memorable in photographs.
So what do you think? How does empathy impact your approach to wedding photography?
