For every wedding photographer there will always be one wedding that he or she will never forgot no matter how long they’ve been in the business.  Their first one.  

For me, it was March of 2004.  I was second shooting for David Jay and I had literally no experience (or interest, to be honest!) in weddings.  At that point while I was still in college, I had only even attended one other wedding in my life I had virtually no expectations going into shoot my first wedding.  Unlike others, I hadn’t even taken the time to prepare by scouring the internet with examples of the types of shots I was supposed to be creating.  Perhaps the best part of the day, for which I am still grateful to DJ, were the instructions I was given -t hey were so simple I still remember them: “Do whatever you want.”  That’s what DJ told me!  It was just me my Canon 10D, a 50 f1.4, and a 28-70 f2.8.  I had no shot list, no real instructions, and basically no idea of what I was supposed to be doing. 

Things have changed quite a bit over the last 5 years since that first wedding.  Mainly, now I know what I’m doing. It’s both the blessing and the cost of experience.  While I now know how to deliver consistent results, that feeling of absolute freedom that comes from doing something for the first time is largely gone.   Often as artists we feel pulled between the desire to be consistent, to give clients what they’ve come to expect after looking at our work online, but we also the desire to remain highly creative and push our work to new levels.  While creativity is not something that can be learned, there are things that we can do to help stimulate the creativity in our work. 

Please Log In or Sign Up for a FREE Silver Account to access the rest of this article or others on ProPhotoResource.com{rokaccess !guest}1. Clear your Creative Slate
Resist the temptation to scour the blogosphere or your favorite photographer’s website the night before a wedding looking for new ideas.  Rather than putting your brain into a creative mode, you’re rather putting it into an imitative one.   

We need to find a different muse.  One that will expand rather than limit the ideas that come into our heads.  One great way to do that is to explore other areas of art.  Go to a symphony, or a modern art show.  Read a poem (read it several times to really get into it.)  Where will you find ideas for wedding photography from a symphony or a poem you ask?  Remember, the idea is to open yourself up creatively (think of it like stretching), instead of finding ideas to imitate. 

2. Create a Routine
Having a pre-wedding routine is important.  It doesn’t so matter what it is (or that it’s very long) just as long as it’s something.  By having a routine that’s automatic, it allows you to clear your mind and not be distracted.  Obviously, the routine should be something enjoyable (maybe going to your favorite breakfast spot, or having a specific workflow for how you pack your bag or get ready). 

3. Shoot In New Places
One great way to force yourself to be more creative is to shoot in places that are unfamiliar to you (or that you at least haven’t shot in before).  While you obviously can’t dictate to your clients where to have their ceremony or reception, you can certainly have more say in where to do the portraits of the two of them or where to have their engagement session. 

Be open to shooting at different times of the day or even at night.  Shooting at night (with no on camera flash) requires you to open your creativity and find other sources of light (such as street lights, store windows, etc etc)

4. Rent or Experiment With New Gear

If your camera bag hasn’t seen any new pieces of gear in the last year or two, you might try injecting a new lens into your lineup.  One economical way to do that is to rent from your local pro camera shop.  Try something totally different from the gear you already have.  Sometimes renting a fisheye or a tilt shift lens will spark new ideas for how to use the gear you already have in a different way. 

© Chris and Katie Humphreys {/rokaccess)