can anyone be a wedding photographer?
Is there a course or training specific?
Question Asked: 21/11/2018
Wedding Date: 9/08/2018
Most Helpful Response
(14) · Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, servicing all of South East Queensland.
Posted: 26/06/2026
Answered by: 7 Experts
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Depends what you're asking!
In one sense, anyone can hang up a sign and say that they're a wedding photographer. There's no organisation that enforces standards. There's no degree course.
(There are, of course, general photography degree courses, and there's countless courses available online in wedding photography.)
In another sense, not everyone should be a wedding photographer, and not everyone wants to.
Many professional photographers really don't want to do weddings. For instance, my sister does product or editorial or travel; she hates the pressure of weddings and the stamina required to lug gear around for potentially 16 hours. And I have a friend whose main thing is drag queen photos for posters, and he hates event coverage. He wants a controlled environment where can take time to finesse the details, and where he can add substantial creativity during the editing to produce one or two amazing images from an hour or two of shooting.
Wedding photos -- dealing with thousands of photos after a shoot -- are a very different beast from fashion or studio work.
So what does it take to be a wedding photographer? Gear is bottom of the list. If you simply spend, I don't know, $20K-$30K on equipment, you can come to the party with the most modern bodies and lenses. But you can also spend just a few thousand, on older bodies and lenses, and how you shoot is infinitely more important than what you shoot with.
More important are:
-- technical skills
-- creative eye
-- knowledge of how weddings flow
-- some sort of social skills
-- logistics and planning skills
-- stamina
-- patience (for the editing)
-- some sort of business skills
Very few wedding photographers I know are chill people. They need to project calm on the day, but they're also "on", they're reactive, they have nervous energy, and they're stressed. Taking photos is a matter of continuously thinking and looking for opportunities. It's mentally and physically exhausting. What's going to happen next, where's the best place to stand, what adjustments do I need to make to the camera, etc.
Not all photographers should be wedding photographers let alone someone with no training and a camera. But if you are wanting a cheap option or have a friend looking to practice or up skill maybe they could be a second shooter so you have a fail safe if it doesn't go to plan with their shoot. They maybe able to learn from the wedding photographer..
Basically YES!
Although, only very few can shoot a full wedding correctly and without errors.
This is why looking at a few of their albums is paramount.
(1) · South Coast NSW, Southern Highlands, Sydney & Surrounds
Posted: 22/11/2018
Anyone can use a camera and learn the settings, and call themselves a photographer, but its only a small amount of people that have the creative eye,flare, and passion for photography. capturing moments no one else sees, this is what makes you a great photographer
Hi
most wedding photographers go through some training either TAFE or university others have assisted professionals and then branched out on their own
cheers Felicity
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The short answer is that no, there's no licence or compulsory qualification in Australia. Anyone can buy a camera and call themselves a wedding photographer, which is exactly why looking closely at full galleries, not just the highlight shots, matters so much when you're choosing. You want to see a whole wedding start to finish, including the tricky bits like a dim reception or harsh midday Queensland sun, so you know they can handle whatever your day throws at them.
That said, plenty of us did train. Some come through TAFE or a photography degree, others learn by second shooting and assisting experienced photographers for years before going out on their own, which is honestly where a lot of the real wedding craft gets passed down. A wedding isn't a studio shoot you can redo. It's a one off, unpredictable, often a twelve hour day on your feet, and knowing how a run sheet flows so you're standing in the right spot before the moment happens is something you only learn by doing a lot of them.
The other thing worth asking about is what happens after the day, because that's half the job and the part couples rarely think to check. With us every image and every film is edited in house by the same team who shot it, never sent offshore or outsourced, so the look you fell for in the gallery is the look you actually get back. Plenty of skill goes into the day, but just as much goes into the weeks of careful editing afterwards.
So can anyone be one? Technically yes. Should everyone? Probably not. Meet a few photographers in person, look at complete weddings, and pick someone whose work you love and who you'd happily have following you around all day, because you'll be spending more time with them than almost anyone else at your wedding.