Robert Evans - The Secrets of Spectacular Wedding Photography: An Inside Guide to Perfect Wedding Photography

Dont let your grandmother find out you didnt listen to Robert Evans

Thank you for your interest in this book, which is truly a project from my heart. I enjoy the privilege of continuing to maintain a prolonged, successful career as a wedding photographer. Over the years, I have encountered stories from couples who have had a negative experience related to their wedding photography. It is my hope that by sharing some of the wisdom I have collected along the way during my career, it will not only help head off any photography mishaps, but assist you in experiencing a perfect wedding day, captured with beautiful photographs that will last for generations. The best of luck to you as you journey toward tying your knot.

Sincerely,

Robert

My Photography Story

I didnt set out to be a wedding photographer. At 18 years old, I took a job in a color lab in Hollywood, California, developing and printing other peoples photographs. It was there that I quickly realized that I wanted to take pictures, not process them. Commercial and fashion photography seemed glamourous certainly more so than photographing weddings, which was barely on my radar at the time.

That changed when a friend who worked in a portrait studio in the San Fernando Valley alerted me to an opening in their wedding department. Eager to shoot just about anything, I took the job, welcoming the chance to trade darkroom chemicals for an actual camera. I had no idea at the time that I was about to embark on a career photographing weddings, portraits and events, nor how much joy, gratitude and meaning that career would offer me.

I photographed my first wedding in January of 1989. Thats a long time ago, but I remember it well, as I do all of my weddings. With this particular wedding, the brides first name was Kim and her grooms last name was Kim, so I chuckled, realizing her married name would be Kim Kim.

I remember being excited and very, very nervous. As a new photographer, my biggest fear was not exposing the film correctly. I kept my light meter in my hand, constantly checking it and adjusting the settings on my Hasselblad medium-format camera. With technique always at the forefront of my mind, I was less creative; it was all I could do to make sure I photographed what I was expected to capture off the studios shot list. (Back then, we had a long list of poses we were required to shoot, which later helped make the studio more money by upselling the couple and making the wedding album bigger.) As I became more confident with my camera and lighting, I became a much better photographer because I was able to turn my attention to composition and capturing emotion, rather than always worrying about my camera settings. Over the next three to four years of photographic growth, my work improved greatly, as did my love for emotional storytelling.

Since then, Ive gone on to photograph more than 1,000 weddings, from intimate ceremonies for just two people to elaborate, multi-day destination events and some of the biggest celebrity weddings of our time. Each wedding had its own unique love story and taught me lessons both professionally and personally.

Wedding photographs are the one thing couples have to look back on that allows them to remember the stories and feel the emotions they felt on their wedding day. Early on, as I realized my role in telling these stories, I became passionate about capturing images that would touch my couples hearts from the wedding day and long into the future. That passion still informs my approach thirty years later.

Sadly, weve all heard stories over the years of couples who had unpleasant experiences with their wedding photography, be it disappointing images, issues over follow-up, or even being left with no wedding pictures at all!