Photographers Never Actually Retire

Image source: pinterest.com

Photographers can authoritatively make a claim to their craft as a profession. However, when they say that they have retired, this is hardly believable.

To begin with, being a photographer does not exactly go like other straightforward careers where retirement is a tangible reality. A basketball player who is retired can actually lose his skills after a number of years of not religiously playing. A salesperson can lose their passion and desire to close deals. A photographer’s skills do not rust as much.

Photography is an art form. An artist never truly retires from being an artist. Artistry, when one has it, never really escapes one’s very being. The craft is as naturally occurring as the ability to express oneself and affect other people through meaning.

Image source: discerningassets.com

Give a retired photographer a camera and tell him to take shots as they please. The compulsion to compose and wait for the right moment to snap will always be surprisingly retained in the manner they take their shots. The photographer will never be able to deny their discontent at their output if this makes them feel uncomfortable.

A lot of muscle memory is involved in years and years of taking photographs as a profession. This dynamic is rather inescapable even when a retired photographer decides to pick up a camera after a long time.

There’s no such thing as a retired photographer, only one who’s not taking pictures at the moment.

Hi there! My name is John Bradberry, a retired photographer. I offer consulting services for event photographers. If you want to read about more tips on photography, check out my blog.

Common Wedding Photography Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

Covering a wedding is one of the most exciting but toughest assignments a photographer can take on. Because a wedding is one of the most important events in a person’s life, stakes are incredibly high, and you get pressured to take your best shots.

Image source:weddingwire.com

So, here are the most common wedding photography mistakes you should avoid.

Poor exposure

The bride’s white dress is the centerpiece of the wedding. And it can be a real pain to photograph correctly. The difficulty lies in setting the right contrast. Overexpose it, and you’ll have a bright white dress with no detail, do the opposite, and the dress will look grubby and gray. So, before the heat of the event starts, take shots of the bride’s dress until you get the perfect setting.

Messy background

It’s best to check out the wedding venue before the big day so that you can identify potential locations for the essential shots and ignore the places where the background isn’t as inviting.

Image source:weddingwire.com

Couple squinting in the sun

One thing you should check when checking out the venue before the event is the lighting or the sun’s position. You don’t want your subjects to be squinting when you take a picture of them.


Hi there! John Bradberry here, a retired photographer now offering consulting services for event photographers. If you’re a budding shutterbug, subscribe to my blog to get regular photography advice.