Sparkography

Vivid Sydney

The Vivid Sydney festival has returned for its second year. I missed most of its debut as I was away on holiday (although I managed to take the above shot on the opening night), so I was absolutely thrilled to a) be in town this year, and b) have been invited to photo-blog the festival on behalf of Tourism NSW!

The festival runs for 4 weeks, and the most obvious sign that it’s on is the sight of the Opera House lit up with colourful projections. But the festival consists of a lot more events, including music, art and seminars. Fortunately I’ve been given free reign to attend as many of the events as I wish to (brilliant!), and in return I’ll be writing up my experiences across three photo-blogs over the next three weeks. These will be published on the Tourism NSW blog as well as Sparkography – so stay tuned!

If you’re thinking of heading to the festival then the Vivid Sydney planner is a great tool to work out your schedule!

For many working photographers the most stable form of regular income is weddings, and that’s the area I’ve chosen as the basis of my business model as I prepare to become a full time pro. Let’s face it, people are always going to get married and with divorce rates increasing they’re probably going to do it at least twice! Ok, maybe that was a bit mercenary but you get the point: love them or hate them, weddings are here to stay and they will provide a valuable income stream to photographers who know their bouquets from their bombonieres.

And therein lies the challenge. The classic catch 22. How do you become a good wedding photographer if you haven’t shot a wedding? How do you persuade a newly engaged couple that they should entrust the documentation of one of the most important days of their lives to you? I know couples that would rather you take their first born than mess up their wedding photos. Hordes of bridezillas and even groomzillas are on the increase, stomping over perfectly manicured ceremonial gardens worldwide, and don’t forget about their mothers too! Think of it this way – bumble about like Hugh Grant in Four Weddings and it will be your funeral. So no pressure on the new guys then!

Ok, well every wedding photographer has to start somewhere and I’ve identified three solutions to get me into the market:

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