Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to Professional Wedding Photography: Creating a more profitable and fulfilling business

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book is well written, with good images, so why not 5 stars?

I read the book cover to cover and that is the problem it's not an easy read. They didn't know what this book was when they did the layout. It's set up as a coffee table book with lots of good images and lots of information on how the images were taken. This causes bad breaks in the text, they break in the middle of paragraphs, and even worse sentences. One sentence cuts in the middle for multiple pages of images then picks back up with the end of the sentence.

As for the information provided in the book, it's good but not really new. One issue I have is that some of the chapters feel forced. This book covers the business of wedding photography so it has a chapter on bookkeeping that can be summed up as find good software and a good accountant. I get it, he doesn't do his own bookwork, fine, skip the chapter and write about what you do.

The images are great, the text is nothing new but it is motivational and gives a good blueprint to follow for the business of wedding photography. Overall this is a good book and would have been 5 stars if they had shown the attention to detail in the layout of the book that they put into the images.

As an emerging wedding photographer, I was seeking a definitive resource that provided good compositional examples, ideas for running the scheduling of a wedding day, advice about business management and customer service, and workflow. I found all this and much more in Damien Lovegrove's superb book.

Where other wedding photography books failed for me, this one stood out heads and shoulders above the rest. I found that this book (while demonstrating a distinct British flavour, given the high formality of many of the weddings photographed) still transcended international barriers, where everything became relevant for me even as an Australian photographer.

Damien Lovegrove has a clear, succinct and easy-to-read narrative style of writing. He offers solid examples of his fine work, technical information and the environmental context relating to how they were achieved, together with detailed information about how to manage a wedding day, post-wedding workflow, and developing your business for profit.

Mr Lovegrove doesn't bog the book down with explanations of basic photographic theory, nor does he spend too much time discussing the type of camera or flash you should be using. He jumps straight into the nitty-gritty of the issue, and assumes that the reader already has at least some experience with cameras and photography. If he ever produced a book with detailed lighting concepts and theory, photographers would have the perfect library for their career in just two books.

Mr Lovegrove is genuinely inspirational and explains that he too worked from the ground up, and that only through hard work and dedication was his ambition realised.

This book was absolutely fantastic and I know that I will be buying any of his future books, his DVDs and attending his seminars. Damien Lovegrove is truly a master in his field. This book, above any other non-technical resource you may be considering, is vital for any photographer serious about becoming great.

When I was looking for a wedding photography book this one kept popping up with it's good reviews; so after visiting his blog I decided to order it.
Since then I have read many other wedding and general photography blogs, and the more I researched the more dated and weak his book comes across.
Things start to look alarming to me now from the very beginning of the book. After leaving the BBC (as he seems to name drop so often) as a cameraman he puts himself in £40,000 debt for Hasselblad camera. Yes, £40,000. I am nervous to take advice from someone who thought he needed a £40,000 camera to start as a beginner in the wedding photography field. And I think he mostly uses a £2000 5D MKII now.
He seems to restrictively shoot entirely at f4, but then claims that it's his "style". In fact the camera setting he gives is not much help as it's just f4 and then whatever works at that setting - he might as well shoot in AV mode. Another one of his "styles" is not to include the sky - why? It seems to be a very forced and limiting "style". Almost all the couple shots are posed and because of it often look stiff. I think his best photo is the one on the cover. The rest seem to be from the 80-90s.
Another odd things is that he now boasts that he has a studio with 2 full time staff - one who works on photoshop mostly and the other just for sales. Take a look at Jasmine Star's business set-up and you can see how this girl makes a killing being business smart and naturally talented as a wedding photographer.
At one part he points out how in the old days (90s I think) he used to try and up-sale heavily to clients, which is hardly practiced now, but he then goes into detail over 2 or more pages about how this dated sales technique works. Thanks.
One starts to get the feeling that he somehow got a lucky break when he started out (in the 80s or early 90s I think) and has managed to ride that since. If he where to re-enter the wedding photography field today as an unknown, I think he would remain unknown. He seems to lack a natural artistic eye, however he does have some good technical capabilities.
I would also suggest having a look at his wedding photography on his site [...] to decide for yourself if his technique and "style" work for you.
Overall I find his book looking very old school and not up to date with the rising young wedding photographers out there who really understand branding and don't think it just means shooting at f4, and not including the sky, and labeling it the "Lovegrove style"!
2.5 stars.

For just starting out or pros this book offers beautiful shots of every wedding planned. It provides enough information to give you enough ideas to make your photography experience great.

When I heard and read that Damien Lovegrove was to release a book I smiled and thought YES.A portfolio and notes of advice all rolled into one from one of the UK's most sought after Photographer and Speaker is certainly worth a second look. Knowing Damien and his work like I do, it was no surprise that I would be ordering one as soon as the chance presented itself. Having being on one of Damien's Location Lighting Courses, I was in receipt of a set of notes at the end of the course which are kept on a safe location in my bookshelf. These aforementioned notes are still an important reference document. Shelved alogside this is my new investment (Damien' Book, The Complete Guide to Professional Wedding Photography) It is up ther with Bambi Cantrell and Julie Oswin.
The book itself is well presented and feels good tothe touch, like a wedding album which is to be cherished. It is full of well lit and well composed images with metadata attached so that you the reader can get an insight into the creation and the story of the image. The text is carefully worded and easy to read and anyone who knows Damien's voice you could be forgiven for thinking he was reading it to you.
I refer to it for both ideas and reference so that I am not outdone by the challenges that the present day photographer has to face.
Get your copy, it is well worth twice what you would pay, you will be sure to get several ideas from it, if you only get one it will still be worth it.
I hope you will enjoy the book as my as I have done,


Tim Collins.

Over the past few months I have dedicated a portion of my efforts to Photography, customers seeking a range from baby portraits to weddings. I am a firm believer in the development of your trade, and to walk the walk I grabbed a few books on Photography.

The Complete Guide to Professional Wedding Photography is a stunning book. It is a wide format and hardcover, which makes it stand out from my recent books. Choosing these features screams `I care about quality!' And all it takes is to thumb through a few of the pictures to realize not only does Damien Lovegrove care about quality, he executes.

Stunning photographs populate every page and all are accompanied by some information. Some examples are f-stop, exposure and ISO; then a couple of lines telling you about the photo.

I found myself wanting more, just as the saying goes, `Give someone and inch.' On the photographs about halfway through I started wondering what specific lens was used, what were the settings on the flash. This is not a technical manual however. Another situation I was left wanting more was a point where Lovegrove mentioned a specific style he uses *I believe it was for the first dance* but did not show an example or describe it.

The book is a fairly quick read, mainly due to the abundance of photographs. I do challenge readers to take their time flipping through. Study and see what makes a photograph a piece of art. Lovegrove will be there along the way pointing details and strategies out for you.

Towards the end, the book discusses branding and gives examples on what I consider a mammoth scale that I really would imagine only the top 1% of photographers gets to. It's nice to see this in the book but wonder if that was executed in an efficient matter. The section (earlier) that discusses goals was a real gem! This example, which was similar, can be applied to everyone.

Over all I'd give this a 4.5 out of 5! So since Amazon doesn't let a technical monkey like me put in percentages, I will round up. Great book Damien Lovegrove. Photographers; Go out and get it today!

Check out more reviews on my blog: [...]

Ok first of all english is not my first language, sorry if theres grammer errors...
Great book...
very visual...
it did help me to get more inspired, it open my mind for been more creative, organize....
2 bad point were that the author was more focus in his point of view of why he do things, and why he works the way he does.... so that this keep you with some doubts of how many ways of creating an organize wedding companie are?? and how many pro's agree of his opinions... opinions are opinions but there will always be good and bad desisions of starting a wedding...

2nd point is that the author is from england or europe and he focus on prices with different money npt dollars.... plus am from Puerto Rico.... his prices are way up (starting at 3,000 dollars if im not mistaken) the normal salary in PR is not evan close to what he talks so, it kept me with doubts and for that reason i will give this book 4 stars....

but its a 100% visual and inspiren for the one who always have problems with comeing up with good ideas...

I found this book very informative and useful, but not at first. My initial response to this book was to not finish reading it because I felt it didn't apply to me. The reason is because he shoots with his photographer wife, so they're a 2 photographer team. Most of the photographers I associate with do not have this luxury of having a multiple photographers to capture a wedding. But as I continued to read, I tried putting myself in their event as a single photographer so it would relate more to my business.
The photography examples in the book are excellent, although the examples didn't always match up with the text on the page. I would have to flip back or forward a few pages to see the photography examples he was discussing during that chapter. As a visual person, I would prefer to be able to the photo shoot he was discussing on the same page. His captioning for the photos in the book explaining his camera exposure, his angle and thought process in creating the image was informative.
The author does eventually get to discussing the `business' part of his wedding photography. This is where I feel most photographers need the most help. The business side of things is always the toughest. I feel most photographers are afraid to charge what they are worth or they just have not taken the time to sit down and figure out what they really are making. The author does an excellent job of explaining how you should take some time and figure out just how much you should charge and take a look at what you are currently making. So this book is worth reading clear to the end, because I found the most important and relevant information in the back half of the book during all the business discussion. If you are already in the wedding photography business, the first 7 chapters are nice, but the biggest benefit of this book begins in chapter 8 when the author begins to talk business. The author probably could have been able to get away with just publishing from chapter 8 to the end.
I would recommend this book to any of my photographer friends who want a different view to the photography business.

I highly reccommend to buy and take your time to fully read this book for three reason: overall elegance of the body of work, consistency of style and coherence of execution, working and approaching clients method.
Personally speaking it made my wedding pictures change from "How nice" to "Great. I really mean it".

Damien and July Lovegrove are good photographers, with a distinctive style. The consistency of style and execution is quite rare in the other wedding photography books I own. Many of them are full of good pictures, but lack a fil rouge: a stylistic approach to hold the pictures togheter. Develop your own style instead of just taking romantic pictures a wedding after the other is what every photographer should aim to for not being "just another one more".
The book reflects and explain in details the Lovegroves way of working giving both technical advices and a strict avoid-problems-before-they-actually-happen method.

I agree with David Asche about the layout of the book and the sudden breaks in the middle of paragraphs and sentences. That's why I rate the book 4 star instead of 5. Please consider that you need to have the basics to fully enjoy this book. It's not a book for beginners.

Damien Lovegrove does a fantastic job taking the reader through different aspects of being a Wedding Photographer - the creative, technical, marketing, sales, finance and growth of the profession. It could double up as an entrepreneur's handbook to starting a photography business. However, I was disappointed that he didn't give much information about the kind of equipment required and also information about the lens used. But overall, a very interesting book on wedding photography. I especially loved the last couple of chapters devoted to the business aspects of the job.