What Would You Say to Someone Who Asked You to “Teach Them Wedding Photography”?

If you’re reading an article here on Popular Photography: Wedding, then you probably already know that wedding photography is a tricky thing. Even if you know your camera cold, taking on the White Whale of photography gigs can present a ton of different variables and problems for which experience is most often the best solution. Photographer Mike Brown recently shared a story about a wedding dress shop owner who bought a nice camera and wanted to get into shooting weddings with zero skill or experience.

This particular story hit close to home for me because I’ve actually had two separate people make a similar request of me. Both were DJs who thought they would be able to get more business if they could offer photography and DJ services at the same time. I politely explained to them that I would gladly give them some basic photography instruction, but that I wouldn’t be able to give them enough info to actually get out there and start shooting weddings. In reality, I wanted to ask them if they had recently bought a microwave so they could cater weddings as well. I didn’t, though.

Have any of you been approached with a request like this? How did you react? What indicators do you look for in someone who’s really committed versus someone trying to make a quick buck?

From: Reddit