Wedding Photographer Resume Example

Wedding photographers are known for their ability to capture the perfect moment on someone's wedding day. From capturing the bride and groom smiling at each other during their first dance to the tear the bride's father shed as she walked down the aisle, a good wedding photographer is able to be in all the special moments and make sure they last for a lifetime.

Even if you've already working your dream job of becoming a professional wedding photographer, it's still important to keep your resume updated and showcasing your achievements. If you're only getting started as a wedding photographer, it's even more important to have your resume ready to walk down the job aisle. With our guide, you can achieve just that.

Here's an overview of the 8 steps that we will be covering to get your resume ready for becoming a wedding photographer:

1. Formatting your resume
2. Writing a beautiful resume summary
3. Building a portfolio to go along with your resume
4. Listing your work experience and what to do if you have none
5. Including key skills in your resume
6. Adding languages to your resume
7. Listing your education in your resume
8. Adding associations to your resume
   

1. Format your wedding photographer resume

The field of photography is a creative art, and when you're a wedding photographer, there are many ways for you to showcase your elegance and creativity in your resume, too. Feel free to add a profile image and/or color and bold fonts. This may help your resume stand out if the hiring photographer is receiving many applications.

While you may want to showcase everything you've done in your photographer career and all the weddings you've captured, you have very limited space on a resume. Therefore, it's important for your resume to follow a format that best showcases your experience and skills.

Did you know there are three ways to format your resume? Here's what they are:

1. Reverse-chronological, which emphasizes your previous work experience
2. Functional, which highlights your key skills
3. Hybrid, which combines the previous formats to give hiring photographers a closer look at what you're bringing to the table

As a wedding photographer, you want to use a hybrid format to structure your resume so you can show hiring photographers can truly see what skills and experience you can offer and if they suit the specific job.

It is also important to incorporate relevant action verbs into the format of your resume. This will help you demonstrate what you can do for a company and where your skills lie, too.

We have a list of over 350 action verbs you can incorporate into your resume.

Here are some examples that are specific to wedding photography:

• Assisted
• Captured
• Contributed
• Created
• Designed
• Edited
• Executed
• Highlighted
• Illustrated
• Implemented
• Oversaw
• Photographed
• Prepared
• Trained    

Take a look at our guide on how to format your resume if you want to learn more.

2. Write a beautiful resume summary

Sometimes, resumes are only briefly looked at. There's a lot of information on your resume, but hiring photographers would rather be out photographing weddings than be going over all the details of your resume, and brides and grooms want to make sure they are hiring the perfect person to capture the perfect moments of their special day.

Writing a 1-2 sentence resume summary can help hiring photographers or brides and grooms determine if you're the right photographer for the job.

Sometimes, it's difficult to summarize yourself in 1-2 sentences, but here are some elements you should always include in your resume summary:

• Years of experience
• Specific kinds of wedding photography you have done

Here's an example of what your resume summary should look like:

Wedding photographer with an eye for capturing perfect moments. 6+ years of experience in photographing destination weddings, engagements, and bridal portraits.

Tip: Include an eye-capturing statement that can be remembered. For example:  Photographer with an eye for capturing the perfect moment on your wedding day.

In case more instruction is needed, here is not what your resume summary should look like:

Wedding photographer at Bark Wedding Photography Services. 6+ years experience.

Want more examples? Our guide on writing resume summaries has tons.

3. Build a portfolio to go with your resume

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the same can be said about the beauty of a wedding photographer's ability to capture the perfect moment.

Portfolios are used to organize work samples and show hiring photographers and brides and grooms your previous photographs.

Here are some sites you can use to organize and showcase your wedding photographer portfolio:

• Instagram (also a good way to attract more clients)
• Wix
• Squarespace
• WordPress

When it comes to websites, many individuals and up-and-coming wedding photographers will often stock their portfolios with photography they've taken at all the weddings they've photographed and may even include photography from college or high school classes or during internships. Instead of filling your website portfolio with these samples, select 10-15 pieces that best showcase your work.

Here are some more portfolio tips:

• Select 10-15 photographs that showcase your best work
• Make your portfolio stand out by implementing your own style and creativity
• Use high-resolution images to truly show hiring photographers and clients your skills and attention to detail
• Spend time reviewing your work and your portfolio. Proofread everything in your portfolio to avoid spelling, grammar, or technical errors.

Having a portfolio will really take your wedding photography and ability to get new clients to the next level.

4. List your work experience and what to do if you have none

If you're applying to work with another wedding photographer, it's important to include your work experience in your resume. This showcases to them that you have been out in the field and have shot weddings before.

Here, it's helpful to list your work experience in reverse chronological format. This way, your latest experience sits at the top of your resume and shows hiring photographers what's your latest photography job.

Don't exactly know how to describe your work experience? Here are some examples of descriptions you can include as a wedding photographer:

• Photograph weddings in a professional manner, without disrupting the ambiance
• Produced high-quality wedding photographs
• Shot and edited 400 weddings with 99% customer satisfaction
• Traveled to different locations to shoot destination weddings
• Trained and managed a team of 5 freelance photographers
• Provided consultations with wedding clients to discuss photography desires and expectations prior to entering into a contract
• Created slideshows and visual presentations to educate clients on styles, options, and inspirations
  

What to do if you have no wedding photographer experience

It's difficult to get hired to photograph such a special event like a wedding with no experience. Luckily, there are ways to build your wedding photographer resume with little or no experience.

If you have done a photography internship, you can include this as work experience, especially if you've photographed weddings during your internship.

Another way to build your wedding photographer resume is to see if you have any friends or family that are getting married and ask them if you can photograph their wedding. You may have to photograph the event for little to no profit, but if your dream job is to be a wedding photographer, this shouldn't be such a problem if you're just starting out.

Tip: Be sure to have your own equipment to show possible clients that you are serious and prepared to photograph their weddings.

You can also check out our guide on how to write a resume with no work experience.

5. Include key skills in your resume

Even if your portfolio and work experience can speak for themselves, it's still a good idea to include a key skills section in your wedding photographer resume. This shows hiring photographers and brides and grooms where your skills lie beyond just the pictures you've taken. It can also help them to see what other photography or service skills you have.

When it comes to listing your photography skills, be sure to include what specific kinds of photography you would consider yourself skilled in. Don't forget to also include what artistic abilities you have as well as business and interpersonal skills.

Here are some examples:

• Destination Wedding Photography
• Bridal Photography
• Engagement Photography
• Customer-Service Skills
• Creativity
• Communication
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Business Management
• Accounting

Tip: Be sure to note any computer and editing skills you may have so that hiring photographers know where your strengths lie.

Having trouble identifying your skills? We have a guide with 100+ key skills you can include in your resume.

6. Add languages to your resume

If you speak multiple languages, this can help you get clients in a variety of places, especially if you photograph destination weddings.

Adding languages to your resume showcases clients and hiring photographers that you can communicate with brides and grooms and that you are available to work with different ethnicities.

Here are some languages you can include on your resume if you know them:

• English
• Spanish
• French
• Italian
• German
• Russian
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Romanian

Tip: Next to the languages you know on your resume, add if you're fluent, intermediate or a beginner in the language to show hiring photographers and clients just how well you know the specific language.

This may be the step you need to complete to increase your clientele and take your wedding photography experience to do the next level.

7. List your education

To become a photographer, it is not always necessary to have a degree in photography. However, if you've attended a photography institute or got a degree in photography, this is something you should showcase on your resume.

Don't know if to include your high school education on your resume? We have a guide on listing your education that can help.

Here's what a listing of your education can look like on your resume:

Miami Institute of Photography & Studio
Miami, FL • 2012 — 2016

8. Add associations to your resume

While not always necessary, photographers can join associations to grow their photography network and learn skills from other individuals interested in the field. Adding associations to your resume can help it stand out, especially when there are a lot of independent wedding photographers out there.

Here are some associations you can join as a wedding photographer:

• Wedding Photojournalist Association
• Adobe Certified Association
  

Key Takeaways

We've covered a lot, and we know it can be a lot to take in.

Here's a summary of what you'll need to capture the picture-perfect resume as a wedding photographer:

1. Select the best format for your resume that showcases who you are as a wedding photographer
2. Include a breathtaking resume summary to help your resume stand out
3. Build a portfolio that showcases the weddings you've photographed
4. List your work experience and include internships or ask friends or family if you can photograph their weddings
5. List the key skills that will make you stand out from the competition
6. Add any languages you may speak to your resume to attract a variety of clients
7. List your education if you have educational photography experience
8. Add the associations you're a part of to your resume

Now, your wedding photographer resume is ready to walk down the aisle. Best of luck out there with your dream job!

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