Avoid Burnout: How to Manage Your Time as a Wedding Creative

Being a wedding photographer or videographer is one of the most exciting and fulfilling professions.

Capturing moments is an art that preserves these moments of a couple's lifetime memories. However, just like any other job, it can be exhausting and mentally challenging.

Ensuring you maintain the sparkle and motivation for your craft can be sometimes challenging.

If you are feeling burnt out, it's pretty normal. We've been shooting full time for 8 years and it's definitely something most people battle with.

Today, I'll be sharing tips on how we can avoid burnout and keep our creative spark alive.

1. Do Something For You Every Week

I understand, it's so hard sometimes to think about ourselves and do things that bring us joy.

Especially if you have a family. But the number one thing that has helped in the busiest seasons of our lives, is doing something weekly that fuels our soul and gives us rest.

It doesn't have to be crazy, just something you love! Some examples in our life are: early morning surf sessions, a workout, family sunset beach time, a bbq with friends, or going to church and disconnecting from technology on a Sunday.

Make a list and make it a priority to fill your cup in the way that you need.

2. Take Extended Time Off

The wedding industry is a demanding job, often with long hours and working consecutive weekends, and then editing during the week takes a toll.

As a result, taking a break is a prerequisite for rejuvenating and restoring creativity.

It's essential to take time to rest, recharge, and take care of your physical and mental health. Consider taking time off for holidays, visiting friends and family, or just relaxing at home.

The break will help you get back to the job with fresh eyes and ideas. I also give you full permission to take a week off during the busy season.  

It may feel like you don't have the time to do it, but I assure you, you not only deserve it, but your body needs it.  

3. Limit Your Shooting

Another critical aspect of avoiding burnout is by limiting the number of weddings you shoot each year.

We are human, and we can only take so much. Overworking can quickly burn you out and compromise the quality of your work.

Set realistic goals to avoid overwhelming yourself with a backlog of shoots. By doing this, you give yourself and your clients the assurance that you'll produce your best with each shoot.

At Second Society, we really believe this will be the number one resource in hiring quality help to make wedding days easier for you, but also its the best resource to find lead shooters that can carry a wedding day for you.  

4. Update Your Equipment

In every profession, equipment plays a crucial part in enhancing productivity and quality of work. For wedding photographers and videographers, equipment like, a camera body, lenses, lighting gadgets, tripods, are essential.

Upgrading your equipment to help achieve the quality of work you need with the least amount of effort is huge!

One thing I think was a game changer for us was buying travel tripods for all our weddings, even the local ones.

For years we carried big heavy duty tripods but for what? Smaller tripods worked great and were way better when we had to lug them around.

Another great investment was our Sony A7siii. The stabilization allowed us to ditch the dollies, glide cam, stabilizer and so much more. Totally worth the money.

5. Passion Projects

I know..this can be hard when we feel burnt out, but I think it's one of the most fulfilling things you can do.

We got into this industry because we love photography or film..but let's be honest, most of us aren't EXTREMELY excited to be shooting a wedding at the same venue for the 5th time.

Make a vacation with your family or friends and try to tell a story through your camera with it.

It allows you to rest, but also create something you absolutely love and maybe film certain things that really bring you joy. My wife and I took an RV trip with our daughter and made it a priority to photograph with our real cameras instead of the iPhone.

It was great because we ended up thinking of activities that would be great on camera which pushed us into a realm of experiences we would have never thought of doing.  

Wedding photography is one of the most demanding and rewarding professions in the creative industry. Maintaining a balance between creativity, technicality, and professional engagement can be draining.

By incorporating these tips on how to avoid burnout as a wedding photographer, you can keep your creative spark alive while staying refreshed and motivated.

Taking time off, limiting your shoots, updating your equipment, and passion projects will go a long way in helping you maintain the passion and motivation for your craft.