Destination wedding photography means shooting weddings outside your area or in other countries. The main reason for destination wedding photography could be mushrooming of wedding photographers in and around your area and you find it very difficult to compete with them. Next you may just want to enjoy the thrill and excitement of traveling and working abroad, see new places and get paid along the way. If your family also accompanies you, you would have had a great holiday paid for by merely two days work. All is correct, but you have to be extremely prepared when it comes to destination weddings in an unknown territory.

To begin with, make sure that, after taking all costs into account, it is actually worth your taking up the job. As you have got a job abroad you must start planning immediately. Make a file and work out times, routes, costs etc and keep it update. Your charges for the wedding depends on what you include in your packages and remember to add all extras while shooting, such as flight charges, hotel/accommodation, car hire, toll roads, baggage allowance (more on that later) and tips/bribes etc (optional). You can raise your price significantly as those getting married abroad will spend a lot more and so they expect higher costs.

Several reasons could be attributed to your choice as the wedding photographer who does not live in that area. A friend might have recommended you. The foreign country might have only few or no English-speaking photographers. They do not know you live elsewhere. Once you have taken a few weddings in this area, you will get a good name and they also will have a feeling of satisfaction for hiring you regardless of your whereabouts.

Now you gather all information possible about the couple, their family, the schedule of the days/events, the venues and surrounding places and ensures you can get there. Once the deposit is in your hands, immediately book flights, hotel accommodation and car hire. Car hire is a must to drive the couple somewhere, meet up for unexpected rendezvous or simply want to check out the area for stock photography. See that you arrive at least 2/3 days before the wedding, so that you can well prepare the event, meet the couple at least twice, visit the venues and ascertain that you know the way and timings for all travelling. Note down meter reading and take test shots wherever you go and try to understand the entire lot as best as you can before the wedding day. You think about the shots deeply and write down the shots you and the couple want or are expecting.

Find out nice, local areas that you can take the couple/wedding party for special shots. Lastly, use all this research and knowledge to do one, big trial run of the entire wedding day both mentally and actually. You have to get it right as knowledge is great.