As a luxury wedding photographer, I’m often approached by photographers and videographers eager to “shadow” me during a real wedding. They’re curious, they want to learn, build content, or “get experience.” And I truly admire that hunger to grow.

But I want to be clear — while I deeply value education, I hold something even higher: the experience and trust of the couple who hired me.

And that’s why I don’t allow shadowing at weddings.

Real Weddings Are Not Classrooms

Weddings are emotional, once-in-a-lifetime events — often backed by big budgets and bound by minute-to-minute timelines. The pace is fast. The pressure is high. And expectations are even higher.

My responsibility is to deliver exceptional results under any circumstance, without distraction, delay, or risk. Introducing someone inexperienced into that environment — even with the best intentions — jeopardizes that outcome.

That’s not something I’m willing to compromise.

I Believe in Education — But With Boundaries

I’m proud to mentor and teach. With enough interest, I’d be happy to host a workshop. I run styled shoots. I offer one-on-one coaching and review real galleries. When we’re in the right setting, I give you everything I can to help you grow.

But here’s what I don’t offer:

❌ Bringing someone with little to no wedding experience onto a real wedding day.

That isn’t gatekeeping. It’s professionalism.

This Isn’t About Ego — It’s About Excellence

When a couple invests $20,000+ into their wedding photography, they’re not just paying for images. They’re trusting me with memories they’ll revisit for the next 70+ years and that will live on for generations to come following that.

Being slowed down by even 5–10 minutes during each section, eg. prep, portraits, or the ceremony can cascade into an hour or more of lost time. That delay affects vendors, families, and the couple’s overall experience.

A wedding team is only as strong as its weakest link. If someone is treating a real wedding as a content-gathering opportunity — they don’t belong in that space.

What You Don’t See — Until It’s Too Late

Even when a couple gives permission, I’ve learned through experience despite my good intentions to help that business owner to grow – that allowing someone to shadow often causes more harm than good.

Here’s what happens more often than not:

• They unintentionally slow down timelines.

• They step into shots or block key angles.

• They focus more on capturing content for themselves than observing how I work.

• They create extra editing work by being visible in frames.

• They share things on social media causing confusion on who was the photographer and disrespecting the couple as they should be the first to share on social media their wedding day (if they even decide to share at all!) Some couples may not want their memories shared so by the person sharing this can cause a major problem which then can go into further problems.

But most concerning: they distract from the couple’s experience. And that is non-negotiable.

Styled Shoots vs. Real Weddings: Know the Difference

Styled shoots are excellent tools for learning. They help you refine your eye, work with beautiful details, and play with light. But they’re not the same as photographing a real wedding.

Styled shoots are:

• Carefully curated
• Flexible with time
• Free from family dynamics
• Done in perfect light with no pressure

Weddings are none of those things. You’re working in harsh light, shifting weather, emotional moments, and under a tight timeline. You don’t get do-overs. That’s why presenting styled shoot content as if it were real wedding work is misleading — and dangerous.

It’s not just about aesthetic. It’s about truth, readiness, and respect to yourself but the couples who are potentially enquiring with you aswell while you are learning and growing.

What I Do Offer If You Want to Learn

If you’re truly committed to growing, there are plenty of ways I can help:

✅ Mentoring — One-on-one or group sessions where I teach you my workflows, timelines, editing, and communication.

✅ Styled Shoots — Curated educational spaces where you can build your portfolio in a pressure-free setting.

✅ Workshops — Full educational days focused on the business and craft of luxury wedding photography. These require a certain amount of interest to bring to life, if you are interested in having me organise one please dm me on my education instagram at faa.education

✅ Behind-the-Scenes Access (Where Appropriate) — With boundaries, at designated events that are not client weddings with correct credits.

But these opportunities happen outside a real couple’s once-in-a-lifetime day. Because that day belongs to them — not to you, not to me, and certainly not to anyone looking to practice.

The Bottom Line

If you’re in this industry for clout, content, or especially quick cash with the mindset of “Yeah I can do this to earn a few thousand here and there” — Then, I urge you to rethink your “why.” Wedding photography (or videography) is a calling, not a hustle. It requires dedication, passion, emotional intelligence, technical skill, sharp intuition, patience (years and years), and most of all — respect.

Respect the couple.
Respect the day.
Respect the craft.
Respect the process.

If you want to learn from me — I’d love to teach you. Truly.

Just don’t ask me to compromise my couple’s experience to do it.

Reach out here to book a mentor session in with me and let me help you elevate your business!