Below is an article i wrote for some international article service for professional wedding photographers, just thought i share them with you all

Hope it makes for some meaningful readings

If you got into wedding photography solely for the financial rewards, you probably are not successful at what you do, and if you are, you probably are not as successful as you should or could be.

Gone are the days when wedding photographers were looked at as mere handy men, that perception has since changed, we now have celebrity wedding photographers who command just as much media attention as the movie stars they shoot.

The advent of digital has also helped many take up wedding photography as a profession.

So what make one a great wedding photographer in Nigeria?

Personally i have shot with some of the finest photographers on the planet both back home in Nigeria where wedding photography is entering a new phase and also outside my home country. Interacting with this great minds led me to come up with some key points that should be taken quite seriously if you are to move to that next step in your quest to be a top, highly sort after wedding photographer.

1. Consistency: Probably the most important point here. A great photographer needs to be consistent, needs to be able to turn out amazingly breathtaking pictures and albums on regular basis. You can not afford to produce an outstanding album for client A while at the same time being unable to deliver a comparable quality to Client B. Consistency comes from experience, consistency comes from knowing your equipment, consistency comes from knowing the basics of photography. You might want to pickup that dusty camera manual up and give it a good reading.

2. Character: Successful wedding photographers are know to have great likable characters. You need to express a lovable character not only to the bride and groom but also to people you come across, you never know where your next wedding is coming from. Brides tend to relax when being photographed by photographers they like and are comfortable with. A comfortable bride makes for awesome images. You need to be approachable as a wedding photographer to achieve greatness, this way people will talk about you. While it is very easy to get very angry while shooting a Nigerian wedding one has to be in control of his emotions. Nigerian weddings can get very unruly and over crowded.

3. Self Development: You need to constantly be up to date in your area of specialization. This does not mean going out and buying all the newest cameras and gear the minute they are announced, but you need to be constantly be in search of new ideas, strategies, solutions, techniques that will stand your photography apart. Nobody wants to see the same sort of images again and again, you need to be able to consistently bring something fresh to the table. A couple of old photographers in Nigeria still shoot only film, while this is not such a bad thing if you are based in America, it is not the same case here in Nigeria where all you can get in ASA 200 films and bad quality development chemicals. Access to digital has helped even the playing field to a large extent for the best wedding photographers in Nigeria

4. Concentration: To make great wedding photography, you need to be totally immersed in any wedding you are shooting. As a wedding photographer in Nigeria, this is not always the easiest point to achieve. The reason for this is that Nigerian weddings usually have numerous wedding photographers shooting the same wedding, try eight wedding photographers covering the same event, it tends to get very crazy. But if your goal is to attain greatness in this discipline, you need to concentrate, loss of concentrations will mean you losing those spontaneous images that leads to greatness.

Good wedding photography is all about interaction and expression

Kayode Martins is a leading wedding photographer based in Lagos, Nigeria. He shoots for Xsightn Photography one of the new breed of top wedding photography outfits springing up in Lagos. Internationally trained Kayode has a massive internet presence in Nigeria and can be reached at the following addresses.

Website: http://www.xsightn.com

And because a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s one from my archives, my baby boy, Ayobamidele.