As a wedding photographer with a few (or several) years of experience, you probably already know how physically demanding the 8-10-12-hour workdays can get. You are on your feet for long hours, moving around the venue to get those perfect shots (often with heavy gear), and essentially, your body works as hard as you to support you. By fitness tips for photographers, we don’t mean go out and enroll yourself in a spin class or start working on those 6-pack abs (unless that’s what you want). It’s more about being mindful about what you eat and how you move, especially on the wedding day. Just small lifestyle changes that you could turn into a habit and stick to on a long-term basis. In this blog, we will tell you exactly how you could get to being a fitter, stronger version of yourself!
Fitness Tips For Photographers: The Nutrition + Exercise Way
Before we take you through these fitness tips for photographers, please remember that we are not doctors or dieticians. These are simple lifestyle changes you could consider adopting to stay in shape and feel better. If you are considering a change in your diet or workout routine or if you have any food allergies or injuries, we recommend that you consult with a licensed professional. Now let’s get into it.
1. Eating Well On The Wedding Day
You must make time to eat on the wedding day – this is undoubtedly our first fitness tip for photographers. You need fuel to even do what you are doing, so consciously carving out the time to eat something is crucial. You don’t even have to have a 30-minute or hour-long lunch. Just a quick bite (a healthy bite) would do the trick. Even if you are someone who generally watches what you eat, if you starve yourself on the wedding day, by the end of the day, you might just end up eating anything you can get easily. Consider preparing and packing something for yourself. Something that’s filling and nutritious too.
With so much to document on the wedding day, many wedding photographers claim they can hardly find time to eat. Yes, we get it. It’s a busy day. But you could eat in your car before you even reach the venue, you could take out some time in between setup to sneak in a quick bite, or you could also eat when you are traveling between venues. You can’t really do anything else when driving, so why not spend that time fueling yourself? And of course, this means carrying something that you can eat on the go. If you often get wedding hangovers, proper nutrition could reduce their frequency too.
Suggested Read: How To Create Your Ultimate Wedding Photography Timeline
2. Keep It Balanced
Contrary to what many would say, carbs are not your enemy. Having a healthy diet is one of the keys to staying in shape and one of the crucial fitness tips for photographers. You might find it easy to just go for the fast-food option when you are working, but while it’s easy, it’s not the best thing for your body. Unless you are on a specific diet plan, you might want to consider going for a balanced diet plan that contains all the recommended quantities and types of food groups. If you find it challenging to stick to dietary changes, instead of just depriving your body of something, try to cut down on that element gradually. Make small changes over a period of time and watch them develop into healthy habits. That’s how you could stick to the plan. This might also help you make better choices on the wedding day.
3. Better Hydration
How many times have you heard about the wonders water can do for your body? And it’s true. However, neither we nor health experts would recommend just gulping down gallons of water. Balance it out. Here’s something that could help you figure out how much water you should be drinking in a day. Also, energy drinks, diet sodas, and coffee don’t count. You could just drink plain water or add ice to it, or you could even consider going for veggies and fruit-infused water. If you often forget to drink water, there are apps that could remind you to do that.
4. What You Wear Matters
Unless your couple specifies a wedding photographer dress code, try to ensure that whatever outfit you pick is functional. There’s a lot of moving around, bending, squatting, etc., when you are photographing a wedding, and to do that comfortably and without feeling conscious, you will require clothes that allow you to have that full range of motion. Similarly, when it comes to footwear, pick something that’s comfortable and gives you support. Your shoes should give you arch support and keep you from injuring your ankles as well. Also, you could consider switching footwear in the middle of the day. And if you don’t find anything that suits your needs – functionality and looks-wise – consider customizing something for yourself. It is a personal and professional investment.
5. How You Work Matters
It’s not just the standing and moving around that’s physically demanding. How you hold your camera, the way you stand/sit while taking photos, how much gear you carry around, how you lift your camera bag – it’s all impacting your body. One of the most essential fitness tips for photographers is to maintain good posture while you are on the job or even when you are just sitting at your desk replying to emails. Ideally, you should try to carry your gear evenly, especially if you wear it on a belt or harness.
Invest in equipment that makes it easy for you to carry everything. If you’ve been hanging your camera on your neck, we recommend looking for an alternative way. It’s one of the most common fitness tips for photographers. You might have a huge camera bag with all sorts of gear and accessories in it, but you might not always need everything. So, try not to overload yourself and carry only what you need. If you have an assistant with you, they could share the load, or you could just go back and switch. If you spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer, try to get up from your desk after short intervals. Walk around, do some jumping jacks – just take a break before you start slouching.
Suggested Read: The Minimalist’s Guide To Wedding Photography Gear
6. Find a Workout That Works For You
Some fitness tips for photographers are just plain obvious, and this might be one of those. Try to find SOME way to move around – even if you have a busy day ahead. Try taking out 15 minutes for a cardio or yoga session and then start the day, especially on a wedding day. Find what makes you feel good instead of torturing your body. The goal is to find a sustainable way to keep your body fit instead of just jumping into something that you are going to dread doing the next day.
Start Slow & Focus on Sustainability
As we said before, when it comes to lifestyle changes, start small and then work on turning that change into a habit. This way, you’re more likely to stick to it. When it comes to diet, try to find balance. Try not to deprive your body. Instead, nurture it with what it needs to keep going. And when it comes to your fitness level, you don’t necessarily have to be able to do 100 push-ups in one go or do a 60-minute high-intensity cardio session. It’s all about doing things that make you feel better and stronger. Perhaps try different activities and zero in on the one that keeps you from burning out while helping you perform better at your job too. Focus on bringing about a realistic lifestyle change – whether it’s with your nutrition or your physical activity.
Further Read: Wedding Photography Burnout: Signs, Prevention, & Recovery
At ShootDotEdit, we care about your health and your wedding photography business and love sharing tips that help boost your progress. To help lessen your post-production workload, we offer professional photo editing services that also match your style. To learn more about our services, check out pricing plans.