
Introduction
One of the first things people say when I tell them I’m a wedding photographer is, “Oh, that must be so stressful—you only get one chance to get it right.” And they’re not wrong. If we wake up feeling awful, we can’t just phone in sick. Weddings don’t pause, and there’s no second take.
But the truth is, wedding photographers are human. We get sick. And while we don’t often talk about it—maybe because we don’t want to scare our clients or because we feel the pressure to always be reliable—illness is something that can’t always be ignored.
I’m not talking about the usual colds and flu. I’m talking about cancer.
This blog is a collaboration between myself and Harriet Bird. We are both wedding photographers, parents and we have both had cancer. While my kidney cancer was treated with removal alone, Harriet’s breast cancer required a more intensive, multi-step approach. We want to share our story’s, what it’s really like, offer practical advice for fellow photographers who might face serious illness, and open up a conversation about a subject we would rather all ignore.
The Diagnosis: Shock and Uncertainty

Erica’s Story
Finding out you might have cancer isn’t like the adverts where someone sits you down and delivers the news in a direct, dramatic way. My cancer story felt confusing and unreal, and that feeling has never really left me.
In January 2020, I was told there was a strong chance I had kidney cancer and would need my entire left kidney removed. This was my first full-time year as a wedding photographer, and the sudden interruption to my grand plans threw everything up in the air. I had so many questions.
How long would I be unwell? What treatment would I need afterward? How soon could I physically shoot weddings again? Would I get better? How would my kids cope? Am I going to die?
So many questions felt impossible to answer, but the one thing I could control was my upcoming weddings. I scrambled to find cover for all my bookings in the first six months of the year, thinking I’d need time to recover.
Turns out, all that cover I arranged wasn’t needed after all because the pandemic was about hit just a few weeks later—but at the time, I had no way of knowing that.

Harriet’s Story
Hearing the words “You have breast cancer” are life changing in so many ways. My diagnosis was completely unexpected (though I don’t think anyone really EXPECTS to get cancer). In late November 2024 my GP had told me my symptoms suggested it was likely delayed mastitis or an inflamed milk duct as I had only finished breastfeeding my daughter (then 11 months) a month or so prior to getting any symptoms. So I enjoyed Christmas and my daughters 1st birthday in January thinking it would start getting better by itself.
It did not.
I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands and demanded to be referred to breast care for a more thorough assessment.
I attended the appointment on my own, not wanting to add worry to anyone else, which made what came next even harder.
Physical examinations, ultrasounds, mammograms and biopsies were taken, I was told it was a 98% chance I had breast cancer, and a week later our nightmare was confirmed. Stage 3, grade 3 inflammatory breast cancer which had spread to my lymph nodes. A very rare and aggressive form of breast cancer which doesn’t present itself visually until stage 3. A classic case of “don’t google it” meant I had prescribed myself death within weeks of hearing the news.
All of Erica’s questions above ring true for me too. Our cancers and treatment plans were very different but the moment you hear the word “cancer”, we are all put in the same boat.
Managing Work and Treatment
Appointments! What takes you aback at first is just how many tests and appointments you need before you even know what the plan is. My mum had passed away from cancer five years earlier, so at this stage, my main source of support came from my husband, my sisters, and my close friends.
I was grateful my diagnosis came in winter—outside of wedding season. It gave me time to process everything without juggling a packed shooting schedule or an overwhelming editing pile. In the short term, the main thing I had to juggle was my kids, who were 2 and 6 at the time.
My kidney cancer was confined to one kidney, so the plan was to remove it entirely. If I was lucky, the procedure would be robotic rather than open surgery, but they wouldn’t know for sure until the operation. With some weddings on the horizon, my priority was sorting out cover.
Luckily, I was already part of a small network of local wedding photographers—trusted colleagues whose work I admired. This support made all the difference.
Harriets Thoughts
After CT scans to determine if the cancer had spread any further (thank the Lord it hadn’t), my chemotherapy started almost immediately. I had 6 gruelling rounds of chemo, followed by a single mastectomy and lymph node clearance and 15 rounds of radiotherapy. All in all the treatment took just under a year.
We had only moved back to my home county of Devon 7 months before I was diagnosed and the timing was a huge blessing in disguise. Being closer to family was invaluable as my kids were only 1 & 3 at the time. And being close to the sea to escape to the peace of the ocean was exactly the therapy I needed during treatment. However, moving back to Devon meant that a lot of my wedding bookings were still up in Surrey & Sussex where I had moved from. I knew it wouldn’t be possible to sustain the travel up and back every weekend (like I had been doing the summer prior), so I reached out to my photography community.
Friends and strangers jumped at the chance of helping me out. Some even offered to cover the weddings for free or for a very small fee. Community over competition.
I did manage to photograph 3 Devon weddings myself with the help of a 2nd shooter whilst I was still going through treatment. I missed working and I knew I needed to build my Devon portfolio. I had to be careful as I was immunosuppressed, but that is why I hired another photographer to work alongside me to capture the moments where lots of people were packed in together, and it also meant that if I was tired and needed a break or needed to leave, I could do so without jeopardising the wedding photos.

Managing Clients
My thoughts on how I managed clients with a short term treatment plan in place.
I wasn’t sure how much to tell my clients.
I remembered how awkward it had been when I told couples I was pregnant. Some were totally relaxed about it, while others were visibly nervous. Then, when my mum was dying, I had to arrange cover for weddings I knew I couldn’t shoot. Again, most people were understanding, but some made sure I knew how disappointed they were.
Now, for the third time in my career, I had to break news that might not be well received. When a couple books a wedding photographer, any disruption to that supplier is naturally a concern. I completely understood that. The last thing I wanted was to add stress to someone’s wedding day.
At that point, I didn’t think my clients needed to know I had cancer. My doctors told me there was a chance I’d only need surgery, with no further treatment. If that was the case, I could potentially shoot most of my booked weddings without my couples ever knowing what had happened. But I couldn’t take that risk, so I had to put plans in place.
I chose to tell my clients just enough to prepare them—without scaring them. I told them I was having an operation but didn’t specify what for. I reassured them that I had arranged cover and provided details of the photographers who would step in if needed. I also gave them the option to cancel their booking if they preferred.
For me, this approach felt like the right balance—keeping them informed without causing unnecessary panic. The word cancer makes people panic. I know I did. But in my case, my treatment plan was relatively straightforward. So, keeping things simple felt like the best approach.
Harriet’s thoughts on a managing clients with a long term Treatment plan –
Once my cancer and treatment plan had been confirmed, I had no choice but to tell my clients the truth. There was no hiding it and they needed to know. It was a hugely stressful and heartbreaking thing to do (not least because I had to keep repeating and talking about the reality of having cancer). I was so scared they would all want to cancel and I would need to refund all of their deposits, leaving me with next to nothing to get through the next year (pros and cons of being self employed, hey?!).
I was honest. I told my couples that it was unlikely I would be able to photograph their wedding myself, but there was still a lot of unknowns so I would have to keep them posted as the weeks went on. I found suitable, trustworthy cover for them all and gave my clients the details of who would be the person physically there capturing their wedding day should they choose to continue their booking with me. And I said if I could be there too then I absolutely would be! The associate would then hand the images over to me and I would edit them in my signature colourful editing style so that their final gallery still matched what they were expecting when they initially booked me.
To say I was blown away with generosity and kindness is an understatement. I only had one couple cancel me, the rest were happy to trust me to find a suitable associate for their wedding. I received so many lovely messages and even gifts from some clients!
I loved that I was able to be involved in the weddings by working on the images afterwards and not having to fully let go of them all.

Financial and Business Impact
Erica’s Thoughts:
Well, it wasn’t long after my operation that the next big “C” of 2020 hit: COVID.
The pandemic meant my cancer story got tangled up with lockdowns, cancellations, and financial uncertainty. Losing planned work due to COVID ended up being more financially damaging than cancer itself.
But regardless of the pandemic, was there any financial support for a self-employed person going through cancer? Unfortunately for me—no.
I didn’t have critical illness insurance, so my only option was to claim ESA (Employment and Support Allowance), which if I remember correctly was less that £100 a week. It’s not much, but during a time when so many fell through the cracks of financial support, every penny counted. Had it not been for my cancer diagnosis I wouldn’t have received anything.
Harriet’s Thoughts:
Thankfully for me, only one couple cancelled their booking and required a refund, it could have been a lot worse!
Obviously I still had the pretty large fees that came with hiring associates and 2nd shooters to cover the weddings for me though. Some offered to do the work for free which was super generous but never expected, but that wasn’t the case for them all (and totally understandably as it is a lot of work!). So I would say I probably lost nearly half of my income for the year. Thankfully I had set up an income protection policy, but to cut a long story short it didn’t accurately reflect my usual income so it was great to have but still nowhere near enough to even cover the mortgage.
Someone up there was looking out for me though because when we bought our house (3 months before diagnosis) I upped my life insurance to cover critical illness, so I had a payout from that too. When I say to people I had a critical illness payout they instantly think its mega money, but I can assure you it is not. It is essentially what I would earn for a year on minimum wage. It saved my butt though so I am eternally grateful we did that! If you haven’t already got critical illness cover then I urge you to do so!
Asking for and Accepting Help
Erica’s Thoughts: In many ways, I was lucky. My treatment plan was short, and my recovery got wrapped up in the pandemic. I didn’t have to ask for widespread help—my small network was enough.
Unlike when I lost my mum and I needed to find photographers to cover weddings, some were photographers I had never meet or spoken to before, this time I needed to ask for help from people I trusted. And once that help was in place, it felt like a huge weight was lifted.
Had I needed to reach further, I would have leaned into This is Reportage and NineDots, and if you’re female-identifying, Shoots Like a Girl is an amazing community—that’s actually how Harriet and I connected. If you don’t feel like you have a support network, these are great places to start.
Outside of photography, I did need to ask for help—and what was wonderful was seeing the good in people. From childcare providers waiving extra fees so we could attend appointments, to neighbours offering to cook and clean—it was terrifying to share my situation, but the kindness I received was overwhelming.
Harriet’s Thoughts:
This is a hard one for most of us right? I am such a “get on and do it all myself” kinda gal. If I feel unwell I get on with it anyway, but this wasn’t just any average “feeling unwell” and I had to put my pride aside and let people help me.
I already had a great network of photography friends who I had met through the years and they were my first port of call to ask for help, however I still needed more weddings covered so I reached out to the Shoots Like a Girl group on Facebook and had so many amazing offers of help. I made sure each photographer was a good fit for my clients and their wedding and that I trusted them 100% with handing over such a responsibility.
Once my work side was sorted, I also very much needed to ask for help personally too. My number one superhero (besides my husband!) was my mum, who essentially became the kids second mum whilst I was MIA. But outside of family (who kinda have to help, right?) my main source of help came from the local church. I barely knew anyone there but they organised meal trains for my family for the week following every chemo session, and after surgery too. I had friends come and clean my house, cook us meals, look after the kids and just be here to be a sounding board or shoulder to cry on. Considering we had only been living in the local community for a few months, their kindness exceeded expectation and then some.
It is times like this that restore your faith in humanity and make you so grateful for what and who you have around you.
I am now officially classed as NED (No evidence of disease) – so all of the treatment has worked. What. A. Relief. Processing it is still an ongoing journey but it is so good to be starting to look & feel a bit more like me and a bit less like cancer again. But the asking for help doesn’t end there, I am still exhausted and honestly slightly anxious heading into wedding season again. So I will be ensuring I have everything in place so that I feel confident entering back into the wedding photography world! I can’t wait though, it brings me so much joy and so much life.

Practical Tips for Wedding Photographers Facing Cancer
- You don’t need to be sick to have a sick plan. A diagnosis or unexpected life event can happen at any time. Having a plan in place takes the pressure off.
- Build a network. Attend workshops, join online communities, and reach out to local photographers. A strong support system is invaluable.
- Have an associate photographer plan. Figure out what you’d pay an associate and draft a backup email for emergencies.
- Consider insurance (before you need it). Income protection or critical illness cover can be a game-changer. Check the fine print.
- Communicate with clients. Be honest but measured. Give them options. Don’t take it personally if they choose another supplier.
- Ease back into work. Returning after treatment is daunting. Start at your own pace, hire a second shooter, or focus on smaller shoots like family or branding sessions.
- You’re not alone. A cancer diagnosis feels isolating, but others in this industry have been there. We need to normalize these conversations and create stronger support systems.
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