Make it an Obsession:
The biggest tip I've received from experienced photographers is to bring your camera everywhere.
Despite photography being a hobby, I used to think that bringing my camera everywhere meant that I was always working. I believed that I shouldn't bring it to places where I wanted to enjoy myself or if the place wasn't very flattering and difficult to take photos at. Having this mentality though, actually held back my growth. It wasn't until I was reminded by a podcast that I realized, in order for me to grow as a person and photographer, I need to be obsessed with the things I want to do.
It's because of that podcast that I've personally decided to start bringing my camera everywhere and my photography has grown so much more because of it already.
Practice Makes Perfect:
I have very little experience with events in general, but I struggle especially with weddings, graduations, and pretty much anything aside from hip-hop and dance events. I used to think I should avoid them due to my lack of skill but I later realized that in order to get better, I have to practice. To motivate myself to practice without having to worry about giving a client horrible photos, I bring my camera with me to every big event I go to and encourage myself to tell the story of the event. Instead of thinking about how much I don't want to take bad photos, I tell myself to focus on something I enjoy, which is storytelling.
My hope is that with my growing experience, I'll also develop a style that appeals to both myself and future clients. I've already started to realize how to apply everything I've learned from my other genres of photography to events, and I'm extremely excited to practice more and see what the results will be.
Don't be afraid to ask:
My biggest fear as a photographer and someone who's shy is asking people to do things for me. This could be asking something to scoot out of your frame, to put their phone down, or to act something out for you to get a nice shot. If you can overcome that fear early on, it'll save so much regret you'll feel later.
The majority of the time, it's nice to capture authentic, unscripted moments, but it's okay to ask some of the guests to do something to get the perfect shot. An event has so much going on at one time that it's impossible to get all of the little moments.
It's just like asking the future husband and wife to pose for you, the graduates to do something fun or in this case, the guests to cheers.