Marketing Tips For Wedding Photographers Tips Part II

Marketing Tips For Wedding Photographers Tips Part II
Author : Wedding Photography Select
Article Date : 01 Aug 2015

Alan Law
*Get Close*. I think it's so important to get physically close to the action; it enables you to 'feel' the wedding more, enabling you to empathise with what's going on, and thus be able to anticipate and capture moments easier. I love to shoot close with a 24mm; it gives the images a real sense of intimacy, and when viewed later, makes the viewer feel like they were really there. Conversely, if you just shoot at 200mm from 10 metres away, the images can have a lot more 'detached' feeling. Definitely my top tip for intimate documentary work.

*Shoot what you love*. There's just no point doing what everyone else is doing, or just doing what you *think* other people want to see, if you do that, you'll just end up competing on price, and falling out of love with it. Shoot how you see the world, shoot what you love and make sure you *show* what you love.

William LAMBELET
Anticipate. Try to know what will happen before it happens. If you can be ready before the action and if it's possible choose your frame, your picture will be perfect. Sometimes you think and hope an action will happen at a particular moment or spot but it doesn't :-( But if it does you can be sure your picture will be amazing. Sometimes I wait 10/15min in a specific place because I'm sure in my head something important will happen. I only wait if the frame and light are good.

Do not give up. Never stop shooting before the end of an action. Even though you know you have a good picture continue to shoot. Never think your picture is perfect, there is always a better one.

Justin Graddy.
Lots of dedication and hard work â long hours and sacrificing your weekends are a must.

FitzGerald Photographic.
There are a lot of wedding photographers out there, with differing styles and pricing and at the same time there are a lot of people getting married, so enough business to go round for all! It's good to be aware and appreciate other wedding photographers and trends but ultimately I try to ignore these and focus on what I can offer couples in terms of my own style, service & personality.

Unfortunately a while ago I had an issue with a third party supplier. They were unable to provide a product I had ordered for a client, and were also very unhelpful! I managed to source and alternative option, resulting in a happy client. I now no longer use the initial supplier and try to limit the number of suppliers I do use; working with ones I trust.

Francesco Gravina.
I guess I made it a success with my simplicity. I have sincere approach to weddings and shoot from the heart. I believe that success arrives when you have a strong passion and love for what you do.

Murray Clarke.
I think that my success is a result of my obsessive perfectionism for both my photography and providing an excellent service to my clients. I want to capture natural images and I strongly believe that this is only possible if people feel relaxed and comfortable in my presence. I try to have a good laugh with the bride, groom and all their guests so that everyone feels at ease. I always strive to under promise but over deliver so that my clients are delighted with their photographs. The mistakes? When I first started out I set my prices too low and this seemed to attract a lot of clients who didn't really appreciate photography in general. Once I became more established I raised my prices and in turn attracted clients who really appreciate my work and style of photography.

Giorgio Baruffi.
With a lot of patience, trying to figure out where the market was heading having humility and determination.

Alan Law.
Incredibly difficult to pinpoint one thing, but I think one of the most important aspects is staying true to yourself. Shooting weddings how you want to shoot them, rather than conforming to doing what everyone else is doing.

I also think it's important to not only capture emotion and special moments, but to do so creatively and artistically. Not seeing other photographers as competition, but actively reaching out and networking/making friends has also been massively helpful. Of course, my background in SEO has been very helpful in getting my name out there too!

LoveStruckPhoto.
We haven't made this business purely a business; we have brought in character and individuality. We are a couple and we relate to the couples we deal with. We make our work very personal and informal. When we meet up with our lovely clients, it tends to feel like we're meeting with old friends. Although we are professionals at what we do, we drop that formality of things and try to make our couple feel relaxed.

Weddings are stressful and the brides usually wear themselves out with 'to do' lists. We hope that when they meet us, a weight can be lifted and they can sit back, cross photography off that list and know that we will take care of at least 1 part of that special day.

Ed Clayton.
Passion is the key, I think. Enjoying what you do is the most important thing, because if you don't you can't fake it and then the results of your work just drop off. I think the biggest mistake I have made over the years is not concentrating enough on the business side of what I do such as the marketing and sales etc. I always get so wrapped up in the technical side of what I do that it is easy to not actually market your business effectively!

The H Wedding Photography.
First of all, we really believe in what we do. We transformed our hobby into something that we do for a living and we put a lot of passion into it.
As far as mistakes, I don't know, maybe it's the key to our success, but we don't treat wedding photography as a business, but as a lifestyle, which sometime can be overwhelming.

Linus Moran.
Its probably down to personal attributes such as having a long term vision of where I am going, along with high standards. I don't want second best and I don't want to attract clients who accept anything less. Sometimes my work ethic has verged on an obsession.

Mistakes; yes and plenty of them! All through trial and error and mostly through SEO and social media. Its almost a daily occurrence that I along with many others getting sales marketing calls. They all offer the world, but so far none have delivered. A mistrust of their services has led to my current opinion, that online marketing is a skill only to be conducted by the photographer in question.

Who else will represent your brand in its best light? Yes, it takes time and acquired knowledge, but we are all capable of doing this. The reality of being a modern photographer does entail a major part of being desk bound with only a fraction of time being spent pressing the shutter. My advice is go educate yourself (for a modest fee if necessary) and do it yourself.

Online marketing can result in spending money faster than you can earn it if you are not careful!

Tim Hind.
It was quite slow initially because I was always very honest with potential clients about how many weddings I had photographed, I think you have to be straight with people even if it means losing a bit of business. Once I had photographed 15 to 20 weddings I had the confidence to push myself via Google, initially then wedding mags, etc. I find there isn't one magic solution, you have to get yourself out there via all media and make yourself visible.
My biggest mistake initially was trying to copy other photographers. I think we all look around to see what others are doing, but it was only when I had the confidence to be myself and just take images that I like that things started to progress.

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