How hard could it be to become a wedding photographer? If all I did was get a 5DMII, a couple of prime “L” lenses paired with Boutwell actions, I’m set, right? Being a wedding photographer is not very hard, but being a successful wedding photographer is difficult.
Over the past two years, I moved up from shooting weddings at $300 each to $5,000 each. My inquiries are still strong (2-3 a day) despite current economic conditions.
Understand that I am not the best photographer out there and I still have a lot to improve on. However, I do know a thing or two when it comes to making a wedding photography business work.
There are 3 things you should know:
- Why are you doing this business?
- What makes a good photographer?
- How do you market yourself effectively?
Direction
Why did you start a wedding photography business? Or any form of photography for that matter? If you don’t know why, then that’s a big problem.
Dane Sanders focuses on the core of one’s business vision through Fast Track Photographer. The first step is to understand why you are doing it. If it is passion, then fantastic! If it is because the industry is lucrative, then fantastic! Whatever the reason is, you need to know why and exactly what you are cooking up for your clients.
Here is an excerpt from a recent article Dane Sanders wrote for Scott Bourne:
Technique can be taught but your core focus needs to be discovered first. And the best news is once you have a working sense of what you were made to create for the world, the sky’s the limit on where you will go with your craft.
Skills
When I started my business, I had my heroes and I think you should pick yours too.
I have heroes to give me inspiration – a goal to aim for. “One day, I want to shoot like them!”
If you are interested in learning the skills from one of my heroes, then a photography workshop that is coming up worth considering is the “DAVIS LOVE STORY” workshop. It is a 3 day experience with celebrity photographer – Bob Davis – as he photographs the wedding of Sarah and Brent at the exquisite Ocean Lodge hotel in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
DAY ONE begins with a meet and greet and flash lecture at the exquisite Ocean Lodge hotel in St. Simons Island, then on to a night shoot with Sarah and Brent.
DAY TWO is a meeting at the Ocean Lodge hotel and photographing of Sarah and Brent getting ready — making sure to cover all of the details. This leads to the first look where Brent will see Sarah for the first time in her dress followed by a beautiful photo walk…dinner, sunset ceremony and dessert reception.
DAY THREE will begin at the Ocean Lodge hotel in a conference room where Dawn Davis (Bob’s wife) will show you how she creates her beautiful book designs. She will share with you her Photoshop knowledge and all her secrets to designing for the stars (literally – like for Oprah)! After Dawn’s album design workshop, there is a “Trash The Dress” session at the ever-so-amazing Driftwood Beach on Jeckyll Island with Sarah and Brent, along with a few of their friends who will model.
I understand that there are only 5 seats left…actually, it might be 4 if I can squeeze it in.
Marketing
Donald Trump once said:
I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking about anything, you might as well think big.
It’s nice to think big, but you must know how to get there. It’s nice to aim for 30 weddings a year at $5,000 each, but the steps to achieve that and to sustain that is quite a pickle.
I use two forms of marketing for my business:
In Person – yes, that simple. One suggestion is to organize a coffee meet with other photographers every Friday afternoon just to hang out, network, trade ideas or refer clients!
Jeff Jochum also feels the same way – he told me that we create friction and connection by meeting people in person…these connections outweigh any online ones.
Online – There is a great deal of talk about SEO, but sadly that isn’t everything. It’s really two parts:
- Getting the traffic through SEO
- Converting the traffic into clients
Now these are my observations for becoming a successful wedding photographer and/or business owner. I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome post. You are amazing Lawrence. Thank you! xoxoxo ~ Dawn
Thx for sharing!
Awesome advice!
These are great thoughts and ideas. Taking photos is the easy part, now more than ever anyone can do it. Setting yourself apart as a business owner and marketing specific to clients to offer them a number one service. Thanks for the inspiration!
Good food for thought, feed your passion.
Awesome post and great info, thanks for sharing….
thanks for sharing Lawrence and Bob and Dawn are great! I met them at PDN at their presentation and did not know who they were and they were the nicest people and so down to earth and then I found out they are like top notch photog and designer for really famous people and was more so impressed
Thank you for sharing that Lawrence. Definitely some great ideas to think about.
You learn something new everyday. Now my day’s complete. Thanks Lawrence.
Great post, Lawrence! You are one of my photography heroes!
Thanks for this. Great post.
Nice work Lawrence. Really well articulated.
Wonderful!
I am happy to hear that many people on Twitter/FB/here enjoyed the blog post
Sometimes we lose sight of why we get into a specific business/endeavor; it happened to me too. I changed to wedding photography for more freedom with time. Last year I photographed way too many weddings. As a result, I lost my time.
The better you shoot, the less time you spend in post production. The higher the quality in images and poses, the more weddings you will book. Life is an endless journey of learning, so go learn!
Lastly, marketing is essential in any business. Being able to reach an audience and capture their attention is pertinent. I will release more and more techniques regarding this with time.
Thank you for reading this blog post and responding with your thoughts! Love you all!
Great post!!! I question myself everyday. This helps me to be on the right track and wake up with the same passion day to day!
Forgive my ignorance but I have one question
(…and it is out of context)
What does PT means? Davis asked “Please PT”.
Sorry, that was RT not “PT”
Great advice….I think I have heard this before……wait it wwas when we had coffee in SF!! So glad to have met you LC!!!
I’ve got a notebook full of advice from you and other success stories, now to apply it!
THANK YOU. YOU ARE MY INSPIRATION, TOFURIOUS! I WANNA BE LIKE YOU WHEN I GROW UP!
Awesome post!!!! Thank you.
So true in so many ways. This blog posting and website has been a great motivation for us!~! Can’t wait for the knowledge bomb to drop in Frisco later this week! Have a safe trip! ^_^
Nice article! thanks!
)
Great article! Wish I could attend the Bob Davis workshop. I’d add to your list of marketing and say one of the biggest things is word of mouth from former brides and wedding attendees. This means everyone should make sure they really concentrate on customer service.
Hey Lawrence, you are right, it make sense to me!!!
This sort of articles shows me the way I am.
Thanks my Friend.
PD: When you come up to SEO in México City?
Thank you, awesome post! It’s also important not to loose focus along the way. The hardest part for me, I am a people pleaser and some weddings I began to listen to everyone else and my plans went out the window. I’ve learned to take everyone else’s requests after I have executed my plans.
Learning so much here, thank you!
Thanks Lawrence for the breakdown! I’m really trying to get the marketing part more developed- it’s a necessity!
Great post. Its HAPPENING….
THanks for more thought provoking insight Lawrence!
Hello Lawrence!
Have you thought about applying your expertise to teaching about the art of posing? So much of the internet flotsam and jetsom is about, Photoshop actions, lighting techniques, new cameras, newer cameras, the newest and bestest camera…. The core of a truly great image in portraiture is posing people. It is a craft only a few have mastered. There is an iPhone app that has “1,100″ pictures on it – but they are rather average. Please give some thought to the subject matter.
Have a blessed thanksgiving!
Curtis
Thx for sharing!
Really good info.
Tomas from Orange County, CA.
Your pro photographer
fotosvideoprofesional.com
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