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The Business of Wedding Photography is an extensive subject, best
answered by a team of professional wedding photographers, who also
happen to be star photo.net members. In this article, these
professional photographers have contributed advice and personal
experience gained from running wedding businesses. Whether you are
just entering the field of wedding photography, or are a seasoned pro,
the tips and insights shared here should be helpful with your own
business.
We asked our panel of experts the following questions:
David
Wegwart: Referrals from past clients and local
coordinators/venues.
Bob
Bernardo: We belonged to a networking group for about 5
years. When I first started out in the late 80's, the Yellow Pages was
the best tool to use because the Internet wasn't around yet. I ran
large ads in the Yellow Pages and paid extra money to be the
first or second listing.
Josh Root
Mary
Ball: I never did a bridal fair. However, I have given albums and
photos of flowers to florists, or photos of cakes to bakeries for free
to put in their albums, or enlarged and framed (with photo credit) for
their booth. I also included framed photos of venues. In exchange,
they would have one of my albums there with my business cards. It was
a good way for me to market my work without paying the fee for a
bridal fair. It should be noted, however, that I was in a small
destination market where 80% of my clients came through high
recommendations from hotels, resorts and other vendors such as
florists.
Another marketing tool was to provide the local newspaper with
about 40 or so wedding photos when they did their wedding supplement
in January. Check with your local paper(s) and see if they do a
wedding supplement. If they don't, you may inspire them to start
one. I made sure some of the images had space above the subject or to
the left side as those would most often be considered for cover
images. The space was needed for the newspaper logo and other text. I
was chosen for the cover image for one or two papers almost every year
for that reason, or they used one of my images to advertise for the
upcoming issue. The paper does not pay you for usage but you get a
photo credit next to each image they publish in the editorial
content. Be sure to include romantic couple photos, fun couple images,
details such as flowers, cake, etc. Then think about or ask what
articles they may/will be publishing. If they are doing an article
about attire, I send them photos of a wedding dress, guys in great or
unique suits/tuxes, etc. If they're planning an article on hairdos,
I'll include close-ups of hairstyles or great portraits with
unique/beautiful hairdos, etc. If you don't know what the articles
will be, make sure to have a good selection of prints for getting
ready photos, wide angle of venues, wide angle of ceremonies, close
intimate captures of a wedding couple during vows, exchange of rings,
recessional, toasts, wedding party images, family photos, bride with
dad and mom, dancing, table settings, etc.
Michael
Mowery: Since I freelance for other studios, I just wait for the
telephone to ring. I did recently create my web site michaelmowery.com. That has brought
in some unexpected work.
Conrad
Erb: Word of mouth, hands down. Thanks to the shrill wedding
marketing machine and the general feeling that the wedding industry is
filled with people who underworked and overpaid, the best marketing is
someone telling their friend that they love your work, that you are
friendly, hard working, and worthy of their trust.
Jeff
Ascough: I have several that are all part of my marketing
mix. There isn't one that is better than the others. My work comes in
through referrals, event organizers, magazines, past clients and word
of
mouth.
Josh
Root: Word of mouth and referrals from past clients. I could
almost make a family tree of a wedding that led to two other weddings
that have led to six more weddings. Personally, I love this sort of
thing. When I meet with a prospective client couple and hear them say,
"No need to bring your portfolio albums. We met you last year at our
friend's wedding and we love your images and how fun you were to be
around. We just want to sign the paperwork and give you the deposit."
It really means the world to me and is such a satisfying feeling
to know that people saw your work, the images that resulted, and
called you up when it was their turn to hire a photographer. There
really is no higher praise in this line of work than to have someone
recommend you to their friends or family.
Bob Bernardo - LA area.
Events for public relations in the wedding world
What events, such as bridal fairs, do you participate in for
public relations/self-promotion?
Marc
Williams: I have a web site, but it is just used as a reference
point for potential clients.
David
Wegwart: Wedding Photojournalist Association's (WPJA) quarterly
contest.
Bob
Bernardo: Bridal fairs haven't worked well for our studios since
the digital scene has taken over so powerfully. The last show we
attended was two years ago and we only got one booking. In the film
era, we often booked right at the fair and could count on about 30
clients signing up. Budget is one of the major reasons. Brides
are often looking for lower budget wedding photographers. Of course,
the area one lives in will change this statement drastically. Now
almost every client is through referrals, but we still run ads and
are members of two local Chamber groups. One of our recent tricks is
going to orthodontist offices and offering a free 8x10 print of the
person
getting their braces off! This usually turns into a family portrait
and sales generally increase. Turning a $2 8X10 into $500 plus
is common.
Nadine
Ohara: None really. I have done charity events but I do those for
the charity, not with self promotion in mind. I have never^M
participated in a
bridal fair, although I know it works in some locations for some
photographers.
Conrad
Erb: I actually don't participate in any events. When I was
starting out, they were far too expensive compared to what I
charged. At this point, my business is brisk enough without doing any
of these events.
Jeff
Ascough: I haven't participated in any events for self promotion
in nearly ten years.
Josh
Root: None. My general take on bridal fairs is that they are
overly
expensive and you are one of a sea of photographers there. You
could walk around slipping promo cards in people's "goody bags" and
they would call you up a week later thinking that they had talked to
you. That's how memorable any one interaction is at those events.
Self-promotion
Where do you promote yourself (paid
advertisements)?
Bob
Bernardo: I continue to run ads in the Yellow Pages that have been
running for about 20 years now. At the moment we do not have a web
site and there are no plans to. We are just so booked that we would
have to add another partner. For now, this is against our marketing
plans. We plan on expanding eventually, and when we do we will
continue with the Yellow Pages, the local Chamber groups, networking
groups, and of course build a web site and pay extra to be marketed on
the top three listings.
We constantly contact churches temples,
larger hotels, florists, and leave albums or prints with them if they
like us. We usually contact these places in more of a formal
business manner, such as a business dinner, and do not just
drop in. These places and businesses are swamped with
newcomers so we feel promoting ourselves professionally is the key to
getting referrals, in addition to referrals from past clients.
Mary
Ball: I would buy an ad in the wedding supplement for the local
paper once a year, as well as the biannual color local area guide for
tourists. I choose one wedding web site a year on which to advertise,
selecting that by doing a search for wedding photographers in my area
on Google, as if I were a bride looking for a photographer, to see
what comes up on the first page. That is how I evaluate a good site,
that along with the quality of the site making sure it attracts the
market I'm looking for.
Conrad
Erb: I was in a local wedding magazine for one year (two issues),
and wasn't impressed with the response I received. I will sometimes
put up an ad on craigslist.com, but for the most
part my work comes via word of mouth. I sometimes get calls from
people who saw my work online after doing an online search for wedding
photographers.
Josh
Root: I have used local newspaper and wedding supplement/magazine
advertising with some success in the past. It isn't the most
efficient, but it can lead to bookings and more public awareness of
you as a
photographer. Overall, I don't do much advertising.
Marketing and PR is a broad topic, and our 9 contributors only just broke the surface with their responses. We would love to hear your thoughts and personal experiences with Marketing and PR as it relates to the wedding photography business.
It seems from these pros that word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool. Just have to get those first few clients to get things going! The reception hall I shot in told me that 100% of their business now comes from their website. Great info here on where to focus my time and energy, thanks.
HI Everyone, I am a photojournalist now shooting weddings. Boy I love the change after Iraq and other such places this is feeling so hopeful and fun!
So in a way I'm old and yet new. Mary you really are generous and relevant with what you share to those getting into photography. I just finished a wedding shoot in Aruba. It must be the right thing to be doing as it feels so easy. I enjoy reading about the marketing since in journalism I have never had to do any marketing at all. I also didn't do any photoshop so am having a bit of fun with that right now but will probably start slowing down on it.
Nice to meet everyone. Sherrlyn
I have tried a lot of marketing ideas and I hate to admit it but car advertising works great! As long as the design is classy, you get a lot of market from just being out and about in your local area.
The information provided was indeed informative - although I wish there was someone who could talk more in-depth about how to create public relations / marketing around your photography to gain more visibility. Also, what the latest trends are for social media marketing???
- Tarah Cranford
San Francisco Photographer
Nowadays,there is bright future scopes in marketing,as it has become a basic need for every business.In the same way marketing is essential in Photo shooting also but I always think that our products should have that much quality that after using them user don't get unsatisfied.
Outdoor photo shoots are gaining more fame day by day,as now people has changed their wedding styles like they are going for theme based weddings like Beach Wedding it has become a popular theme of a wedding..as everyone enjoys it..so people are going for it..some other themes like baseball theme etc are also becoming famous,so now as people has changed their wedding theme so according to it everything has changed whether it is a accessories,photo shoot,gifts,wedding favors anything..so marketing is a very essential way in order to let people know your schemes.
I do feel that is a great article but I do feel they are only hitting the tip of the iceberg. I agree with most of the professionals but they should explain how to get those first few clients. Tom Fowler
, December 04, 2007; 12:51 P.M. 