Business of Wedding Photography

a guide by photo.net wedding photographers; created November 2007

Topic #2: Marketing and public relations

Jeff Ascough • Mary Ball • Bob Bernardo • Conrad Erb • Michael Mowery • Nadine Ohara • David Wegwart • Marc Williams • Josh Root

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:

Marc Williams - Franklin/Mich.

1. What has been your most successful marketing tool?
2. What events, such as bridal fairs, do you participate in for public relations/self-promotion?
3. Where do you promote yourself (paid advertisements)?

Successful marketing tools

What has been your most successful marketing tool?

Marc Williams: Word of mouth.

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.

Nadine Ohara: Word of mouth also.

David Wegwart - Denver/CO.

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.

Nadine Ohara - SF Bay Area/CA

Michael Mowery: None.

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)?

Marc Williams: Nowhere. Just my web site.

David Wegwart: I advertise on a number of web sites, including the following: Mywedding.com, Brides.com, WPJA, Photographik.com.

Jeff Ascough - Derbyshire, UK

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.

Nadine Ohara: Web site, word of mouth.

Conrad Erb - Philadelphia, PA

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.

Jeff Ascough: Bridal magazines.

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.

Next Topic: #3 Web sites for the professional wedding photographer

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