1. Business Plan
2. Advertising and Marketing
3. Branding
4. Networking
5. Sales
1. In order to achieve and perpetuate a profitable photography business or any other business, it is very essential to have a vision where you would like to see your business grow, expand and head in the future. Visualizing and capturing your thoughts on paper and then producing a business plan is very essential. It will create a sense of direction as well as prioritization in regards to the financial, creative and self fulfilling needs. Refer back to it often and donʼt be scared to rewrite it, add to it or scratch things off as you develop yourself and business alike.
2. Advertising is great, however when starting a brand new business, budget allocated to advertising will be minimal as you will have tons of other expenses. As such I strongly recommend for you to realize your target audience. In wedding photography, it will be brides averaging the age of 20-35. You need to find out where your local brides hang out online and off, and how to reach them. Once they start talking about you and your amazing business and how remarkable it is, a word of mouth is unparalleled to any other form of advertising. It is FREE and very strong as it usually comes from a friend, family or someone who can vouch for your great, remarkable work. Once you build your portfolio (at least a few weddings) you will have some images to showcase, which leads me to point 3.
3. Online presence and blog. In this day and age, most of your target audience will find you, check you out and access your portfolio and compatibility online. Having a strong web site visually driven will be a definitive plus. Going through lots of research and trial and error I found that as oppose to making your own site which will not look very professional (unless you are a web designer and programmer) or paying hundreds of dollars to custom create one for you, the best way to go is buying a photography driven template. One that is easy to update, customize your interface from colours, fonts, logo, feel, images…et al. You can pick up a template as low as $100 and have a really presentable and professional looking site in a matter of days. Also, I definitively recommend creating a blog which can be a very resourceful marketing tool adjacent to your web site. You can create a free blog with www.blogspot.com.
Once you get the hang of it, it is really easy updating it with photos, stories, youtube videos or any other content you choose to share with your clients, friends and blog stockers. Your clients will be able to see your
current work as well as be able to relate to you on a personal level if you choose to blog about your personal life. This way your potential brides will feel more comfortable, have a easier time meeting you and feel more partial to hiring you as oppose to someone they have not seen in pictures. It really does work. Numerously, I have brides mention how much easier it was meeting us, because they felt like they already knew us through our blog. So blog about anything and everything. Blog your weddings, engagement shoots, personal work, personal life to your comfort and you will see the potential.
4. As many people say or perhaps you have heard this phrase: Network is your Net worth. I canʼt stress enough. Network, network and network. You might feel isolated in this industry, but networking can help you get to know your colleagues, pass referrals onto one another, and once again amplify your own word of mouth advertising via your brides. Who should you network with, might you ask? With your clients, wedding photoʼs and other wedding vendors such as coordinators, venues and halls, florists, djʼs, limos…et al. Simple thing such as acknowledging them and linking to them
via your blog posts or sending them a promo DVD of their products ie; floral arrangements will surely spark up a good and mutually beneficial working relationship. Also donʼt forget the many forums, online chats and other social networks like http://www.facebook.com that will allow you to connect to other professionals and potential clients.
5. Your run your photographic business for the passion of the art, creativity, interpersonal relationships and the positive environment you surround yourself with ie: weddings and people in love. However you are running this venture for profit as well. Do not forget that. Pay yourself first! All sales start from an email inquiry, telephone call or a consultation.
In fact sometimes they follow that exact order as described above. Always pick up the phone and show your potential client the service you can provide that they are expecting. Price yourself accordingly. Research your local competition and see what is being offered with regards to services and products. Customize your packages and try to differentiate yourself from the pack. Donʼt be afraid to ask what you think you are worth. Price yourself to specifically to the target audience you are after. Socio-economical brides come in many levels with many different expectations and needs.
According to your prices you will or will not attract a certain audience. If you choose to price yourself a bit higher then your competition, make sure you can justify it with abilities, experiences and artistically.
Consultations are very important. Offer them free with no obligations. This is your first, in person point of contact with your potential client and time to show your work and really sell yourself! It is also a time to interview your client to see if this match is backwards compatible. Think of incentives to close the deal the day of consultation or allow clients to do their homework, think about it and get back to you. If you were mutually a good match and the client was able to relate to you, they will come back. Price is not everything! We establish a good rapport from a get go and most of our clients become our friends. The whole experience becomes much more personal and fun! So, get out there, be fun, creative, love your job and get
paid well!
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About Author
Mark Kostelnik is a professional Mississauga wedding photographer who blogs about various happening within the wedding photography industry and trends. As a Toronto wedding photographer Mark can help capture the memory.
whoa!!it looks like a PICTURE!
ur an amazing painter!:D
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See these tutorials on wedding photography: http://www.net-art.it/photomonitor/html/teoria_tecnica/ripresa-tecniche/matrimonio-cerimonia-e.shtml
Wedding photography tutorials: http://www.net-art.it/photomonitor/html/teoria_tecnica/ripresa-tecniche/matrimonio-cerimonia-e.shtml
I know in our town we have bridal fairs at our mall and another at a local hotel. These fairs have booths set up so that businesses can get their names out there. I would start with that. Then word of mouth does wonder. Start some sort of reward program for people who refer you to other people. You may check and see if a local floral shop wants to team up with you and have packages that way. Also check out theknot.com. They are a wedding website that I believe is set up by area of the country.
Well, I do quite a few different types of photography, including weddings.
Just because you are 14 means only that age limitations apply. You have the youth and energy to craft your photographic trade for decades to come though! Having a Nikon D40 is a great thing. I shoot a D90 with a Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 and love it! The fact you can edit is a great plus, seeing that digital photography has a requisite for that kind of talent.
Now, on to your questions…
You've already have gotten started. You have a great camera, you're computer savvy and have drive. Now you need the channels to utilize those energies. How about the school paper? The local paper? Be a free-lance photographer for them! Learn what clients want and find out how you can supply it. How will you make yourself unique (differentiate) as compared to other photographers? Think about this.
As to how to further get started in wedding photography, I learned by taking lots of photographs and reading up on books in the library. I also asked other photographers (like you're doing here) on some tips. It takes time, and you have lots of that!
As for your camera, right now the D40 is fine. Learn the operations of the camera if you haven't already. Knowing your tools is of utmost importance to getting the most from them. In a few years, think about upgrading possibly. Always look to buy the best lenses you can afford. The lens will outlive the camera by decades! Read articles, look at product reviews and see what is the right kind of lenses and bodies for what you want to do. I still have my 6 year old D70 and lenses because my wife is getting into photography and she loves it.
You can do some work on wedding photography right now. Not for pay possibly, but doing some free-lance work and then showing the bride and groom your work afterwards would set you up for something in the near future. I'd say that the earliest you could get some sort of paying work is at 17 or 18. Don't ask me what you could charge… your work/portfolio quality will determine that in a few years.
What kind of pictures? What do you WANT to take pictures of? What really makes you want to snap that picture? That is the motivation you need to focus on! That is what helps differentiate your work from everyone else! I do a lot of landscape, macro, flowers/plants and specialty photography personally.
The best thing to do is:
1) Learn your camera and lenses. What/where are they good at performing? How many lenses do you really need to just start? If you only have one lens then fine. Learn its strengths and weaknesses. Know the camera operations by memory so that when conditions change, you can change the settings accordingly.
Do you have a good prime lens (50mm f/1.8), a good low end zoom (18-70/105mm), a good high focal length zoom (70-300mm)? Maybe, like me, you have a good "walk about" lens (18-270mm). Even if you just have the 18-105mm Nikon lens the D40 came with, it's a very good lens! You can do a lot of fine work with that lens.
2) Read up on the types of photography you'd like to do. Take notes. How about some classes in middle or high school? Go to the library and check out some books so you can refer back to them. That is a no-cost option! Learn the basics of exposure and composition and how to get different effects from different settings of the camera. Don't rely on your software to make a semi-good picture better. Learn to take a great picture right off the bat so you don't have to do any rework on the computer.
3) Learn from your mistakes. Why did the picture come out bad, over or under exposed? How can you work to not do that again? Why is is that certain pictures came out fantastic? What did you do correctly so you can repeat that? Since you have a digital camera, you can usually take several shots of the same subject and see how different settings make the picture change to you liking.
4) Have fun doing whatever you do. I have seen so many people get into photography and get lost in the details that they forget to have FUN!
Good luck!
Wow!!! Your question is very important for which I think you should go online and check this out: http://thestylishwedding.com/articles
Enjoy
Very nice!!
Great talent Der Mann.
Wedding photographers charge by the event, not the hour.
My wedding photographer had shot professionally for ten years, but mine was only her fourth wedding. Her experience as a pro combined with her inexperience at weddings led to a price of $750 for the day.
This included:
* Four scheduled hours of work (though she showed up early and also toured the venue with me the day before, so it's more like six hours total).
* Light editing of all pictures (color, contrast, removing any photos that had come out badly) and burning them to CD. This CD also came with copyright release, so I could print the photos legally. Most photographers charge maybe $250 for the copyright-released CD alone.
* No prints
You seem less experienced than my photographer was, so if I were you, I'd charge $500 for the above.
The high yearly saleries and $2000/gig prices are reserved for professional photographers who have lots of experience with weddings. If your sister's friend is going to you, it's because she can't afford them.
Excellent work. Pleasure to watch. Perfect music
))
equipment is not the main consideration.
Skill and experience is.
If you have never done a wedding before then before you jump in you need to work as an assistant for a while so that you do not completely and utterly mess up the couples big day.
Good wedding photography is a skill which can only be learnt with practice so going solo straight is NOT a good idea.
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I'm not familiar with any magazine with wedding photography as its main subject.
However, Inside Weddings has lots of good photos. Some of them are studio shots of course, but lots of them are actual wedding shots. I use it to help get the couple focused on the types of photos they like best during pre-planning.
I suppose you have experience, a portfolio, have taken formal classes and you've done an apprenticeship with an experienced, established professional phtoographer?
In being a wedding photographer, you will find that you will have dry spells and a lot of free time on your hands; for that reason, I suggest that you expand your business to also include portraits, graduations, Christenings, and maybe even do a little of children and/or baby photos. Those are opportunities to make money ANeD to get your name known. Depending on the area where you're located, you might also want to work for a shop that does on-site photo processing (learn how to operate the equipment, machines, etc… learn as much as you can and keep your eyes and ears open).
Consider also taking a few businesses classes at the local "Y" or local community college through the Evening Adult & Continuing Education Department; it will help you in more ways than one… taxes, accounting, etc. Talented and skilled photographers go bankrupt all the time because they have no kind of business sense; learn as much as you can.
Getting started ain't always as easy as we imagine. For that reason you might want to visit a few churches and speak with the Holy Man, leave a few cards or make a professional looking circular and post it on the bulletin boards, do a few freebies or give them as much of a break as you can (use this to build a portfolio, get recommendations… future referrals) for a few people on really tight budgets. Bridal shops often don't say anything but they may expect a "finder's fee" or a tip (which I am sorely against), flower shops, beauty salons, etc. Speak with the proprietors and let them know that you're just starting out; take a few of their cards and also offer to pass them to any and all of your clients. Do you know anyone in the catering business? That's also a plus.
Don't give up. Starting is always the most difficult part! Listen, all the talent and skills in the world won't amount to anything unless you have the passion to persevere and overcome those obstacles you're sure to encounter; so, hang in there. Good luck and very best wishes.
Incredible! He looks so life like. Just amazing…and what a beautiful subject
Nice work, you did pretty good.
Brilliant Willy, Just Brilliant =D
You’re really good man. You’ve got excellent talent.