Weddings are great photo opportunities. It's a day that
everyone wants to remember and happy couples often need a
reliable, professional service to capture their wedding
perfectly for them to remember for the rest of their lives.
Investing in relationships with wedding planners is a great
way to gain access to this profitable business. The wedding
planner will refer you to couples who will be more likely to
hire you based on the wedding planner's advice.
First, if you have no wedding portfolio, offer your service
to a bride in return for a testimonial. Be sure you keep the
copyright on your pictures so you can use them to create a
portfolio. You might locate a receptive bride within your
circle of friends and family or through other networking
activities. With at least one wedding under your belt and
with a nice testimonial and portfolio, start looking for
other weddings to photograph. Word of mouth is always ideal,
but you might also check the wedding announcements in your
local newspaper.
To build up a portfolio, offer your services in return for
testimonials. Make sure you have the copyright for your
photographs so that you can use these in your portfolio.
Often your first client will be from your social circle, so
get the word out about your service. Word of mouth is the
best recommendation, but with your new portfolio and
testimonial, you are prepared to search for wedding
accouncements in your local newspaper.
Contact the bride and offer your service. You can either
send promotional material by mail or try phoning her. You
can offer to take pictures of the bride's house and the
preparation for the wedding which can produce some great
photos. This service is rarely offered by studio
photographers, so this extra effort will make you stand out.
Here's one more suggestion for a unique digital photography
package for weddings. Pair up with a scrapartist and offer a
unique product - a wedding scrapbook or memory album.
Scrapartists use photographs, mementos, decorative paper,
journaling and various embellishments to create gorgeous,
one-of-a-kind albums that are truly works of art.
Being inventive and creative in the way you approach
business goes along way in wedding photography. For example
try working with a local artist to produce scrapbooks for
your customers. You will offer a completely unique work of
art to hold your clients happy memories. As a final tip,
make sure to please the bride. Make her happy, and your job
will be a lot more enjoyable.
