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  • PROFILES

    How to Start Your Wedding Business Off RightFeaturing Vanessa Joy

    How to Establish a Great Brand for Your Wedding Photography BusinessFeaturing Justin & Mary Marantz

    How to Find and Book the Right Wedding ClientsFeaturing Tim Halberg

    How to Master Customer ServiceFeaturing Matt Kennedy

    How to Price Your Work CompetitivelyFeaturing Bryan Caporicci

    Reasons to Outsource Post Production By Jared Bauman

    CONCLUSION

    TABLE of CONTENTS

    2015 PhotoShelter, IncNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, without the prior written consent of PhotoShelter, Inc. The logos of the companies described are the trademarks of their respective owners. No endorsement is implied.PhotoShelter, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation.

    GETTING SMART WITH YOUR BUSINESS

    Intro

    Building Your Brand

    Marketing Your Services

    Screening New Clients

    How to Charge for Your Services

    The Wedding Day

    How to Take Natural Looking Photos by Tamron

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    43

    PART I

    PART III

    PART II

  • 3HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS 3THE PHOTOGRAPHERS GUIDE TO TWITTER

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  • 5HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    ear God, please dont let me end up a wedding photographer. Ten years ago, this prayer was on the lips of most fresh-faced photographers

    just starting out in the business. A field long associated with intrusive flash bulbs, men in cheap suits and awk-ward family poses, wedding photography was generally the Plan Z for creative types and photojournalists alike. But these days, photographers are flocking in droves to the Church of Wedding Photography. So what is with all the converts?

    Wedding photography has gone hipboth in the world of photographers and with brides and grooms. A grow-ing number of clients have become noticeably savvier about photography in general, seeking out photojour-nalistic documentaries of their big day instead of Aunt Mildred smiling directly into the camera. Not that they dont still want photos of dear Mildred, they would just prefer a spontaneous shot of her dancing. Photographers have more than happily complied with this new demand. Glance through some of the work on Wedding Photo-journalist Associations site, for example, and it may be difficult to tell the difference between a wedding photo and a fashion shoot ripped from the pages of Vogue.

    So did a few forward-thinking photographers push the industry this way or was it their increasingly sophisti-cated clients? It might be a chicken and egg scenario, but either way the wedding photography industry is expanding in wildly creative directions. Whether you are here because you already know this, or because you are new to the wedding world, allow this guide to be a starting point in making the most of a career in this exciting industry.

    PART I

    Intro

    Photo by Matt Kennedy

    Photo by Tim Halberg

  • 6HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    hile the profession of wedding photography has gained considerable respect, the industry has seen an equally considerable jump in competition.

    Markets like Southern California, for example, are notori-ously full of wedding photographers, but smaller markets have seen an increase as well. Similarly, the proliferation of social media has helped new ideas and businesses to grow in all markets. You cannot control the level of competition; but you can control the product you offer. Distinguishing yourself as unique should be your continual goal.

    If you only take away one thing from this guide, let it be this: brand is king. It is more than just a logo or the color scheme you choose for your website. It touches every single aspect of your work, from the photos presented in your portfolio, to the language you use to greet your clients upon first meeting them, to the experience you provide on the day of the wedding and beyond.

    BRAND PHILOSOPHYIn other words, brand isnt a look, its a philosophy. Start with defining your specific philosophy as a photographer, before you even think about stepping foot in a reception hall. After all, your brand will dictate your company name, web design, portfolio, advertising plan, budget and even your website domain. It can be very expensive and time-consuming to have to go back and change everything.

    PART I

    Building Your Brand

    This isnt meant to scare you. Figuring out your brand is a process and should be enjoyable. The best place to start is to think about what makes you uniquenot just your body of work. What is unique about your person-ality? How do you act in a professional environment? What do you love most about taking photos? These are all questions you should be asking yourself when com-ing up with a brand. Soul-searching is rough, espe-cially for creative types, but the more mental anguish you work through at the beginning will guarantee much less once you start shooting 40 weddings a year.

    Clients are paying as much for you as they are for your work. If you dont have a clear command of who you are, how will prospective clients know if they want to hire you?

    DETERMINING YOUR TARGET MARKETIf all the self-reflection talk has not sent you running for the hills, let us make it a little easier for you. The best place to start when defining your brand philosophy is to ask yourself what kind of client you hope to attract. Who is your target market?

    Figuring out whether you want to connect with quirky creative types in their 20s or upscale clientele in their mid-to-late 30s willing to drop $20k on photography alone is critical to your brand strategy. Dont limit your-self by getting too specific, but leaving the field wide open leaves you open to potentially unhappy clients. A strong brand is not only a highly effective pre-screening process, it also helps manage your client's expectations. Once you know who you want your clients to be, then you can show exactly what you are able to give them.

    Distinguishing yourself as unique should be your

    continual goal.

  • 7HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    One thing you might discover is that your target market doesnt mesh with your current working style. This is where understanding your own philosophy helps. Is it more im-portant to reach this type of client, or more important to maintain your shooting style? This will come up regardless, so its best not to wait to figure out the answer.

    Unless you are a part of your target market, take the time to do your homework. Study the world of these potential clients, particularly as consumers. What kind of customer service are they accustomed to? How do they prioritize purchases? Are they the type of people who value experiences over the material, or vice versa?

    EXECUTING YOUR BRAND STRATEGYNow that you understand exactly who you are as both a person and a photographer, and have a crystal clear idea of your targeted clients, it is time to set some long-term goals. Where do you hope to be in 5 years? What about 10? Do you plan on staying with the same target market, or do you envision slowly transitioning upmarket? Make sure that your brand is not only sustainable for 20+ years, but that you allow room for whatever growth you envision.

    At this point, it is time to determine how your newly defined brand will extend to all aspects of your work and business, even what equipment you use or the medium you shoot on (film vs. digital). Some examples to consider:

    > PORTFOLIO. Do the photos in your portfolio exemplify the kind of photos your target market is looking for?

    > MARKETING. Where will you engage with prospects and what does this choice say about you? Does your target market engage with social media? Do you plan to establish yourself as an expert in the blog world? How will clients respond to expensive ad campaigns?

    > CUSTOMER RELATIONS. How will your clients expect to be treated? Is yes sir, no maam too much or just right? Do you greet your clients with a box of chocolates or a six-pack of local micro-brew?

    > VENDORS. What vendors in your market service a similar demographic?

    These are just a few places of many your brand philosophy will toucheverything from your identity to your attire choice, advertising and beyond. Anything you do as a professional wedding photographer should align with your brand, because every ele-ment of your business that reaches the client says something about you and the service you deliver.

    While assembling your portfolio, brochures and any promotional materials to which you plan to publicly attach your name, it is crucial to remember the following advice:

    To get the kind of work you want to shoot, only show the kind of work you want to get.

    Photo by Matt Kennedy

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  • 8HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    ow that you have a strong brand strategy in place, all you have to do is get clients. If only it were that easy.

    Luckily, a well-defined brand is the absolute best weap-on to have in your arsenal when planning how to attack marketing. Understanding your target market and what unique product you can offer should guide which mar-keting avenues you pursue and how you approach them. Marketing can be very expensive and time-consuming, but it actually doesnt need to be either to have an impact.

    An important thing to keep in mind as you explore your options is that many of the techniques are symbiotic. A strong social media presence can generate great word of mouth, as can a good relationship with wedding planners. SEO keywords can drive more traffic to your blog, which in turn leads prospective clients to your website where they will be dazzled by your easily accessible portfolio.

    Recognizing the potential connectivity of different av-enues can help you maximize the effectiveness of your marketing planand save money. While marketing your business through the following channels, always remem-ber to market yourself. Brides, planners, and other ven-dors may contact you for your skill as a photographer, but they will hire you for your personality. Its very likely that

    PART I

    Marketing Your Services

    you will be the only person with the bride for her entire wedding day, and its certain that youll be one of the few who have contact with her afterwards. Your personality and the level of service you can offer matter more than any other vendor associated with the wedding.

    Here are common channels to help you get started.

    WORD OF MOUTHWord of mouth is the most abstract marketing tactic in this list, but arguably the most important. Of all the pho-tographers and articles consulted for this guide, nearly all agreed word of mouth is the number one source for new clients. Best part of allits free!

    Good word of mouth does not materialize out of no-where, making it an elusive avenue for new wedding pho-tographers. In many ways, the rest of the techniques on this list are all building towards good word of mouth. But if youre going to invest in any kind of marketing, make sure you invest in relationships. Seek out professional and client relationships that may benefit you in the future. The wedding industry is built on relationships.

    DO: Treat client relations as a marketing tool.

    DO: Look for opportunities to surprise and delight your

    clients in multiple ways. Its these little unexpected

    moments that people tend to talk about.

    DO: Ask for it. Sometimes the best way to get people talking

    about you is to suggest that the happy client tell a friend.

    Clients may contact you for your skill as a photographer,

    but they will hire you for your personality.

  • 9HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    WEBSITE Wedding photographers should compare their website to a resume. If clients are look-ing to employ a photographer, a website helps them decide who they would like to call for an interview.

    As a marketing tool, your website is your brand showcase. The one place where you can say, This is me, this is what I do and this is what I can do for you. The website is also likely the destination for all of your social media outlets, and hopefully a frequently visited page due to your great SEO. In other words, all roads lead to here, so make it exceptional.

    As we will discuss in further detail about screening clients, your website is also the best point of contact to weed out the clients you dont want and reel in the ones you do.

    When assembling your website, start with your online portfolio. Its probably not a good idea to include every photo you have ever taken, weddings or not. Editing is key. Only include wedding photos that:

    > You would absolutely want to shoot. >Will attract the kind of clients for whom you want to work. >Exemplify your brand.

    Just because you shoot portraits, does not mean you need to include them, unless part of your brand identity is your unique and/or stunning portraiture.

    As for the rest of the site, make sure to include:

    > Imagery, bios, blogs, etc. that drive home who you are and what you offer. >Clear, understandable copy with SEO keywords that will help attract traffic via search results. >Easily located contact information.

    Weddings may be extravagant affairs, but you must always do whatever you can to keep your role simple. This includes your website. Before you pile on too many whistles and bells, make sure first and foremost your website is easy to navigate and the important information is easy to find. Flash animations can hurt your SEO and do not load on iPhones or iPads, so it is probably in your best interest to use Flash sparingly, if at all. Once you have the basics in place, add and tweak at your discretion as long as its on brand.

    DO: Make your website a shining example of everything youre about.

    DO: Use analytic tools, like Google Analytics, to better understand your visitors behavior, where theyre coming from, and how to optimize your content to drive them to convert to paying clients.

    DO: Have a newsletter signup option and/or inquiry tool to generate leads from visitors to your site.

    DON'T: Crowd it with so much information its difficult to navigate.

    DON'T: Use a website thats designed with FlashFlash doesnt play well with Google and

    Apple mobile devices.

    BLOGSPersonal blogs and special interest blogs are becoming a more common way for pho-tographers to get their names out there. Many wedding photographers have integrated blogs into their websites, as part of the business, and a part of their marketing workflow.

    Blogging gives your brand a voice. Done well, it can be a highly effective marketing tool. Whether or not it is for you may depend on your target market. Generally speak-ing, the more up market you move, the less traction you will see from the blogosphere. If your market is in a tech-savvy location like New York City or Silicon Valley, having an active blog is most likely a must.

    Here are some of the benefits to having a blog:

    > CUSTOMER RELATIONS. A blog allows you to expand upon your relationship with clients, past, present and future. It can offer an insight into how you operate on the day of the wedding. Many wedding photographers do a post about every wedding they shoot, and also engagement shoots. Posting about each clients wedding is a way to reconnect with them after the day is over, and reinvigorate their excitement about the product you are providing them.

    > TRAFFIC. Whether your blog is part of your website or hosted on a separate platform (though the latter is not recommended), it can definitely help drive traffic back to the site. Applying relevant or topical SEO keywords to your titles and posts will drive more unsolicited eyeballs to your post from search engines, and in turn, direct people to your site.

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  • 10HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    > FAN BASE. If you take incredibly unique photos, or have a certain area of expertise, or a really funny writing style, it might be worthwhile to blog about it. An interesting blog can attract fans who may not be in need of your services. It might not get you immediate business, but it certainly will get your name out there. In the long run, many of those fans might one day require your services and they already know they want you because theyve been following you for years.

    > CONTENT TO SHARE. Once you have content on your blog, you now have a link you can share across your channels, including Facebook and Twitter. You can even put a photo on Instagram as a teaser and entice people to visit your post. If your blog includes mentions of clients of vendors, be sure to tag them in your social shares so you can get even more juice out of it. (Note: If you want to share images of your clients online, make sure you get their permission.)

    Another option is submitting your work to special interest blogs or possibly pitching a blog post idea to them. Wedding blogs like Style Me Pretty or 100 Layer Cake have become increasingly influential in the brave new wedding industry. Its a potentially free way to get your name out there and highlight your expertise.

    DO: Share links to all your posts on all your social media outlets, and make sure to tag the

    clients.

    DO: Think strategically about your SEO. Liberally infuse your posts and titles with

    keywords you expect customers will use to find wedding photographers via search engines.

    DON'T: Wait too long after a wedding or engagement shoot. People move on with their lives, and you cant afford to lose their enthusiasm.

    PLANNERS/VENUES/OTHER VENDORSWedding photography is a business of relationships. If you do not have strong inter-personal skills, it might be worth considering finding a partner who does. Building a strong relationship with wedding planners and other vendors in your area can be a golden ticket to your target market. Here are some ways to kick-start your networking with wedding planners and vendors:

    > ATTEND NETWORKING EVENTS where compatible vendors will also be in attendance.

    > TAKE NOTE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS YOU BUILD AT WEDDINGS BEYOND THE CLIENTS. Make sure to follow up with that person or people after the event.

    > PAY IT FORWARD WITH VENDORS. If you shoot a wedding and get some great shots of the reception venue, consider sending them an album pro bono. Chances are they will show it to clients, who will probably ask who took those stunning photos.

    > LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED. Wedding planners might provide the most di-rect benefit, but there are many companies and people involved in weddings. If a business connection has potential, its at least worth exploring.

    > SHARE NEWS. Your victories and achievements are a great reason to return to potential partners and referrers, and remind them about your services. If you have a newsletter, certainly include potential partners in your regular blast.

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  • 11HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    n a perfect world, your business will soon de-mand a boat to escape the flood of inquiries for your services. But even if you find yourself

    in more of a modest puddle at the beginning, it is still crucial to have a screening process for prospective cli-ents. As highlighted in both the Brand and Marketing sections, word of mouth is one of the most powerful tools you can have, and its miraculously cost-effective. Conversely, one terrible review can easily undo five fan-tastic personal referrals. So whether you are up to your ears in eager clients, or just ankle deep, you need to have a system in place of how and who to respectfully decline.

    Though over time you may develop an exact process, screening clients is an art, not a science. People-reading skills cannot really be encapsulated in an algorithm. But here are a few elements to consider throughout the screening process.

    THE ONLINE PORTFOLIO AND WEBSITEThis has already been mentioned, but how you display your previous work can be your best pre-screening resource. Whether referred personally or through a search engine, most prospective clients will look through the portfolio before reaching out to a photographer. Most likely, they will pour over every single detail on your website.

    If your brand clearly shines through, and you have in-cluded only the kind of work that best exemplifies you as a photographer, these prospective clients should have a pretty good idea of exactly what they would be getting by hiring you. If they love what they see, chances are not only will they reach out, but it will also probably be a good fit. If they dont dig your style, they probably wont.

    PART I

    Screening New Clients

    Most of the professionals with whom we spoke agreed their websites did the majority of the legwork when it came to screening the clients. An understandable web-site and a strong portfolio will save you valuable time in the screening process.

    Yes, but...youre right. There will still be prospective cli-ents who dont get your work but reach out to you be-cause they are in some kind of a pinch, be it economic or a time crunch or whatever else. This is why you still need to have a plan when it comes to screening. Even the clients who love your work might end up being a bad personality match in person. Or, they might not be able to afford you.

    DOES IT HELP TO STATE MY FEES ON MY WEBSITE? In this economy, it pays to be flexible. Putting all of your fees on your site will certainly weed more clients out, but it might also turn good clients away. Too many choices can overwhelm people, especially people planning an event already chock-full of too many choices. It could also hurt your ability to customize unique packages or up-sell later. If you design your site and portfolio well, often clients can tell your price range.

    If you are going to include pricing, ask yourself how your target market would react to this inclusion. Usually the best course of action is to include your base fee or first tier pricing and state further options are available upon request.

    THE INTERVIEWHow you execute the introductory interview will depend entirely on your brand strategy and your market. If you are primarily a destination wedding photographer, it will be

  • 12HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    difficult to coordinate an in-person interview. Similarly, if your market services a lot of hometown brides who have since moved away, you may have to settle for a phone interview.

    Whatever the means, it is important to decide what type of meeting you need to de-termine if the relationship is a good fit. Furthermore, you need to decide for yourself ahead of time the kind of signals for which you are looking. For example, how involved is the mother-of-the-bride? Are the bride and groom more concerned about their guests or themselves? What kind of party is the reception going to be? All of these types questions should tell you if these clients will work out.

    WHAT ABOUT MY BRAND?If you are having the screening interview over the phone, it may be difficult to envelop the prospective clients in a brand vision. But even the language you choose to use will indicate the kind of experience you provide. Are you casual? Are you a comedian? Are you the epitome of politeness? A phone call does not mean you cant employ visuals as well. Services like Skype and GoToMeeting enable video chats and screen-sharing ses-sions. Through services like these, you can present prospective clients with image ideas or even a prepared presentation that will help bring your pitch to life.

    If you have the time and means to meet a client in person, let your brand identity dictate how you receive them. Your brochure or client materials should reflect your overall service. How you present your packet experientially, accompanied by a beer or accompanied by a box of chocolates, should do the same. Are you meeting them at your home? In a coffee shop? Or in a special room in your studio? What kind of music is playing? Will you show a video? Planning the experience from the moment you shake the clients hand, or curtsy and bow to the bride and groom (hey, its your brand) can be the difference between landing the client or losing them.

    ALWAYS MANAGE EXPECTATIONSRegardless of how you approach the initial interview, remember:

    >Always have a positive attitude, even when saying no. > Be honest and clear about your services. Do not promise anything you can-not deliver. >Determine ahead of time whether you will present the contract in the meet-ing, or after. You dont want to come off pushy, but you also want to get a firm commitment as soon as possible and protect yourself legally.

    WHEN TO TALK PRICING WITH YOUR CLIENT Hopefully your branding has done its job and brought you prospective clients all from your target market, but at some point you still need to discuss prices. When it comes to setting the budget, the sooner you reach an agreement the better. This is naturally a very delicate situation whenever money enters the conversation, and requires a careful ap-proach. You must decide if it is best to address pricing at first contact, in the first meet-ing or sometime soon thereafter. Though the decision may ultimately depend on what feels comfortable and logical for you, you must protect your own interests and time.

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    Brooklyn photographer Betsi Ewing is a laidback creatively-minded photographer whose target demographic is twenty-something/early 30s creative types and destination weddings. She speaks to this market by including in her portfolio her signature dreamlike/vintage photos and destina-tion shots like the ones above.

  • 13HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    The PhotoShelter Blog published a helpful article on having the money talk with pho-tography clients, entitled Talking Budget with Your Clients.

    While the blog post is a general guide for photographers, these are some applicable insights for those in the wedding industry:

    > NO FEAR. Talking about money isnt going to prevent you from getting the jobthe client not being able to afford to pay you fairly will.

    > BE DIRECT. Clients expect you to bring up the question of cost. Remember its not personal, its business.

    > AVOID EMAIL. Key elements to this critical conversation can get lost in trans-lation via email. In-person is best and a phone call is still better than elec-tronic communication.

    > PUSH, WITH A PURPOSE. Its okay to push back on the client a little, but ex-plain why you are pushing and how your proposed budget adjustment will benefit the client.

    The Wedding Photojournalist Associations online magazine, WEDPIX, published an article on crafting a wedding contract that covers both your clients expectations and well, your behind. The Good Contract Checklist in the article is a great resource for any wedding photographer new to the paperwork process.

    DO: Show the best examples of your unique work. Its the best and cheapest way to weed out the wrong clients.

    DON'T: Say yes to everyone, even if you are just starting out.

    DO: Be polite and respectful with any potential clients, even if you plan on turning them down. Word of mouth starts at the first point of contact.

    DON'T: Go into an interview without a plan.

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    Photo by Matt Kennedy

  • 14HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    s the saying goes, the devil is in the detailsand wedding photography is no exception. Unfortunately, most artists have a devil of a

    time focusing on anything non-creative. But unless you have enough start-up capital to hire a business team, you will need to start thinking like an accountant in order to survive. And hire one too while youre at it.

    Every story begins with a wedding photographer doing it for the money, or letting the money dictate everything else. If we havent beaten the importance of brand to death at this point, then hopefully the long-term plan-ning aspect of it still remains fresh in your minds. Wed-ding photography is not the get-rich-quick scheme many people mistake it to be. Building your business around the bigger picture might not mean cash right now, but its a much better guarantee you will still be working 5 years from now.

    BEGIN WITH A BUSINESS PLANMuch like a clear brand strategy will guide the nature of your services and customer relations, a sound business plan gives you a foundation upon which to grow your business. When you are determining your prices for the first time, map out your larger goals. This will help you determine where to start initial prices and how to realis-tically grow them.

    Whether or not you hire an accountant in the begin-ning, you ought to invest some time and research in learning simple accounting principles for yourself. An understanding of your finances is essential before de-ciding how to price your services, and having an ac-countant to help is worth the investment. (Check out

    PART I

    How to Charge for Your Services

    PhotoShelters 2015 Business Plan Workbook, anoth-er free guide, to help structure your business plan if you dont already have one.)

    CONSIDER YOUR COSTS$5,000 for a day of shooting sounds pretty great, right? Except you arent earning $5,000 for one day of shoot-ing. There are the costs of pre-production, equipment purchase or rental, and materials (film, memory cards, hard drives). You also agreed to have a photo booth and need to hire an assistant to run it. Then theres post-production, and the album you will need to print as part of the price. This is just the beginning of what $5,000 covers.

    $5,000 is still a reasonable price, but you need to consider what each wedding will cost you and then crunch the numbers to see if your proposed pricing leaves you with a profit. This is why hiring an accoun-tant is really worth the money. They can cross-refer-ence and compare, while you focus on developing and improving the services.

    CONSIDER THE MARKETSpend time researching your overall market, and what your competitors are charging. Just because you are starting out, does not mean you should undersell your-self. At the same time, overcharging can be equally damaging. Figuring out what your peers are able to charge will help you determine what is realistic for you, and how you might price in a way to give you a competitive edge.

  • 15HOW TO GROW A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

    MORE TIPS ON PRICING: > Four tiers are standard, but consider what makes the most sense based on your business plan. > Be careful to create tiers that leave you open to add-ons later. >Consider throwing in perks and freebies to higher tiers to entice clients. > Simplicity is key. Padding your packages with too many little things can get con-fusing. Make sure each package is clear and concise in terms of services offered.

    MARKET GROWTHIn order to grow as a business, you will need to increase your pricing at some point. The beauty of the wedding industry is that for the most part each client is a one-time affair. You will likely not have a client asking why you are charging them more this year than you did last year.

    Many photographers go the annual route, increasing their pricing once a year. Should you go this route, how much you choose to increase depends on a lot of factors. This is why having a business plan is so helpful. If this year you are charging a base rate of $1,500 and 5 years from now you want to be charging $3,000, it would not make sense for you to raise your prices by $1,000 for next year. You will price yourself out too quickly. At the same time, you may need to raise your price more than 10% to reach your goal.

    However, if you find yourself fortunate enough to start getting booked regularly, it might be time to raise your prices. If you book yourself totally solid at the start of the year, not only does it mean your services are in high demand, but it also means you are leaving money on the table. Dont lock yourself in.

    Especially in tough economic times, you always have to consider what the market can bear. When you first set out to create a price structure, you presumably did all the research you were advised to do about market competition. If you are considering rais-ing your prices, you should consider also doing some more homework. How is your markets economy faring? How much are your competitors and peers increasing their prices? Consider speaking with vendors and wedding planners to see how any market fluctuations are affecting them.

    Remember, though, that you can always change your prices back. Trial and error is not the best route, but if you find you have out-priced yourself, you can always change it up again.

    When it comes to your target market, it is important to remember that you are not charging what you think your services are worth. You want to charge according to how your target market values the product. Researching competitors pricing will help inform this. Still, approach competitive research carefully. Do not assume that all of the other photographers in your market have made the best business decisions. You may be able to offer more value, charge more, or be more profitable than they are.

    CONSIDER WORKFLOW SOFTWARE Aside from an accountant, many new wedding photographers are a one-man show. If this is the case, consider turning to software to help manage your workflow, pric-ing and products. There are plenty of programs tailored to photographers that provide customizable templates for contracts, product management, pricing, etc. It allows you to organize all of your clients in one centralized place.

    Photographers we spoke with recommended programs like Fundy Software and ShootQ.

    TIERED PRICINGIt might seem like a great idea to offer your clients the option to customize their own package. But too many options can stress out the client, and compromise your resourc-es and finances. It is best to offer separate pricing tiers, with the option to customize.

    If youve done your research and considered your costs, you should have most of the information you need to define your tiers. You might want to consider what variable will affect the price jump. These are some factors you may want to consider using, either alone or some combination thereof:

    >Hours: 6 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, whole weekend >Additional services >Additional photographer >Additional deliverables

    The best place to start is the base package. What is the minimum you need to charge based on your costs? Depending on which pricing variable or variables you settled on, you can build up your tiers based on where you set the base price.

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    Truly, though, the best way to flourish in any market is to continue making yourself and your services as unique as possible. Add value wherever possible. If your product cannot be found anywhere else, then the market will figure out how to pay for it.

    DO: Your research. Familiarizing yourself with the competition and your target market will

    help you choose the best prices for your services.

    DON'T: Let quick money motivate how you price your services. Developing a long-term business strategy based will pay off in the long run.

    DO: Leave room for growth. You may need to evolve to continue distinguishing yourself, make sure your business plan is flexible to that.

    DON'T: Book yourself solid. If youre booked for the entire year by January, you may be

    leaving money on the table.

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    Vancouver-based wedding photographer Matt Kennedy chose to list his packages and prices directly on his website, drawing attention to which package is the most popular.

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    PART I

    The Wedding Day hile it may not be your big day, you have a big day ahead of you. Embrace the stress, and then let it go. Your ability to go with the flow is what

    will make you a great wedding photographer, because everything rarely goes as planned. Remain alert, stay calm and grab your camerasits time to tell a story.

    DELIVER THE EXPERIENCE YOU PROMISEDRemember how you sold your clients on that great sto-ry? Well, today you deliver it. If you pitched yourself as a fly-on-the-wall presence, be that. If you sold yourself as part of the party, be ready to party. This is why knowing yourself and knowing your brand is key, because it is for those two things your clients picked you. In addition to playing the role you cast yourself in for the day, keep a vigilant eye out for the shots and set-ups that support the portfolio you presented.

    BE A HEROA lot goes into ensuring that a wedding goes as smoothly as possible; still things inevitably go awry. It wont take long to notice that the same issues arise event after event, so be ready to demonstrate your expertise. Learn how to tie a bowtie and pin a boutonnire; carry extra tissues, breath mints, collar stays, and both colors of bobby pin. Your cli-ents and their friends will remember you for it.

    MANAGING YOURSELF AND YOUR STAFFBe your personality, but also be flexible to the needs of your clients. After all, you were hired to do a job. Dress appropriately and act appropriatelythis may include

    taking shots with the groomsmen, when appropriate. No matter your brand, it is important to act with a high level of professionalism whether youre with the bride or taking five with the wedding planner. It sets an example for your staff and will nurture that trust you have been building with clients and other vendors.

    Whenever possible, work with your clients to plan the schedule for the day. Make sure it allows ample time for you to deliver the work you promised. Once youre com-fortable with the timeline, memorize it, plan accord-ingly, and keep a printed copy on hand for reference. If you have additional photographers or assistants, make sure everyone knows the schedule, where they need to be and what they should be shooting.

    If you do hire staff, only work with people you like and trust. Do not choose the wedding day to vet a new assistant. Have a network of friends and staff who understand your brand and workflow, and can jump into the mix with ease.

    THE SECOND PHOTOGRAPHER Some wedding photographers always bring a second photographer, and almost all prefer to have one on hand. If you choose to bring one, or the package calls for one, make sure to hire a photographer you trust who fits with your brand and style. The big day is not the day to do a trial run, if you can avoid it.

    Its always a good idea to have back-up support. A second photographer might be a great person to have cover the family portraits, to ensure they get done while you can fo-cus on the more photojournalistic shots. Second photog-raphers can be your insurance policy for double coverage

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    of the most important shots of the day and, because they are always covering a different angle at any given moment, they photographically allow you to be in two places at once.

    Be sure to have an agreement in place with second photographers that clearly states who owns the images and what they can and cannot do with the photos they take. This will help you avoid both any ambiguity as to which photographer was hired by the cli-ent and potentially devastating arguments with the friends you hire.

    If you can, give credit where credit is due. Some studios lump all wedding photos together as their product. This is standard practice, so if you choose to do this it is not necessarily the wrong choice. But, if you use a second photographer it is a good idea to credit their work. It will not take away from your brand that you hire other quality photographers. Good karma fits into almost any brand.

    MANAGING YOUR EQUIPMENTPart of the experience you promised and the story you plan on telling may involve dif-ferent mediums, for example film and digital. In addition to a detailed schedule, make sure you have a prepped back-up for every essential piece of equipment: hard drives, additional film, extra memory cards, batteries, camera bodies and whatever lenses you will need. If you or your second photographer could not complete the job without a specific piece of equipment, you must have a back-up. Have a process in place, and if you have an assistant, make sure they have a detailed understanding of the process as well. This process should include syncing the date and time for every camera used at the event; this simple task will greatly speed up post-production.

    SHOT LISTFigure out what shots you absolutely must get that day. Sometimes the client will tell you, sometimes they wont. But know that there are general shots that almost every cli-ent will implicitly expectand you need to deliver them. Over time you will develop a sense of what these are, and not need to ask. But as you get started, it may be a good idea to have a conversation with clients, ask them to create a list or even provide them with a list of options for them to pick and choose.

    A tool like ShootQ is great for helping to create a questionnaire for clients to custom-ize a list of photos they wantthe program automatically saves their customized list into the master client file. When prepping for the wedding you simply need to pull up their file to go over their specific needs.

    Many photojournalistic wedding photographers do not necessarily have a definitive shot list, but rather a deep understanding of the stories they need to tell. In fact, staring at a shot list all night might cause you to miss some of the spontaneous moments. It will serve you better to do the legwork in pre-production, memorize as much as you can and keep a cheat sheet if you think you will need it. When in doubt, think like your clients. Referring to the same wedding magazines, blogs and websites your clients used to plan their day will give you an excellent idea of the kinds of shots they expect.

    In addition to preparing a shot list ahead of time, do research on the day itself. Here are some elements to consider that may help you brainstorm possible shots and set-ups:

    > Schedule of events. >Wedding color scheme. >Wedding party clothes. >Venuethe reception hall itself, decorations, and set-up.

    All of these elements can present you with great visual opportunities; preparing for them might actually help you grab spontaneous shots.

    Accomplished wedding photographer Missy McLamb advises aspiring wedding pho-tographers to Plan. Focus. Execute. And then forget it all. It might be a good idea to make that your mantra.

    DO: Prepare. No matter how in-the-moment your photography may be, knowing the

    details of the day will help you be in the right place at the right time.

    DON'T: Freak out. You should always make the clients feel totally at ease. Things will go

    wrong, but if you have a plan and people you trustyou will be fine.

    DO: Hire people you trust.

    DON'T: Use your shot list as a crutch. Be prepared to be in the moment.

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    PART I

    How to Take Natural Looking PhotosBy

    or New York City photographer Erik Valind, wedding photography is both the ultimate professional challenge and the ultimate

    thrill. The beauty is that you're able to take formal portraits, detail shots, and fun party candids all in one day, he explains. What unifies these different styles is being able to capture all those wonderful moments naturally.

    Here are Erik's favorite tips for capturing each unique element of this special day. SELECT THE RIGHT LENS.In my arsenal: the Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 VC, SP 70-200mm F/2.8 VC, and SP 90mm F/2.8 VC Macro. The 24-70 is my workhorse. I can pull back to get wide-angle shots like guests in front of the church, then go to

    Photo by Erik Valind

    R

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    the telephoto end for more intimate moments with the bride and groom or an up-close image of the flower girl.

    The 70-200 is terrific for portraits and when I need to get back, like when I don't want to be distracting during the ceremony. Plus, when I'm using a telephoto at slow shutter speeds in low-light venues, I can get a lot of camera shake, so the Vibration Compensa-tion (VC) feature is a lifesaver. As for detail shots (e.g., tabletop settings, flowers, rings), I use the 90mm Macro to get in tight. The bride and groom are your main focus, but it's nice to document all those other parts of the wedding that the couple might not be able to take in because they're so caught up with their guests. CREATE A RELAXING ATMOSPHERE.I'm always extra-prepared with shot lists and venue details. By exuding that profes-sionalism, it's one less thing for your clients to worry about. I'm on a first-name basis with the bride, groom, and wedding party. And they definitely don't see me rushing around saying, Come on, we only have a few more minutes to get this shot! I keep things low-key, which translates to my images. PLACE EVERYONE IN THE RIGHT LIGHT.I'll do a walkthrough of the venue beforehand to see what natural light will be available. I also use an app that allows me to plug in a location and date and get exactly where the sun will be at different times there, while I use Google Earth to get an overhead view of the location if it's an outdoor ceremony. I'll set up strobes ahead of time in the reception area (which is often lit with candles and other dim lighting) so I can freeze the action if I need to. I want natural lighting, not dark backgrounds with all of the light on the wedding party. I'll put my camera in Aperture Priority mode so I can get the right exposure using available light, then put my on-camera flash in TTL mode and use an exposure compensation of -1 or -2. This directs the light to fill in some of the shadows and makes the image more subtle. LOOK FOR CLEAN BACKGROUNDS.If you're taking pictures outdoors, you don't want power lines over the wedding party's heads in your image. Compose your image so there's blue sky above them or a more con-trolled background so it's not distracting. All three of my Tamron lenses allow me to go to that fast maximum aperture of F/2.8 so I can achieve a very shallow depth-of-field. My subjects stay in focus while any extraneous elements in the background fall out of focus.

    Photo by Erik Valind

    Photo by Erik Valind

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    KNOW THE MOST FLATTERING ANGLES.If you shoot up at the happy couple, the focus might be on their noses or on their chins, which exaggerates those features in an unflattering way. Instead I'll shoot down on them using a longer lens like the 70-200. That eliminates distortion that might occur to their eyes or forehead and compresses the scene for a flattering portrait. For detail shots, it's the opposite. If there are beautiful flowers in Mason jars on a table, I'll use the 90mm Macro to render them at a 1:1 ratio. The picture will show these gorgeous flowers that are larger than life hanging over the table. To see more of Erik Valind's work, go to www.erikvalind.com.

    Photo by Erik ValindPhoto by Erik Valind

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    PART II: PROFILES

    How to Start Your Wedding Business Off RightFeaturing Vanessa Joy

    ith a background in both photography and Spanish, Vanessa Joy worked as an elementary Spanish teacher while she learned the photo business ropes working for another photographer. Wanting to do things her way, she built up enough business to strike out on her own as a full-time photographer six years ago and has

    never looked back. Based in East Freehold, N.J., she and her husband, videographer Rob Adams, offer education and resources for photographers and videographers at Learn Photo Video. If somebody wants to start their own wedding photog-raphy business, what are some things that they need to think about or put in place?

    I think the worst way to start a photography business is jumping in blindly. You dont have to start your own busi-ness right away. I recommend finding two or three dif-ferent photographers that you love and shoot with them, even if you're shooting with them for free. Gain that kind of experience, knowledge and know-how, learn from their mistakes, and then go and start your own business.

    Once someone has some experience and is ready to go out on their own, what do they need to think about?

    When you're starting a business, understanding where you are financially is one of the first steps because it's going to drastically affect how you run your business and price yourself to make it work. Everybody has a different life scenario. Some people might have a safety net job and are weekend warriors until they build their business up to where they can quit their day job. Some people have extra income from a spouse for a safety net. Some people really have to work very hard to make ends meet. Whatever it is, get a picture of what your finan-cial situation is realistically, then you can decide how to build your business. If you don't have a ton of money, you might need to figure out ways to market yourself

    free, or consider renting or buying used equipment if you cant buy the best equipment.

    How did you go about figuring out the finances when you started?

    I started as a weekend warrior with a safety net day job as a Spanish teacher. I started modeling and adjusting what I had seen some of my photography mentors do. They were kind enough to share printing and marketing advice. I took what I had seen the photographer I used to work for do and then melded it together to create something. For the first year or two I constantly changed it if it wasn't quite right. Either the pricing wasn't right or the things I was offering. I was realizing that I didn't want to offer canvases in every size or I wanted to make sure all my clients had a wedding album, so I made it easier for them to get an album. It was a lot of adjusting and discovering what I wanted for my business, but it was also modeling from the people I trusted.

    What are some ways that new photographers can mar-ket their work if they're just starting out?

    Marketing is probably my favorite part of owning a business and being a photographer. When you're first starting out, the best thing that you can do is to create

    vanessajoy.com

    vanessajoyphotographyblog.com

    facebook.com/VJoyPhoto

    twitter.com/Vanessa__Joy

    instagram.com/vanessajoy

    pinterest.com/vanessa__joy

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    connections. It's what general marketing is all aboutcreating a network of people around you. Of the first two jobs that I got as a wedding photographer, one was from a DJ and one was from another wedding photographer. Creating connections with other budding professionals in my area helped me get off on the right foot and get clients in the door.

    How did you make those connections?

    I made those connections by putting myself out there. I was second shooting for a pho-tographer, and he brought along a third shooter so I got to know him and just struck up a relationship as friends. I also went to photography meetings and conventions and found people to network with.

    How can a new photographer convince clients they will do a good job if they dont have a lot of experience yet to back it up?

    A new photographer with little experience or a small portfolio could do some jobs that are free or less expensive. Some people are willing to trust an inexperienced pho-tographer because that's all they can afford. One of the things I would focus on is not talking so much about your inexperience but talking more about your enthusiasm. As a new photographer you tend to have a certain passion for what you do, and it's a lot easier to see than a photographer that's been doing it for 10 years. Really engage with your potential clients and be there all the time for them in ways that an established photographer might not be able to.

    How can a new photographer determine how to set prices?

    First of all, do your research. You should already be networking with other photogra-phers. Find ones that will let you see their pricing. Ideally most photographers let other photographers see their pricing to help bring up the pricing in their area. Step two is doing the math. I have a 10-minute video on my website about how to create pricing and packages. To sum it up, you want your costs to photograph the job to be one-third of what you're charging, at a minimum.

    Photo by Vanessa Joy

    Photo by Vanessa Joy

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    What resources would a new wedding photographer need?

    The first would be equipment. You're limited in the beginning if you don't have a ton of money saved up or you didn't get a business loan, but you obviously want a professional camera that can yield results that your clients are expecting.

    The second resource you need is continuing education so that you can constantly have a resource to improve your skills, whether it's going to conferences or just making sure that you're reading photography magazines and articles that will help you.

    How do you suggest selling prints and images after the shoot or wedding?

    Definitely put the images online so you can share them, but also, if you're doing wed-ding or portraits, have in-person sales. Meet with your clients after you've photo-graphed them and show them their pictures in person and the things they can do with their photos, whether it's canvases or metal prints or image boxes. In the last two years, I've made substantially more money by meeting with clients in person.

    Any tips on how to get clients to help you with referrals?

    I always try to exceed my clients' expectations and find ways to wow them so that I'm giving them something to talk about. I do same-day slide shows and same-day albums of the weddings I shoot. It's been one of the biggest and most successful marketing pushes that I've ever completed.

    Photo by Vanessa Joy

    When you're first starting out, the best thing that you can do is to create

    connections.

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    When should a photographer consider outsourcing?

    I will definitely say that outsourcing should be one of your top priorities. Think about your workflow and what you ultimately want to achieve in your photography business. You can't do it all. You're a photographer. You're not necessarily a bookkeeper, a design-er, a photo editor, a Photoshop expert, everything else that comes with a photography business. Outsource things that slow you down or things that you hate doing or things that you're just not as good at, like maybe album design. Start looking at what it costs to outsource those things and raise your prices by that amount, or double that amount so that you can start incorporating it slowly, one thing at a time.

    What are some examples of things that you outsource?

    One of the biggest things that I outsource is my post-production. I use a website called evolveedits.com that does all of my post-production, color correction, raw conversions and then uploads into my online gallery. That would take me hours per job in Light-room and Photoshop. Even if it only takes you two hours per job, that's two hours you could have been having lunch with a wedding planner in your area or spending with your family instead.

    Have you made any mistakes along the way other photographers could learn from?

    I've made every mistake in the book. If you don't make mistakes, you're probably not daring enough. Probably the biggest mistakes that I have made were certain ways I reacted to clients or handled situations. When it comes to an angry client, for instance. Does she deserve a brand new album that's going to cost me $200? No. But in me giving that album to her for $200, is she now going to be more likely to refer her friends to me? Yes, and that's worth a lot more to me. The biggest mistakes are the littlest ones that you have to just sort through every day and figure out what works and what doesn't.

    If your business seems to be stalling out, what are some things that you could look at?

    I think the biggest mistake photographers make in that type of situation is they au-tomatically think, It must be my pricing, and then they lower their pricing. Most of the time it's not their pricing. It's their work needs to get on par with their pricing

    Photo by Vanessa Joy

    or their customer service needs to be better so that they have repeat clients. If you're experiencing some sort of a slump, look everywhere except your pricing first because there's a client out there for every photographer. Pricing really just determines the type of clients who are walking to your door, not whether clients are walking to your door or not. You need to figure out what else it is that you can improve, whether it's finding more ways to exceed your clients' expectations so they talk about you more or getting some creative cross promotion with other vendors in your area.

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    PROFILE

    How to Establish a Great Brand for Your Wedding Photography BusinessFeaturing Justin & Mary Marantz

    s a young, newly married couple with fresh degrees in photography and law respectively, Justin and Mary Marantz had to decide whether Mary would pursue a high-intensity law career or whether they could create a different kind of life. Making their own hours and working together was too tempting: I turned down law firm offers

    and took this crazy leap in September of 2006, and we have been working full time together ever since, said Mary. Based in New Haven, Conn., they travel around the world shooting couplesengagements, weddings and anniversariesand teaching workshops, and they operate two wedding blogs: The Black Tie Bride and The Well-Groomed Groom.

    Why is having a brand important for a wedding pho-tographer?

    At its base level, I think the brand is important for the trust factor. If your logo looks dated or like its been done by an amateur, then the potential client is going to doubt that the business is established or has the taste level that they're looking for. And then a certain polished brand will support the kind of prices you might want to charge. If you're charging $10,000 for a wedding and you have a hack job of a website or a logo or colors, then they don't line up and something doesn't make sense.

    In the book Lovemarks theres this idea to think beyond your brand in terms of what your colors, logo, and Web-site look like, and start to think of it more as people ex-periencing you as a brand. People don't just love Apple for MacBook Pros and iPhones, they love them because they're the crazy ones, the round pegs in the square holes.

    Once people start to feel like theyre part of something by being one of your customers, that's what's going to make them loyal beyond reason. Those are the people who become part of your tribe, who will fight for you and will try to make sure everybody knows about you.

    If you can start to bring people on board who, for no other reason than they love you and they believe in what you're

    doing, will fight for your business with you, then things can start to grow a lot faster. I think that's the ultimate impor-tance of that brand, is just giving people a reason to fight.

    How has your brand evolved over the years?

    We launched our first brand in 2008, and it was very per-sonal, very quirky, very fun. It was teal and bright blue with ribbons and tags. The Stuff We Love page has all these random things that we love, like Mario Kart Wii, and scary movies and the Giants, and West Virginia football. It was very personal, very down to earth, very relatable.

    Over the past six years as our work has grown, there was this big mismatch, where we were showing very el-egant, sophisticated work paired with this very quirky brand. So we just launched a new brand that fits much more with that.

    It's been a good learning experience. You can come up with a brand that's so you when you launch it, but you have to constantly make sure that brand is growing with you. But in both cases our strategy has been connection. In 2008, it was connecting to who we are as people, who we are as a couple, how we do the dishes, what our love story is, what TV shows we watch, what Starbucks drink is my favorite. That will still be the case with the new

    justinandmaryweddings.com

    justinandmaryblog.com

    facebook.com/justinandmary

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    Photo by Justin & Mary

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    site, but we're also going to get at the deeper core value of what we stand for. If poten-tial clients believe in what we believe, then theyre probably our people. We're looking for couples that really share our values, because we know they're going to fight for our business harder than just a couple that's looking for any photographer.

    How does getting your brand right help attract the right clients?

    How you make people feel is more important than what you make people think. For some couples, hiring a photographer is a rational decision; they're just running the numbers. But that's the last couple that we want. When the site first got started, we did things like bridal shows and print ads, and we were booking clients, so we thought that was working, but we were booking what we called transactional cli-ents. They wanted to pay a certain amount, they wanted to get their DVD of the images, and they walked away and never talked about us again.

    The reason that they thought about us that way is they found us that way. They found us as one of many; 25 photographers at a bridal show, or 30 in a print magazine. So they were trained to think that a photographer is a photographer is a photographer.

    For the same reason, we don't spend a lot of time on SEO. If somebody inquires with us, and says, Oh, I found you on Google, then all they've said is, I need a wedding photographer. We want people whose best friend used us, their venue loves us, their planner just did a style shoot with us, they've followed us on Facebook for the last year, and we, in particular, are the photographers they have to have.

    How do you turn these clients into ambassadors for your brand?

    Everybody talks about word of mouth so much that it has kind of lost its meaning. For us, it's not that people are talking, it's what they're saying. If somebody says, Oh, my photographer's amazing, that's okay. Whereas, if somebody says, Oh, my photogra-pher's incredible! At the wedding, right before they left, they printed off a picture from the day and put it in a silver frame, and gave it to us before they left. Here it is, check it out, it's incredible, that's the remarkable word of mouth that, when people hear it, they actually take action. And so we have this strategy within our brand of doing a series of gifts and surprises that make people not only want to talk, but when they're saying things, it's exactly what we want them saying.

    Photo by Justin & Mary

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    Photos by Justin & Mary

    How do you work your brand identity into your sales process?

    When a couple comes in to meet with us, we put out this whole spread of food. We spend about two hours hanging out with them, drinking wine and bonding with them, refusing to really talk too much about the wedding, but instead, about every-thing else we have in common. And then, when they're sort of ready for the bad news of the pricing sheet, we have this goal that the only surprises we want them to get are good ones. And so instead, they get what we call our info box. It's a big, brown linen box tied with a ribbon sealed with a custom label with their names on it. Inside, we have a Martha Stewart Weddings, a sample contract, a sample pricing page, cards from vendors with discounts, like 10 percent off at a local bridal boutique.

    We also include a card that says Stuff We Love, and it says, MaryStarbucks junkie with an arrow to a Starbucks card, and JustinApple fanatic with an arrow to an iTunes card. That's $20, just as a gift for them meeting with us, before they've even booked.We have them open that box in the meeting, and when they take that ribbon off and lift the lid, it's their name staring back at them. It's that extra wow factor of the custom tai-lored experience. When they do book with us, we drop-ship chocolate-covered caramels to them for booking. We also do a date night gift and the silver frame at the wedding and a holiday gift. We have all these different reasons to remind them to not only talk about us, but to say cool things.

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    Photo by Justin & Mary

    What tips do you have for someone who's trying to figure out their brand personality?

    It's tough. Allow yourself permission to feel like it's tough. But then a good place to start is to grab a box and just start putting stuff in there that you love. Or you can also do a virtual version with Pinterest. Try not to think about it at all, and then walk away from it for a couple of days.

    When you come back, try to figure out what the things have in common. Is it a color, is it a texture? Is it a classic style versus a rustic style or a vintage style? Is it a lot of black and white photography? Is it really quirky, fun stuff? Maybe you want to go much more in the direction of just letting the work speak for itself, and not have a ton about you. There are personality marketers right now and there are fine art marketers. Decide which one of those speaks more to you.

    It's like taking a step back and saying, if I were going to hang out on my ideal day, what would it look like? Our friend went through that process, and her brand became cable knit blankets, and mugs of tea, and really natural colors. Beiges and oatmeal, a fine arts but cozy feeling.

    I would also suggest when you're new and you don't know yourself that well yet, start with a platform that can change with you easily. When we were getting started, we went through two or three websites, where each time, we had to hire a designer and go through the whole design process. The second it went live, it was essentially out of date, because if I shot a beautiful picture the next day, I would have to go back to that designer and rehire her to update it. So we've been using a platform that we can control for a while now. I can decide tonight that my main picture isn't attracting the clients that I want to attract, so I change it and it's live in a second.

    What are some common branding mistakes to avoid?

    Don't just rip off somebody else's website. We see that happen a lot. And one of the big-gest mistakes we see over and over again, is people showing on their site what they don't want to shoot. People will say, I really want to specialize in weddings, but I keep getting all these family inquiries. I don't know how to make it stop. Then you pull up the website, and the very first picture is a family photo.

    Whatever you put out there, there's a market for it. I could literally put out a 1980s-style ring shot of the hands laid on top of each other, overlaid with their

    Ask yourself if every single picture that

    you're showing is something you would

    want to shoot again and again.

    heads in a brandy snifter, and somebody in the world would think that was exactly what they wanted.

    Ask yourself if every single picture that you're showing is something you would want to shoot again and again. And does it stand for the words you would want people to feel about your work if it only had 30 seconds to make an impression? I feel like that's all we have, somewhere between 10 and 45 seconds before a bride either decides she wants to follow up with you, or wants to move on.

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    What branding mistakes have you made along the way?

    When we first got started, our name was Imagine Imaging. We thought it was cool, because it was just one letter differencethe g versus the e. We got a lot of people thinking it was Images Imaging or Imaging Imaging or, our personal favorite, Imagine Imagining, which is really deep if you think about it. I think we were just trying to be something we weren't. We were trying to be more corporate, and make it sound more like Imagine Entertainment, and it became a barrier between our potential brides and us. People weren't connecting with the people behind it, because we were hiding be-hind it. We got rid of that and said we're just Justin & Mary, we want to be friends with our clients, we want to hang out with you after the engagement shoot, and when we go to our friends' weddings, we bring gifts. When we come to your wedding, we're going to bring a gift. And as soon as we took that wall down, that's when people got a lot more invested in us, because the brand was us.

    And so, if you make mistakes early in your brand, don't be afraid to trim the fat, cut off what's not working, and move forward, and not let that mistake feel like a failure. You can be defined by mistakes if you refuse to say, well, let's fix it.

    Can you tell us more about how you market your brand to get the type of client that you want?

    In our first full year of business, we spent $10,000 on print ads and bridal shows and had nothing to really show for it. So we take that same kind of budget, and redirected it into having a whole gift experience for our clients, the vendors and venues we work with, and other photographers who we refer other weddings. We budget about $600 per wedding for gifts that we do, but when we first started, it was just one gift.

    So just start with something that's 25 dollars, and when we choose gifts to send out, we also try to think of things that people will naturally want to put on Instagram or Facebook. So one of our favorite gifts is an our first Christmas holiday ornament, that we got for like seven dollars at Crate and Barrel. But once they're gone that year, people can't find them. So we're taking care of something for them, and it's something they'll put up year after year.

    Photo by Justin & Mary

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    PROFILE

    How to Find and Book the Right Wedding ClientsFeaturing Tim Halberg

    fter a stint as a newspaper photographer and reporter, Tim Halberg went back to school to focus on com-mercial photography. Hed shot weddings before, but didnt think about focusing on them until photogra-pher Mike Coln spoke at his school. You could see the passion in the photos versus just some guy showing

    up and snapping photos of the wedding, he says. Halberg, who is based in the Napa and Sonoma, California area, has been shooting nuptials full-time since 2005. But a few years ago, he started to get a little burned out on the business. The problem? He was working for anyone and everyone who would hire him. Since then, he learned how to attract and book only the clients that he enjoys working for and found a new passion for his business. Heres how he did it.

    Photo by Tim Halberg

    timhalberg.com

    facebook.com/timhalberg

    instagram.com/timhalbergphoto

    plus.google.com

    pinterest.com/timhalberg

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    What kinds of clients do you try to attract?

    The couples Im looking for are adventurous, they like to travel, they've gone on vacations to Italy or to South Africa, or Antarctica, wherever. The other portion is the mischievous cou-ples that are down for getting in a little bit more trouble and having fun with their images.

    This seems like a narrow focus. Why did you decide to seek out these types of clients?

    I've learned in specializing in who I am, people are willing to spend more because they want to hire somebody like them. For me, adventure is a huge piece of my life. The same with mischief; I love causing mischief and being part of mischief, so I look for that in couples. I'm a little bit more excited to show up to their wedding and shoot their wedding, and it's not as hard. I don't have to fake it. A lot of times you show up at a wedding and you're trying to act like you fit in to the couples group of friends, and you don't really. You're playing the part for the day. Now I don't have to do that. I can show up at the wedding, I can be fully myself, and people love it.

    The minute I realized that, it freed me up to be myself. If people don't like who I am, they're not the right fit for me. I don't need to work for those people. That realization totally altered my business.

    How does finding these perfect f it clients pay off ?

    Photographically, the ultimate goal is to create images that reflect my style. So instead of having a couple who isn't really down for being adventurous, I've got couples who call me and say, Oh my gosh, we saw a picture of the couple that climbed the tree, and we thought that was the coolest thing ever, and we want you to do something similar for us. So, image-wise, it frees you up to shoot more images that are your style, and it allows you to market yourself to clients who have to have what you're doing. They're going to tell their friends more about you, they're more excited about it. They actually are tied to the idea of the photos.

    It also frees them up to be themselves. For example, the indulgent side might be the lesser of the three words that I use to brand myself, but last year I had one woman who emailed me and said, Oh my gosh, you gotta see the wedding shoes I bought. You freed me up and you allowed me to go buy these shoes without feeling guilty. And she had bought probably a $1,000 pair of heels for her wedding. That's perfect, because I align with that, and I love that. Photo by Tim Halberg

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    How can a photographer figure out what kind of client is right for them?

    You need to be able examine yourself, look at yourself, and figure out what are the driv-ing forces that make you happy as a human being. That's the process I went through. It took six months because I don't self-reflect very well.

    It's a process of discovery. Talk to your close friends, talk to past clients, ask what they like about you. Boil them down and create lists. You might make a list of 50 things that are important to you in life, and see what bubbles to the top. Those things that surface are the things that you can't really live without. Those are the kinds of things that you can start building words around to create a plan that is 100 percent you. The nice thing about that is, it's authentic. You don't have to fake it. Somebody else can't copy it because they're not going to be able to copy you, unless they're faking it.

    How do you go about finding your clients?

    Two years ago, I moved from Santa Barbara to northern California so I had to almost start at zero in marketing to Napa and Sonoma. The first thing I did was one thing that some photographers aren't big fans of, and that's taking out ads online.

    From there, it really was about building relationships, letting people know that I was in the area, and letting them know what my brand message was. I will meet with a coordinator and tell her I am a photographer for adventurous and mischievous couples. If you have couples that would align with that, I'd love to meet them. A clear message like that allows the coordinators not to just send you random stuff. They get excited when they have a couple who is a perfect fit for you. Before I did the branding, coordinators would say, Tim Halberg, he's great, we love him, he has great pictures. But now it's like, Oh, dude, you are an adventurous couple, you need to meet Tim.

    I also scout new wedding venues that I haven't seen before and blog about them on my site. It can help with SEO, and it can help locations get to know you. I don't go to a location and ask them to send me work. I go to them and say, Can I feature you? Can I learn more about you to tell my brides about you? It's never a Please do something for me; it's always a Hey, what can I do for you?

    Photo by Tim Halberg

    Photo by Tim Halberg

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    How do you determine if a potential client is a good fit?

    Typically a potential client will email me from my Website, and so I developed a good contact form as an important starting point. Some people just ask for the basicsname, wedding date, phone number, email address. I go a little bit further and ask people straight up what their budget is to pre-qualify people. Then I ask what their favorite drink is. I can tell by what somebody says about their favorite drink if we're going to have a conversation that's going to be interesting or not. So it's just finding goofy little questions that might tell you some insight about them.

    Then I ask them, What's your favorite adventure you've ever done? Or, How are you mischievous? So right from the contact form, before I've even spoken to them, I've got pretty good insight into whether I think the person is worth talking to and spending time on.

    When I'm talking to a couple, I'm actually interviewing them, whether they know it or not. I ask them questions to find out about their adventurous side or about their mis-chievous side and see if that's something that aligns with me. One of the best ques-tions I ask is, What do you do if you have a week off from work? Some couples say, We're going to travel, we're going to the theater, we're going to go backpacking. And I have other couples who say, We'll probably just stay at home and sit on the couch and catch up on TV. There's nothing wrong with that, but right away I'm like, OK, you might not be the right fit for me.

    Beyond that, I like to show interest in them as human beings, not just their wedding. Trying to get to know them as people is important to me.

    Once you determine that you want to move forward with a client, how do you make sure they book you?

    It's funny, but I'm not a hard pusher. I don't try to close as much as some other people will. I used to do a lot more trying to get people to close, and that got me those weddings where I just wasn't as happy as a photographer. For me, it's talking to them, sharing the passion for adventure, sharing the passion for mischief, and I kind of leave it at that.

    I obviously talk to people about what they want in the package, what they are looking to spend; I send them a proposal. I give them the ability to close and lock down their date. But I leave it a little bit open-ended. I probably could book more weddings if I pushed harder, but I'd rather get the couples that are excited about me versus the ones that were torn between me and somebody else and just happened to book me because it was a better price or because I talked them into it.

    What do you do to encourage referrals from your clients?

    Because of the relationships I build with clients, I think a lot of them then comfortably refer their friends. Obviously you have to have good enough pictures that they're go-ing to want to refer you for the quality of your work. But then, they need to be excited

    about you as a human being to want to refer you to their friends. And so, really building on that, and really creating an experience. On the wedding day, it's funny because people will come up to me and say, Oh my gosh, you're an amazing photographer, you're doing so great. They haven't seen a single photo. It's just 100 percent based on

    the performance you give on the wedding day and that relationship you've built with the couple. Often, they're telling their friends before the wedding how excited they are about their photographer, and when they show up on the wedding day, their friends are excited.

    One thing I do to keep people reminded about me is a newsletter to all my past couples, wedding venues I've worked with, coordinators, friends and family. I send it maybe once every three to four months, and just kind of keep people update on, here's some blog posts you can read, here's what I've been up to, and I don't even, I don't ask for referrals. I just keep myself in front of them.

    They need to be excited about you as

    a human being to want to refer you to

    their friends.

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    ased near Vancouver, in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, husband and wife photography team Matt and Ca-rissa Kennedy have been shooting weddings for eight years, full time for four. They attract local and interna-tional clients who put a priority on great photography, which is awesomeand full of pressure! says Matt.

    Matt, a former high school teacher, and Carissa, a former financial advisor, came their business with very different skill sets that completely complement each other. That makes it hard at times to see eye-to-eye, but we love working together as a team, says Matt. The duo offers online workshops on both the business and craft of photography and have presented at major photography conferences.

    PROFILE

    How to Master Customer ServiceFeaturing Matt Kennedy

    When and how did you realize great customer service needed to be an essential aspect of your business? Why is it important?

    From the beginning we strived to have great customer service, but it wasnt until our first year at WPPI Expo in Las Vegas about five years ago that we heard the idea of under promising and over delivering. It makes so much sense. Be a hero to your clients, in every way possible, and theyll help you find more clients just like them. Thats why its important. Our clients are our marketing strategy!

    What tips do you have for delighting clients and going that extra mile to make the wedding experience memo-rable from start to finish?

    We love to give gifts to our clients, and the most im-portant thing to keep in mind with this is that they should be big picture gifts. Big picture gifts to us mean anything that you would give a friend if they were get-ting married. Not something photography related, and especially not credit to your products or services. This is your chance to show them that you care about them as people, friends, not just clients. Some examples that we've done are a date jar, a honeymoon package (suntan lotion, candles, packing checklist, etc.), a blanket with a

    movie and popcorn. Make it personal. Also, when pos-sible, make it reusable. That way every time they use it, they will think of you who gave it to them. This is top of mind awareness at its best!

    How does social media come into play to make the experi-ence even better?

    We use social media as a connection tool, and a promo-tion tool. We love to interact with our clients and poten-tial clients on social media in order to show them that we are people too, and not just photographers. We are very open about our lives on Facebook and Instagram, and I think people appreciate that and are more open to booking with us even though our rates may be higher than others they are looking at. Social media is built for photography, so be the first to share images, and share them in a way that allows your clients to show how proud they are of them. Al-lowing your clients to share images will bring you back way more business than watermarks and proofing sites ever will!

    www.mattkennedy.ca

    blog.mattkennedy.ca

    facebook.com/mattkennedyphoto

    pinterest.com/mattkennedy

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    Photo by Matt Kennedy Photo by Matt Kennedy

    How do you handle particularly difficult clients without ruining the customer service experience?

    I'm not sure what clients would have to do to be deemed difficult, but in cases where people are overly demanding, or skeptical, or disappointed, you need to always go above and beyond in order to make their experience the best it possibly can be. Sometimes people jump to criticism or demands because of a break in trust. Build the trust back up and show them that you care about them and their happiness, not their money. In fact, the phrase the squeaky wheel always gets the grease is sometimes more true than we would like. Those clients who are more difficult end up getting even better (or at least more) service than the easygoing clients, so let's not forget the easy ones. Go above and beyond for everyone by default, and you'll have way fewer difficult clients to deal with. How do you showcase your great service to clients on your website?

    We keep most of our extra client service as a bit of a secret bonus, but we do post about certain things on social media. For instance, we do a spa day for our brides every year, and around that time we post about it, and our brides post about it as well. We show-case our service mostly by explaining how we work and run our business, and through our promo videos.

    What mistakes do wedding photographers often make when working with clients? I think the biggest mistake wedding photographers make when working with cli-ents is acting out their sense of entitlement. Often this happens because the pho-tographer thinks that they are worth more than what the client is paying, so the client shouldnt have any reason to be concerned about anything. Ive run into this a few times in my life, and when I catch myself doing this, I quickly realize that I ne