Wedding Photography - How to Market Yourself Successfully As a Wedding Photographer

Oh boy, there are a lot of wedding photographers out there aren't there? Or at least, there are a lot of photographers out there that claim to be good right? I have seen some really terrible shots, and hideous wedding photos, from people who are charging premium prices for their work.

There are many really talented photographers out there, who are not getting the work. So why is this? It can be put down to one simple fact.

Marketing

Let us ponder this point for a moment: If you do not know how to market yourself, then you may be the most talented photographer in the world, but you will remain a very talented, and unemployed photographer. Here are some key points to help you on your way to success as a wedding photographer.

Get Good Quality Printed Material

Nothing says, "I'm awesome" like some really great, good quality printed marketing material. The fact that you are able to produce such good quality material, inspires confidence and trust in your potential customers. Get the best that you can afford. You do not need 1000 brochures, or business postcards etc Quality rather than quantity is paramount if you are to court the right kind of clientele.

Some suggested items include: High gloss promotional postcards, business cards of at least 300gsm (gsm indicates the weight of the paper), glossy tri-fold brochures.

Be Clever with Where You Target your Printed Material

The most obvious place to leave a business card (along with 1000 other budding photographers) are bridal emporiums.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't leave a business card there, but try at least to build a rapport with the staff when you visit, so that you are more memorable than the other 999 photographers who walked in before you.

Feel free to offer them an incentive if the client books you as a result of getting your card/flyer/brochure/post card from them. A simple gift certificate will often suffice. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, then at least reward them if you receive a booking from them anyway - flowers and a box of chocolates are always appreciated, and you can be sure that you will be recommended again.

You can even offer to photograph some of their merchandise, and offer to reciprocate the referral to any brides who approach you, who may not have heard of their particular bridal shop.

If a bride is referred to you by a particular bridal shop, then it is an absolutely wonderful idea to take the bridal shop some of the photographs (displaying their merchandise on the bride) after the wedding. They will be so appreciative to see the end result and it will give them something concrete to show future customers proof of your photographic skill!

Other suggested places to take marketing material include: Premier Wedding Venues, Fabric shops (who specialise in wedding/evening dress fabrics), hair salons (hair stylists are chatty by nature, and if you can get them to talk about you - even better!), wedding planners, event planners etc.

Advertise in Local Business Directories

Sometimes simple is best! Often a local yellow pages (sometimes called white pages in some parts of the world), will have a special 'pink' bridal section.

For most brides, they may not know where to start looking for wedding vendors, and the yellow pages is an often overlooked advertising medium for photographers (our local yellow pages does not have one single listing for a childrens portrait photographer) which could be a potential gold mine if you place the right advertisement at the right time.

Remember that yellow pages get delivered free of charge to all homes and businesses with a listed telephone number - hello!

Join a Local Business Network

Local business networks operate in most major cities, and often have suburban chapters. In many cases they will only permit one person of each profession to join (e.g. one real estate agent, one lawyer, one optometrist, one graphic designer etc), so try to find one that either doesn't have wedding photographer, or photographer at all, or is a new chapter and looking to increase its membership.

They usually meet once a week at a local coffee shop or restaurant, over breakfast, and the meeting allows members to speak about their businesses for 3-5 minutes each (depending on how large the membership is) and then to exchange referrals. e.g. the graphic designer is working on a the invitations for a wedding, and has promoted your services to the bridal couple, and they then pass on the contact details of the bridal couple for you to contact, and showcase your work to.

Be More Versatile in Your Work

Most photographers do not just shoot weddings. When I started out it was in the Sports Action genre, particularly Equestrian photography, and my very first wedding client, was one of the riders who had always liked and purchased the sports photographs that I had taken of her, and asked me if I would shoot her wedding.

It was the perfect opportunity to cut my teeth in a new direction, a small family wedding at home, and it was a huge boost to my confidence when the photos were so well received.

Remember wedding clients can be found anywhere, even in the current economic climate, people are still getting married, and still have wedding budgets so there is no reason not to go out marketing with all guns blazing as normal.

Network with Other Photographers

Believe it or not, other photographers can be your greatest source of work. Have you ever wondered what would happen, if you booked a wedding client, and then the day before the wedding you were suddenly involved in a car accident? What if you were unable to show up and shoot the wedding? Can you imagine the brides dismay when they've probably paid you a hefty deposit, and you suddenly can't produce?

That's why it's best to have back up at every wedding you shoot. Offer another photographer a chance to shoot alongside you, or act as runner, or equipment set up person. Chances are they will do the same for you. If you are suddenly hurt, or unable to shoot for whatever reason, then they can cover the wedding for you.

Just make sure you have clear rules and boundaries regarding who shoots what, who edits, and who gets paid what before you even begin. Most photographers will have a network of photographers with whom they work well together, and it makes it very easy, and smooth if something should happen to go wrong.

It's a good selling point to your potential clients if you are able to reassure them that even if something happens to you, that they have nothing to worry about, and someone will be there to shoot their wedding.

Lastly, Bridal Magazines

While this may seem the obvious choice, advertising in high end magazines is a very expensive though fruitful option. The exposure is good, the readership is huge, and it will in all likelihood yield a great number of bookings for you.

However, it is probably an avenue best left to the wedding photographer who has already made an impact on the local industry, and is just looking to keep exposure and name to a maximum, and perhaps to begin to take bookings on a national or international level.

The best of luck to you with your wedding photography marketing efforts.

Props for Wedding Photography

Brides are encouraged to use many fun props to enhance their wedding photography.

Wedding Props

Adding props to your wedding photography or engagement photos can help your personality shine and add a unique style to your photo shoot. Anything that has sentimental value to is a good prop to bring! Choose props that relate to your personality, occupation, likes, dislikes and hobbies.

Vintage vintage props are a timeless way to make a dramatic setting for wedding photos. Below are some great vintage wedding ideas to make your wedding something unique.

• masquerade masks


• vintage,


• antique furniture


• Old bikes


• Antique mirrors


• fans, parasols (feather, oriental, paper etc)

Quorky fun Here are some great examples of some props that add a fun, quirky and downright beautiful touch to your wedding and the photography of your day.

• mini chalkboard


• sports interests (skateboard, bikes, soccer ball, golf clubs, fishing)


• bubbles, balloons,


• kites speech bubbles (ex. "just married", "say cheese") or a sign (cloud bubble "just married")


• funny glasses with nose and moustache Lolly pops,


• candy, cotton candy (colours)


• toy guns, hats, glasses,


• items on a stick: glasses, moustaches, lips, star glasses, big teeth


• Sunglasses,


• hats,


• umbrellas


• bright colored socks


• Your dog, your bikes, your favorite books

If you decide to book an engagement session, you can take your creative ideas even further. Just think about what matters to you, your colour palette, or just something that you happen to love the look of!

Check out some blogs such as Style Me Pretty, Ruffled, Polka Dot Bride, Rock and Roll Bride any day of the week to gain inspiration and point you in the right direction.

The Importance of a Pre-Wedding Shoot

Most photographers include a pre-wedding shoot as part of their packages as they feel it is important to get to know their clients before the wedding day. This way the client can sample their style of photography and dispel any fears they may have about being photographed, so on the wedding day they will look more natural and relaxed.

The shoot takes place approximately 3 months before the wedding day it is typically outside using natural light which is more flattering and enables the photographer to capture the couple naturally. Often photographs are taken of the couple individually as well as together this gives them the experience of how they would be photographed on the wedding day.

There are countless advantages of a pre-wedding shoot; building rapport with your photographer, as it's a long day to have a stranger with you on your wedding day. Understanding how your photographer works and seeing the results of your pre-wedding photographs of the day and give you confidence that your photographer will capture fantastic shots of you both on the wedding day.

If your photographer has not photographed at your venue before it is a good opportunity to combine the visit to the venue along with your pre-wedding shoot. If you're wedding is taking place in Autumn or winter you may like your pre-wedding shoot to take place at your wedding venue in the summer, this way you will have a selection of contrasting seasonal images from your wedding venue.

Wherever you choose to have your pre-wedding shoot embrace the experience, as it's a great opportunity to have some relaxed spontaneous images together with a professional photographer as you may not have had any pictures taken professionally of the two of you before.

It's important to the photographer to understand how the couple wish to be photographed and find out if there are any concerns the couple have regarding public affection or which side they prefer to be photographed. Or there may be a considerable height difference between the couple and they wish to see how the photographer can approach this. Viewing the pre-wedding images with your photographer is just as important as the shoot itself, this way you can give your feedback to the photographer so they are aware of your preferences.

They will have options and make suggestions on how best to use your pre-wedding images. These options may include a sign frame, guests can write their personal message around the mounted image on the wedding day instead of a guestbook. This way your favorite image from the shoot will be on display at your wedding. The concept is a real talking point and you'll have a lasting memory displayed on your wall of the messages your guests have written on the day.

An alternative is a photo guestbook this would have a selection of your favorite images from the pre-wedding shoot alongside blank pages where your guests can write their own personal message.

How to Structure a Storybook Wedding Album and Not Forget Half the Story

1. The Wedding Invitation Your wedding album should begin with a scan of the wedding invitation. Usually, you put a great deal of thought in the design and text of your wedding invitation. Therefore, it would be a shame not to include it in your wedding album. Furthermore, it contains other memorable information, i.e. the wedding date, the location, which makes it a great item for the first page.


2. The Preparations The next couple of pages should be dedicated to the preparations of bridge and groom (usually starting with the bride). This section can be subdivided, if necessary into subsections such as "The Dress", "The Garter", "The Reveal", etc.


3. Family, Bridesmaids and Groomsmen Now should follow a couple of pages showing the wedding party, e.g. the happy couple with their parents, the bride with her maids, the groom with his men, the happy couple with the best people, all family members together and so on.


4. The Venue Next part of the wedding album must be a couple of pages dedicated to the venue where the marriage ceremony is about to takes place. Photos could feature: the venue as a whole, the chairs for the guests, the spot where the priest will marry the couple and various bits of beautiful decoration.


5. The Ceremony The ceremony is for most couples the most emotional and memorable part of their wedding. Therefore, one should put as many pages as necessary to do the moment justice. One should not miss: the entrance of bride and groom, the priest's speech, the first kiss, the ring, the readers.


6. The Group Shot(s) Now must follow one or many group shots with friends and family in various combinations. The moment directly after the ceremony produces a lot of nice pictures, because everybody is still very emotional and a lot less nervous. They need to go into your wedding album!


7. The Reception, the Grand Entrance The next major part of your wedding album will be the celebration. This usually starts, much like the ceremony with at least one page dedicated to the venue. One can show the place from the outside, the entrance, the table decoration, the buffet and always very decorative: filled glasses of Champagne. This page can be combined with pictures of the happy couple (and the guests) entering the hall.


8. The Toasts It follows at least on page with toasts and speeches. Obligatory is a shot of bride and groom giving their speeches. One can complement the page with additional photos from the various groups on their tables.


9. The First Dance A page with the happy couple's first dance is obligatory, maybe followed by various combinations of father and daughter, mother and son, father and daughter-in-law, mother and son-in-law, all of them ballroom dancing.


10. The Cake Cutting No wedding album can do without a page dedicated to the cutting of the. This works the best, if the cake is first shown intact, followed by a shot of bride and groom doing the first cut, followed by a funny sequence of photos showing bride and groom eating the first piece.


11. Bouquet and Garter Toss Also obligatory, a couple of fun shots showing the bride throwing her bouquet and the groom throwing his garters (if he was wearing any). It looks always great if there are some nice photos with the bouquet and garter in midair and the overjoyed people who caught them.


12. The Party Wedding celebrations are long and a wedding album would not do them justice if they contained not at least one more page showing how much fun everybody had. These pages are perfect to put crazy and funny shots that would not fit into any other part of the wedding album.


13. The End Every good wedding album finishes with one or two pages dedicated to the happy couple. If the groom carried his bride off in a fancy car, then that has to be shown now, otherwise several romantic shots of the happy couple hand-in-hand (maybe with a nice sunset in the background) also work fine.

The Five Things You Need to Do For Your Wedding Photography Consultation

When it comes time to book consultations with wedding photographers, it can be a bit daunting if you're not certain what to expect or what to do. But the process is actually quite simple if you follow these five basic steps...

1: Schedule your consultations wisely.

Assuming that you're arranging consultations with more than one photographer, it's best to schedule all of your photographer meetings within the same day or two. Wedding photographers will offer you the courtesy of holding your date while you make your decision, but they can only hold that date for you for a few days or a week at most.

By booking your consultations within the same day or two, you guarantee that your wedding date is held by all of your potential photographers for a similar amount of time.

2: Prepare for your meeting.

During your consultation, a lot of information gets covered in a short amount of time. You want to be sure to ask all of the questions that are really important to you, so it's a good idea to write a list out beforehand and bring it with you.

3: Know your budget.

It wastes your time and the photographer's time if you meet with them and you're not sure about exactly how much you're prepared to spend on your wedding photography. Before scheduling a wedding photography consultation, decide on a budget and be certain that you and your fiance are both in agreement about the amount.

4: Know your wedding schedule.

Before you even start contacting photographers, make a list of the wedding photographs that are important to you and your fiancee. Do you want pre-ceremony photos? Ceremony only? Do you want posed shots with your wedding party, friends and family? Photos at the reception? A comprehensive list of the photos you want, will help you figure out how long to book your photographer.

When you meet with wedding photographers, they'll need to know how much time you'll want to book them for on your wedding day. Try to be sure about this before you meet with them. If you're not sure, bring the list of your 'must have' photos to your consultation.

5: Trust your instincts, not your wallet.

If you've done your research, you'll have only booked meetings with photographers who have good portfolios, who offer services, rates and photography styles that suit your needs. So the deciding factor will come down to who you'd most like to have as an integral part of your wedding day.

Sometimes you'll know right away. But if you're uncertain, ask yourself which photographer had a personality that seems well-suited to you and your fiance? Which photographer seemed the most competent, knowledgeable and trustworthy? Who seemed to be the most kind, considerate, polite and friendly?

Don't make the mistake of simply choosing the person with the lowest rates. Choose the photographer who you feel will be the best fit for you, your fiance and for your wedding in general.

7 Secret Weapons of 3D Scrapbooking Innovation and Creative Tips

Ever wonder can we create a scrapbook in 3D ? Yes, definitely yes! But how ? This is scrapbooking innovation ideas if you wish to create 3D scrapbooking. Here I share 7 secret weapons of how to create 3D scrapbooking. Enjoy reading while be creative in your thinking, you may find more great ideas to create 3D scrapbook!

Secret #1 Wire with photo in between.

You can get any size, length and width of craft wire from craft store. Band the wire into different shapes such as square, oval or rectangle to create a photo frame like design. Insert your photo into the photo area, and lastly decorate some paper flower or embellishment at the wire frame corners.

Secret #2 Mini book in 3D.

I love mini scrapbook. It is fun to create mini book in 3D. Lots of creative scrapbooking ideas can transform to 3D mini book. Materials needed are 4R size ordinary photo album, old birthday card, old wedding invitation card, adhesive, colored egg shells, color ice cream sticks and some mini to medium size pebble stones. Cut or tear out 2 to 3 pages of 4R size photo albums but still in joining pages, decorate the corners and side with some egg shells, paste some support to each side of the album pages with ice scream sticks using adhesive, so that it can stand when putting on table. Cut the old birthday card into 4R size, insert into the 4R album as background design, lastly put your photo into the album.

Secret #3 Scrapbook with recycle milk box.

My daughter and me love this idea. Most of milk box are small and house like design. Materials needed are felt of different colors, milk box, adhesive, thread for sewing. Clean up the milk box after finished the drink. Let it dry for a few days. Cut felt into size similar to the milk box, sew the corner with simple straight line design. Past the felt on to the milk box, lastly place your candid photo on the mini milk box house.

Secret #4 Wagon 3D scrapbooking

This idea is actually from my 4 years old daughter. I like to create wagon from shoe box or unused mini boxes as wagon for my son. One day my daughter suggested to do some craft pasting on each sides of the wagon and write some text to express, then I suggested to her to add some of their candid photos. It's really fun and enjoyable, you may want to try this too with your children at home!

Secret 5 Recycle kids toys by turning it into scrapbook.

My children has many toys that comes with nice design carrier or briefcase. Keep the briefcase, and repaint it with acrylic, add some embellishment and create a stunning 3D scrapbook of your design! 3D toys such as blocks or baby cloth books, you can transform them into different 3D scrapbooking by adding your candid photos on each sides to create a simple 3D scrapbook.

Secret #6 Gift cards or birthday cards or invitation cards.

If you receive gift cards, birthday cards or invitation cards in 3D design, do not throw it away. Transform it into your 3D scrapbooking. Add some embellishment and some words to express, last place your photo at suitable area.

Secret #7 Brief case or cosmetic case as collage scrapbooking.

Collage technique is nothing new, by having a few collage methods while creating your 3D scrapbook, will make your design more interesting and lasting look. Material needed, some mini brief case, or wooden chocolate boxes, adhesive, buttons, threads, 3D stickers, colorful construction papers or wrapping papers, clay dough (use no toxic based if you want to do it with your child). First color the wooden background with a layer of acrylic, let it dry for a few days. Once dry, decorate corner or 4 sides or some portion of the wooden based with construction papers. Paste buttons, beads or threading at the corner or any two sides of the wooden based. Lastly add your photo or drawing at your suitable area, and you have created a collage 3D scrapbooking.

Hope above secrets help you to make an innovation of 3D scrapbooking!

7 Most Touching Things to Include in Your Best Friend's Wedding Scrapbook

A wedding scrapbook can be the perfect gift if done correctly.  Remember, a scrapbook is a memory holder, making it personal and distinctive will guarantee that it will be cherished.  It takes time and effort to accomplish this!  In order to create a treasured keepsake for your best friend, here are seven things to include in your project.

1) Different perspectives

You will not have access to the photographer's photographs.  Relying on just your own photographs is a bad idea.  Plan ahead and get others to assist you in taking pictures before, during, and after the wedding ceremony.  This way, you will get a variety of pictures from different perspectives and can enjoy the ceremony without having to worry about taking a picture every two minutes. 

A good way to do this is to buy and distribute automatic cameras, telling contributors to use up all of the pictures.  You can even give different photographers different assignments!  Have one take pictures of guests, one take pictures of just the groom, one take pictures of the dances, etc. Make sure to order digital CDs from each camera.

2)  Quality Pictures

After all of the pictures come back and are developed, carefully pick the best of the best.  Be selective, avoiding unflattering portraits, especially of the bride.  Then, use whatever computer software, even if it's free from Kodak or Windows, to edit the pictures to the best of your ability.  Play around with exposure, crop, or touch up accordingly.  She will appreciate how good you made her look.

3) Things she might not know

You may want to consider adding wedding tidbits the bride might have missed because she was busy... being a bride!  For instance, show a picture of the friend who spilled champagne over her dress, or journal about how everyone was gushing over the handsome waiter.  These little details will make her wedding seem an even grander affair.

4)  Quotes from friends and family

Journaling memories and advice from the bride and groom's friends and family members is always a great addition to a scrapbook.  You can either do this yourself or outsource the responsibility to someone you trust!  Include the quotes on individual pages or all together at the end of the scrapbook.

5)   Memorabilia from the wedding

Include keepsakes from the wedding in the scrapbook.  Save the wedding program, petals from the flower arrangements, napkins, invitations, place cards, and incorporate them in your layouts.  This adds a personal touch that cannot be imitated.

6)   Choose a theme that reflects her personality

Carefully consider the type of person your best friend is and the type of relationship she has with her new husband.  Let their personalities direct the theme of your scrapbook.  Consider the colors in their wedding, the songs they chose, and the activities they share together when contemplating a theme.  Choosing something that reflects who they are best shows you know and care for them.

7)  Space for her

Leave space for her to add her own pictures and memories.  She will be touched that you desired her hand in your creation, and she will love that her wedding scrapbook was a collaborative effort.