Weddings are full of memories you want to keep. That’s why many couples hire a professional photographer to record and capture their marital bliss. There is a big market for photographers qualified for the job, so how can you make money becoming a professional wedding photographer? The key to getting business is contacts. A successful photographer must have great business relationships with wedding planners. A popular wedding planner will create a lot of business with his or her recommendations.
First, if you have no wedding portfolio, offer your service to a bride in return for a testimonial. Be sure you keep the copyright on your pictures so you can use them to create a portfolio. You might locate a receptive bride within your circle of friends and family or through other networking activities. With at least one wedding under your belt and with a nice testimonial and portfolio, start looking for other weddings to photograph. Word of mouth is always ideal, but you might also check the wedding announcements in your local newspaper.
If you can, contact the bride and offer your services. Send a promotional package by mail or try reaching her by telephone. Also, offer to take photographs at the bride’s home prior to the wedding. You can get lovely candid shots of attendants helping the bride with her veil, flower girls primping in front of the mirror, etc. This is not a service that a studio photographer offers. Be sure to incorporate this as one of your unique selling points.
Contact the bride and offer your service. You can either send promotional material by mail or try phoning her. You can offer to take pictures of the bride’s house and the preparation for the wedding which can produce some great photos. This service is rarely offered by studio photographers, so this extra effort will make you stand out.
Here’s one more suggestion for a unique digital photography package for weddings. Pair up with a scrap artist and offer a unique product - a wedding scrapbook or memory album. Scrap artists use photographs, mementos, decorative paper, journaling and various embellishments to create gorgeous, one-of-a-kind albums that are truly works of art.
A wedding photographer should always be looking for ways to offer more value to his or her customers. One neat idea is to find a scrap artist and form a business relationship so that you can offer clients a wedding scrapbook for their memories. This can leave a great impression. One last thing- make the bride happy, and your job will be much easier.