Re: Wedding Photography Marketing??
Leaving cards with wedding shops sounds like a good idea... no harm in trying. You can pick up a fair bit of business at local wedding shows, so it might be worthwhile getting a booth at one. Websites are good to have, but I suspect most people will probably still look at local media first, like the Yellow Pages. As for getting photos for your portfolio, start off by doing some portraits. They don't have to be wedding-related as long as they show that you can photograph people in a competent and flattering manner. Depending on your shooting style, you can add PJ shots, candids, etc. as desired. On the basis of that you should be able to book one or two weddings, even if you have to do so at a lower rate than you anticipated, and then you can use those as fodder for your revised portfolio. Generally photographers like to keep possession of the negatives, as this allows them to make money off of every enlargement or reprint the customer has done. The downside is that you can't charge as much initially (relying instead on future reprint orders), and more and more people have scanners and access to other ways of reproducing photos themselves. From my experience, most customers prefer to keep the negatives themselves, as they can have reprints and enlargements done quickly for very little money. The good part is that you can now charge them *more* for the wedding because they won't have to pay your marked-up prices for reprints/enlargements, and they'll be happy because they have the negs. Shooting just 35mm isn't necessarily a bad thing. If your style is more PJ than studio, then 35mm can be the best tool for the job. And by using a tripod and ISO 160 film you should be able to get enlargements that will satisfy most clients. Bruce mentioned multiple flashes, but it sounds like this depends on where you are. 'Round these parts, pretty much everyone does the flash-on-Stroboframe thing, which still sets you apart from the Uncle Bobs who typically don't use Strobos. If you can, you may want to use MedF or LF for formal portraits, and then advertise that fact. When my friend got into wedding photography a couple of years ago, she formed a good working relationship with a busy local photographer. He would always have multiple requests for the same day, so he'd pass on those clients to her. Coupled with WOM (word of mouth), she's doing really well now. Good luck! chris
Re: Wedding Photography Marketing??
My 3nd question is what is the standard method of doing the work today? Back then I supplied myself, my equipment, and the blank film. I charged a flat price for those items and turned over all exposed film. That was it...My clients liked it as they just got standard 4x6 prints as proofs and enlargements on their own and it gave me far less hassle. Is that common way to do it? I think I would still be shooting 35mm film, but I wonder if clients will still accept that type of arrangement... I don't know about the other questions, re. marketing and business development, but while film is nice today as a backup, I hear more and more that digital is being used as the primary. You can do so much more, i.e. white balance on the fly, change iso on the fly, instant feedback, excellent post processing abilities in the digital lab, etc. The equivalent film setup would cost much more to put together.
RE: Wedding Photography Marketing??
-Original Message- From: tom [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] The big seller for dig (around here) is the fact that all prints can be digital or color, and can be easily uploaded to the web. B/W or color. tv
Re: Wedding Photography Marketing??
JCO, have a look at www.fotoforce.com for a good example of web marketing. We picked these guys for my son's wedding at the end of this month on the basis of their presentation - it will be interesting to see how they turn out! HTH John Coyle Brisbane, Australia - Original Message - From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Spotmatic discuss [EMAIL PROTECTED]; SLR Manual Mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Pentax67 discuss [EMAIL PROTECTED]; pentax discuss [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Club M42 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2003 3:38 PM Subject: Wedding Photography Marketing?? After about a 10 year absence, I'd like to do some wedding jobs again. ( I did about a half dozen for money and got pretty good at actually after reading several books and via experience). I quit because I didnt need the money but that has changed for me recently. I actually turned down a lot of jobs based on referrals back then when I retired. My question for any of you still doing it is marketing. How do I get the jobs? Before it was word of mouth friends, etc. But I need to do more than that... Is it OK to approach wedding speciality shops unsolicited to leave business cards? Do I create a website, advertise in classified ads etc??? Secondly, since I didnt really want to get into it seriously, I didnt keep a portfolio of some of my wedding work and have lost touch with all the clients... I have nothing now to show a potential client My 3nd question is what is the standard method of doing the work today? Back then I supplied myself, my equipment, and the blank film. I charged a flat price for those items and turned over all exposed film. That was it...My clients liked it as they just got standard 4x6 prints as proofs and enlargements on their own and it gave me far less hassle. Is that common way to do it? I think I would still be shooting 35mm film, but I wonder if clients will still accept that type of arrangement... Any help or suggestions on the matter would be greatly appreciated. JCO -- -- J.C. O'Connell mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://jcoconnell.com -- --
