As a photographer and business owner, you can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything yourself. When you have too much on your plate, you are distracted from the goals you set for your business. Plus, you enjoy what you do a little less and resent the workload a little more.
Your body matters…your camera body, that is! As a photographer, it is crucial that you take the time to know and determine which camera body is the best for you and your shooting needs. Do you know which cameras have the best sensors or can handle a high ISO at low-lit ceremony sites and still produce high quality images your clients will be thrilled to print?
What do you currently have in your wedding photography gear bag? If you are first starting out in your business, you may be looking for gear to help you get established. If you have been in business for a while, but are looking for an upgrade, discovering what type of equipment is available can help you make your choice. Here at ShootDotEdit, we know that the more you know about your gear, the easier it will be to use it to create the photos your clients will love. So you can get an idea of what gear you should use (and what else is out there), Ben Hartley of Style & Story Creative is sharing a few of the pieces he uses in his photography business.
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Camera Body
Canon 5D Mark III–Our work horse. We shoot all of our weddings on these babies. The main advantage with the Mark III is in its auto-focus and its crazy high ISO capability.
After the ceremony concludes, the bride and groom make their way to the reception, where they get to celebrate with their family and friends. During the reception, one of the exciting moments is the bouquet and garter toss. When this happens, all single women and men line up to catch the bouquet or garter, in hopes they will be the next to get married (and hopefully book you for their wedding)!
Because both events happen so quickly, it can be difficult to capture the best images every time. So you can document every exciting moment, here are 7 methods to help you nail the bouquet and garter toss images.
1. Discuss the Shot
As in every part of the wedding day, it can be helpful to have an idea of what will happen during the bouquet and garter toss. When you talk to your clients before the wedding day, discuss these shots with them. Perhaps they want someone in particular to catch the bouquet or garter, and that can help you focus on that individual during the shot. You can also ask them to take their time before tossing the bouquet or garter in the air. Because this is a fast moment, inform them you would love to capture their genuine excitement in the photos.
The wedding day shoot is often hectic (and stressful!) and requires you to shoot multiple moments at once. Most of the time your well-timed schedule does not go according to plan. And, wedding day nightmares do occur. If you are distracted by unpredictable moments during the wedding day, how can you focus on memorable and emotional moments?
In our Simple Wedding Day Strategies to Capture Every Moment Webinar with Donal Doherty, he shared ways for you to confidently capture every shot your couple desires. So you can reduce your stress and maintain focus during the shoot, here are the top 5 tips for capturing every wedding day moment.
1. Prep Clients for Success
Your clients’ experience starts when they first reach out to you. This is an opportunity to set expectations for the upcoming process and to prep your clients for success. Provide tips as you discuss each part of the process, such as how to dress for the engagement shoot and ways to make the wedding day shoot run more smoothly. These tips are meant to prepare your clients so the shoot can go as planned.
Does this question sound familiar from your bride and groom? “How many images do you deliver from a wedding?” When you hear this, your immediate response might be to tell them a number as high as possible so they think they are getting a better experience from you. Hold that thought! Did you know that you might actually be hurting your clients (and adding more stress into their lives) when you deliver too many images? While clients might think they want 1,000 images from their special day, once they begin looking at their images, they might quickly become overwhelmed by the sea of images they have to view!
The number you choose is crucial! Remember, the experience your clients have with you does not stop after the wedding day. Their experience and overall happiness includes how many images you provide after the wedding, so it’s important for you to choose a number that will not overwhelm them or cause them stress. So, the real question is: how many images do you clients really want? Read on to discover how many images some of the pros deliver to their clients, and why they chose that number.
Less is More
When you send your clients thousands of images after the wedding day, this gives them too many options when it comes to deciding which to print or use in an album. If your clients have too many decisions to make, it becomes a stressful process for them. Not only does this cause headaches for them, it alters the way they think about their overall experience with you.
On the wedding day, there are so many images and moments you are responsible to capture, and it can be overwhelming (not to mention, stressful)! Even when you are shooting multiple weddings per month, how do you always know which photos are most valuable to your couple? On top of that, which photos will help you get your work published?
Everyone has a wish list for their business. Many of the ideas you have likely include projects to grow your business to the next level. And for you to reach your goals, it’s often necessary for you to make more money. As a wedding photographer, what are things you can do to bring home additional income that do not require too much of your time?
In our first post of this series, we discussed how to make more money by adding a photo booth to your pricing packages. Today, we’re excited to discuss how you can book mini sessions throughout the year to make more money.
Mini sessions can be something you do during the holidays or the slow season (or even when you have a bit of time free thanks to your outsourcing decisions, such as a photography editing service). You can shoot quick family, newborn, or maternity portraits for your past clients, or others who match the description of your ideal client. The important thing to note about mini sessions is you need to properly plan them and ensure they make you money, not the other way around. Here are a few additional tips to help you properly book mini sessions for your business.
Share About Mini Sessions
Since you typically offer full sessions to your clients, and mini sessions are meant to make additional money for your business, make sure you share when mini sessions become available. Send an email to your client list to provide the details, like the date, timeframe, and cost. Use your blog and social media platforms to reach ideal clients who are not currently on your email list.
Instagram is rapidly becoming a must-have social media site for wedding photographers. You can share your images, more about who you are, and what your brand represents – all which attract ideal clients who would love to work with you and have you take their photos. Your Instagram business account is one way for clients to interact with you, but how can you continue to build the relationship so they access your website, blog, or other social platforms?
Although Instagram does not allow you to place clickable links directly on your posts, you can use links on your bio located on the main page. And since your bio should already feature a link to your website or blog, you can easily change it when you post different content to your other sites. So, what type of links should you include, and how can you encourage your followers to click them? Read on to find out quick tricks to add links on your account, and don’t forget to download our Instagram Guide for additional tips and tricks!
Create a Strategy for Links
As you start to feature links on your account, create a strategy for how often you change the link, what you change it to, and what to do with old posts that mention a unique link. Because the idea behind sharing links on your account is to encourage followers to access your website, blog, or other platforms, a specific strategy gives you the best chance at achieving your goal.
Do you often reevaluate parts of your business to ensure you have a clear and recognizable brand message? With your unique brand message, you share with ideal clients who you are and why they need to book you for their special day. If you have unclear messaging or mistakes in your brand, you risk the possibility of pushing clients who are perfect for you away from learning more about you.
Because branding is such an important topic for you to be aware of, we’re created a branding mistakes series. In our first post, we discussed how to quickly identify and fix an identity crisis on your website and other social platforms. Today, we’re going to focus on your “About Me” page and how to properly share your brand on it. Continue on to learn how to identify the mistake, forgetting to brand yourself, and how to fix it in your business.
View Your “About Page”
You may be thinking, “I already have my client images on my site that share my brand. Why do I need to add personal photos and information?” The answer is: when a potential client first looks for a photographer, chances are they view your website first (and look for your “About Page”). As they view your page, they immediately get an impression of who you are and whether you would be a perfect fit for them.
