The definition of high-end weddings could differ for different people. However, one broad spectrum that could define such weddings is “larger-than-life celebrations”. Be it a grand venue, a long guest list, multiple sub-events, or a huge budget – there could be a plethora of elements that contribute to a luxury wedding and render it a signature sheen. And as a wedding photographer, if you have been planning to tap into this big fat market, there are multiple things that you might have to look into to match up to its style and stature. Wondering what those things are? Here are some insights!
How To Sign More High-End Weddings As A Photographer
1. Study The Market
When targeting a new market as a wedding photography brand, start with studying the market you are going to venture into. Take a deeper look at what it looks like in and around your operating base. Try to understand the demands and requirements of your target market – what is it that clients in this category often seek in a luxury wedding photographer? Research – that should be your ideal starting point! Why? So that when you actually start building your brand around this segment, you are familiar with the in and out of the market. As a part of this research, also try to study other luxury photography brands that book high-end weddings. How do they market their services? What all do they offer? What is their usual price range and which geographical areas do they usually target? Rather than resorting to guesswork and assumptions, build the foundation of your new brand or scale it on the basis of facts, figures, and solid research. What’s best? This would also give you a better understanding of who your target audience is and what kind of brands they like to associate with. And when you have a fair amount of knowledge about what approach to take to draw the attention of your desired client group, you will automatically increase your chances of booking more clients.
2. Give Your Business A Luxury Brand Image
Add a touch of luxury to your brand’s image – from the service experience and the portfolio to the website design, the visiting card, and even your attire. Everything that contributes to your brand’s image or reflects it should speak to your prospective luxury audience. To be able to do this effectively, try to dig deeper into the expectations of your audience – the high-end brides. And when it comes to reshaping your brand, it might also require you to change your pricing structure accordingly. To get a thorough understanding of how to better price your photography, you can give this blog a read.
3. Use Social Media To Your Benefit
Social media platforms have become more than just a tool to communicate and socialize. Nowadays, they also hold the power to market to your target clientele, promote your brand, and influence your potential clients. A lot of different kinds of businesses are using social media more and more to create brand awareness and direct their products or services to their target audience at a larger scale. So why not use social media to create a buzz for your luxury wedding photography business as well? A lot of to-be brides scroll through Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest in search of wedding inspiration. So building a substantial presence on social media that targets your audience can help you get some potential leads that you could later try to convert into business. Observe and analyze how competitors pitching to the same audience are building their brand presence online – and take notes of what you might want to adapt from their business framework and what you would want to leave out. That way, you’d get an insight into developing your own unique pitch to woo your ideal client base through your social media channels.
Related Read: How To Create Social Media Ads To Book More Weddings
4. Revamp Your Portfolio
If your portfolio reflects what you wish to sell, it could make the process of selling it a lot easier. Therefore, having a portfolio that speaks to your current target audience could be key. You could have been a wedding photographer for many years; however, if you are planning to pivot toward a slightly different market, such as high-budget weddings, try to curate your portfolio as per that result. Filter the images and select to showcase the ones that are most relevant. This could help you gain the trust of the people who might be thinking of considering you as their wedding photographer for their high-end weddings.
On the other hand, it is possible that you might not have much to showcase in this arena from your past weddings. However, that’s where styled shoots come into the picture. A fun way to build your portfolio, such creative shoots can help you revamp your brand identity. You can organize styled shoots to photograph images that are reflective of the luxury wedding segment. In addition, to build your portfolio, these shoots could also help you form new relationships with wedding vendors.
Suggested Read: Why Networking With Wedding Vendors Is Important For Business
5. A Luxury Experience
The key to booking more high-end weddings as a photographer lies in creating and providing a luxury experience. With more and more people striving to live the high life, the luxury wedding market is expanding at a rapid pace and becoming an aspirational lifestyle choice across the globe. So, the real question lies in asking yourself – are you ready to deliver customized luxurious service and experience to this fast-increasing client category? If not, maybe that’s where you should begin – try to build your brand and up your game to the point where your services or the experience you provide to your client do justice to the price tag it holds. Many a time, this could include adding a unique perspective to your client’s wedding photographs that go beyond the usual.
Remember that building a unique experience has a lot to do with how you mold your services, the add-ons you provide, and the freebies you offer into one lucrative bundle of joy. However, it goes without saying that your skillset as a photographer to bring something larger than life to the photographs you create for your clients tops your list of deliverables. If, however, you do think that you as a professional and your business are ready to take that next step, we suggest that the next move for you be toward shifting your focus to find ways to better market this skill – that is learning how to spread the word and increase your brand awareness.
Further Read: Nail The Client Experience: Featuring Orlando Oliveira
High Gains Need Equally High Investments
In the high-end wedding photography market, the gains could be high, but so are the investments you make toward your business – both in terms of finances and creative efforts. So if your sole motivation to venture into this market is simply the numbers you see other wedding photographers make, then perhaps you could take a moment to analyze better. High-profile weddings may look all glamorous and chic, but they might also demand more out of you as a professional as compared to regular weddings. So, be prepared to pump in your energies and funds before you get to see the profits. Weddings of this stature and scale could very well require you to hire a team of photographers to be at multiple places at once or capture the grand celebrations from different perspectives.
For example, a client who is splurging to host their wedding at a palatial property or a dreamy destination might want you to capture the beauty of the location from every nook and corner – even from the top. And in comes the need to include drone photography to your photography package! Similarly, when weddings are hosted at such a large scale, the chances are that even the hours will get extended, sometimes running into multiple events spread over days. That could, in turn, mean that you might have to increase your coverage hours or the number of images that you have to deliver to your high-profile client. Therefore, it is imperative to understand that while capturing this market might seem to be highly rewarding, catering to this segment and covering their special moments could demand that much more from you and often at a heightened operational cost from your end. So, to make offering your services to this segment a successful and profitable pillar for your business, strategy and skillset surely play a crucial role. Hone those skills and aim high. Soon you’ll find yourself photographing those high-flying weddings.
Here at ShootDotEdit, we aim toward bringing you ideas and resources that help you grow your wedding photography business. In addition to these blogs, we also do that by taking care of your post-production workflow by providing professional photo editing services. If you wish to learn more about how you can outsource your editing work to us, take a look at our pricing plans.