November 30, 2023 - ShootDotEdit: Wedding Photographer Post Production and Color Correction

Home / 2023 / November / 30 (Thursday)

Wedding Photography Best Business Practices By Apollo Fields

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 30Categories: How to Become a Photographer, ShootDotEdit Featured Photographer No Comments

As wedding photographers, you have the unique opportunity to capture some of life’s most special moments and preserve them forever. However, given all the moving parts of running a successful and professional photography business, trying to position yourself for success can be overwhelming. But wedding pros Heather and Terence of Apollo Fields have figured out the key! Whether managing client expectations, creating clear contracts, or outsourcing wedding photo editing, the best business practices by Apollo Fields have helped them run a successful wedding photography business. In this blog, we will explore the top wedding photography best business practices by Apollo Fields that will help you deliver exceptional service, exceed client expectations, and ultimately grow your business. Get ready to take notes and put their actionable advice into practice!

Best Business Practices By Apollo Fields

1. Being True To Your Brand Vision

As a wedding photography business owner, taking on all clients to boost your portfolio and profits can be tempting. However, staying true to your brand is crucial in building a successful and fulfilling photography business. Heather and Terrence of Apollo Fields understand this concept of brand authenticity wholeheartedly. By being honest and upfront with their clients about their ideas and notions, they ensure they’re only taking on the type of work they genuinely enjoy. Through this approach, they can create a portfolio of work that reflects their unique style and sets them apart from their competition.

2. Creating Personalized Experiences

Avoiding the cookie-cutter mentality can help you create memorable experiences for your wedding clients and truly set your business apart. Heather of Apollo Fields never liked treating every wedding the same. Instead, she believes that each wedding is unique and deserves to be creative with a new approach.

Embracing the concept of “backyard luxury” weddings, which redefines the traditional wedding concept, making the experience a memorable and personal one, Heather shares this concept with her clients, which helps their business to grow immensely. Following this idea will help you be more creative, personalize your work, and provide a unique and creative client experience.

3. Involving Clients To Channel More Creativity

infographic stating include your clients creative ideas in their wedding photos to make them more authentic

With wedding photography, you might find yourself constantly searching for new ways to channel your creativity. But it’s not just about capturing beautiful photographs; it’s about incorporating unique and personalized touches that showcase the couple’s love story, bond and personality.

The photography team at Apollo Fields knows precisely how to do this. Heather and Terrence permit their clients to embrace their creative ideas to make their wedding day truly special. By encouraging this kind of creativity, their clients feel more connected to the process, resulting in stunning photographs that are both artistic and authentic.

4. Working As A Team

Teamwork is a vital component of any wedding photography business, and Apollo Fields is a fine example of how it can be leveraged to build a successful company. This husband and wife photography team complement each other’s strengths, ensuring they serve their clients to the best of their abilities.

Heather handles business, like scheduling, while Terrence supports her by second shooting and writing heartwarming poems about the couples. Also, to ensure that the team functions smoothly, they sometimes swap lead shooter and second shooter roles. This requires mutual trust and understanding and has helped them experiment with different perspectives and grow their skills; Terrence can improve his photography skills and have more time with the couple while Heather captures more candid moments, which she genuinely loves! Together, they work seamlessly on location, creating a wonderful experience for everyone involved.

5. Building Client Relations

infographic stating taking care of your clients from the get-go helps establish your business reputation and growth

Wedding clients who trust you are more likely to feel comfortable in front of the camera and allow you to work your magic! Building long-lasting relationships with them can be one of the best wedding photography business practices you can adopt for your business reputation and growth.

Wedding pros, Heather and Terrence of Apollo Fields are staunch advocates of this practice. From the get-go, they have channeled their energy towards creating meaningful relationships with each client. They go above and beyond to add personalized touches to their services, strengthening this bond. From the empowering sessions and in-person deliveries to allowing couples to split their weddings and receptions without any extra fees during COVID – it’s all about the client experience.

6. Having A Set Workflow

A workflow is not just an essential business practice; it’s crucial. It involves more than just capturing beautiful shots on the wedding day – it encompasses contracts, scheduling, calendaring, and backup systems. At Apollo Fields, Heather and Terrence are strong advocates for having a workflow. Heather states that things would not simply fall into place without a photography workflow. Instead, it would be a recipe for disaster. To execute a successful wedding shoot, you need an air-tight plan in place. It lets you stay organized and ensures that everything is ready for the big day.

Bonus Tip: Outsourcing Wedding Photo Editing

infographic stating in the fast paced wedding photography industry outsourcing is a viable solution to grow your business

As a wedding photographer, managing your business can feel like a daunting task when you have to keep up with client correspondence, marketing efforts, and photo editing while trying to shoot weddings. Apollo Fields realized that outsourcing provided a viable solution to their growing business, which can work for you, too. By outsourcing tasks, such as photo editing, you can free up more time to focus on what matters most – delivering top-quality images and experiences to your clients. Heather from Apollo Fields stated that she hates editing photos, so she outsources that task to ensure the photos have the perfect finishing touches before delivery. With outsourcing, you can take your wedding photography business to the next level and provide top-tier service to your clients.

Further Read: Top Reasons You Need To Outsource Photo Editing

From outlining a solid business plan to implementing efficient business management strategies, these practices can help you establish a strong foundation for your business. Additionally, prioritizing exceptional customer service can result in satisfied clients and lead to positive referrals and increased profitability. Remember, success comes with continuous dedication and hard work. Incorporating these tried-and-tested best business practices by Apollo Fields can help add an abundance of value to your journey as a wedding photographer and create a sturdy foundation for a sustainable and thriving business.

At ShootDotEdit, we are passionate about helping you grow your wedding photography business. A part of how we do that is by lessening your post-production workload with our professional photo editing services. To learn more about how we can help your wedding photography business, check out our pricing plans.

Common Mistakes Photographers Make With Their Websites + Solutions

Author: ShootDotEditOn: Nov 30Categories: How to Become a Photographer No Comments

As we bid adieu to this year and prepare to welcome the new, it’s the perfect time to take a step back and evaluate your professional journey. You might find yourself pondering, “Is it time for a revamp of my photography website?” Even if your current site seems to be performing well, there could be room for improvement. As photographers, you might want to evolve your style, focus on a specific client demographic, alter your location, or even venture into the exciting world of international destination photography. All these changes should be mirrored in your online presence, as your purpose plays a crucial role in attracting your ideal clientele. But creating or revamping a website isn’t without its challenges. Some common mistakes photographers make can act as roadblocks on the path to success. So, if you’re looking to dodge the most common mistakes photographers encounter when designing their websites, you’ve come to the right place!

Common Mistakes Photographers Make On Their Website + Solutions

1. Complex Navigation

infographic stating make your website easy to navigate and user friendly to increase inquiries and bookings

A common mistake beginners often make when designing their photography websites is having a complex navigation system. It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to showcase every piece of your work, leading to an overcrowded and confusing navigation menu. Your website visitors are not explorers on a treasure hunt; they’re potential clients who want to quickly find what they’re looking for. A complex-to-navigate website can frustrate users, spoil their experience, and may even drive them away. So, how do you fix this? Streamline your navigation menu to include only the essential pages like ‘Home,’ ‘About,’ ‘Portfolio,’ ‘Services,’ and ‘Contact.’ Make it intuitive and user-friendly, and you might see an increase in inquiries and bookings as a result!

2. Slow Loading Website

It’s understandable that you want to showcase our work in the best possible light, which often means using high-resolution images. However, these large files can be the very reason your website is slow to load. This spoils the user experience, leading to potential clients clicking away in frustration and negatively impacting your search engine rankings. SEO algorithms favor sites that load quickly, providing a seamless user experience. So, how can you rectify this? Optimize your images! You can significantly boost your site speed by reducing the image size without sacrificing the quality. Numerous online tools like TinyPNG and Optimizilla can help you compress your images while maintaining their visual integrity. Balancing the need for high-quality images and a fast-loading site can seem like a tightrope walk, but with careful optimization, you can achieve both and ensure your website is a joy to visit.

3. Neglecting The Homepage And About Page

infographic stating highlight your style on your websites homepage and foster client trust through an about me page

One of the common mistakes photographers make with their websites is not fully leveraging the power of their homepage and about page. First impressions matter, and your homepage should succinctly highlight your unique style and expertise in photography. Meanwhile, your ‘About’ page is the perfect space to share engaging tidbits about yourself – your quirks, passions, family, and even a professional self-portrait. This helps clients connect with you on a personal level, fostering trust. Remember, the more your clients feel connected to you, the more likely they’ll trust you to capture their special moments.

4. Website Isn’t Mobile-Friendly

Frequent photography website mistakes often include not having a mobile-friendly design. In today’s digital age, most people use their mobile phones as a quick means to search for services online. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile users, you risk losing potential clients. Opting for a responsive design that adapts to various devices can greatly enhance user experience and boost your online presence. Testing your website’s compatibility across various devices is a step you can’t afford to skip, as it ensures that your site will always look its best no matter what device someone is using.

5. Unclear Pricing Page

infographic stating be transparent with your pricing and set clear expectations to makes the process easier

Common mistakes beginner photographers make include not being upfront about their pricing on their website. While it’s not necessarily a blunder, we believe displaying your packages or starting prices can be beneficial. Here’s why: It instantly filters out those who may not have the budget for your services, reducing the number of futile inquiries. By showcasing clear pricing packages, you save not only your time but also that of the inquirer. If they genuinely appreciate your work but are working with a smaller budget, they might still reach out to you, asking for a discount. If they’re just price fishing, you’ve nipped that in the bud right from the start.

6. Ignoring The Contact Form

A well-designed contact form on your website plays a crucial role in client communication and can be the difference between landing a job or losing a potential client. A poorly designed or missing contact form can send visitors away, resulting in a loss of business opportunities. Your contact form is your digital handshake with prospective clients, and optimizing it should be high on your list. Include essential fields like name, email, phone number, and a space for queries or comments. Keep it simple yet efficient. Remember, your contact form is often the first step in the customer journey.

7. Missing Social Media Icons

Among the common mistakes photographers make with their websites, a notable one is failing to include social media icons. These tiny, clickable logos provide an avenue for marketing your work, enhancing your credibility, and connecting with clients on a more personal level. By not utilizing these icons, you may miss out on opportunities to engage with potential clients where they’re most active. So, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or TikTok, add these icons to your website and link them to your active social media platforms.

8. Lack Of Client Testimonials

Testimonials can be a compelling endorsement of your work and significantly enhance your online presence. As a novice, you may not yet have a wealth of client testimonials, but don’t fret. Here’s a tip: leverage styled shoots for reviews or testimonials. Styled shoots are carefully curated photo sessions that involve collaboration with other vendors like stylists, florists, and models and are a great way to showcase your skills and creativity. Ask the people you partnered with on these shoots to give feedback on your work, then proudly display these testimonials on your website. If you’re a seasoned pro, ensure you’re consistently adding fresh testimonials from your clients to your website.

Further Read: Put Yourself In Your Clients’ Shoes: A UX Testing Checklist

As a photographer, it’s important that your online presence is reflective of who you are and what services you offer. While designing or revamping your photography website can seem daunting, being aware of the common mistakes photographers make can lead you toward creating a website that can attract your ideal clientele. Knowing the importance of easy navigation, fast loading times, well-crafted homepages and about pages, mobile-friendly designs, pricing clarity, informative contact forms, and adding social media icons can help ensure that your website is not only attractive but also effective in inviting new clients to work with you.

Archives for 30 Nov,2023