By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Stickel]James Stickel
"My wedding photography business is failing!"
That was what I was thinking just over a year ago. I was stuck in a rut, doing the same old marketing techniques that I had been doing for years. The same ones that almost every other wedding photographer in my area was doing.
The problem was that my prospects were becoming numb to the same tricks over and over. On top of that, I was getting older, and engaged couples were moving further away from my age demographic, making it more difficult to relate to them.
It was time for a change in my marketing plan. I had to find a way to get back into touch with my niche.
In order to be successful I would need to concentrate on a few things.
Focus - Narrow down prospects into groups of exactly who you want to do business with. Know who your perfect client is. Are they first time couples or people getting married for a second or third time?
Design Great Material - Design compelling marketing material that speaks to that group of people. Create something of value that you can give away, something with staying power. Personally, I use a free e-book and advertise it with a leaflet. This helps promote my website, and gets me their name and email address (which is required at download).
Gather Leads - You can accomplish this two ways: by telephone, or by email. I suppose you could use snail mail, but this is wedding photography business 2.0, remember? As you read in number two, I use a form on my web page that requires that the user input their name and email in order to receive their free download. I require that they opt-in to avoid spam issues. The other method is to include a recorded telephone message with free information in exchange for their name and phone number.
Harvest - Now, it's as simple as staying in touch with these prospects until they require your services! Send out a monthly newsletter, or provide them with valuable information through email. Any way you slice it, they asked for you to contact them, so DO IT! These are hungry prospects asking for exactly what you're selling.
By implementing this formula into my business, I've seen noticeable gains in purchase rate, all while lowering my time overhead in maintaining relationships with prospects.
To learn more about how I make money with photography, please visit:
The Money Cam Blog at http://MoneyCam.blogspot.com today!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Stickel http://EzineArticles.com/?Marketing-Ideas---Wedding-Photography-Business-2.0&id=944921
Showing posts with label wedding photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding photography. Show all posts
Wedding Photography Tips - From A Nantucket Photographer
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mark_Pommett]Mark Pommett
As someone who grew up as a Nantucket photographer, I've been asked numerous times for wedding photography tips, here are a few suggestions.
Create A List Of Shots Request or suggest to the couple to provide you with a list of shots they would like for their wedding. This makes things easy to remember and you can check them off as you click away. very helpful for family and group shots. It would be a real bummer to find out when you get the photos back that you missed Uncle Joe.
Use An Assistant Shooting the famliy portraits can be frustrating when you have people missing and they are not organized. People are just having too much fun and are wondering about - not really thinking about photography. I recommend to bring an assistant (preferably female) to nominate a family member to gather everyone for the portraits. They can round everyone up and make the shoot go so much faster so everyone can go back to celebrating.
Stay Prepared So much can go wrong on the day - so you need to be well prepared. Have a backup plan (in case of bad weather), have batteries charged, memory cards blank, think about routes and time to get to places and get an itinerary of the full day so you know what's happening next. If you can, attend the rehearsal of the ceremony where you'll gather a lot of great information about possible positions to shoot from, the lighting, the order of the ceremony etc.
Discuss Expectations With Your Bride. Show them your albums and samples of your work. Find out the style they want to achieve, how many pictures, key moments they want photographed, format of the shots ( digital, film), and more. Make sure to go over the price so they know exactly what they are paying for.
Minimize Your Camera Noise. Camera clicks and beeps during the vows and toasts can be distracting. Switch off sound before hand and keep it off.
Shoot With Two Cameras. It's too easy for one camera to go down during a shoot leaving stranded with out anyways to finish your work and destroying your reputation. Buy, borrow, or rent an extra camera for the day and set it up with a different lens. I try to shoot with one wide angle lens for candid shots and tight spaces and one longer lens (it can be handy to have something as large as 200mm if you can get your hands on one - I use a 70-200mm).
Capture The Details. Take pictures of the rings, details in the dress, eyes, lips, table settings, interior etc - these help give the end album an extra dimension. Pick up a wedding magazine at your local news stand for a little inspiration.
Bring A Second Shooter. Having a second backup photographer can greatly facilitate the day and improve your coverage. It means less running around during ceremony and speeches, and allows for your or your second to capture the formal shots while the other covers something else. Most importantly, it takes a little pressure off you being 'the one' to have to get every shot!
Don't Be Shy. Being shy won't get you 'the shot'. Sometimes you need to step to the front of the line to capture a moment. However, timing is everything and planning ahead to get in the right spot for key moments are important so you don't disrupt the event. During the ceremony I try to move around at least 4-5 times but try to time this to coincide with songs, prayers or longer readings. During the portrait session take charge, know what you want, and ask for it from the couple.
Mark Pommett is an accomplished [http://www.pommettphotography.com ]Nantucket photographer serving Massachusetts.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Pommett http://EzineArticles.com/?Wedding-Photography-Tips---From-A-Nantucket-Photographer&id=938481
As someone who grew up as a Nantucket photographer, I've been asked numerous times for wedding photography tips, here are a few suggestions.
Create A List Of Shots Request or suggest to the couple to provide you with a list of shots they would like for their wedding. This makes things easy to remember and you can check them off as you click away. very helpful for family and group shots. It would be a real bummer to find out when you get the photos back that you missed Uncle Joe.
Use An Assistant Shooting the famliy portraits can be frustrating when you have people missing and they are not organized. People are just having too much fun and are wondering about - not really thinking about photography. I recommend to bring an assistant (preferably female) to nominate a family member to gather everyone for the portraits. They can round everyone up and make the shoot go so much faster so everyone can go back to celebrating.
Stay Prepared So much can go wrong on the day - so you need to be well prepared. Have a backup plan (in case of bad weather), have batteries charged, memory cards blank, think about routes and time to get to places and get an itinerary of the full day so you know what's happening next. If you can, attend the rehearsal of the ceremony where you'll gather a lot of great information about possible positions to shoot from, the lighting, the order of the ceremony etc.
Discuss Expectations With Your Bride. Show them your albums and samples of your work. Find out the style they want to achieve, how many pictures, key moments they want photographed, format of the shots ( digital, film), and more. Make sure to go over the price so they know exactly what they are paying for.
Minimize Your Camera Noise. Camera clicks and beeps during the vows and toasts can be distracting. Switch off sound before hand and keep it off.
Shoot With Two Cameras. It's too easy for one camera to go down during a shoot leaving stranded with out anyways to finish your work and destroying your reputation. Buy, borrow, or rent an extra camera for the day and set it up with a different lens. I try to shoot with one wide angle lens for candid shots and tight spaces and one longer lens (it can be handy to have something as large as 200mm if you can get your hands on one - I use a 70-200mm).
Capture The Details. Take pictures of the rings, details in the dress, eyes, lips, table settings, interior etc - these help give the end album an extra dimension. Pick up a wedding magazine at your local news stand for a little inspiration.
Bring A Second Shooter. Having a second backup photographer can greatly facilitate the day and improve your coverage. It means less running around during ceremony and speeches, and allows for your or your second to capture the formal shots while the other covers something else. Most importantly, it takes a little pressure off you being 'the one' to have to get every shot!
Don't Be Shy. Being shy won't get you 'the shot'. Sometimes you need to step to the front of the line to capture a moment. However, timing is everything and planning ahead to get in the right spot for key moments are important so you don't disrupt the event. During the ceremony I try to move around at least 4-5 times but try to time this to coincide with songs, prayers or longer readings. During the portrait session take charge, know what you want, and ask for it from the couple.
Mark Pommett is an accomplished [http://www.pommettphotography.com ]Nantucket photographer serving Massachusetts.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Pommett http://EzineArticles.com/?Wedding-Photography-Tips---From-A-Nantucket-Photographer&id=938481
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