Setting up as a wedding pro
Sure it’s the career for you? Then it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of business
Last issue we looked at shooting weddings as a guest or second shooter. We don’t recommend you rush into shooting alone: the photography is crucial to many couples and they’ll be very vocal if they’re not happy with your work. If you go into it without being ready, you could kill your reputation before you’ve really got started.
Once you have built up a portfolio of images and got a good idea of what is involved in shooting weddings, you’ll be ready and keen to go it alone and set up a wedding photography business. Many photographers start out thinking that it will take a short time to get started, and that it will only involve working for a few weekends, but just like any professional photography business, making a success of it will take longer and much more effort.
Who are you?
It doesn’t matter how good your photography is if no one knows about you, so you’ll need to get to grips with marketing and selling your photography services before you even think about making any money. You can start by spreading the word among family and friends, and by setting up a website and getting active on social media. All of these need to be backed up with examples of your work. Also, getting some testimonials and recommendations from previous clients will help give potential customers more confidence in your services.
When you are thinking about setting up a wedding photography business, you should look at the type of images that you shoot and try to find a cohesive ‘look’. Deciding on your style, and promoting your work in that style, will help to sell your services, as potential clients will have a good idea of the type of images that you will produce. A clear style will also make your business stand out from the many other wedding photographers in your area. This style will be a combination of how you shoot your images and consistent processing.
In addition to possessing solid photographic skills, in order to make your wedding photography business a success you’ll need to be able to deal successfully with all sorts of people. First you’ll need to sell your photographic services successfully, so you may need to brush up on your sales and marketing skills. Then you’ll need to deal with the demands of clients both before and after the wedding. This is often simply a case of making sure that you communicate clearly what they should expect of you as their photographer, and when to expect the final images or prints to be supplied.
Finally, you will often have to take control of the wedding when it’s time to get your photos. This last skill can take some time to master, as it involves being able to corral the guests when you need them for group shots, but also knowing when to take a back seat, as you don’t want to take over.
On the job
While an experienced wedding photographer may be able to get the most from a location on the day, it’s worth considering going along to the wedding venue before the event to give yourself some ideas of where
Deciding on a style, and promoting your work in that style, will help to sell your services, as potential clients will have a good idea of the images that you will produce
you might be able to shoot the more formal groups and posed shots of the couple. It’s a good idea to check the position that the sun will be in on the day, and to prepare a back-up plan for places that might offer some covered shooting opportunities if the weather closes in.
Even experienced wedding photographers often find it useful to have a shot list with them on the day. This will help ensure you have captured all the most important events and images, along with any specific shots the clients have asked you to capture. Try to keep the list short and concise by only including the most important images that you need to shoot. Then on the day you should only need to refer to it occasionally; it won’t inspire confidence in your abilities if you spend more time checking the shot list than capturing the couple’s magical moments.
Post-shoot
On top of the time spent marketing and getting clients, then actually shooting the wedding and liaising with them, you’ll need to spend plenty of time processing your images and arranging for them to be printed, or made into a wedding album. This part of the process can take longer than the actual shoot, so remember to factor this in when you decide on pricing.
How much time will it take?
With a little effort you could have your website, business cards and some initial marketing sorted out in a couple of weeks. But it will take a lot more time to start getting regular bookings and gain the experience you’ll need to make your business a success. You should look at around six months or so as a realistic period to get the basics of your wedding photography business set up, and it can take around a year in all to get a real sense of whether you can actually make a go of it.
Remember that even though people get married throughout the year, it’s still quite seasonal. Most weddings take place in the spring and summer, and they are often planned well in advance. Because of that, don’t expect to get a huge number of bookings in your first year of business, particularly if you start in the spring or summer. You’ll find that even if you
do take bookings, they will often be for weddings six to 12 months away.
How much can you make?
There are many factors to take into account when it comes to pricing your wedding photography. As a new wedding photographer you’ll need to investigate both the market in your local area and the types of clients you’re aiming for. You need to match the prices you charge to the level that clients are willing to pay for the experience and the type of photography that you’re able to offer.
An experienced and wellestablished wedding photographer will charge around £1000 to £1500 for their basic photography package. As a new business it will be difficult for you to charge the top rates of a more established photographer, but don’t price your services too low as you’ll need to make a profit to make it worthwhile, and it can also be difficult to raise your prices significantly once you have become known for shooting at a particularly low cost. Start out by charging around £750 for a basic photography package, although once you’ve taken all of your expenses and time into account, this won’t leave much in the way of profit.
When considering your pricing, think about offering several different packages to appeal to different clients and budgets. Your basic package would cover photographing the main parts of the wedding, supplying an agreed number of edited digital images and some prints or an album.
Along with the basic coverage, many wedding photographers offer a range of different prices for different levels of coverage and albums or prints. This is a great way to be able to offer a cheaper option to help gain clients, while also enabling you to make more money from each wedding by selling these more comprehensive packages.
For example, in addition to the basic package you could offer ones that include a pre-wedding shoot, covering the morning before the wedding, and also having an additional second shooter to get more informal and candid shots of the day. You can offer additional extras too, such as personalized, higher-quality albums and more
comprehensive or larger prints of the wedding as an add-on to the basic package.
Wedding photography can be lucrative, but don’t expect it to be easy or quick money – many have made that mistake. If you genuinely enjoy shooting portraits and events, and have the people skills to match your ability with the camera, though, it can be a great way to make a living doing what you love.