Kelly Weech: Weddings
Based in Somerset, Kelly began her career as a professional wedding photographer in 2010. Working in PR and marketing, she took the opportunity to shoot a few of her friends’ weddings as a way to build a portfolio and begin her transition into being a full-time wedding photographer. Visit www.kellyweechphotography.com and Instagram: @kellyweechphotography
There are three longstanding categories of wedding photography: classic style, reportage and fine art. In the past year Kelly has noted that motion blur and direct flash are making a comeback. Kelly attributes this to celebrities like Brooklyn Beckham making it popular with his wedding photos. ‘When people see these pictures, it filters back into the industry. A lot of the trends in wedding photography come down through the editorial side and get picked up even by classic and documentary wedding photographers,’ she says. ‘This is why it’s important
to stay on top of what’s happening.’
Grain is also making a comeback, according to Kelly, and the ’90s trend is even pushing into bridal fashion with the return of big bows and bands. ‘Basically, people are no longer wanting the perfect photo. They want something a little more nostalgic,’ says Kelly.
One of the biggest mistakes Kelly sees new wedding photographers make is both pricing themselves beyond their level of experience and not factoring their outgoings into their fees. They decide they want to be a wedding
photographer, go online and see what someone else is charging and think they’ll do the same. ‘Often I see people who have shot one wedding and are charging the same as me, with 12 years’ experience. This is a sure way to failure for many newbies as there’s so much experience and confidence to be gained over time. For my pricing, I have a list of annual expenses, including insurance, website hosting, marketing, equipment update and maintenance, and a marketing budget, reviewed each year. I then work out my personal expenses and then how much disposable income I want. You also need to take into account tax: I save 27% from each wedding for HMRC. This is then divided by how many weddings I aim to capture each year which is usually 40 as a maximum and can be divided again to create an hourly rate.
‘Once you start building a portfolio and your confidence, the key is to up your pricing with your experience and create value to couples while making the living that you desire.’
Kelly says the way forward is to embrace your ‘newness’. ‘Find couples who may not have a huge budget but will appreciate your freshness and creativity. I realised that even if you are an amazing photographer, if you don’t market yourself you won’t get anywhere. I’d say 20% of what I do is photography. The rest is all marketing, networking and PR.’