Wedding Photography Marketing

[nathanj1023]

So I am just starting, literally. My first two paid weddings are in April and July.

First, the best marketing investment I have made so far is in Respond.com
I didn't fully understand until I had signed up but you are buying leads. That to me is like buying gold. You are buying names, addresses and telephone numbers of qualified candidates. It doesn't get much better. In 3 days I have 2 leads that look really good and another new one today.

That said...

From my limited experience in life (23 years) I know this:

1. They won't come running to you unless you are Annie Lebovitz and even then...

2. Being nice counts a lot more than being good (thanks Mark McCall)
I know a grouch of a photographer in SanDiego who gets less and less business because he is hard to work with and has bad breath

3. The Harder You Work the Luckier You Get - It seems the harder I work and the more I study and apply marketing tips I hear, the "luckier" I get with lead information. Coincidence?

So...after all that my question is how do you work your pricing? I am starting mine fairly low budget, but what has been your experience in raising prices over time? Do current clients get their feathers ruffled? Is it a real headache?

I would appreciate any advice you may have. Mark McCall if you have time I would appreciate your input.

Thanks guys. I love learning more all the time at PC.

[Mark McCall]

Nathan,
Congrats on the new career. Sounds like your putting together a good plan of attack.

I'm not telling you how to do it...but I'll tell you how I did it:
I shot 3 freebie weddings for the experience back in 1996.
Shot my first paid wedding on July 4th, 1997. $200. LOL....now, that's my location session fee....times have changed.

35mm, all automatic, backyard wedding, pregnant bride...well, you know the type of wedding I'm talking about.
The best thing I ever did was join my local photography guild. I springboarded that into my state level association then on to PPA.
These associations gave me the mental tools to be successful.
PPA's indemnification wedding insurance comes as part of membership...so think about it.

I graduated to medium format, and LOVED it...but I do not think you need it to create solid wedding work...besides, your only going to sell large portraits from the bridal session. You'll never sell large prints of the actual wedding.
We had one of the first fully digital studios in Texas by 2000-2001. It was brutal in the beginning.
But paid off once we mastered workflow.

But at the heart of any successful photography business is solid marketing and sales. Wedding vendors do not recommend the best or most talented photographers, they recommend the ones "they like"....use that to your advantage.

About being Annie Lebovitz....I don't subscribe to that one bit.
I booked a wedding today with a bride that had never heard of me, even though I'm the publisher of a well known bridal magazine, President of SPPPA in '02, and was on the cover of TPPA Magazine in '04, and all the dress shops in town have my large wedding portraits on the walls.
The bride had never heard of us...she just knew good photography.
So...don't think you can't make a good living in photography because folks don't know you. Just make sure wedding vendors know you...your set.

I raised my prices right before each bridal show, every 6 months.
You should have seen my wife's jaw dropped when I announced that we were raising everything $1,000 across the board. She was ready to kill me.
But ya know, no one ever complained...and get this.....the few minor complaints I was getting completely evaporated.
My price list triggered the "Emporer's New Clothes" syndrome in my client's brain. If it costs more...it must be better, right? RIGHT!

I don't suggest going raising in $1,000 increments, but $200 or $300 every six months would be just fine.
Find out what the market is...what others are getting. This will give you an idea of what to start off with. As you progress, people will begin to hire you based on your talent, not on price.

Expand your talent as well. Get educated...study with a mentor. If you'll tell me where your located, I'll send you a link to your local PPA Affiliate. That's what put me on the map.

I wish you well...stay in touch, let me know how it goes.

[kc7dji]

Excellent Mark...

[highbarger]

Mark,
Please share the secret to time travel with the rest of us... I would love to know how you shot a wedding on July 4, 2007. Okay, so I'm a smart a$$, now everyone knows.
Seriously, thanks for sharing your information. Very helpful. Craig

[heartseye]

A couple of thoughts, Nathan. It helps to identify what slice of the market you wish locate yourself in. You also need to be very sensitive to what YOU think.....YOU, not someone else.....your work is worth.

If you go after the budget minded you will find that when you are ready to go to the next level, the next level will have heard about you and you may not make the transition as easily as one might think.

If you pursue the "carriage trade ", make sure your work justifies your fees.

As far as regular large fee increases go.....what justifies them? Do you do better work? Do you produce ever more creative results? If the answer is "yes" then you deserve the larger fees AND your clients will see that. But if it's just charging more for the same old thing....well.....that can be a slippery slope.

So...bottom line is 2 fold, I think.......charge what you think you are worth....and be RIGHT about what you are worth. I don't know what anyone else charges in my community. It is irrelevant to me. I bill fairly, but not cheaply, for a consumately professional service. And I am still alive.......

Focus upon being the very best you can be, and the money will take care of itself. Cheers...Bob

[Mark McCall]

Oppps.
I posted the wrong dates above....got it fixed.

This is one instance where being the best will not bring in the money. But I will agree that being different and more creative, as Bob mentioned, will pay off.

Even the best photography will not sell itself.
It pays to be a better sales, marketing and business person first, photographer second.

The beauty of marketing is that it requires -0- talent.
A mediocre photographer with better sales and marketing skills will live more comfortably than an excellent photographer without sales and marketing experience.

Absolutely nothing wrong with starting at the bottom. The only crime is in staying there.
Build your marketing and sales talents first, photography talent second.

Referral based businesses are more profitable than non-referral based businesses, so get other wedding vendors to recommend you because they like you. Talent has very little to do with who they recommend....they recommend the ones they like.

[Unkl Buck]

I would whole heartedly agree with you, Mark. Be different in quality and then match that with price.

[nathanj1023]

Wow, great response.

I am located in San Diego, CA. Mark, I would love to get in contact with the people you recommend.

I am thinking the best thing might be is to try a couple different, non-binding ideas. Right now I have no commitments on my money when it comes to advertising, so I might hop around for a little and see if I hit on something.

One thing I am curious of...I have done a fair amount of "cold-calling" to leads I have received off Respond.com. So far I have gotten a lot more serious interest with those I have called than those I have emailed. My thinking is that calling is more direct than the "take it or leave it" email approach and since my website portfolio isn't strong enough to sell to an ant then the friendly voice helps!

Anyway...thanks for taking the time to read this nonsense!

[Mark McCall]

Nathan,
Here's the link to the Professional Photographers of San Diego County.
PPSDC
They are your local PPA Affiliate.

My local affiliate practically launched my career. It'll do the same for you.
As luck would have it, Tony Corbell is the Chairman of the Board (same position as Past President).

[dw75209]

Mark,

I am located in Dallas, TX and I would to get in contact with organization that help with your start or anyone the could be a mentor in this area.

Thanks,
Don

[Mark McCall]

Don,
Your PPA Affiliate is Dallas Professional Photographers Assoc. Dallas Professional Photographers Association
One of my best friends, Cheryl Hall, is President.
Joining my local photography guild is what really launched my career.
What other type of business helps their competitiors to launch a businesses and be successful?

I'll be speaking at the MetroPlex Professional Photographers Assoc. in Ft. Worth on Wednesday evening, July 11th.
Metroplex Professional Photographers
We'd love to have you.

[dw75209]

Mark,

Thanks for the info. I will mark my calendar for July 11th.

Don