So many photographers under sell themselves. They don’t sell enough of the real aspects of what they actually do for every bride, groom and family. Think about your blog for example, do you tell the real story behind the wedding day as a magazine would. Why don’t we show our weddings with a story, we have all the information behind the wedding.  Most people are interested in why people get married, where they met, why they choose a particular venue, so why don’t we share this in our marketing approach? It would certainly make blogs more inspiring, allowing photographers to explore more of the story behind why they photographed that wedding.

If you have photographed weddings for a while and you have great experience as a wedding photographer, pop up your website and take a close look at the message it gives. What does your business language say? Does your website say you are an expert in this field? A people’s person? A photographer with a wealth of experience? An explanation of why weddings are important to you? Tell people what you know, acknowledge that you are more than a photographer, you are a photographic story teller. However, what is special about what you do is that you understand that each persons story is different, each relationship is different, every wedding changes how you shoot, every wedding changes what you see.

If you are in your first season you have much to learn and a great deal to experience and gain, read on a photographic blog or in a bridal magazine the stories behind each wedding day – these are great sources to learn from and will influence how you develop as a successful wedding photographer.  Think in a bit more detail about what you do and market it, market it, and market it!

Remember that being a wedding photographer is about communication, understanding people, relationship building and photographic skill – and probably in that order! What you have to do as a photographer is far more than knowing when to press the shutter.

Inspiration is a key ingredient to your success, so take control off how your inspiration is being fed as this will in turn affect its growth and development! The frequency of your inspirational ‘feed’ should always be monitored, a lot of photographers work so hard at keeping others inspired but forget that inspiring themselves is just as important. Inspiration in large volumes cannot happen every day, that would indeed be a tall order, however regular small doses are good idea.  Here’s what really works for me: I start my day in an artisan café listening to groovy music and surrounded by creative people as this has an inspiring influence upon my day, setting me off on the right foot and to the right beat. Your creative day should begin in a creative way, think what the great artists used to do in Paris, they would share coffee and brandy as the day begun. The environments in which you place yourself matter, this includes the right people wherever possible as well as the right surroundings.  Naturally a brandy might not be the ideal way to start the day for most of us, but find your morning inspiration and make use of it, be aware of how it affects you positively.

Plan out where your inspirational ‘feed’ will come from. How often are you buying magazines? Remember to vary them. How often do you sit down in the right environment and re-visit your photographic images? Spend real quality time with your photography, touch base with yourself as a photographic artist. Look at your shoots and consider the flow of images, are any patterns or trends emerging, has a certain style revealed itself within what you do? As a business development trainer I choose to visit business websites and research other business sectors as this is what inspires me and influences my approach to work and seminars.

I find it helps to use inspirational treats, rewards, as L’Oreal would say ‘because I’m worth it’!  My treats often entail visiting some of my favourite people’s sites.  In photography, my places of inspiration and reward start with Stuart Cooper:

Stuart’s style of photography tells a story, his images have texture, his site has a feel that unfolds like an excellent magazine. I treat myself and visit his website frequently.

http://www.cooper-photography.co.uk

I have a passion for travel and alternative photography so for this my place to visit is Jo Hansford’s fine art site.  Many will know this is a private interest of mine and it always triggers ideas.

http://www.johansfordphotography.com/fineart/fineart.html

Jessica Claire is the place I like to visit when I consider life as a photographer! Her work is excellent, the images are exceptional – she is one of those photographers I admire from a distance.

http://www.jessicaclaire.net/

Straight out of school, I threw my whole self, soul and spirit into hairdressing and in this world, where excellence is measured in terms of creative talent not academia, I excelled.

In facing my difficulties with the written word I found that I had an affinity for verbal communication, public speaking and presenting. I became aware of an audience in the hairdressing industry that valued my insights and wanted to learn from me. My work started to feature regularly in national and international hairdressing magazines – I was flying!

Next, I rediscovered education, whilst hairdressing I began attending college in the evenings. I studied English in a bid to combat my dyslexia and gained an adult teaching certificate. I read and read and read, grabbed every experience that presented itself to me with both hands and still do.

A career change that was to shape my entire future followed. One of my goals in life was to work for Wella GB and, like a dream come true, I was head hunted by them to work as a trainer. I had found my destiny and more importantly to me, what I was put on this earth to do. Today, I am recognised as one of the most motivational business trainers within my field.

I look back on my years with Wella GB as my growing years. I invested hugely in my career, in terms of time and energy, I travelled the world training hairdressers at the top of their game until I was worn out and looking for more. I had outgrown the corporate world and was craving a change, a new challenge!

It was at this point I met Annabel Williams, a groundbreaking photographer who I admired greatly and prepared myself to take the biggest leap of faith yet, to set up my own business in partnership with Annabel. It took guts to leave the comforts of the corporate world but it was a breath of fresh air!

Having values matters and never more so than when forming a business. Our personal values are often derived from the qualities and beliefs of others whom we admire. In my case, this was my Grandma, a farmer’s wife by trade and an exceptional woman with very strong family ideals.

I starting learning from my Grandma as young as eleven years old when I accompanied her going about her business on the farm, on a milk round and rent collecting. She was a real-time beautiful hustler, a true sales woman and marketier, an entrepreneur never to be underestimated. She worked hard and smart and was always one step ahead, planning for the future.

My Grandma may be in heaven now but her spirit is with me daily and drives me to be the very best that I can be. The manner in which she conducted her life forms the basis of my business values today. With these values, alongside Annabel I have been responsible for the development of one of the most, if not the most, successful training companies in the photographic industry. I have co written a series of books and write regular marketing articles and blogs for a variety of national and international photographic magazines.

I now have a huge appetite for knowledge and a new-found passion for writing which would certainly entertain my English teachers of the past. I worked very hard at school but left with nothing much to show for it. Despite this, maybe even because of it, I was determined to become successful. I hope that my achievements go some way to inspiring all fellow dyslexics to keep trying because in the right industry, one that appreciates talent beyond the obvious, the world is yours for the taking!

What should you take from this?

- Believe in yourself and your capabilities.
- Have a goal and maintain focus on it at all times.
- You are responsible for your own destiny.
- If school challenges you, look for another form of education – find your passion, go to college or get a job you love.
- Identify your values and make a conscious effect to abide by them.
- Finally, being special isn’t easy, it takes a little practice.