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Catherine on Business

It’s ‘All About Weddings’

Being an excellent professional wedding photographer can be one of the most rewarding jobs. Perhaps the word ‘job’ is the wrong description for the role of a wedding photographer, as it is so much more than that. The word ‘job’ cannot describe what a wedding photographer really does, overall you are responsible for the final memory for the bride, groom, family and friends. The photographs represent the lasting memory of the wedding, when all the fireworks have gone and the flowers have disappeared the pictures will be left to pass on from generation to generation. This powerful thought will be no new news to you, but important news to flag up.

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.