Lots of photographers around the world at some time or another have found themselves taking or considering taking wedding photos. Wedding photography is a big choice and a big job. It takes time, planning, timing, practice, and a little luck to shoot an amazing wedding and shoot it well. It’s different than any engagements, portraits, or senior pictures because you cannot recreate it with a different pose. Wedding photographers are masters of being everywhere at once and making images work from where and how they are captured.
Wedding shoots are also a great way to build a base for your photography. They do involve a lot of work but they bring in great money and clients along with placing you into a network of thousands of amazing wedding photographers to learn from. But how do we find more wedding clients? You already spend so much time marketing and creating your portfolio so how can we use one wedding to pull in more clients? Here are a few tips to use one wedding to bring in more clients.
Power In Numbers
One of the best things about weddings is that it brings in people, lots of people usually. This is something that can be a huge advantage to you. You get the chance to meet and interact with two families and get your name out there. The only problem with this is that if you are doing your job well, you may be too busy to just sit and chat too. Doing something as small as introducing yourself to some of the family members so they catch your name and sharing with them how lovely the wedding and reception is will make an impression so your name sticks with those people.
Drop A Hint (Or Two)
A second way to help use a wedding to your advantage and build your client base is to give people access to you. This can happen before, during, and after the wedding with a little planning and creativity. Once you have booked the wedding, find a way to get and stay in touch with some of the family members before the wedding day. The parents, sisters, brothers, etc are all people who are important and know the bride or groom. The bride and groom will be busy but it will make a huge statement if you reach out to learn more about the couple from their family and friends. Find out what they like, dislike, or special touches that will be in the wedding so you can try to capture those.
Placing a business card on each table is also a great way to get your name out. Maybe even a link or hashtag for some to follow to see some photos real-time and unedited that you have taken throughout the night is a great way to interact and get people to start talking about you. Also finding ways to approach family members and snagging some images of them. They will feel flattered and it will make the bride and groom happy that you took the time to photograph special people that attended.
Crash The Rehearsal
The final, and maybe most unthinkably easy way, to reach out to people during a wedding is simple: go to the wedding rehearsal. Now, we’re not suggesting you barge in uninvited but talk with the bride and groom about the message you would like to send to the family before the big day. They will have one less thing to worry about and give you an opportunity to share your expectations for the day. You could bring images from past weddings for them to look forward to or just give a brief sales pitch about your accomplishments and how honored you are to be shooting this wedding. This is a great time to meet them and make them laugh and loosen the tension that sometimes comes with a photographer nearby. The family and even the bride and groom are relaxed and mostly just excited for the following day and they will love that you give them an outline about yourself and your idea of what things you would like to capture.
A Happily Ever After
Using a wedding, just one wedding, to your advantage can go a long way. It benefits you and your clients in ways that will pay off in the future. Keeping in mind that just because you shot a wedding does not mean that a second wedding will come from your new personal marketing strategy. Often you will get called for another event. Portraits for the businessman uncle, soccer portraits for the nephew, or senior portraits for the younger siblings. The options are limitless and so is your profit if you are taking the time to put in extra work. Using your current bookings to create more bookings is a way to build up your base and build up your reputation into a professional photographer that we all strive to be.