How do you start a wedding photography business?

Answer 1

Starting a wedding Photography business requires a great deal of work and can take up to ten years to become fully established. That's not the case for every photographer as some hit the ground running, but even they made sure that certain ground work was addressed and completed first. It's not like starting any other business. It often involves high emotion and requires a high level of understanding and empathy for your clients. It also requires patience and a willingness to never stop learning. Starting a photography business is split into categories that all need to be addressed before any success can be realised. I'm sure there are other steps that other photographers would include, but for me the following is a checklist is what I created for myself when starting out.

Developing photographic ability & experience through study and shooting.

You need to be able to capture great images consistently, calmly and quickly - all while making your subject/s feel like a million dollars. I would recommend shooting many weddings as an assistant to a professional - once your results are matching that of the photographers you're assisting, then you're ready.

(Micron: this is probably the most important point. It is critical to learn what works and doesn't, but not at the clients expense. No two weddings will be the same and knowledge of what freedoms to expect during the ceremony is often dependant on the religion. Then there is knowing your options when the weather does not cooperate. If you see a wedding shoot going on, take the time to watch without being intrusive [or tag along if you were invited to a wedding but are not part of the photo shoot. You might even develop a new professional contact. DO NOT INTERRUPT WHAT IS GOING ON).

If you find you don't have a natural flare then you'll need to undertake formal studies so you can learn the fundamentals like the physics of light and how it relates to photography, the rules of composition, exposure, depth of field, shutter speed etc.

You should also join camera clubs so you can learn from other photographers.

These will al reduce the learning curve and see you working sooner.

Obtaining professional grade equipment and software

Shooting the most important day in a persons life requires you use high-end equipment. To use consumer based or entry level equipment to shoot a wedding is an insult to your client/s. Their beautiful day deserves high image quality. You'll also need to purchase industry standard photo editing software.

(Micron: a backup camera and flash is also extremely important. I never had to fall back on one, but I was not going to tell the customer I could not make good on our contract because of equipment malfunction).

Building a folio that demonstrates to potential customers your technical ability, talent and personality.

Clients won't buy what they can't see. If you organize a booking meeting and you can't display to your client that you have experience, creativity and talent you're NOT going to get hired. After all, people are trusting you with the most special day a couple can share other than child birth. This is why you need a large folio showing samples of numerous shoots.

Developing an online presence so that people can find you and see your work

Most people when looking for a wedding photographer these days will use the internet. This is why you need a great site that features your work as well as details on how you can be contacted as well as information on you as a photographer detailing your experience. People like to know why you're a photographer so it's nice to include an "about me" section as well. You'll also need to post to in many different forums and blogs as well as submit your work for award purposes. All of which will let people know you exist.

Creating a business plan so that you can make sure the growth of your business is continually moving forward.

It's very easy to lose focus when there's so much to keep track of. Running a full time photographic business is a very time consuming career and because its ever-changing you need a guide that you can keep referring to that will enable you to keep track of where you're at and what you need to do to continue to grow as a business and an artist.

You'll need a Lawyer and an Accountant as well as Public Liability Insurance and Insurance for your equipment.

This stands to reason and to move forward without making sure these are in place is career suicide!

(Micron: Respectfully, I disagree. I never had a lawyer and a bookkeeper was sufficient [at least where I live]. There are plenty of internet sources to guide you with respect to typical model releases and contracts. The aforementioned training you'd be getting from a professinal will provide great sources of sample documents).

Get used to communicating!

You need to be an excellent communicator and you need to be highly versatile with the ability to adapt! You'll come across nearly every personality type there is and sometimes you'll know your client up to two years before the event. Because of this you'll exchange many phone calls and emails with each other. If along that journey you lose sight of the importance of communication you'll find yourself struggling to reassure your client that you're the right person for the job. It will also make it difficult to keep your subjects in the perfect disposition during a photo shoot. You have to always remember; most people who get married and hire a photographer are not used to being photographed so intensely and it can be quite nerve racking for some! Do everything you can to reassure your client that they're doing well and that they look great. This will boost their confidence and improve their images.

(Micron: the first sentence is so important because you will encounter emotional people on the wedding day. Some will be difficult with you and some cause extreme tension amongst the wedding party due to fighting factions within families.)

Work from home?

Decided if you're going to need a studio, office or work from home. Being a wedding photographer does not require a studio, but if you're not comfortable with clients being in your home then you may at least want to look at renting office space.