What does a wedding photography business need to succeed?
When you decide to set up a wedding photography business, the first thing you think about is training with the best, getting high quality equipment, gaining experience to make wedding photographs that really make an impact on your clients and opening your own studio.
But what many photographers do not know, especially if they have been in this profession for a short time, is that in order for this profession to bear fruit and allow them to make a full living from it in these times, it is important that they include in their plans the creation of a digital wedding photography business. Because the true reality of this profession is that it is not the one who takes the best photos that sells the most, but the one who knows how to sell them the best. This doesn’t mean that you don’t need to have a very good base to be able to sell a high quality product. There is no doubt about that. That is why today we wanted to dedicate this article to show you some of the most important tools you need to have visibility on the Internet today. We encourage you to discover them in this post.
In order to make a living from your true passion it is important that you learn how to set up a digital wedding photography business.
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Tips for setting up a wedding photography business online
When you start thinking about how to build or improve your wedding photography business, the first thing you need to do before taking action is to measure your results. If you don’t know how far you’ve come, it will be difficult to beat your figures. That’s why it is essential that you analyse certain aspects of your business management rather than your work as a photographer. And to make this analysis easier for you, we are going to share some ideas with you.
Checklist to find out what state your wedding photography business is in
Take a pen and paper and start answering these kinds of questions, write it all down and then draw your own conclusions. Once you know how far you have come, the way forward will be much clearer.
- From which media do your clients come to you? Recommendation, web, social networks, advertisements, because they enter your studio, etc.
- What is the profile of your ideal customer? Age range, purchasing power, place of residence, etc.
- What are your most popular services? Analyse which pack or packs are the ones most booked by your customers and find out why.
- How many extra pictures do you sell once the quote is closed? After contracting you can still do business with your clients if you know what to offer them and how.
- Why do some partners go with your competitors? Study your rivals and find out why some customers finally decide to go for another partner.
- Etc.
Once you are clear about where your wedding photography business is at and you have a set of goals to achieve, the next step, if you haven’t already planned it, is to transform your business to the digital world.
How to transform your business to the digital world?
We are in the age of the Internet and it is no longer enough to have your details on social networks and show a few wedding pictures, now couples are looking for their wedding photographers and other suppliers through the network and also demand to make as many arrangements as possible from their homes.
The ideal way to increase your work as a wedding photographer without having to invest more working hours (except for the hours you spend during the sessions) is to have a system that allows you to:
- Make yourself known to a wider audience.
- Show and explain your way of working, products and services.
- To be able to do business online without you having to intervene.
All these business options can be found at Arcadina, where we have been specialising for years in improving the lives of photographers thanks to our business solutions.
Next, and before we show you the tools that will help you become a much more successful wedding photographer, we are going to share with you another article in which you will find several ideas to become a great wedding photographer.
>> 4 keys to become the best wedding photographer of the moment
Tools you need to set up a digital wedding photography business
When setting up your digital wedding photography business, it is important that you have a number of tools to help you achieve your business goals.
We have several business solutions in Arcadina but today we are going to highlight 3 in particular that if you know how to take full advantage of them you will get much more visibility on the Internet and increase the sales that each bridal couple makes after hiring your services. Interesting, don’t you think?
The 3 tools we are talking about are:
- Website.
- Photography blog.
- Private photo selection galleries.
Let’s take a closer look at how these business solutions and no others can help you boost your wedding photography business.
1# Wedding photography website
With a photography website you will be able to achieve the Internet presence that is so necessary nowadays. But as we have already mentioned in this post, it is no longer enough to upload a few wedding images and add your contact address. Nowadays, brides and grooms want to find as much information as possible about their future candidates.
Thanks to our photography websites, you will be able to upload all the content you need, such as: biography, services page, dossier with prices, contact forms, image galleries and sub-galleries, front pages with the most important shortcuts to your website, testimonials, etc.
The idea is that when a bride and groom have finished viewing your photography website, they will have practically the same feeling as if they had come to your studio. If you manage to get to this point, we assure you that the number of enquiries you will receive will be practically one step away from accepting your quote.
At Arcadina all our websites are fully customisable, which will allow you to create a website in a very short time or renew its appearance very easily from time to time. In addition, all the websites are designed to show the work of the photographers, so viewing their images will be a great experience for your customers.
2# Professional photography blog integrated with the rest of the web design
Although we know that the blog is one of our most difficult tools for wedding photographers to keep up to date, we can tell you that if you dedicate a little time to it and learn to create quality content, you will see how in a relatively short time your visibility on the Internet will improve significantly.
Here the idea is to avoid repetitive articles about wedding sessions that contribute nothing to future clients. Think about all the doubts that the bride and groom have at the beginning and create an article about each one of them. And don’t forget to include keywords that will help you to improve your positioning.
If you dare to try your blog, you will see that the design integrates perfectly with the rest of the aesthetics of your website and, as with the website, you will also be able to customise all the elements of the blog.
3# Private photo selection galleries
Undoubtedly, after your website, the jewel in the crown of your wedding photography business will be the private photo selection galleries. In this totally private space, your clients will be able to view their long-awaited wedding photographs for the first time and, for example, make a selection of the most exciting images to include in their wedding album, print them or simply download them in digital format.
If you set up your private client galleries properly, you’ll get your bridal couples to keep buying photos from you even after they’ve paid for their wedding photos. And best of all, they can do it from home, without the pressure of being in your photo studio and with the simplicity of buying more products and photos with just a couple of clicks.
How to configure them?
When it comes to configuring your private photo selection galleries through the panel, the process will be very simple. All you have to do is create a new private gallery, select the parameters you consider necessary and upload your clients’ photographs.
In any case, if you have any doubts in this process, you already know that you have at your disposal our help section and a series of video tutorials on YouTube that will help you to configure almost any option in your business and web area.
>> Arcadina video tutorials on YouTube
Sale of extra photos if you select more than the indicated photos
One of the options that these selection galleries have is that if couples choose more photographs than agreed, in a couple of clicks they will be able to buy them comfortably from their computer or mobile phone. Let’s take an example to make it even clearer.
Let’s say you have agreed with your wedding couple that after their honeymoon you are going to give them 300 pictures of their wedding day in digital format. When you create their private photo selection gallery, you can upload not 300 but 600 images of their wedding day.
When the couple is making the selection at home, they will select each image they like and once they reach 300 selected photographs, they will be able to buy all the ones they select more for an extra price that you stipulate. If you see fit, you will also be able to set up a price scale where buying packs of 10 photographs at a time will be more profitable than if they buy a single image.
This type of galleries, apart from being very practical for your clients, will allow you to generate a series of very interesting extra income with each client.
Create a wedding photography business
When creating a profitable digital wedding photography business it is important that you take into account 3 fundamental pillars:
- To provide as much information as possible to bridal couples looking for a wedding photographer.
- Implement actions that favour a better positioning of your website on the Internet.
- Offer your customers a private space in which to view their images and allow them to purchase more products and wedding photographs.
Many of your fellow wedding photographers are already using these Arcadina business solutions and for your inspiration, here are 20 of them.
>> 20 wedding photography websites to inspire you
If you are thinking about creating a wedding photography business and you still don’t know how to start, at Arcadina we offer you the opportunity to try our services for free for 14 days. And if you decide to stay, everything you have set up on your website, you will keep it.
Today we want to share with you the interview of the wedding photographer José Alarcón.
>> José Alarcón, wedding photographer in Mexico: my website is the pillar of my business
Now tell us what do you think is the key to making a wedding photography business work? We look forward to reading your comments.
Arcadina goes with you
Fulfil your dreams and develop your professional career with us. We offer you to create a photography website for free for 14 days so you can try our platform without any commitment of permanence.
Arcadina is much more than a website, it is business solutions for photographers.
If you have any queries, our Customer Service Team is always ready to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We listen to you.
