9 Jan 2024
Of all the suppliers in charge of organising a wedding, the wedding photographer is the one with the greatest responsibility, as he or she will be in charge of immortalising all the special and unrepeatable moments of the day, and not being up to the task can be a great disappointment for the couple.
Whether you have been taking wedding photographs for years or you want to start taking your first photographs, it is important that you take into account a series of strategies to offer a totally professional service that will allow you to differentiate yourself from the rest of your colleagues working in the same area.
Because brides and grooms who are organising their wedding usually have several goals in mind when planning their wedding. Some of them may be: to surprise their guests, to be original, to enjoy their wedding without missing a single moment, etc. But one of the aspects that may worry them the most will undoubtedly be to get a memory of every detail of that special day through their wedding photographs. Every couple is different and will look for a very specific type of wedding photographer, so it is important that you learn to highlight your own style. And to help you achieve this, today we want to give you a series of tips and recommendations that you can follow to become the best wedding photographer of the moment. Don’t miss the last recommendation, it’s the most interesting of all.
Bridal couples need to find the ideal wedding photographer for them and you need to show them your full potential so that they choose you.
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How can you become a great wedding photographer?
In a wedding, even the smallest of details will be very important for the couple. For this reason, when looking for a wedding photographer, the bride and groom will carry out an initial search where they will take a series of aspects into account:
- Location: unless they already have a destination photographer on their shortlist, the first thing couples will do is look for their wedding photographer close to where they live and the surrounding area.
- Style: more and more couples know or at least have an intuition of the type of photographs they want to remember their wedding. That’s why making your own style of wedding photography clear to them can help you stand out from your peers.
- Coverage and services: when deciding between one photographer or another, another aspect that couples will compare is the service that will be provided during the big day. Whether you will go with a second photographer on the day or stay for the whole party are aspects that, together with the wedding packages, will be taken into account when making a decision.
- Connection: it is also important to see if the photographer gets on well with the couple so that the work during the wedding will go much smoother.
- Etc.
Wedding couples are increasingly aware that when their wedding day is over, the only thing they will have left are their own memories and wedding photographs. That’s why making these kinds of details clear from the very beginning will make you one of the best wedding photographers for them. But before you get to this point, it is important that you have good training and equipment and that you clearly define the goals you want to achieve. Let’s look at these points in a little more detail.
Choosing the best training for a wedding photographer
Whether you have been working in this field for many years or you are just taking your first steps, constant training is crucial in order to be at the top of your game at weddings and not be left behind with respect to new trends.
When it comes to broadening your knowledge, you will have at your disposal a huge number of courses, workshops and congresses, both online and in person, where important aspects such as lighting, how to get the bride and groom to pose in a more natural way, the latest trends in wedding photojournalism, how to run a photography business, etc. will be dealt with.
In this kind of events, especially if they are face-to-face, besides learning a lot of new techniques, you will also have the opportunity to meet other colleagues, share experiences and create new friendships. This is very important in such a solitary profession.
As well as training, especially if you are just starting out, it is important that you practice and build up a portfolio of your work. At the beginning you can work as a second photographer, shooting weddings for friends and family. As you gain experience you will see how your technique improves, the important thing here is that after each wedding you analyse the photographs you have taken to see where you can improve.
The equipment of a wedding photographer
When preparing the equipment to cover a wedding, it is very important that you take into account any kind of mishap that may arise on that day. Think that it is a unique event that cannot be repeated on another occasion because the photographer’s camera has broken down.
One of the keys to covering a wedding properly is planning, so in addition to carrying out a preliminary study of what will happen on the day, who will attend and the timing of each event, you also have to have both the human and technical team under control. These are some of the recommendations you can follow:
- Look for a second photographer with a similar style to yours ahead of time if you think you might need one.
- Contact a videographer if the couple wants a wedding video in addition to the photos.Have the contact of a reliable photographer in case you are unable to attend the wedding due to illness or any other force majeure.Make a list of all the material you are going to bring to the wedding and check it all the day before.Always carry spare equipment such as: a second camera, batteries, extra memory cards, batteries, lenses, spare flash, etc.Leave a laptop with a charged battery in the car so that, at times when they can spare you, you can download some of the images.
- Etc.
In addition to this detailed planning, if you share it with your clients before the wedding, they will feel much more reassured and confident that they have chosen the best wedding photographer.
Set goals to grow your photography business
To be a great wedding photographer, it is important that you take into account a series of aspects, such as: what type of couples do you want to target, what is your brand identity going to be, what style of photography do you want to specialise in, what services and products are you going to offer your clients, how are you going to differentiate yourself from the rest of your peers, etc.
Therefore, before starting this year’s new wedding campaign, it is important that you define what goals you want to achieve, for example, how many weddings you want to cover in a year. In addition, answering all of the above questions will help you to shape your photography business.
4 tips to help you be this season’s best wedding photographer
Although it is not yet wedding time, after Christmas is the best time to start shaping the wedding campaign not for this year but for next year. Many engaged couples plan their weddings more than a year in advance and just after the festive season is the best time to start capturing their attention.
But before that, it is important that you have everything prepared and well defined. If you start from scratch you may think that you have a lot of work ahead of you, but if you organise yourself in an orderly way you will be able to shape a professional wedding photography business.
1# Create a unique and personal style for your wedding photography
Correctly defining what style of wedding photography you want to specialise in, trying out different styles beforehand and giving it your own personal touch is the first step to creating your own identity. But once you have done this process, it doesn’t stop there.
Nowadays, there are many styles that the bride and groom can choose from to remember their wedding: photojournalism, artistic photography, cinematic style or even with trends that can remind us of fashion or catwalk photography. And although the bride and groom may not be very clear about the difference between each of these styles, they will have a certain idea of the type of images they want for their wedding. And, therefore, this detail will be one of the first details (in addition to the location) that they will look for on the Internet when choosing the photographer for their wedding day.
If you have only been a photographer for a short time, you can try working with several different styles of wedding photography and then stick with the one you most identify with and personalise it with your own vision. Find your own way of experiencing weddings, enhance it, become one of the best wedding photographers within your style.
2# Do you already know what you’re going to offer to your bride and groom?
Sometimes photographers pay too much attention to the photographs and neglect the rest of the service they offer. It is important to create a series of packages that are attractive to your clients and that are within the range of what your peers usually offer. Within these packages you will have to define what you want to offer: digital photographs, printed wedding images, photo album, albums for parents, slideshow on the wedding day, pre-wedding, post-wedding, engagement photos, aerial photographs, wedding video, photo booth, etc.
The possibilities are almost endless, so it is important that you study your ideal client prototype and offer them exactly the services that will really interest them. For the most demanding clients, it is also highly recommended to leave the door open and give couples the option to create their own tailor-made photo shoot.
As you can see, there are many options, the important thing is to see which ones are really interesting for your customers and offer them in a way that is attractive to them.
When it comes to promoting your wedding photography, social media can play a very important role as your personal brand will be directly related to everything that appears about you on the Internet. Whether it’s through your wedding photography website or your social media posts. That’s why it’s important that you manage to convey the same message in all of them. To do this you can take a number of considerations when posting on your social networks:
- Style and quality of the images. Quantity is not synonymous with quality, so our recommendation is that you take a close look at the type of images you publish on your networks. Make a preliminary selection of the photographs that best convey your style and publish them with a small explanatory text.
>> The best photos for social media
- Take care of the way you express yourself in your professional communications. Try to maintain the same style when addressing your customers in the different media you use within your business: website, networks, emails, dossiers with information on rates or even in WhatsApp messages you send to your customers.
- Share interesting information for your clients. In addition to showing your best images, you can also share other news, such as wedding-related events, awards, tips for couples, etc.
Did you know that if you are very active on your social networks, you will be able to connect your Instagram photos to your web gallery? Here’s how to do it.
>> Learn how to integrate Instagram, WhatsApp and SMS galleries in your website
4# What are the websites of the best wedding photographers like?
If there is one thing the websites of the best wedding photographers have in common, it is that they convey emotions. To make your website more than just a business card with your contact details, it is important that you take care of the content you publish on it. Both in your galleries and written information.
Because if you think about it carefully, your photography website is going to be your letter of introduction and if couples don’t find the information they need or you don’t connect with them, there is a good chance that they will never get in touch with you. That’s why it’s important that, before you start advertising your Christmas campaign, you have your photography website ready. Here are some of the steps you can take:
- Look for a design that suits your style of photography.
- Make your best wedding images the real stars of the show.
- Introduce yourself to partners, putting a face to you and knowing something about you will make them more confident in your work.Explain in detail how you like to work at weddings, what services you offer and answer any questions they may have.Make it clear how they can communicate with you.
- Etc.
Once you have your website up and running, it will be much easier to advertise your work more effectively. In the following article you will find more tips on how to create a professional wedding photography website.
>> Would you like to create a professional photography website in a simple way?
And if you are not yet ready to create your own website, we offer you the possibility to test our system for 14 days free of charge.
Become the most sought-after wedding photographer for bridal couples
To be the wedding photographer that a couple wants to have at their wedding, it is important to do a good job but it is also essential that they manage to find you in their Internet searches. Therefore, having a professional photography website, adapted to your business, connected to the networks and with the possibility of creating all kinds of private galleries for your clients will be your best ally when it comes to making a living from wedding photography.
This time we are going to share with you the interview of one of the best wedding photographers who has been relying on our business solutions for years, Alfonso Novo from Emovere Studios. A great friend and ambassador of Arcadina.
>> Alfonso Novo and Emovere Studios visit Arcadina
And to say goodbye for today, let’s ask a question. What kind of actions are you currently taking to promote your profession as a wedding photographer? We’d love to hear from you in the 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 that 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.
