Would you like to sell more post-wedding photos? Discover 7 infallible tricks

We know that every time you close a wedding with an engaged couple is already a great merit and it is a boost for your next year’s economy, but what if we told you that you can get even more benefits from every wedding contract you close? Thanks to the post-wedding reportage and the other extra services that you can offer to the bride and groom, such as: photo albums, pre-wedding session, enlargements in special formats, albums for parents, slideshow projection on the wedding day, etc., you can increase considerably the budgets that you close with your clients.

Because we are sure that on more than one occasion it will have happened to you that the bride and groom hire the most basic package you offer because they have not yet worked with you and do not know you in depth, but when they see the way you work and the value of each extra service, it is much easier for you to get them to hire you for a photo shoot after the wedding. That’s why today we are going to give you a series of keys to sell more post-wedding photo shoots to many more couples than we have so far.

 

 

 

Sell more post wedding photos by following these 7 tips.

 

 

What are the dynamics of the post-wedding reportage?

Post-wedding photo shoots are photo sessions after the wedding (usually when the couples have returned from their honeymoon), where the bride and groom put on their wedding day outfits and enjoy a little extra time having their photos taken. This type of after-wedding photo shoot gives couples the opportunity to feel more relaxed during the wedding day and to have a more creative type of images dressed as the bride and groom.

First of all, if you don’t know the virtues of this type of more creative photography sessions, the vast majority of brides and grooms will not want to hire an extra service that they know little about. That’s why it’s important, on the one hand, to define your own style when it comes to doing post-wedding photo shoots, and on the other hand, to learn how to transmit all this information to your clients. Because it is not enough just to inform that you do post-weddings, it is important that you learn how to “sell” this type of service just as you do with wedding reports.

Within a post-wedding session, there can be different variants depending on the tastes of the couples and how they have organised their wedding. The important thing is to offer them a quality service where they can appreciate that it is one more memory to treasure along with their wedding photographs.

Why is it interesting to give visibility to photo shoots after the wedding?

Nowadays, the vast majority of brides and grooms really want to be able to enjoy all the preparations for their wedding day and share as much time as possible with their guests on that day. Years ago it was very common that when the ceremony was over the couple had to leave their guests for a few hours for the photo shoot. In these cases, couples would miss the entire cocktail party and, more importantly, that little bit of time chatting and greeting their guests before the reception.

Nowadays, such long photo shoots are not usually booked by the bride and groom as they want to fully enjoy their own wedding. It is true that all couples want to have a memory of their wedding and take photos alone, but they also want these sessions to last as little time as possible.

This is arguably one of the most important reasons for a wedding photographer to be able to sell photographs after the wedding. In addition, the vast majority of photographers, when they have a session of this type, quieter and more relaxed than on the wedding day, usually take the opportunity to put their creativity to work and take a series of much more careful images where they will be able to control the location, the lighting and the couple.

7 tips to help you sell more post-wedding photo shoots

 

If you want to improve the type of post-wedding photographs you take and get many more brides and grooms to say “yes I do!” to take this extra session with you, we are going to give you 7 recommendations to make this post-wedding photo shoot much more attractive to them.

1# Offer the bride and groom a post-wedding photo shoot that is very different from their wedding day photos

As we were saying, many photographers take advantage of this type of more relaxed bridal sessions to create much more artistic and careful compositions. On the day of the wedding, couples usually want to make a quick reportage so as not to miss the aperitif and also, photographers are very conditioned by the property where the wedding is held.

For post-wedding photo shoots, however, time will no longer be an issue and you can make sure that the location is much more appropriate for the type of photos you want to take.

That is why it is important that, on the one hand, you can offer couples a bridal session during the wedding that is simpler and quicker and explain to them that after the honeymoon, you can organise with them a different reportage to the wedding day, more creative and fun where they can get back into their wedding clothes and enjoy a little more of that beautiful feeling.

2# With daring couples propose a trash the dress

A very original idea that will allow you to take unique photographs is the trash the dress, a trend that came from the USA a few years ago and that can help you to get the most surprising photographs.

Trash the dress, which is the same as trashing the wedding dress, consists of proposing to the couple a very peculiar photo shoot where the dresses can be somewhat damaged. Here you have to appeal to the fact that the dresses can be taken to the dry cleaner’s and they will look as good as new and that they will not be able to wear them on any more occasions.

Here are some ideas to help you organise it:

• Photos in the sea, in a river or lying on the beach.
• Throwing holi powder or coloured paint during the report.
• Getting mud all over themselves as they go through a lush forest and end up climbing a beautiful mountain.
• Horse riding.
• Or any other crazy idea you can think of that you think the bride and groom will want to do.

It has to be said that not all couples will be willing to get their wedding outfits dirty for the photo shoot, but you will see that as you get to know them.

3# Look for several locations that make a real impact

 

The locations are important for good post-wedding photos. On the day of the wedding this will be an element that you will not be able to control or modify, but after the wedding, you can advise the couples on the most suitable locations for this type of more eye-catching photoshoot. You can also propose a totally different photo session to the one on the wedding day. If, for example, on the day of the wedding the photos were taken in a more natural setting, for this post-wedding photo shoot you can suggest going to a more urban area or even an abandoned train station.

As a marketing strategy, you can also encourage them to have this fun session in a place that is special to them, such as the place where they met, the village where they spent their summer holidays as children or any other location that is a little more special to them.

You can also offer the bride and groom a destination post wedding in a foreign country. Go to Paris, Rome, New York or any other city where you feel comfortable working and where you know you will get unique photos for the couple.

4# Choose the timing of the post-wedding sessions carefully

When planning a photo shoot after the wedding, you can agree with the couple to do it around sunset, if, for example, it is going to be in a natural setting. This way the images will take on a more romantic and special air.

And if you choose to do a more urban post-wedding photo shoot, you can start the photo shoot during the day and finish it at night with the city lights in the background. Choosing this schedule will allow you to play with the lighting and create different atmospheres in the post-wedding photo shoot.

5# Use props to liven up and surprise couples at every photo shoot

When planning a post-wedding shoot, you can incorporate a series of elements into the photographs to make this session something different for the bride and groom. The use of coloured sparklers is very common in this type of reportage and it is a very good idea to add a touch of colour to the photos.

You can also encourage the couple to wear something different that day than on their wedding day, such as a t-shirt, an accessory or simply that the bride wears her hair down. This will allow you to offer a more relaxed and closer to the couple photos.

If you have a pet or children, you can also ask them to bring them to the photo shoot, which will make for a fun and quirky family session.

As you can see, the important thing when planning a post-wedding is to have ideas and to carry them out in time. And if you want to improve your wedding reportage, in the following article you will find many more recommendations that you can follow.

>> 4 keys to become the best wedding photographer of the moment

6# Explain in detail what the post-wedding photographs could look like

Another point that is really fundamental when it comes to closing more post-wedding photo shoots is that your couples know what this photo shoot consists of in detail. And although it may seem obvious, sometimes we forget the fact that the bride and groom do not necessarily know all the advantages of this type of reportage and, therefore, it is important to explain it in detail.

That is why it is important that, even if you show some kind of post-wedding photos on your social networks, you have, on your website, a space totally dedicated to these photo sessions so that clients can see more extensively how this kind of images can be and get to solve all their doubts.

Here we leave you more tips to go further with your pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding reportage.

>> Marketing tips for wedding photographers

7# Creates the need to hire this extra service after the wedding

When including information about these types of sessions in your communications, such as your website, social networks, dossiers, etc., it is important that, in addition to explaining what these types of photo shoots consist of and answering the most common questions, you also create the need to hire them.

It is important that you make them see that these photographs are a great opportunity for them to enjoy their wedding day to the full without giving up any special moments with their guests. Emphasise the opportunity they can have to create much more creative and exclusive photographs with them dressed as the bride and groom than they will not have on the wedding day. And if you reinforce all these arguments with testimonials from couples who have hired this service, new clients will undoubtedly be one step closer to hiring your post-wedding reportage.

Sell more post-wedding photos by following these 7 tips

We know that every wedding you close involves a huge amount of work on your part. Promoting the wedding campaign, answering emails, conducting interviews with couples, following up on budgets, etc. That’s why, once you have managed to get a couple to choose you as their wedding photographer, it will be much easier for you to “sell” them a series of extra services, such as post-wedding reports, for example.

To close more sales, organise a fun and original after-wedding report and explain it in detail to your clients and new clients alike.

And just as you have to prepare a wedding and post-wedding, both when it comes to selling them and surprising your couples, you will have to act in the same way with the pre-wedding shoot. That’s why in the following post we’ll tell you a bit more about this other extra session within weddings.

>> Are you a wedding photographer? Check out these tips to organise an irresistible pre-wedding photo shoot

At Arcadina we provide you with a series of work tools that will help you to show your photographs, explain how you work, offer a more professional service to your clients and delegate a multitude of tasks. If you don’t know them yet, you can try them for free for 14 days with no commitment fees.

 

This time we wanted to share with you the interview of a fantastic wedding photographer, our friend and ambassador Carlos Felipe Ortiz.

>> Arcadina has a new ambassador, photographer Carlos Felipe Ortiz

And finally we would like to know: what strategy do you use to sell your post-wedding photographs to your clients? We’d love to read your answers in the comments.

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