Congratulations! You just received a message, from a stranger, on Facebook asking about wedding prices. Your next step is one of the most important ones, when it comes to converting this stranger to a friend, and then friend to a client. 1. Set up a consultation: After you hit the reply button, the first thing you should do is congratulate them on their engagement. The next step is to answer any questions they may. Find out when you can get together over coffee so they can meet you. If you are aspiring to be a wedding photographer, you have to be a people person. You need to be out going, so set up a time to meet with the couple, and take them out to coffee. The idea here is that “you” are the unfair advantage over your competition. “You” become part of the value of your portrait packages. The goal here is to convert them from stranger to friend as they get to know you, so you can avoid hearing this, “We have a friend, with a nice camera, that is going to do our wedding photography.”. Let me get this straight, they are going to trust a friend, who will more than likely be shooting auto, with a kit lens, and using the onboard flash, to capture the memeries of the day they have been dreaming about, their entire life? For their sake, become their friend! Don’t let them gamble on someone else. They need to know they can trust you, like a friend, because the reality is, there are two parts to being a great wedding photographer. One is quality photos. The other is being a friend, that they can trust, on the most important day of their life. If they decide to use you for the wedding, you can either go over a few questions with them then, or set up another consultation to hammer out the details. Here is brief check list of what to go over: read more
I love coming up with creative ways to let my wife know how much I love her. Having four kids allowed for “I Love You This Big,” with gesturers from each of them. They were a little confused as to why I was taking the photos but when they saw the final picture they understood.
I am putting this post in the “Photography Business Tips” because I am hoping you can take this and run with it for a Valentines day special. I plan on running this for $99.00 with a framed 8×10 included. Now you could pull this off with a multiple number of kids, even an only child could do all four poses. Hopefully you can take this idea and put your creative twist on it. read more
Setting up a blog is much easier than you probably think.
1. Come up with a domain name (www.yournamehere.com)
When you go to get hosting you can purchase a domain name at the same time. I was able to get this one for $1.95 on a cyber monday special, but they are usually $15. If the domain name you are looking for is taken or cost more than you want to spend you can add little modifiers like HQ or MY or The (www.photographytipsHQ.com). They will even give you suggestions for names so you can find one you like in your budget. Next step is paying for hosting and the company I use and recommend is www.HostGator.com. If you want to get your blog up in a hurry Host Gator, is the way to go because with about three mouse clicks you can be working on your site in wordpress. Click here to see a video on how to set up a wordpress blog. They offer a variety of plans from monthly to yearly. As of right now you could start a blog with them for under $23. If you decide to use Host Gator, make sure to enter this coupon code for 25% off phototipshq. There are free options out there and I will go over those also, but I wanted to look at the benefits of paying for hosting. read more
KaileeWillard Photography
http://kaileewillardphotography.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/kaileewillardphotography
I am a natural light photographer based in Eastern Washington. My love for photography started when I took my first film class as a junior in high school and has continued to grow ever since. After a couple of years of practicing and deciding whether or not I wanted to pursue this passion, I chose to take the plunge and start my business. Fast forward to now and after year and a half of trying to figure out my style, niche, and oh so many business details, I feel that I have finally found what I love…senior photography. I just LOVE working with my seniors to create images that capture their unique personality and beauty. read more