What photography are you planning to do for these people who are getting married? The wedding itself, or something else? (If it's the wedding itself, you should go to the library, get a couple books on wedding photography, and think about whether you really want to do that. And if you do want to be a wedding photographer, well, think about becoming a wedding photographer in general, and perhaps also think about what office space you might want to have for selling yourself to clients if you're going to do that. Wedding photography can be profitable, but I would find it to be depressing, I think
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I am going to shoot my friend's wedding. I may also do portraiture before/after: not sure if they want that yet.
I'm pretty much past the book stage. I worked as a Photographer's Assistant to the best Wedding Photographer in RI several years ago. I know what I'm doing, though I will probably ask my current employer (I start as a Photographer's Assistant to another Wedding Photographer in April) a few questions, as I think of them.
Right now, I have a home office. I am going to move soon, and we're looking at appartments where I can have a larger home office. I won't need an actual studio for quite awhile yet.
Business plan! Good idea! Eh, I'll get around to doing that for one of my businesses, someday. Currently, I have a credit card that's nowhere near full and a devil-may-care attitude.
I also seem to be buying just stuff I need, at least for Kitipe Invite. I'll probably wait for decent revenue to roll in before I launch Kitipe Photography. Camera equipment is much more expensive than, uh, paper and ink.
Not very. Seems to me that clients come based on recommendations from their friends, ads in certain newspapers/magazines, and one may have to present oneself at a wedding expo or two, to get their name "out there". Once the ball is rolling, though . . . established photographers get most of their clients through word of mouth. Anu didn't even bother placing ads for her last few years of business . . . and she was only a Wedding Photographer for 5 or 6 years, total!
So, I was mostly thinking of what you do when someone comes to you wanting to know how much you charge, how you present yourself. These books that you are pretty much past have some concrete ideas that woul help your business to be more profitable if you haven't been exposed to these ideas. (Some of the ``how to make money on wedding photography'' suggestions are also things I find depressing, though. Like, ``get the bride to commit to ordering extra photographs on impulse while you are showing the proofs, and then refused to deliver any photographs until all the photographs that were ordered are paid for''.)
These books that you are pretty much past will also tell you that a good advertising strategy is to make friends with other wedding-related businesses. Offer those businesses some free photography for their advertising, or whatever, and then they will likely recommend you.
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I'm pretty much past the book stage. I worked as a Photographer's Assistant to the best Wedding Photographer in RI several years ago. I know what I'm doing, though I will probably ask my current employer (I start as a Photographer's Assistant to another Wedding Photographer in April) a few questions, as I think of them.
Right now, I have a home office. I am going to move soon, and we're looking at appartments where I can have a larger home office. I won't need an actual studio for quite awhile yet.
Business plan! Good idea! Eh, I'll get around to doing that for one of my businesses, someday. Currently, I have a credit card that's nowhere near full and a devil-may-care attitude.
I also seem to be buying just stuff I need, at least for Kitipe Invite. I'll probably wait for decent revenue to roll in before I launch Kitipe Photography. Camera equipment is much more expensive than, uh, paper and ink.
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These books that you are pretty much past will also tell you that a good advertising strategy is to make friends with other wedding-related businesses. Offer those businesses some free photography for their advertising, or whatever, and then they will likely recommend you.
Reply
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