I wish I knew great tips for booking more clients for my wedding photography business when I was just starting out, because it’s one of the most valuable things to know to get your business off the ground. And this isn’t for just booking the clients you need for your business, but your DREAM clients that make your work worth while! Here’s the top 5 things I think will help you book more of the clients your looking for to help build your wedding photography business!
Your clients aren’t just looking to invest in you for your photography alone, they are looking to actually invest in you as well! What I mean by that is, they want to like you. They want to connect with you.
A couple ways that I do this is through my bio on my Instagram profile as well as my website. Go check it out to see what I’m talking about!
I mention the top things that I think are important to know about me, like how I’m married to my high school sweetheart. I can’t tell you how many times I get brides coming to me exclaiming that they are so excited to hear that, because they are actually high school sweethearts with their future husband as well! Crazy.
Automatically, you are giving your brides something to connect with. Another way to do this is by showing your face on Instagram. I know it’s scary, but literally just popping on your story and talking to your audience goes SO far compared to just posting a picture and writing text.
And don’t be afraid to get personal! Share what’s going on in your life! You want your potential brides to feel like they know you and are already friends with you! This will make them more inclined to reach out to you when the time is right for them to hire a wedding photographer.
What I mean by that is just get out there and get shooting! If you don’t have very much to post, share, or put on your website, then you probably need some more content. To do that, literally just find a couple and go out and take pictures of them for free! There’s seriously no shame in doing that, especially when you’re just starting out.
One thing I did that I think gave me such a boost in my business when I was getting started was I offered a special Valentine’s Day discount to any couples that wanted some nice pictures. I charged $50 for 1 hour and a lot of photos, so while I wasn’t necessarily charging what I should have, I still got TONS of inquiries and people ready to go out in shoot.
This then gave me a BUNCH of content to promote, and in no time I was starting to get brides reaching out to me. I ended my first official year of my business (still part-time mind you) with over 10 weddings that were primarily mine. Crazy!!!
Want to shoot in the mountains? Then stop posting so many pictures of the beach! Want more elopements? Then shoot a bride and groom in a crazy location!
You want your future potential brides to look at your work and imagine themselves in those photos. A great way to book more of what you want is to post what you want more of. For example, I LOVE being in the mountains, the desert, and in my favorite location of Yosemite, so you better believe I’m going to post the crap out of those shoots. Why? Because I want to go back there and get more content like that!
If you want to be an adventurous elopement photographer, then you need content to prove it. You can’t just have it in your instagram profile and expect people to believe you.
If you don’t have that content to promote, then get out there and create it! Design a styled elopement and start shooting that. I promise you – future brides will look at it, imagine themselves there with you in that location, and BOOM your future bride is already on the same page as you and wants exactly what you want.
One thing that seriously shocks me with photographers is the amount that they pour in to Instagram, and not their website. Or even their pricing guide! And if you don’t know what a pricing guide is or need help with that, I actually offer a service where I can help you design that. I can also help you with your website!
But regardless, this is so important. Why? Because your website is your 24/7 salesman working hard and proving you are worth the amount your asking.
If you simply send a little Word Doc with nothing else but text to your inquiring brides, then you’re missing the mark here. Your bride is looking to invest quite a bit of money in you – and if you don’t have an elegant pricing guide to match that, they may not take you seriously or think you’re the real deal. And that’s a big problem!
SO, make sure your website is incredible and looks to your brand, and is professional, easy to navigate, and simply showing off your work!
Okay, this is probably one people don’t really consider very much. BUT, the day of a wedding your shooting is one of the best ways to start marketing yourself! And I don’t mean going up to every person and handing them a business card, but pretty much, you better believe everyone of the bride and groom’s family is going to be watching you, judging your every move, and more. That’s either because 1) They helped fund the cost to have you, or 2) They want to make sure their kids get the best photos for their big day.
SO, when it comes to taking family photos, I know we all dread them. But that’s seriously one of the best opportunities to prove how awesome you are! Be yourself! Be kind, be professional, be understanding, and BE NICE. Don’t be yelling at the family!! That will totally turn them off.
You want these people to be “evangelists” for you to shout your name to every other engaged couple. Go into every wedding ready to book the engaged cousin, sister, friend, or whoever it is that’s there also watching you.
I guarantee there will be other friends or family at the wedding either at a stage of life where they are getting married or will be getting married soon, so prove that you are the best of the best!
I hope that helps with everything! Check out the video above for more content, and be sure to subscribe to the channel if you aren’t already!
This is such an informative article!