Hamish Gill
Tech Support (and Marketing)
Now you have a few images in the bag you need to start thing about how you are going to run your business.
When I first started out I did things a bit slap dash, came up with some vague ideas and bluffed my way for a while. Not necessarily the worst way to do things, you learn from your mistakes pretty quickly!
The following are a few tips based on my own learning curve, it might not work for you, but hopefully it should help out!
What are you going to charge?
Once you have done your freebee's you should now be in a position to actually charging your customer. with this in mind you need to decide how and what to charge the customer. I can only offer a few tips as wedding photography prices vary dramatically all over the country/world.
Have a look at your competition. Search google for other local photographers and have a look at their price lists, if they don't have a price list, email them, just don't tell them you are their competition! This is of course rather sneaky so make sure you don't waste any more of their time than is entirely necessary!
A way to find out other Photographers prices and services is to go to a local wedding fair, once again though be conscious of the time you spend talking to them, don't take their attention away from prospective clients!
Pitch you price and stick to it!
You will find that there are local wedding photographers that are better, and some that are worse than you. Try and be objective and maybe pitch your price the same as your equal!
With a bit of research you will find those who charge more than you think they should and some that charge less... try and be fair for the sort of standard you offer!
Once you have an idea of a price stick to it, offering "introductory offers" and doing jobs cheaper to get you going will not work in your favour in the long run! People will tell their mates that you did it cheap for them and their mates will expect the same deal! I am still regretting doing weddings cheap years after I did them!
There are many ways to structure your pricing, including "Package Deals", CD only deals etc etc ... This is up to you to work out for your self. Having a solid structure in place is the best way to start! A few years in I work out prices pretty much job for job by asking exactly what the client wants. This works for me now but I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point as it is liable to introduce confusion in your personal "pitch" to the client!
Optional Extras
Many wedding photographers offer optional extras often as I previously mentioned part of "Package Deals".
Package deals often consist of a set of prints, some sort of wedding album or a CD of images or even a web gallery. As i have said, it is up to you how or what you offer and in what combinations.
http://www.photoimagingwales.com/
Prints
If you are going to offer prints, in my opinion you need to be looking at getting them done at a professional printers! You could do it your self, but it will cost a fortune in ink! You could just get them done at boots (high street D&P) but don't be such a cheapskate, take pride in what you give to your clients!
Find your self a decent printer who can offer a range of services and levels of quality of printing.
Have a chat with them about colour profiles and matching what you see on your screen to what they will print! If they are good enough they will be able to offer help in this area and might even offer you colour profiles!
A good working relationship with a quality professional printers will make your life a lot easier!
Books and Albums
If you are going to offer albums, once again a crappy faux leather album from boots is just not good enough! Do a bit of research and find a supplier of high quality real leather bound albums! there are plenty out there, and in fact once you get going you will no doubt start receiving emails from other suppliers of albums!
An alternative to photo albums are printed photo books. These are often quite expensive, but from the right supplier will give you a quality product to offer your clients! Many companies who make these books offer a design service of sorts, but if you are good enough in photoshop you can work to their guidelines and introduce a style to the books that is a little more individual to you!
CD/DVD
A CD/RW shoved in an envelope and sent to your client in the post wont cut it! You need to print your own CD labels and case labels ... there are tools for doing this all over the internet! Even something as simple as bespoke CD label and case design will give prospective clients a sense of the value of service you offer.
Online Galleries
If you are going to show your client their images online, a Photobucket album will not cut it! Get your web designer to build you a bespoke gallery system that you can put on the back end of your website! Password protection for your galleries is an essential if you are going to link to it from your own site!
Use your imagination
If you want to get some clients, why not offer services above and beyond what your local competition offer!
You range of services will reflect the type of person you are, some people like the idea of having their wedding photos printed on the side of a mug, some will find this tacky. Think about the sort of client you want to attract and let this be reflected in the services you offer!
Back to Part 1 - Getting a few shots in the Bag!
Part 3 - Kit and Clothes
When I first started out I did things a bit slap dash, came up with some vague ideas and bluffed my way for a while. Not necessarily the worst way to do things, you learn from your mistakes pretty quickly!
The following are a few tips based on my own learning curve, it might not work for you, but hopefully it should help out!
What are you going to charge?
Once you have done your freebee's you should now be in a position to actually charging your customer. with this in mind you need to decide how and what to charge the customer. I can only offer a few tips as wedding photography prices vary dramatically all over the country/world.
Have a look at your competition. Search google for other local photographers and have a look at their price lists, if they don't have a price list, email them, just don't tell them you are their competition! This is of course rather sneaky so make sure you don't waste any more of their time than is entirely necessary!
A way to find out other Photographers prices and services is to go to a local wedding fair, once again though be conscious of the time you spend talking to them, don't take their attention away from prospective clients!
Pitch you price and stick to it!
You will find that there are local wedding photographers that are better, and some that are worse than you. Try and be objective and maybe pitch your price the same as your equal!
With a bit of research you will find those who charge more than you think they should and some that charge less... try and be fair for the sort of standard you offer!
Once you have an idea of a price stick to it, offering "introductory offers" and doing jobs cheaper to get you going will not work in your favour in the long run! People will tell their mates that you did it cheap for them and their mates will expect the same deal! I am still regretting doing weddings cheap years after I did them!
There are many ways to structure your pricing, including "Package Deals", CD only deals etc etc ... This is up to you to work out for your self. Having a solid structure in place is the best way to start! A few years in I work out prices pretty much job for job by asking exactly what the client wants. This works for me now but I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point as it is liable to introduce confusion in your personal "pitch" to the client!
Optional Extras
Many wedding photographers offer optional extras often as I previously mentioned part of "Package Deals".
Package deals often consist of a set of prints, some sort of wedding album or a CD of images or even a web gallery. As i have said, it is up to you how or what you offer and in what combinations.
http://www.photoimagingwales.com/
Prints
If you are going to offer prints, in my opinion you need to be looking at getting them done at a professional printers! You could do it your self, but it will cost a fortune in ink! You could just get them done at boots (high street D&P) but don't be such a cheapskate, take pride in what you give to your clients!
Find your self a decent printer who can offer a range of services and levels of quality of printing.
Have a chat with them about colour profiles and matching what you see on your screen to what they will print! If they are good enough they will be able to offer help in this area and might even offer you colour profiles!
A good working relationship with a quality professional printers will make your life a lot easier!
Books and Albums
If you are going to offer albums, once again a crappy faux leather album from boots is just not good enough! Do a bit of research and find a supplier of high quality real leather bound albums! there are plenty out there, and in fact once you get going you will no doubt start receiving emails from other suppliers of albums!
An alternative to photo albums are printed photo books. These are often quite expensive, but from the right supplier will give you a quality product to offer your clients! Many companies who make these books offer a design service of sorts, but if you are good enough in photoshop you can work to their guidelines and introduce a style to the books that is a little more individual to you!
CD/DVD
A CD/RW shoved in an envelope and sent to your client in the post wont cut it! You need to print your own CD labels and case labels ... there are tools for doing this all over the internet! Even something as simple as bespoke CD label and case design will give prospective clients a sense of the value of service you offer.
Online Galleries
If you are going to show your client their images online, a Photobucket album will not cut it! Get your web designer to build you a bespoke gallery system that you can put on the back end of your website! Password protection for your galleries is an essential if you are going to link to it from your own site!
Use your imagination
If you want to get some clients, why not offer services above and beyond what your local competition offer!
You range of services will reflect the type of person you are, some people like the idea of having their wedding photos printed on the side of a mug, some will find this tacky. Think about the sort of client you want to attract and let this be reflected in the services you offer!
Back to Part 1 - Getting a few shots in the Bag!
Part 3 - Kit and Clothes
