Some of you who are reading might be new to wedding photography or are interested in getting started. I feel like I’ve been at this for 10 years but have really pursued it more seriously as a business in the last 5.
I found this great article from MCP Actions on how to stand out as a photographer and I thought I’d share some of my favorite parts and my experiences. I decided to take the 2 main tips out of the whole thing.
The first tip they give is not to be known as the “Cheap Photographer”. It’s great when you’re first getting started because you can get some experience under your belt as well as some referrals, but don’t do it for a long time. They say this because once you start getting your name out there people will start to ask why your prices are so low and might assume it reflects the quality. In the business world people associate cost with quality.
I personally struggled with this for several years. I came from a family where we didn’t have the extra money to spend on more expensive services like photography so I was always in the mindset that “cheap” is great because you can save some money. I didn’t necessarily think that cheap could be, well, cheap.
But after time as a photographer, I realized that “cheap” doesn’t make it very easy for me to make a career out of this considering the time, effort, and materials that go into it. People really do associate “cheap” with quality and I was eventually coming across that situation more often.
The next great tip they suggest is to find your style. This is HUGE. Once you find your style, you can start to build a brand. People will also start to book you for YOUR photos, not because you’re cheap even though your style might not be their style. It makes it extremely difficult to work with someone who doesn’t see photography the same way as you do.
Once you have achieved this, you are on a great path. I always knew that I liked more natural and lifestyle portraits. It is new, unique, and every photo session is different. It took a few years for me to get a good system to where I could really get my favorite lifestyle photos. You can’t just make people do natural stuff, you have to make them feel comfortable so they will look comfortable.
This is where I feel I’ve really excelled in the last two years. I’ve learned how to interact with people in order to make them feel a little more comfortable so get the best shots. How do you do that? BE YOURSELF. It wasn’t until I got over being nervous about meeting new people all the time that I was able to really connect with my clients.
Another way to develop a style is to research other photographers. One of the best resources that I’ve come across is other photographer’s blogs. I have been networking and learning about the different trends throughout the US.
This is one of my longer posts, but I know I love reading this stuff from other photographers so I thought I’d pass this on to you.
The full article can be found HERE.
Do you have any tips to share? Maybe something that you’ve read or discovered? Or what you look for when looking for a photographer?
