Finding Clients

[Eli F]

How do you locate couples getting married? Or do they find you? I am in the process of trying to line up my summer shoots and wondering if you just let the people find you or do you find them? any help would be great!

[sapearl]

Hello Eli - that's the $64,000 question :D. Many of us are trying to figure that out today as business models, market segments and client needs/wants have gone through major shifts in recent years.

Usually clients find YOU, many on the web these days, or they are REFERRED to you by happy customers.

Some specialty sites like The Knot or MyWeddings in CityName are used by a lot of folks with mixed success. Some print publication is helpful although not as much as earlier. Certainly bridal fairs and shows have benefitted many. Your WEBSITE is often your main and first impression to potential clients. There have been a number of discussions on this topic and I'm sure others will chime in soon.

I did a quick check of your website and did not see any wedding galleries or related photos. Your work is decent, but potential brides will likely skip right over you after a couple of seconds if they can't see samples on the web. Of course if you have a strong local presence, a brick and mortar shop with displayed work then that will certainly be beneficial. Your site also strikes me as being oriented more to fine art and still life than weddings. You will need to strengthen that image.

- Stu

How do you locate couples getting married? Or do they find you? I am in the process of trying to line up my summer shoots and wondering if you just let the people find you or do you find them? any help would be great!

[angryhampster]

Facebook.



However, the biggest way to get customers is by referrals. I shot my first wedding in September. The B&G are friends of mine, and they'd seen some of my work as a journalist as well as my travel photos, and were impressed. They asked me to shoot theirs, and I charged them an astoudingly low rate because I had no clue if I'd be any good at it. Turns out I was. They were left with great products and a great impression, and recommended me to their friends and family. I got two referrals from them. Two people contacted me on facebook after they'd seen my photos of the September wedding.


I also agree with Stu that you need to show that you're a competent wedding photographer before you can act like one. Having no wedding-related imagery on your site will not instill confidence in clients-to-be.

[sapearl]

That's an excellent suggestion Steve: Facebook.

I'm still trying to get more into the social networking thinking mode. A trick there is to get your photos "tagged" then which gets more folks looking at them and pointing back to your online galleries and/or site. Don't ask me how to do this as I haven't taken the time yet to figure it out..... but I'm told that it does work.;)

[angryhampster]

That's an excellent suggestion Steve: Facebook.

I'm still trying to get more into the social networking thinking mode. A trick there is to get your photos "tagged" then which gets more folks looking at them and pointing back to your online galleries and/or site. Don't ask me how to do this as I haven't taken the time yet to figure it out..... but I'm told that it does work.;)


Very very true. If your clients become "fans" of your page on Facebook, you can tag them in photos on your own. Considering most people I know have 400+ friends on Facebook, that is HUGE exposure when their wedding photos get tagged.

[Eli F]

Thanks for all the help so far. As of right now I have been working as a portrait photographer and sports photographer so i havnt moved into the wedding world im trying to brake into it. I have a couple wedding booked this summer so far but it has come from referals and they understand im just starting in that line of work. I would love to find others to "practice" on.

[Eli F]

I like the facebook idea i do have a fan page but i havnt done much with it yet! Maybe thats what i should do next!

[Shockey]

Exposure... get your name out there any way you can.
Referals and word of mouth is the name of the game.
If clients are refered to you by other people that they know and trust, it is your business to lose.
I am not good at finding clients so hopefully they find me.

[Comerfjc]

Referrals from happy customers and bridal shows are probably the bulk of most of the other wedding photographers I know. Really though, you do need to just get creative with getting in front of people and grabbing their attention. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so finding a coffee shop and orchestrating a small art show a month or two down the road (With portfolios of your weddings/portraits present) isn't all that unusual.