bigarchi wrote in post #15684801
i often wear a black sweatband on my head when shooting weddings.
bet that doesn't fit in with most people's personal dress code ideals (as is evident here anyway)
And I doubt upstate NY comes anywhere close to the heat and humidity as Houston in the summer. No, I would not ever be caught dead wearing a sweatband around a client. I can't think of the last time I didn't wear a button up, slacks and a vest to shoot a wedding.
But it is all about the clients you want to attract.
Down here, if I wanted to shoot all the redneck weddings, I could wear boots and jeans and be alright. But I have no interest in shooting $800 weddings and then selling $5 prints. I want to live a comfortable lifestyle and make a living for a family with photography. Which means trying to attract clients that appreciate the finer things in life - hopefully including fine wedding photography. I've got a friend that goes after that low end and shoots 50-65 weddings a year. Does virtually no editing and churns them out day after day. I'd rather kick ass at 25-30 nice weddings. Different mind set.
But no matter how low end a wedding I am shooting is (I have one this summer where the total budget is under 9k, and I am over half the total budget) I am still dressing to impress. I wear a nice watch. Nice shoes that are cleaned and polished, nice slacks, shirt and vest - all that fit me properly. Depending on the wedding, I also add a tie or bow tie. Because the client I want appreciates that, even if the client that I have may not.
You are the greatest ambassador of your brand. Dress and act the way your target client would expect and appreciate.
If your target client would appreciate the utility of a headband, then rock the heck out of a headband. If your target client would appreciate you having your name on your front pocket of your shirt, then wear that.
Maybe things are different here in Houston, but I think my target client appreciates that I dress cleanly, professionally, and conservatively. Doing that has worked very well for me and I have expanded and grown my business a great amount in just a little amount of time.
It is two different weddings, but that would be cool if it was just one wedding.