Grab a drink and some snacks, here is my first 24 months in starting my business in becoming a Wedding photographer. 2 things before I start though.
#1 This is what worked for me, there are many paths to becoming a pro and if you follow exactly what I did you could very easily fall flat on your face. This is just my story, nothing more, nothing less. I had the benefit of a full time job to lean on during this process, if you do not have one, this changes things dramatically.
#2 A HUGE thanks to Bobby Earle (bnlearle), Tim Wild (Tim), Joey Allen (form), Glenn Johnson and Ross Blumenthal. The 3 guys on this board I have never spoken directly to or even PM'd, but their experience and their complete willingness to share their experiences on this site has been invaluable to me, even Tim's one word reply to a question I have seen asked 164 times already have helped me (More on why it has been invaluable and the 2 other guys later). Bobby, Tim and Joey, if your travels take you near to Chicago and its burbs, drinks are 100% on me, just tell me the time and I will take you to where.
The Beginning, May 2008....
It all started on the treadmill at my gym. I had that moment. The moment where you say "I am tired of working for the man." I had always enjoyed photography and had bought my first DSLR earlier in the year. I was in the middle of shooting a Project 365 and was getting some good feedback from people who were complete strangers on my flickr account. So at that time, on that very treadmill, I decided I was going to lower my head and go for it. Glory never comes to those wait for it to hit them while they are sitting on the couch.
I got up the next day and spent an easy 6 hours in Barnes and Nobles reading photography books, not just on weddings, but getting ideas on how to make money of photography. Weddings were not my first thought by any means but I kept coming back to them. There was something about the pressure of not having a 2nd chance at capturing a Wedding day. I have played sports my whole life and I fully admit I have a competitive problem and I think shooting a Wedding and the pressure/results you get from it is what drew me too it.
Tip #1 Close your mouth, listen and read. When you get tired of that, listen and read more.
I had no idea where to start until I picked up the book "Digital Wedding Photography" by Glen Johnson. The book is basic in how to shoot Wedding photographs, does not delve deep into starting a business but it does a great job of helping you understand your "niche". I also felt for the first time I can do this, after reading it. Easy read, great pictures, in my opinion a must if you are starting from scratch.
This is also where I stumbled on POTN. I had Canon gear already and I was trying to understand the metering modes and found a thread here. I spent a ridiculous amount of time reading here. But my key is I didn't register for months and I just absorbed the knowledge. That also kept me from asking questions that have been answered to death many of times. I truly believe if you're not willing to learn and read before you fire off 12,000 questions, you need to head away from Wedding photography. You are not doing something that has not been done before. Find the people that inspire you and read and grow without being pest.
The wheels are in motion, October 2008....
Yes you read that right, I didn't do ANYTHING for 5 months other than read and learn. Not just photography but the lions share on business knowledge, website design, workflow. There are plenty of phenomenal photographers, better than me, who failed dramatically at starting a business because that failed at business. Did I mention, I read everything I could get hands on? I registered my domain and starting working towards accumulating gear I needed and set a goal of having my DBA, a full website, blog, complete gear, establish relationships with suppliers and have a wedding contract ready to go by February 2009. In the mean time, I shot everything I could. It didn't matter what it was, every chance I could get, I took it.
Tip #2 When starting out, there is NO wasted time in shooting anything and everything. You need to know your camera inside and out when you are under the duress of the hammer of a Wedding. It needs to feel like an extension of you.
A chance encounter, December 2008...
I was falling behind in getting my things in order to make my self imposed deadline of February. I was having doubts of my abilities. I had trouble believing in the validity of a Wedding Photography business. Then I had a chance encounter with Ross.
I began to chat with a customer at my full time job, turns out he is Pro Wedding photographer. I spent the next 45 min picking his brain like no other and eating up every bit of advice he gave me. He never once looked at his watch or hurried me up, he genuinely seemed to care. You may asked what a 45 min conversation could do for me and rightfully so. But that conversation was my turning point. I came out of that conversation inspired and ready to make my business happen. With a renewed interest and a spirit that was ready for a challenge, I put my head down and went for final push in getting everything together.
The ad and the first contract, March 2009...
I had my website up, contract in hand, gear in hand (sort of), but I had no weddings to shoot. I put an ad on craigslist offering to shoot for cheap as I had no wedding experience and linked to my site which just had my photography work minus ANYTHING wedding related. I was VERY transparent with my experience in Weddings, zero, so it wasn't hard. Early on I had 2 inquires from brides who either themselves or their fiancées had lost their job and were looking to save some money and would like to talk more about me shooting their wedding. I made an appointment and drove to Woodstock IL. I about threw up in the bathroom at Starbucks waiting for them to show. Really. I met with them and did the best to explain that I had no wedding experience, but I was comfortable with my camera and showed them my portfolio of what I have done. I spoke to them my ideas and thoughts of how I would approach and shoot their wedding. I sold myself, because that was really all I had to sell. 2 hours later, I had a signed contract in hand and my first client. I was walking on a cloud on the way out. Until I checked my email on my phone and another potential client wanted to meet tomorrow. The thought of having another possible client was great. Until I remembered I would have to sell myself all over again. Que being ready to throw up. Again.
Tip #3 So you have a great portfolio, that does not mean much when you are sitting across from a Bride or worse her mother, and they skeptically ask why they should use you. No photo will save you at that moment, you have to comfortable with who are and talking with people. If you cannot put people at ease in stressful times, it's going to be rough going for you.
A referral? April 2009...
Remember when I said I had to sell myself? Well I guess a good job of just being a person who wants to help a Bride and Groom have photos that will tell their story, because one of my clients I had signed, gave a friend good enough word of mouth, a new client wanted to sign me before I had completed my first wedding. By mid April I had 6 weddings booked and signed and I never renewed my craigslist ad after the it had run its 30 days. I could have pushed for more wedding, but with my other job and not knowing what the outcome of my first attempts at weddings would be, I left it that.
Wedding number 1. May 2009...
I was so unprepared.
Not gear wise, not website wise, not knowledge wise, but mental fortitude wise. I left my house 7:30am to be at the salon at 9am and did not leave the reception until 10:30pm. I drove home in absolute silence because my head was pounding. My back was sore, my knees were on fire, my hand was cramping and would look like "the claw", but you know what? I was smiling. I did it. Crazy things happened I was not prepared for, but when I made it home and dumped the images from my cards, it wasn't that bad. I wanted better but I wasn't disappointed. 1 week later after uploading them to my online gallery, I sat on the phone and listened as the Bride cried as she looked at them. Luckily it was tears of joy. They definitely were not great across the board, but there were a handful that did make you stop and notice.
Tip #4 Nothing can prepare you to shoot a Wedding other than shooting a Wedding.
Going from starting to making money, October 2009...
The next 4 months were a blur for me. Between working full time, having a family and shooting 6 Weddings, the time flew by for me. I kind of took September "off" in a way and early October started to redesign my site and start building an actual Wedding portfolio. Between building the site, making a couple of albums and streamlining my workflow, that took me into late December. During that time I also printed as many local photogs pricing list I could and then tried make an honest assessment of their quality of work compared to mine. With that in hand I created my pricing structure. Then changed it. Then dumped it completely and changed it again.
Tip #5 Do not be scared to price yourself to make money. In fact, if you do not make money, you will fail. Price yourself for your market in an honest assessment and hold your ground. Resist the urge to lower prices to just get business. It is a slippery slope that once you start to go down it is very difficult to recover from.
No longer a starter, February 2010...
My sister in Texas calls me one morning and says one of her friends who was getting married, visited her and was showing her the site of the photog she was thinking about using for her wedding. My sister, partially because she is my sister and also because it was true, told her friend that for what she was paying she was not too impressed and showed her my site. My sisters friend called me a day later and I had booked my first Wedding at price that was competitive to my market.
Gaining momentum, March 2010...
In March I booked 5 Weddings, one of them a destination Wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I also had my first conversation with a potential client where they said they had narrowed their choices down to me and a well established, well known quality photog in the area. I was able to sign that client without a single negative comment on his work or style of photography. I just sold myself and my work and let them make their choice. The six weddings I have booked will represent a little over 3rd of my income from my full time job.
Tip #6 Ethics. You have competition in your market, but do not burn bridges with your local photogs. They can and will be invaluable in an emergency and what if a client contacts them, they are booked already and the client asks if there is anyone they can recommend. The photog says "Recommend, no, but I can tell who I wouldn't use..." It can happen. If you maintain your ethics and you win a client and another photog gets their panties in bunch, oh well, you have nothing to be ashamed of or worry about.
Presently...
Well I made it back from Mexico from the destination Wedding a few days ago, pics are up on my blog
, and had a few emails from some good leads waiting for me. I now am in the process of forming a plan to expand and grow and get my name out in front of new clients. I am nowhere near to "making it" but depending on what happens the rest of this year with bookings for 2011, I will take the step of leaving my full time job to shoot full time.
Thank you to this board and specifically the people I mentioned by name. Just know that in the middle of the noobs asking the same questions over and over, there are some of us lurking in the shadows that are truly learning and eating up everything piece of advice you are giving. Please do not stop sharing the lessons you have learned and teaching those new to the craft.
Good luck and get off the couch!
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