How to Improve Your Wedding Photography Business
10 Simple Ways to Improve Your Wedding Photography Business
In any wedding photography business, there is room for growth and improvement. Whether you’re just starting a business or are a full time wedding photographer, you have lots of room to let your business prosper. These are simple and actionable ways to improve your wedding photography business. Read on for these easy tips to grow and succeed as a wedding professional.I share a couple of affiliate links in this article to brands that I am truly passionate about in my own wedding photography business.
Make All Potential Clients Feel Welcome in Your Wedding Photography Business
When it comes to your wedding photography business, you can grow if you make all potential clients feel welcome. Consider the language you are using in your marketing. If you’re using terms like “bride and groom” or “bridal party”, consider changing that to “couple” and “wedding party” – these small shifts will make a large impact on your wedding business. If you want to be an inclusive wedding photography business, make sure your potential clients feel represented.
Allow Clients to Feel That Your Business is a Safe Space
Additionally, make sure to show diverse representation if you strive for it. Let your clients know that your business is a safe space for them. Show couples that are underrepresented, and not just white hetero couples that are the “norm” in the wedding industry. Equally Wed talks further about inclusivity in your wedding business on the Photo Opp Podcast.
Add a Blog to Your Wedding Photography Website
When you add a blog to your wedding photography website, you can build up your SEO. This stands for Search Engine Optimization, a way for search engines to find your business. Whether you’ve just decided to start a wedding photography business or you’re a professional wedding photographer, a blog can serve you greatly.
What Should I Blog as a Wedding Photographer?
As a wedding photography professional, there are tons of opportunities to blog. Tell your clients fun things about you personally and let them get to know you. Share snaps from a wedding day that you loved. Teach them about wedding planning in your local area.Try and keep your content localized so that your local search scores will improve. Many small businesses rely on SEO to keep their clients coming in. Share a great article on creative wedding planning tips for your area that potential clients will be searching for. Do keyword research to see what customers in your vicinity are looking for.
Schedule Your Social Media
A great way for a wedding photography business to grow is to use social media. Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok are all important social media platforms for photographers. But it can take so much time to pull images, write captions, create posts, get the timing right – that’s a lot of time you could be spending on other areas of your business. That’s why photographers need to schedule their social media channels.
Schedule on Instagram and Pinterest with Tailwind
One of my favorite social media scheduling tools is Tailwind, a platform for Pinterest and Instagram scheduling. While out shooting weddings, I can rely on Tailwind to keep my Instagram presence going without having to worry about captions. With social media scheduling in place, I can bulk create my captions and content and let them post at the appropriate times.
Rent Equipment If You Can’t Buy the Equipment You Need
If you can’t afford the photography equipment you need right now, you can always rent it. Sometimes shooting weddings requires you to you specific equipment that you may not have. Renting equipment is an affordable option for photographers who aren’t quite ready to invest in that major lens, but still need it for a specific wedding shoot. My favorite equipment rental company is BorrowLenses – they deliver awesome equipment right to your door, ready to go.
Define What Makes You Different in Your Market
If you’ve started a wedding photography business, you’ll know by now that the market is pretty saturated. I highly recommend looking into what makes your business stand out in the market. You must figure out what differentiates you from your competitors, and how to play to that in your marketing. Make sure that your clients understand what the value of your business is beyond just being another wedding photographer.
Collect Reviews of Your Wedding Photography Business
Always collect reviews from your wedding photography clients. This is a simple and effective way to keep wedding business coming through the door. Make sure to always ask your clients within a few weeks of delivering their images to review your business. Potential customers are much more likely to buy from brands that they see positive reviews from.
Keep Educating Yourself on Wedding Photography
Like any creative field, honing your craft is important. Keep growing and expanding on your skill set by educating yourself in wedding photography. Whether it’s the business side of things, or the technical side, there is always something more to learn. Try wedding photography classes on CreativeLive for more ways to educate yourself on photography.
Network With Vendors and Venues
Start networking with local vendors and venues to generate more wedding photography leads. Always remember that community overrules competition. Creating that community of like-minded vendors will also allow you to connect with like-minded clients. Start reaching out to those in your community who you want to connect with and create a positive rapport with them.
Becoming a Preferred Vendor
Eventually, you can end up on preferred vendor lists. For wedding planners and venues, in particular, this can be a massive source of business for wedding photographers. When going to networking events, always come armed with business cards to keep creating local connections. Also let your friends and family know you’re a wedding photographer – they may work in the wedding industry or know someone who does.
Keep Experimenting With Different Marketing Initiatives
When you are learning to market your wedding photography business, you must keep experimenting with different marketing initiatives. Not every single strategy is going to work well for your business. Figure out what works well and what doesn’t, and tailor your strategies to that. Keep on experimenting and adjusting your digital marketing strategies as a wedding photographer.
Create Incentives for Clients to Refer You
Create incentives for your clients to refer you. Let them know that if they refer you, they get something in return. Some photographers choose to make a referral program where one referral allows the first clients a discounted or free shoot in exchange. Sometimes that wedding photography contract you get from the referral is worth the 1-hour shoot you give in exchange.
Improve Your Wedding Photography Business
When it comes to growing and improving your wedding photography business, these are all small and important steps to take. You must keep giving your business the time and care that it deserves. Take small actionable steps to grow your photography business, and take it one task at a time.