Getting Your Wedding Photography Business Off of the Ground
Thursday, July 17, 2008 @ 17:17
There aren't too many events in life that are almost universal. Pretty much everyone will get married at some point in their lives – okay, at least once anyway.
This is why breaking into wedding photography is probably the easiest way to begin developing a positive cash flow from this often expensive hobby of ours.
So, how does one get started if one doesn't really have any prior experience and/or real contacts in the field?
Well, for starters, don't be ashamed to work for nothing, at least for a short while.
Remember, a wedding is generally a once-in-a-lifetime event. Most people don't get married with the understanding that we can do this all again one day. For most, that wedding day and the photos obtained from it will be a priceless, once-in-a-lifetime experience. So, everything has to go off without a hitch. There are no "do overs" available.
This is why it can be very difficult to get into this field. Most savvy consumers want to see samples of previous work, and maybe even talk to past clients. If you don't have these sorts of materials available for them, then you may want to consider getting them before even soliciting your first paid job; how can you do this?
Well, first of all, you can offer your services gratis to members of your family and/or friends who may be faced with a budget crunch with an upcoming wedding. The opportunity to shoot their wedding photos, obtain the experience, and the portfolio of samples, will make it worth your while. In fact, you might even be able to work out a deal where they at least pay a stipend to cover the cost of your film and processing.
The other option is to find yourself a mentor. That's right, a mentor; a practicing photographer who may allow you to "assist" in shooting some of the pictures on his job, strictly in exchange for the experience and material for your portfolio. Of course, not too many large operators are going to be crazy about allowing this. After all, down the road you could very well take business from him. But sometimes a small operator who is already over-burdened with work may be willing to let you tag along in exchange for the help you can provide to him.
Finally, you could hire yourself out to one of the established wedding photography studios and get your experience that way. You won't make a lot of money, but the experience could be worth its weight in gold as far as helping you to get started in the often lucrative field of wedding photography.
