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Photography is appealing for many because it’s a way to get paid capturing life on pictures. As such we show people what we see and, sometimes, things they didn’t see due to our perspective of a situation. However, the business side of things is important to pay attention to. Without giving it fair time you won’t have a business for long. Remember, you are in the wedding photography business.
There are several key factors. While it is creative and it takes being a people person to a large degree, as a small business owner you are everything. You’re the PR person, the marketing department, the accounting department, the advertising department, billing and accounts and everything else that larger businesses have departments for! With most small businesses it all falls to you. As primary role of owner/manager it pays to look honestly at your strengths and weaknesses. We all have them!
If you excel with people and promoting your business but not so much at accounting you have a decision to make. Do you muddle along making do and hoping everything is properly recorded – or do you designate by hiring someone who offers such services to small businesses? There can be advantages and disadvantages to both – look at which column is bigger. This person is in charge of taxes as well as your day to day financial picture. You might think that you would do photography for free but if you had to it might be a different story! A basic computer program can handle basic billing with minimal input, but it can pay to have someone tend to your account a few times per year.
Perhaps you need more promotion but you don’t have an advertising budget for an ad in bridal magazines. Look at a booth at a bridal fair and offer specials to get people to book their weddings. A couple free 8X10 canvas prints to get a wedding booked is well worth the effort.
Look at getting more bang for the buck. Consider vehicle magnets, or lettering on your vehicle windows. You’re driving anyway – but now your vehicle is a rolling billboard.
Anymore much business is done online – a website is important. A professional looking website makes the difference in many cases between working regular and not – it showcases your best photos. It gives people a chance to see what you can do. There are some decent “plug and play” sites but most suggest getting a personal domain name. A domain name that reflects a free site gives the impression that you’re not very good or you’re not very professional and serious about the work. When you’re doing wedding photography and asking a couple to trust you to capture their big day that is not the message you want to give! Domain names need not be expensive.
Along with your website you need an awesome portfolio. Put together some shots that highlight what you can do. If there were 20 shots to remember you by or to show what you can do what 20 shots would they be? Highlight these on your website. Copyright protect anything that is online – this limits others from taking and using your work without permission.
Marketing and promotion take some effort and once you get some investments in place make maximum use of it. Especially with wedding photography your best advertising is word of mouth – this can work for you but if you aren’t careful it can just as easily work against you.
How much credit will you extend? Another way to ask this is – how much can you afford to lose if people don’t pay? Chasing people down for credit payments you allowed is part of being a business owner. For wedding photography this often means getting the money up front.
One professional suggested “buy business cards by the thousands. Try to get rid of them all in six months.” There are many places to order business cards – places like printplace.com have custom business cards, printed front and back if you wish, for very reasonable fees and you can design the card yourself, initial to ok the proof and get them in the mail as you ordered them. Having cards means you have something to leave with everyone who asks a question about having a wedding done.
Remember to account for wear and tear of the equipment and – eventually – replacements and upgrades. Along with photography equipment a good laptop with a good photo program can be a great help and is an investment that can save you greatly!
From a business standpoint get a good logo and marketing materials. If your creativity doesn’t extend to designing logos go to an online outsourcing site such as Elance and find a professional to outsource to. Be sure when working online you are crystal clear in your descriptions of what you want and be picky about who you choose. Don’t choose just on price – that extra $30 might bring a much better result. Remember this logo will be on all of your marketing materials. It identifies YOU. Don’t skimp on it. This is also a good place to have writing done for your brochures, some marketing jobs and other tasks that fall within the description of online outsourcing companies.
Outsourcing those things you either don’t want to deal with or can’t do well makes sense. It lets them do what they do best and frees you up to do what you do best – shoot photos! While you need to tend to business there is nothing saying you can’t designate or hire it done – it’s what smart managers do when someone else can do it better!
Author Ann lockley
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