How to get more calls

[jgrim8]

Hello all. I really appreciate this site and all the help I have gotten in

the past years. I really would like some opinions how to get more business.

I used to get at least 2 calls a week about weddings. Now, it's been over

three months...and I only have 2 weddings booked for 2007. I have been

advertising online and do bridal shows every now and then. Are my prices too

high? I offer full day coverage (8 hours), fully corrected 4x6 prints, DVD of

images, and an online gallery starting at $2500.00. I don't expect to be full-

time over night, but I thought I would at least get some. Suggestions???

Thanks.

[regas chefas]

Jennifer,

 

I've been looking at a lot of wedding sites since I started to re-do mine a few months ago

and I have a suggestion for you.

 

Your photography looks good, but when I went to your site, I clicked on about 12-15

images and never saw a smiling bride. People connect with people and brides connect

with brides. The images that people see upon cursory exploration of your site are artsy,

detailed, somber and tense. What's missing is happy.

 

I think if you take your 10 best images of people having fun and make sure that no matter

how people navigate on your site, they'll see at least a few of them right away, you'll start

generating more calls.

 

In particular, the venue site of the tent that you have up on your home page, shows some

technical skill, but is booorriiing compared with a bride glowing on the happiest day of her

life.

[mike simons]

Jen -

 

I'm wondering if you're talking about Seattle weddings or Ohio weddings --- congrats on the recent move (checked out your blog); how does that factor into your expectations/current status? Are you trying to get a foothold in a new market, or am I misunderstanding your question/blog/situation?

 

Best of luck with it ---- and I LOVE the red glasses.

 

-mcs

[nancy s.]

When you got two calls a week what were you charging? What are others in your area charging? What are they offering for what they charge? Price does count as well as what you can offer and the quality of your work.

 

If you are competitive in pricing and what you offer, what are you doing to make yourself stand out from the crowd?

 

Only you can answer these questions, but that is a start. This is a very competitive business. You have to lead or you will end up just following with the rest of the crowd.

[jgrim8]

Thanks. I think your right. It seems I put most of my smiling brides in the last couple of galleries. I'm my worst editor. I think I'll update my site. I am in the process of moving. I'll be in Seattle by March, I just started advertising for Seattle last month. It seems like the calls have been slow in Ohio as well as Washington. I've done a lot of research, and I'm in the middle as far as my prices go. I could change some things around. I know it will be more competitive in the big city :)

[kiro]

Are you networked with other wedding services contractors (e.g. bakeries, DJ's, caterers, etc)?

I'm no wedding shooter, but a couple that I've known did pretty well and that was one of their

tricks. They'd do free or really cheap product shots for these other wedding oriented

companies, and refer customers back and forth. Also, don't overlook free advertising places

like craigslist.

[joe meadows]

Welcome to Seattle!

 

The good news is that Seattle is a beautiful place to live, the bad news is that a lot of photographers figured this out a long time ago.

 

Since 911 there has been an over abundance of Wedding photographers in this market. I have been doing them here for over 20 years, and last year I actually made more doing commercial and editorial photography than weddings.

 

I checked out your web site, and blog, and liked your last December wedding and think you should add some of the shots to your web site.

 

As far as smiling shots don't feel bad, I think I have too many! But hey that's what my customers want to buy.

 

Best of luck,

Joe

[jamie_thomas]

Jen,

 

I wouldn't stress it to much. It really could have alot to do with the move. I'm form St. Louis, but my husband decided that he wanted to move south, and I mean in the STICKS. Well now I live about one and a helf hours for St. Louis. I still get 95% of my weddings from there, but when we first moved, that fall I went from September to about the middle of November with no any calls, not one. I can't say what really happened, but things picked up. So hang in there, they'll pick up for you to, don't stress to much.

 

Jamie

[regas chefas]

Yes, I went and looked at some since I posted. Great stuff!

[jgrim8]

I am definatly going to try to advertise with the bakeries, DJ's, and caterers. One of the main reasons I'm going there is because of the art and film scene. I want to dabble in film. But yes, I noticed there are tons of photographers..which is cool. I think I'm just dealing with the stress of re-location. Once I get settled in, I will try to meet people in the same field and go from there. Thanks for all your help!

[jgrim8]

Thanks Joe! I can't wait to get there.

[joe meadows]

Seattle is a great film city. The Seattle Film Festival has gained and International reputation. I remember attending with Mark Vargo when he was working at Alpha Cine Lab. Mark had just won a Gold Metal for optical effects from the King Tut ads. It was pretty amazing back then when he got a call from George Lucas and got a job offer to work at Industrial Light and Magic. That was 1977, and just goes to show you never know what opportunities are in your future!

Regards,

Joe

[colleendonovan]

Maybe you aren't getting any calls because of the couple who has 105 weddings booked for this year already. :) Really.

[savagesax]

At the bridal shows offer free engagement sittings, a parent

album

brides will take you up on this offer. Get to know some of the wedding church coordinators, offer to donate money to them or the church/temple. Same thing with reception sites. Work with DJ's, florists, perhaps open up a monthly referral breakfast get together for the local wedding businesses. Join the local business groups. Soon you will be so busy you will need to hire other photographers.

[jenni k. - vancouver, b.c.]

hi Jennifer, I've just relocated to Vancouver from Kitchener, Ontario... and experiencing the same situation! I've been networking like crazy with other photographers (for overflow referrals) as well as bridal shops, planners etc. It's tough to learn a new market...

I've driven through Seattle now three times - in the dark!!! I'll be making a point of spending some daylight hours there soon, it sure looks like a beautiful city :) Good luck to you with the move!

[jeffrey_blake_adams]

What kinds of follow up have you done with your past brides,their families, their friends? How about vendors? Go visit all past vendors you've worked with, hopefully you have images of their work, give them some, with your info on them, I make up a collage page with my info on them for all vendors and give them many. Send thank yous to all past brides, etc.

 

 

 

Jeffrey

[annealmasy]

Hi Jennifer,

 

This is what strikes me when I look at your website:

 

1. I don't connect to any of your work. The galleries have very little flow to them. Your

wide-angle room and ambiance shots are GORGEOUS, and your details are truly beautiful.

But I had a hard time figuring out who the bride and groom were. What were they feeling?

What made their wedding special? This might be something you can remedy by changing

up the images on your website. Or perhaps you need to work harder at really pushing

your style of photography at a wedding. It's easy to be timid at a formal event, but to truly

capture any sort of emotion you have to get in there. You obviously have the spunk to do

this, so make it happen! :)

 

2. I personally love your red sunglasses and tongue ring. But I would be totally turned off

to calling you if I were a prospective bride and I saw those shots on your blog. By

showcasing only the quirkiest parts of your personality, you are limiting your potential

clientele. Instead, project a more professional image on your website. When people meet

you in person they'll realize how fun and awesome you are - they'll probably even love

your red glasses. But on your professional blog it's very unappealing.

 

3. What sorts of friends have you made in the industry? Our BEST referrals are the other

professional photographers here in Atlanta. When they're booked, they refer to us, and

vice versa. GET TO KNOW THOSE PEOPLE. There are tons of WPJA-ers in Seattle. You

could probably start getting together with them once a month for a round table. Also look

into some of the pro forums like DWF or OSP or PWP (my favorite!). You'll meet people

who do this full-time who can really help connect you.

 

4. Are you getting good word of mouth from your past clients? You should be booking at

least and handful of weddings based on your past clients' referrals. If you're not, then

perhaps you should consider your client relations. Are you truly VALUING them and their

wedding day? Are you taking that extra step to make them feel important? And most of

all, do you like what you're doing? If you're not "feeling it", your clients will know.

 

I hope all of this comes across the way I intend it. Just take all of that moxy and direct it

toward becoming the best photographer, and the best PERSON you can be.

 

Good luck!

[jgrim8]

Thanks everyone! I have gotten most of my Ohio weddings by word of mouth. A lot of my weddings were also in Florida because I had family and word of mouth down there as well. I was a little spread out at first and now I really need to focus in Seattle when I get there. I usually follow up with brides when I have an album sale and this usually works well. I need to meet other photographers when I get out there. Thanks Anne for all your input. I am working on actually purchasing a new website and adding new images. I took that one pic off my blog too....Sometimes I forget I'm wearing that...but I never have it in when I meet clients or shoot weddings. :)

[jgrim8]

I've received thank you cards from couples in the past. I just think I need to work harder in capturing emotion and FOCUS :)

[neilambrose]

<p>As is often the case, Anne has got to the meat of the problem already :-)</p>

 

<p>I definitely agree with her appraisal, since it's also the same feeling I got from looking

at your blog. If you're working on the premise that your blog is a marketing tool then I

think it's really not working for you right now- largely because it makes you seem visibly

desperate at the moment: "this is what I do with my boredom"...."things are a little slow

right now"... "I usually like to be behind the camera" (implying that right now you're in

front of it because nobody is hiring you).</p>

 

<p>You also mention you've 'just been accepted' into the WPJA. I think this is a mistake

too; it makes you seem pretty inexperienced. Much better to say you're a member of the

WPJA without making people think it's all very new for you, and you're still awestruck that

they even accepted you. I know of course this isn't the case, but unfortunately that's the

way it reads.</p>

 

<p>One last thing, and this is personal and cultural, and perhaps even irrelevant. But --

do people read your website name as "Jen Grim. Photography". Or "Jen. Grim

Photography"? BTW - if this point makes no sense to you then it might be a cultural thing;

but in Britain 'grim' is widely used as an adjective that is generally interchangeable with

'crappy'. Yeah - tough luck, but true even so...and therefore worth thinking about when

choosing a domain name :-)</p>

[jgrim8]

Thanks. Unfortunatly, Grim is my last name. But I don't think people think "grim photography", but maybe I'm mistaken. I could change my name. haha.