What would you do differently in your wedding business if you were starting out now

[mark_englehart]

I have been reading this forum for quite some time and have gleaned a monumental amount of information, for which

I am grateful this forum exists. What I would like to know from the folks that have been shooting weddings for a

while now; If you were starting out now and knew what you know, what would you do differently?

[sam_ellis]

I should have bought the best equipment from the start. I spent a lot of money on "almost as good as" equipment and it simply doesn't cut it. I also would have worked for a professional for a while rather than jumping right into it, but I was asked to shoot a wedding and so it began.

 

Sam

[thierry nguyen cuu - nomad]

I would start by a solid marketting class first.

 

If you can give best photos ever but nobody knows you, you wouldn't sell.

[picturesque]

Nothing, really. I'm sure my life and career unfolded the way it did for a reson(s).

[steve_c.5]

I would have marketed differently. Instead of wasting money on print advertising, I'd have done what I do now, and networked with vendors more. As for using the best equipment, you usually can't afford the best equipment to start off, or even afford the right lenses. You have to start small, and unless you get a loan or have a pile of cash already, there's no way to circumvent that.

 

I already had the graphics and design skills, and knew a lot about marketing, but I really underestimated how ineffective print advertising would be and how expensive it was.

 

I'd also start with a killer website, and the best images I could put on it. A great website is worth more than it's weight in gold.

[gpjoell3]

I would have started out with higher prices then I did. I practically gave away the farm. Once you get locked into a specific market, it is hard breakout and change directions without a pause.

[William Michael]

In priority order, my three points:

 

1. I would have stressed far less . . . enough to be allow me to write something now, similar to what Nadine Ohara wrote above.

 

2. The, (viable enough to make a living) Wedding Market is considerably different now, to as it was then.

 

IMO, the viable opportunities now are more for a Specialist Practitioner.

 

30 years ago, a Professional Photographer was in General Practice, even if the main thrust of their business was W&P, there were always the other `little jobs` we just `took on`.

 

If I were starting a Wedding Photography Business now, I would begin it doing similar to what I am actually doing now, since I have `retired` from it:

 

I would find the niche and do about 20, or fewer, Weddings a year.

 

3. I would have chosen the Business Course which had more Tax Law in it.

 

WW

[edrodgers]

Although there may be no way to avoid it, I would have worried much less about the little things. I spent a huge amount of time, money and effort worrying about precise workflow, business structure, marketing, packages, contact tracking, and client meetings.

 

I didn't know what to worry about, so I had to at least cover my bases by worrying about everything. I actually wrote down how I was going to transfer images from the card to the computer. Wow.

 

In hind-sight, I should have spent more time and energy on the actual product (my photography) and let the business side define itself by simply doing what has to be done, and little more.

[bdb]

As someone who is considering entering the business (part-time), I'm very interested in the answers to this question. I

was thinking of posting a similar question myself. I think for me the key is to make sure the choices I make reflect my

own particular goals, interests and style.

 

There are so many different types of wedding photographers out there, and so many different personalities (of course).

That's one potential caveat for these types of forums; one could easily find themselves following a direction suggested

by others that isn't really a good fit for them.

 

I'm just trying to keep that in mind as I sift through all of the wonderful information here. Some of it will be relevant to

me, and some of it won't. Ed brings up a good example of what I mean. (i.e. he spent a lot of time worrying about small

things that turned out to be mostly inconsequential - or certainly less important - than others).

[jaimie blue]

Would have listened to my great photography teacher when he said, "Don't give it away, as a matter of fact be the most expensive photographer."