We run wedding and portrait photography courses and workshops for the serious amateur and professional photographer - see menu above
(photos: portraits - Jo de Banzie. Weddings - Gordon McGowan) Wedding Photography Courses
Welcome to this 7 part series "Turn Your Photography Into An Excellent Paying Career
This 7 part course is aimed to invigorate and educate those who have a burning ambition in succeeding in their own wedding & portrait photography business. It is designed not only to help those already set up in business but also to help those who are about to launch a Wedding & Portrait photography career. It gives you guidance to enable you to stand out from the competitive crowd.
Do you want to capture great wedding & portrait images and really earn a good living from photography? Are you fed up with your 9-5 job and want to make a living out of your passionate hobby OR have you already taken the leap into a Wedding & Portrait photography career but don’t really know how to step up the pace a bit and start breaking out into really good profit? Remember that you cannot beat a wedding photography course taught by top professionals in the industry to get you on the right track and you can click wedding photography courses to find out more.
A wedding & portrait photography career is highly rewarding. Why shouldn’t it be; you are fulfilling your dream of earning money doing something you are passionate about and it can’t get better than that.
However, starting up in business is not for the faint hearted; there is a steep learning curve and you may fall and pick yourself up several times. The key is not to give up at any hurdle. Perseverance is the key to success. Most people make mistakes within the first year whether this is under pricing, taking on undesirable clients or choosing the wrong suppliers. In fact you never stop learning in this business and that is what keeps it interesting. You may well fall into nearly every trap there is but in the long run it is a good exercise to go through, as you never make the same mistakes again. So, do not be disappointed and give up when things seem an uphill struggle. It is a necessary and invaluable learning experience.
I always say that a successful wedding photography business is 50% photography and 50% sales, marketing and smooth administration. You may know some fantastic photographers set up in business only to fall flat on their faces as they lack the other essential sales and marketing skills that are so needed; good business acumen together with clever and effective sales and marketing is the key to great success in this industry. At the same time, you will see average but consistent photographers succeed in business as they have the 50/50 balance almost perfect and are brilliant at marketing themselves.
Wedding photography is not an easy career path to coast along. Although extremely enjoyable and rewarding, (especially when you see the delighted faces of the couple viewing their precious keepsake photos full of fond memories), it can also be very stressful without the right training and experience. There are no second chances to re-shoot if all goes wrong and you must remember you are capturing one of the most, if not the most momentous day in a man and a womans’ life together. This day will have been planned months if not years beforehand, hence the expectations of you are naturally high. Experience will give you the confidence to perform but you can still get butterflies before every wedding shoot!
The digital age has revolutionised wedding photography. It has made the business more creative, easier to manage in comparison to film, flexible with no more expensive processing of numerous rolls of film as well as allowing the flexibility in Photoshop to manipulate and be creative. But be aware that it has made the whole business of wedding photography more easily accessible to more spiring photographers out there, hence making it more competitive.Also, the introduction of digital compacts and iphones with advanced cameras are making the subject of wedding and portrait photography available to the masses; everyone seems to think they are a photographer these days. This is why it is crucially important that you know what you are doing with your marketing - the top photographers in the country have one thins in common - they are all brilliant at marketing..You can meet them on our photography courses here at wedding photography courses.
This career demands you have to be technically competent, great with people, have good business sense, a creative eye and you have to get it right first time as there are no second chances. Quite a tall order!
There is a lot of competition out there and your job is to ensure that you stand out from that crowd in some way. The more experience you gain, the more relaxed, professional and creative you become and only then can you see your hard efforts really paying off. This booklet is aimed at passing on essential knowledge on all aspects of digital wedding photography to give you the confidence you need to proceed.
But remember, at the start, you may have a limited budget and this needs to be spent wisely. It is unnecessary to invest in top of the range digital SLR cameras, tripods, computers etc. You can pick up a good digital SLR for anywhere between £700 to £1000 - leave the higher spec cameras until the money is flowing in.
It is essential that you invest in good training as well. Learn from photographers who have already achieved great success in the industry. Follow what they do and learn how they made it to the top. It is no good investing in training with someone who has done just a few weddings and is now trying to teach it to others. Check the trainers out to make sure they have substantial experience in shooting weddings and have shown great success in it.
HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES?
Let’s face it, no-one can possibly possess all the skills to run a successful business from the marketing, the selling, shooting the wedding, post digital imaging, accounts, database work, cash flow forecasting etc. And even if you have all these skills, time will not allow you to do so. The ideal is to concentrate on what you are good at. For example, you, as the main photographer, should generally concentrate on the photography itself and the direct contact with clients and the overall business management. Much of the ‘behind the scenes’ administration work may have to rest with you start with but when the business starts to give and money comes in, make sure you farm this out to someone else. At the start, at least get someone else to deal with your book keeping and accounts. Maybe your wife/husband could help or a good friend?
Fifty percentage of a photography business is based on the photography skills and the other fifty percentage is based on good planning, effective marketing and sales techniques, great people skills as well a firm handle on your cash flow and profit and loss forecasts. Hence, do not fall into the trap of thinking that just because you take great photographs, your business will be a steaming success. You have to possess excellent business acumen as well!
You, the photographer, have to have the ability of capturing the true essence of the day from the love, emotion and tenderness to the joy and excitement. You need to be able to relay a story so that in years to come, the couple can still relive their day as if it were yesterday! Done well, this will distinguish you from other wedding photographers.
Also to add credibility to your name, consider becoming qualified via the British Institute of Professional Photographers (BIPP) or via the Master Photographers Association (MPA). The first level that you attain is Licentiateship, followed by Associateship and lastly Fellowship. You can join the BIPP either as a part time or full time photographer and the MPA as an aspiring or full time photographer.
THE BUSINESS STRATEGY
Like anything in life, setting goals gives us drive and determination. Without a focus or a deadline, us feeble human beings tend to drift along a never ending road of confusion and despair. By setting some well defined and realistic business goals right from the start, you will feel achievement when you have reached them and also get a clear definition of how your business is growing in line with your expectations.
You need to determine where you want your business to be in one year, two years and three years time. Hard as it is to judge, you must try and estimate the number of weddings that you think you may undertake in the first, second and third year. You must also assess where you are going to advertise and how much to allocate to this in these years, who are you going to secure funding from, how much profit you would like to achieve etc.
Below I have shown an example of some typical business goals:
Year 1
Secure funding in line with the forecasted financial needs
Purchase all necessary equipment
Establish website and get it up and running
Analyse good advertising avenues
Build relationships with other local wedding providers
Create 3 distinctive albums for display purposes
Take on 10 weddings
Enter 3 competitions for experience
Achieve £2,000 profit
Year 2
Take on 20 weddings and put prices up by 50%
Employ a Digital Imaging assistant to process up weddings
Undertake 2 wedding fayres
Rent out own studio and start expanding portrait side of the business
Build on relationships made with other wedding providers
Attain LBIPP status
Achieve a profit of £10,000
Business Plans
A thorough business plan is absolutely vital and the importance of it cannot be stressed highly enough. The business plan is not just something that must be done in order to secure funding; every business venture needs to do one. You need to sit down and construct a well thought out business plan, which details every aspect of your business. You need to do this, not only to focus your minds but it is also a requirement for grant providers and bank lenders who may not take you seriously otherwise.
It is equally important to amend the plan on a regular basis, as time progresses and priorities change. The whole purpose of the written plan is to focus your mind on the key elements and goals of your business. The very act of preparing the plan will make you take a close look at the competition; the services they provide and their pricing structures; yourself and your strengths and weaknesses. This enables you to identify any potential problem areas you may experience and turn them into positives.
You also need to identify all the financial implications and undertake a cashflow forecast. (explained later).
You can certainly guarantee that your Business plan will raise things that you had not even though of. For example, your running costs and expected expenditure and turnover as well as identifying your need for any additional funding.
By preparing a detailed Business Plan you will be aware of market trends, your business objectives and strategies, its place in the market, resources and expected cashflow. This is so vitally important, especially with a new business venture as undoubtedly you will be looking to re-invest your hard earned money back into the business. Being aware of your cashflow can save you from the potentially crippling situation where one can month you can afford that new AppleMac laptop to the next month being unable to put the fuel in your car to get you into work in the first place. The Business Plan will help you to decide what you can afford and when. Remember forewarned is forearmed!
To re-iterate, a good plan is very important:
If you wish to apply for grant funding/bank loans, as these institutions will usually insist on seeing a well constructed and thought out plan.
In measuring the success within your business.
In spotting problem areas before they arise.
In focusing on the key development areas.
The key elements to a business plan are as follows:
Company Name
Executive summary of your business
This should list the highlights from each of the other sections of the business plan so it is a good idea to leave this part until the rest of the business plan is complete. It is also necessary in this section to detail whether your company is sole trader, Limited etc. The objective of this section is to interest the reader and inform them in a concise way of the whole purpose of your business. If applying for funding, it is sometimes the only part that gets read!
Mission Statement
This is a clear and concise statement of your company’s long-term mission. It should incorporate your ultimate aims and aspirations (mission) for the Company.
Products and Services
This section should detail how you are going to brand your company and its products. Are you going to undertake weddings solely or are you planning to offer portraits, commercial etc. You also need to think about and detail which market you are aiming at (eg. low end, high end). You should detail when you started trading, any history (eg. was it an acquired business), and plans for the future etc. Also detail the service you intend to deliver to clientele and how that compares with competition. Do not get tied up with technical jargon – keep it simple because those reading it may not appreciate the industry you are in but still need to be able to understand the concepts.
Sales and Marketing
This section is vitally important and time and effort needs to be put into this area to ensure your business succeeds. You need to think about:
Where to position your business in the market place (eg. top end quality, low end volume etc.)
Pricing of your products – this is one of the most important and difficult decisions as you need to set your prices at the right level to be profitable.
You need to analyse competition to see what they offer and what they charge and then establish your own niche. If you charge more, there must be tangible reasons for a customer wanting to pay more for your product or service.
Advertising – it is important to identify the most effective routes for promoting and advertising your products or services i.e. how are you going to reach your potential customers in a cost effective manner and how are you going to monitor the effectiveness of your advertising. Also which mediums do you intend to use for your advertising; is this via websites, editorial, social media sites such as Facebook/MySpace/Twitter, YouTube, adverts in magazine/newspapers, shop windows, wedding fayres, emails, posted fliers and brochures etc.
It is important to identify on the business plan why people would choose your product at that price and why it is different to competition (eg. quality, price, unique, extra benefits or add ons etc).
The Team
Even though initially you may be starting off on your own, due to financial limitations, you will eventually need some help. You need to establish what personnel requirements will be needed and at what stage. You also need to identify skills they will need to possess and any weakness areas that they may need training up in. You need also to think about how often the key staff are required – full time, part time, whether they are to be employed or on contract. Salaries also need consideration – list approximate wage levels of each member and what their job description includes. Generally you need to provide Profiles and Curriculum Vitaes
of any team members to be involved, including yourself even if a sole trader. Also a business/management structure (no matter how small) helps clarify roles.
Business Premises and Equipment
More often than not, it is best to start your business from home as this keeps your overheads down. This section should detail where the business operates from (home or otherwise), advantages and disadvantages of its location, leased or owned and for how long, equipment bought or investment needed. Also, IT facilities, outsourcing necessary, management and accounting systems required to control the business and any plans for the future to improve in these areas.
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats
This is referred to as SWOT analysis and is a useful exercise in analysing exactly what it states: Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is useful to divide a piece of paper into 4 areas and construct a list in each section. Think carefully about all your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and your goal is eventually turn your weaknesses into strengths.
A few examples:
Strengths:
Excellent location with potentially an elite client base
Qualified member of BIPP
Excellent photography skills
Weaknesses:
No helper – have to juggle the photography as well as marketing, accounts etc
Photoshop skills need enhancing
Not very experienced with Sales & Marketing
Opportunities
Examples:
Some lovely wedding venues surrounding us
Many wedding companies I can affiliate with
Threats
A lot of photographers after the same business
Competition
Even though competition is included in the Sales and Marketing section, it is a worthwhile exercise to establish the names, locations, prices, products and services, selling tactics of all your main competitors in your niche – basically find out everything you possibly can about them. Ring them up and pretend to be a customer wanting their services. This will give you a real sense of where you are at in the market place and what you can offer that they do not as well as how to sell yourself against them. This is an ongoing process throughout the life of the business.
Goals & Objectives - One and Five-year goals
A written statement of where you see yourself in one years time as well as in five years time, in both financial terms and in market share. Visualisation of where you want to be is the key to success and drives you forward.
Cash Flow Forecast
Another important task to undertake is to produce a Cash Flow Forecast. This is not an easy job but you need to take a stab at it! You can then look back in one years time and see if you have achieved all of your goals and then you are ready to revise it for the next phase of your Business Development.
Other things to consider:
Keep the business plan easy to understand and concise with any detailed information in appendices at the back. It is a good idea to index and bind the plan to make it more professional. This will be necessary if it is needed by outside organisations like banks and grant providers.
We run Wedding and Portrait Photography Courses with some of the top pro tutors..
Remember that we run Wedding & Photography courses (including Essential Business Advice) using Top Pro Tutors in fantastic venues and using at least 9 models on every course. Check these out on:
wedding photography courses portrait photography courses
