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Archive 2015 · Wedding Show Setup and giveaways

  
 
Crawleyphoto
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Wedding Show Setup and giveaways


I was just wondering what types of setups yall have done as well as what kind of giveaways have worked for you?

I am planning to have several prints hanging and a projected slideshow....

Thanks in Advance



Dec 09, 2015 at 05:13 PM
sgtbueno
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Wedding Show Setup and giveaways


I use about 8 16x24 and a 55 inch tv with a slideshow, giveaways? Business cards lol


Dec 09, 2015 at 05:53 PM
glort
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Wedding Show Setup and giveaways



The whole thing needs to be tied together and it needs to be setup in such a way it builds rapport and works for you.

The big thing with bridal shows is the backend. You wan't get time to talk too much to everyone and you don't even want to try booking people at the show. make appointments so you can sit them down in a controlled environment with all your marketing tools primed and ready and do a proper presentation to them.

For the show there are a few ingredients that have worded well for me and others that have used them.

Lighting.
You need to light your stand so it can be seen from space... or the furthest corner of the show. You want to bring the heads in like moths to the flame. use floods and spots and pack them in there to the capacity of your electrical allocation and more. Usually the stalls behind and to the side of you won't run much and if you ask if you can plug into their power I have never been knocked back. These days I have LED panels which are bright as the sun and use no power so better still. If you are projection, You can still light the prints on the walls up without washing out your show as long as you have or hire a projector with some decent grunt.

Sound.
You want upbeat music with plenty of Bass that will carry. you don't want to drown out conversation or make it annoying for the nearby7 stall holders but a bit of bass from an up beat tune will also draw people in. Cut a disk or usb and use a good quality compact sound system.
If you are playing your Vid, make sure you hook that up to a decent sound setup. It's VERY important because nothing creates mood and feeling like sound.

Competition.
I wouldn't run a free engagement portrait sitting these days, it's done to death and twice as tired.
Your a creative so show it. Glam shoots worked well for me and they are different. You can also cross market them to pick up work from the hangers on Sisters and friends that always come in a gaggle with the bride to be. If you can't or don't shoot glam, then look at something else like a Big wall portrait from the wedding pics or a bonus 5 pages in the album or whatever. Ideally you want something that has back end in it for you but depends what you shoot.

For the comp entry forms i put 4-5 questions on them for things I want to know for my market research. Maybe what their budget is, what do they like best about the pics they saw on my stand, what they don't like ..... If I have a lot of questions I print 2 different forms so they can fill them in and move along. Of course you want to know their wedding date, email addy etc so you can follow up.
Every entrant wins a prize which is the reason I will be following them up. The winner is rigged.

You will get a load of people that busily fill out the form and hand it back and say " What's this for anyway?" and then you'll get the one that stands there for 5 min asking questions, telling you how much she loves your work and you can see the stars in her eye. Thats my winner. If I'm going to give something away, I'll give it to someone who actually wants and will appreciate it.

DO NOT have an entry box they can put the forms in, put it behind the counter. This way they have to hand it to you and you have a chance to talk to them. When its busy you won't, when it's quiet you can be selling yourself most effectively.

Banner print.
I get a HUGE banner print done and hang it over the stand. I get long curtain rods and attach them to the wall with saddle clamps and then slide the whole thing up and secure the clamps. Put the print so it faces the direction from which the most traffic comes from. Put a spotlight or 7 on it. I take the cheap stands down the back of the show and always do well. I Could not tell you how many people I have spoken to at these things and said as an Icebreaker " Seen anything interesting so far?" And they say " We have only been here 5 min. It was crowded up the front and we saw your picture up there all lit up so came down here to have a look."
Bingo!

Cover the stand!
Either cover the stand with material or do as francis does and do somethingin paneling. Whatever, just don't have the grey standard walls that 80% of other stall holders are going to have. I use fabric and put up the banner and do my wiring for the lights and then put the material over it all and hide it so it looks neat and tidy.
Francis goes one better than I have and puts a floor in as well which I'm going to steal the idea and do if I do another show. Making you stand different and individual is another paramount key.
You are not there just selling pics, this is marketing so you are selling EVERYTHING you do and the client sees.

I print colour brochures and I put in a DL size slip with a dated offer. This way the 10K brochures I had printed last me a bunch of shows but I don't date or put prices in them that may change. anything like that is on the basic black on plain paper Slip that costs nothing to print and I can even change the offer through a multi day show to test what works best. that has been a real worthwhile thing many times.

I found people are very reluctant to walk into open stands so I put a counter across the front at least partially. that way I can put display albumson it and also wrapped sweets which also pull people in and give you a chance to break the ice and engage in some conversation.
Personally I think the loungeroom type setups where you sit the client down and do a presentations are..... well frankly laughable. You need to play the numbers game at a show not try and book 3 jobs while another 100 stroll by. get their details, follow them up when you have weeks not hours to tie them down.

Get your paper diary and write in PENCIL some fake appointments so you look busy but not so you have no time. If someone wants a time thats in pencil you say Oh, they rescheduled, I forgot to cross that out, it's fine and book the real ones in in pen.

Do BIG prints. have at least one 60x40 and your feature pic and then you can go smaller. I never do below 20x30. I matt and frame them all the same, off white border, thin ( cheap) black aluminum frame. You can do the feature print different but the off white and black suits anything and all together in a booth look more branded and tie together far better than a mish mash of colors and styles. Also if you do more shows you can pull and swap the prints out which are cheaper than frames.

I find out the size of the show and if it's a multi day, get friends in to help on the last day. Have plenty of entry forms and send the helpers out in front of the stand to pass them out and direct them to the stand if you are allowed to do that.

I don't give out prices or package info. If you do that, what more do they need to find out or have reason to speak to you again? They will have all the info they need to go to the next guy and price shop you. I tell them this is our price RANGE, The Stupid ^&*! printer didn't deliver my price lists on time but would next wednesday and friday night suit you best to come to the studio and I'll go over it all with you and we can work out what coverage and style of shots you are interested in and would suit you best.

This way you have let them know if they can afford you or niot which is all they need to know at that point and given they can, then they are right to come in and see you can get all the specifics.

The main thing with these shows is to work them for all they are worth... which is generally a lot of money. Handing out brochures is a cop out. You need to engage as many people as you can, get them interested to want to find out more and then book them in when you can crunch them properly. once you have got through the ones you book and call after the show, work your data base on the comp entries. And hand out info as a secondary marketing effort not your main one. Think like a business person not a photographer.

Photographers are sucky business people! :0)

The day or 3 after the show, DON"T answer your phone. Let it go through to message bank. If you did the show right, the thing will ring literally non stop for at least a day. You don't want people ringing 3 times or even once and getting an engaged signal while you are talking to one person and another 10 have tried to get through. If you have a 2nd line, write down the details from the machine as they come in and call them back on the other line.

Good luck with it.



Dec 10, 2015 at 04:11 AM
Scott Mosher
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Wedding Show Setup and giveaways


I use showgirls to get the grooms attention and I hire the guys from Thunder from Down Under to get the brides attention. Works every time


Dec 10, 2015 at 10:05 AM
Crawleyphoto
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Wedding Show Setup and giveaways


Thanks Glort for the useable and good information....gave me some great ideas....


Dec 10, 2015 at 01:30 PM
glort
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Wedding Show Setup and giveaways


Scott Mosher wrote:
I use showgirls to get the grooms attention and I hire the guys from Thunder from Down Under to get the brides attention. Works every time


I have parked my Harley in the stand when it's big enough and that works a treat for everyone.
I put some pics where I have used it on wedding or glam shoots behind it. I promote it as a free value added for couples that book me to use as an escort/ prop.

I haven't used " Studs" to pull in brides but I did shoot this one guy years ago that women drool over so I do have a large print featuring him.
I dunno what it is about the guy but geez, what ever it is, he's certainly a panty dropper.
Funny thing was, his marriage only lasted 6 days. He came home early and found Her in bed with another bloke. Shame, He was a real nice guy and deserved better.

I bought the Harley as a gimmick for weddings and to say it has paid itself back in pulling in work is an understatement. I have had people ring and ask if i'm the guy that takes the Harley to the weddings and when I say yes, they want to book without knowing anything else about what i do.

I bought it because another shooter mate had a Ferrari he used to take as a prop and another had a Roller. The bike was a lot cheaper than those and of course NO other shooter turns up on a Harley so the marketing value was huge.

You only need that one USP or attention get'er to make a huge difference to your booking rate.



Dec 10, 2015 at 06:00 PM





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