level1photog Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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TheyCallMeJ wrote:
Good thread, I have been paying attention to what everyone has to say for a while.
If making money was the ultimate goal, then I wouldn't have bothered with photography, regardless of the genre. Take a look at the Forbes' richest people list and see if you find any photographer there. Having said that, there is indeed an intangible benefit in shooting weddings that money can't buy. I am able to develop and maintain a relationship with my clients that no other vendor can. Being able to meet my previous clients again (now as a guest at their friend's wedding) is often delightful. It is the ultimate testament that I must be doing something right. Not only did they trust me for their wedding day, they referred me to their family and friends. My emotional attachment with my clients allows me to stay motivated in pursuing wedding photography, beyond monetary gains. Your experience with the business may vary.
To address level1photog's specific concerns, there aren't many proven ways to scale and expand this business. Not saying that it is impossible, but only committing to this part-time will be a handicap. At some point if you desire your wedding business to (really) flourish, you have to go all in. I am not telling you to quit your day job, just aligning your expectations such that they are realistic.
First, there's always the associate business model which will allow you to accept multiple clients for a given date. If you have superior management skills, then it's worth looking into. Whether you decide to keep shooting or simply market your brand and having your associates do all the work is entirely up to you. This is where my emotional attachment with my clients becomes a downside, I rather limit myself to a smaller number of weddings per year and raise my prices, rather than relying on associates.
Then you have the photographer / educator hybrid. The advantage is that you can produce content that can be sold again and again (ex: Creative Live courses). The fact that you have so many wannabe photographers makes this option so lucrative. Turn your competitors into your customers. How great are your communication skills?
You can expand into other photography genres, a popular approach for wedding photographers due to seasonal demand. Some will tackle maternity, newborn, family or events, while others will try something completely unrelated such as commercial or real estate. Although I am firm believer that in order to grow (and truly make money), specialization is required. Do one thing and do it well.
To echo Glort's multithread, multipage bashing of social media (or whatever the next trend may be), business is about people. If you can reach your targeted audience and answer their desires, they will pay you. Sometimes I look at other successful (and highly profitable) photographers and deconstruct how they do it, what often surprises me is how "offline" they are. I see many spend countless hours in designing a logo, font, color schemes and business cards then I hear Joe Buissink who simply says "I don't have business cards, I leave my number on a napkin". He explains why and it makes sense. Then you have someone like Bradford Rowley who shoots Renaissance style portraits (people spend 5-6 digits per session) and if you visit his site, you will time travel back into the 90's with spartan web design. Notice "© Bradford Portraits 2015" at the bottom... Seriously they don't even care or bother updating their site anymore as money keeps gushing in.
What level1photog writes resonates with me because I am also a part-timer. My standard disclaimer is that I am not in a position to offer any valuable advice, since I am not "there" yet. Statistically speaking less than 0.01% of the wedding photographers (maybe even less than that) will achieve the level of Buissink, Ghionis, Mautner(s), TwoMann or even Bradford Rowley and Sue Bryce. If you feel depressed because you are constantly comparing yourself to others, you will never get any satisfaction from the business as this path will only lead you to misery. In reference to the Hedgehog Concept from Jim Collins' Good to Great, pay less attention to what others are doing and focus more on what you can do. You are your own biggest competitor. Your limitations can often be broken by looking from within. Even for those who are just starting out with only five weddings booked, give your heart and soul and shoot each wedding as if it will be your last one. Surpass all expectations and treat your clients the way they deserve, I guarantee that word will start to spread real quick.
Whether you are the part-timer who is only looking for a boost in income or the full-timer who tries to earn a decent living, this business requires you to hustle and hustle hard. There are no shortcuts, no magic formula, no Youtube tutorials and no Lightroom presets for success.
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Wow your words resonate with me so much. I completely agree with everything you say. I definitely agree that photography will not make anyone rich and require alot of hustling, but it's the intagible emotional aspect of providing priceless memories of weddings, thank you note/Yelp reviews, shooting their maternity, newborn, etc that make this pursue worthwhile.
I also agree that I am my biggest competitor. I don't want to be just as good as my competitions or better, but try to create work of my own from learning from alot of masters in this craft such as Jerry Ghionis, Sail Chong, Joey L, ClayCook, Amazing Group, etc to create images I'm please with it myself.
What you and glort said is true. I just have to be content shooting. I will accept whatever future so long I give it my best.
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