Wedding Photography Marketing Tips & Ideas - How to Generate More Photography Clients Like Tomorrow

Are you scrambling at trying to get your wedding photography business off the ground? Do you want to learn how to generate more prospective clients starting tomorrow?

In this article, I will be sharing some sound tips and ideas you can start to implement even if you haven't taken your first picture. You are in a great business where you can make a substantial amount of income for you and your family.

My goal is to give you the best tips so that you can start tomorrow in putting together a magnificent plan to attract a crowd of clients with credit card in hand ready to pay you for your services. Each day there are people getting married.

The market is huge and the world is looking for a PERFECT wedding photographer just like you. You started this business because it's what you love. You started this because you are passionate about it. Passion, in the end, ultimately leads to much wealth.

Business Cards- Since you are a professional photographer, it would be a GREAT idea to get some business cards made up. Make sure you always carry at least 5-10 business cards with you on a daily basis, because you never know who you will run into.

When you leave from a nice restaurant, leave your business card along with a tip. When you are out and about building new friendships, tell others your passion and give them a business card. You will be amazed at your response rates.

Online Videos- One of the strongest marketing strategies you can use for your business is to start shooting videos of your best work. This may sound strange at first, however, your prospective audience will LOVE you forever.

Social media is the place to be if you want to get your work in front of literally thousands in 24-48 hours or less. The internet is so vast that you can be presenting your expertise 24/7 while you are asleep.

Get your best work on Video sharing sites and your business will take a huge U-turn. Focus your time and energy on providing more VALUE than you take in cash value and sit back and watch what happens.

Newsletter- One of the most effective tips to use when implementing a marketing plan for your wedding photography business is to grow a list of loyal subscribers who you can communicate to on a regular basis.

Usually, the type people you will attract to this type of newsletter would be couples who are wanting more information on photography packages and up and coming photographers who are in desperate need of more ways to grow their business.

As this process unfolds, you will be able to communicate with prospects who have come to like and trust what you have to offer.

Planning a Chicago Sweet Sixteen Event

Aside from a wedding reception a Chicago Sweet Sixteen Birthday can be one of the biggest moments in your son or daughter's life. Putting together an epic event like this can be overwhelming and frightening. This is why we've created this guideline to layout some proper steps in planning your Chicago Sweet 16. We'll cover each aspect of your party and walk you through each area correctly.

1. Determine your Budget: The very first step of any party would be to set a realistic budget for your event. Setting a budget can often be rather difficult, especially when money is tight. Before setting any budget you should contact some of your local Chicago vendors and see what their average rates are. You may think party favors cost $40, but in reality they could turn out to cost $200. Many vendors usually have minimums; you should try to get this information up front.


2. Choose a venue: After you've set a realistic budget you'll want to begin by looking at venues. There are tons of different locations in Chicago where you can host your event. Often time parents will begin by looking at reception halls and banquet facilities, but will find these places can be more than their budget allows. You may also want to look into local facilities like recreation departments or VFW halls. These facilities tend to be much cheaper and you're able to bring outside food and drinks. This will help save on the costs. You'll always want to keep in mind that the venue where the party is held will dictate all the details of your party including the decorations and costs.


3. Select a Theme: Not everyone chooses to theme their Chicago Sweet Sixteen birthday party, but lately this is becoming more of a trend. There are several themes out there and we recommend doing a Google search on "Party Themes. Some of the more popular themes we've seen are masquerades, highlighter parties, pretty in pink, and of course the night club theme. Once you've selected a theme you'll want to choose colors that complement the theme. Lighting can also be an important aspect of your Chicago Sweet Sixteen. It can turn your ugly VFW hall into an all out night club experience if done properly. Check with your local entertainment company and see if they can help you pick out lighting that will match the colors of your event. Your entertainment company may also be able to add your son or daughter's name into their computerized lighting. Lighting is often overlooked when planning a Sweet 16, but it can really make your party shine! (No Pun intended)


4. Choose Your Entertainment: The key to party success is often your entertainment. There are several different types of entertainment, but most people choose to use a mobile DJ route. You'll want to choose your entertainment based on your son or daughters personality and style. As stated before, the entertainment can make or break your party. You'll want to search for an entertainer with a high level of energy as that may be needed in the beginning of the night to get the party started. You'll also want to choose an entertainer with some style and an up to date music library as the kids will demand it.


5. Choosing a Cake: Will you have a cake at your event? Will it be homemade, custom made, or store bought? You'll want to choose a cake that fits into the theme of your Chicago Sweet Sixteen and of course you'll want it to taste good!


6. Photography or Photo booths: Having a professional photographer is becoming quite a trend. Of course you'll want to try to stick to your budget as photographers tend to be expensive. Not only will a photographer grab all the special memories that night, but they can make your son or daughter feel like a true celebrity. When choosing a photographer you'll want to hire a professional and see if they've shot a Sweet Sixteen party before. You'll also want to see what kind of style they shoot (traditional, photojournalistic, artistic, etc). Often times your DJ or entertainment company can provide you with photographer referrals. Having party professionals who work well together will really make your event come together smoothly. Another option would be to rent a photo booth for the night. These can be a lot of fun for the kids and everyone will have a photo keepsake to take home from the event.


7. Grand Entrance: Often time people will choose to have a grand entrance for the birthday boy or girl. You'll want to know how they will enter the room. Who will handle the introductions? Will there be music playing? Will you have a red carpet entrance? Will they come in by themselves or with a VIP or closes friend? Maybe a paparazzi entrance with pictures everywhere? This is when having a professional entertainment company will come in handy. They'll be able to help you with planning the grand entrance and they may have some creative ways of doing this too.


8. Choosing an Outfit: Picking out that right outfit can crucial, especially for the girls. You'll want to try to match the colors or theme of their event. Some even choose to do something brighter or completely different so that they'll stand out from everyone and look their best.


9. Will there be an After party: So the official party is over and it's time for the after party. This party may be for your son or daughter's closest friends to hang out afterwards. Often time people choose to get hotel rooms or have a sleepover back at the house with food, drinks, and a movie. Having a solid plan for after the party will make sure your day is complete.

As you can see planning a Chicago Sweet Sixteen birthday party can be a lot more work than you anticipated. Not everyone chooses to go as elaborate and detailed as others. The thing is there really is no right or wrong way to throw a party. The key is to try to be completely unique. With the help of this sweet sixteen planning guide, you'll now have the building blocks to throw a one of a kind Chicago Sweet Sixteen.

How to Make it Big As a Small Town Photographer

The jet screams off the runway as the world renowned commercial photographer is taxied away to the next $100,000.00 shoot. "You must specialize to make it in this world", they say to the assistant sitting to his left. "that is, if you ever want to make it".

What does it mean to "Make It"?

Success is a funny thing. It's definition is as individual as each person who strives to define it. For some it is money, others time. What I call success is a happy home and paid bills.

As a small town photographer both can be a struggle at times.

Experts in the field tell us that we must be specialized. But they always leave out one little problem. Sometimes where you live is more important than your degree of specialization.

Does the area really matter?

Can it really matter that much? Yes. Yes it can. The area in which I work has an exciting population of about 15,000. My own town tops out at 9,000 people. I am not sure, but i think they even count animal to get to that number.

Why don't niches always work?

For many photographer there is not enough people in their marketing area to pick a niche and stick to it. I would love to only photograph High School Seniors or babies, and leave the rest to someone else. I could easily be the best baby photographer in my area, but with under 200 new births annually it just isn't enough to support a business.

When do you need to specialize?

Don't get me wrong. Specialization is a wonderful thing. If I were to live in Chicago, St. Louis, or even Kansas City I would choose a niche and work it for all it's worth. A large population, or rather a sufficient population with the income to afford a specialist is all that is needed to specialize. In fact, if you have that population and do not specialize you will be hurting your business.

When will specializing kill your business?

Cradle to grave. It's a idea in photography circles, and more specifically small town photography circles, that points out who your clients are.

The average portrait photographer handles the following types of business:

• Photographs of children


• High school senior photography


• Wedding photography


• Family portraits


• And the cycle continues.....

Each of these areas could be a specialty if the area can support it.

But I want to be perceived as an expert.

This is the fun part of being a "Cradle to Grave" photographer. You are the expert. There is nothing you can't do, and hopefully do well, as long as a camera and people are involved.

If the small town photographer were to specialize in one area, they would be counted the inferior photographer because they can't do X or Y. If I only photographed families, they would be disappointed when I said I wouldn't photograph their newborn baby.

But what about making a profit?

In any business, profit comes with clients. Without enough clients a business can never be profitable. If a small town photographer can't do it all, their clients will soon find a photographer who can.

So, what does "making it" mean to you?

Making it definitely means different things to different people. The next time you hear you have to find a niche, make sure that the niche you find can support you dreams and desires.

Take Along Your Wedding Photographer to Your Remote Wedding Location

Maybe you don't know this but wherever you travel for your wedding ceremony; you can take your wedding photographer along with you. It's becoming very trendy to have a remote wedding location, and many brides are simply tired of having a ceremony held at a traditional wedding location. In many cases, when the bride decides to have her wedding and ceremony from a remote location, she has a lot to consider and that includes finding a wedding photographer who has experience in traveling to a remote destination and taking the perfect wedding photos.

It's not easy to plan a normal wedding, but when you're wedding plans include a remote location; it becomes a total nightmare for the bride and her wedding planner, because of things like booking a place for the ceremony, finding the proper minister or other clergy to perform the ceremony. Add into the mix arranging the reception, and planning how your family and friends are going to arrive at the wedding ceremony, and you've got yourself one stressed out bride to be.

Planning a wedding at a certain destination takes lots of work and advanced planning on the part of the bride and the wedding planner, so having a wedding photographer that will travel to the wedding site is crucial.

Using a search engine like Firefox or Bing can make your search for a wedding photographer that can travel to a remote wedding site fairly simple. Just make sure to include terms like your state, and the town you live in to get the best results.

A few things you should be aware of while conducting your internet searches are that photographers routinely use the internet to advertise their photography businesses. They rely on their online portfolios to display their photos of weddings along with other work they have done for their other clients, and they usually also have testimonials from satisfied clients praising their efforts.

Select a few different choices and sit down with them where possible. Discuss your needs and see if their approach to taking wedding photos fit's your specific needs and desires, and go with the one that's going to not only work with you but has the experience to only travel to your destination, and utilize the location's surroundings to capture pictures that will become special moments in time.

On your wedding day, knowing that all the details have been taken care of will leave you free to enjoy your special day no matter the location. And knowing that you have a wedding photographer, who's able to travel to your remote destination, makes your wedding day all the more special.

The Budget-Friendly Guide to Wedding Photography

Finding someone who can capture the memories of your wedding at a price that you can absorb is one of the biggest challenges of planning the event. Coordinating flowers, music, food, and other details can be a logistical nightmare, of course. But, selecting the right wedding photographer is a decision that carries unique considerations. In 20 years, when you ask your guests to recall their memories from the event, they won't remember the food. Nor will they recollect the flowers and music. Few will even recall the venue. Your pictures will be the lasting memory of your most cherished celebration.

Unfortunately, wedding photography is expensive. The pictures alone can cost nearly $2,000. Additional services - for example, videography, DVDs, and prints - can catapult the price higher. When you're planning the event on a limited budget, the cost of good photographs can make your heart stop. In this article, I'll provide several ideas that you can use to trim the expense while ensuring the memories are properly captured.

Choose A Basic Package

Most wedding photography professionals offer a basic package. They typically (though not always) exclude extras such as an album, prints, photos during the rehearsal dinner, and other services that quickly boost the price. By contrast, a basic package will normally include a predetermined number of pictures from both the ceremony and reception. You are, in essence, paying only for the professional's time and expertise. Once you save enough money, you can buy the extras that you want.

Can You Reduce The Hours?

Nearly all photographers charge based upon the number of hours they expect to spend at your event. If your reception is an all-night (and early morning) affair, and you want photographs taken during the entire celebration, expect to pay a higher price. If possible, limit the number of hours for which you hire your photographer. That doesn't mean you need to shorten your reception; just the time during which you want pictures taken.

Interview More Wedding Photography Professionals

A lot of couples pick their wedding photography professional based upon recommendations from friends and family. To be sure, those recommendations can be valuable. However, if the professionals to whom you've been referred are expensive and your budget is extremely limited, it may be time to consider other options. In truth, there may be dozens of professionals in your area who can deliver great pictures. Venture outside your referral circle. Visit and interview other experts. You may uncover an inexpensive, yet wildly talented gem.

Call The Local Paper

The people who take the photographs that appear in your local newspaper are experienced photographers; they're often very talented. They'll have an intuitive grasp of being able to capture a moment and tell a compelling story through a well-placed image. Plus, many of them may be searching for opportunities to make extra money during the weekends. Calling your local paper isn't an ideal approach to finding a wedding photography professional, of course. But, if you're drowning under a mounting bill for the event, this can be a great option for saving money.

Creating The Memories

I've just given you several ideas for trimming the cost of your Chicago wedding photography, or anywhere. It's also important to keep in mind that an experienced photographer can do a lot with very little. That is, they don't need a spectacular setting to make an image come alive.

They don't require extravagance in order to capture moments that tell a crisp, memorable story. In fact, many wedding photography professionals contend that simplicity has a breathtaking power that opulence can't hope to match. When captured properly, it can perfectly encapsulate the moment. Whether you're getting married in a barn, at the beach, or in a castle, the memories should live on with the magic of the original event.

Sex on the Wedding Night

Often when one thinks of a wedding, all sorts of things come to mind. There is all the planning that goes into the ceremony. There is all the preparation, not to mention the cost, for the reception. There is the fun of deciding on a honeymoon and making those arrangements. The groom gets to go out with the guys while the bride and her friends play wedding games and open up the sexy lingerie. Wrapped up in all these arrangements is a great deal of stress.

You would think that once you get done with the ceremony, all the stress would evaporate. For the most part, it may be true in regard to months worth of plans coming to a successful and wonderful conclusion. Yet it is often replaces with another form of stress that sets in after the ceremony. This is the stress on sex on the wedding night.

You might wonder why would sex on the wedding night be so stressful. The answer can be summed up in one word: expectations. Both bride and groom have expectations of what intimacy with the other will be like and sex on the wedding night is supposed to be the fulfillment of those expectations. Yet that fulfillment isn't always what it is cracked up to be.

What the groom is looking for in terms of sex on the wedding night and what the bride is looking when it comes to sex on the wedding night are often two different things. So how do the bride and groom reconcile their individual expectations so that the expectations are fair and pleasurable for both of them? The answer lies in setting those expectations rather than letting expectations set you up for stress.

What factors should be considered when setting expectations for sex on the wedding night? First, consider the time of the wedding. A couple that gets married at 6:00 pm. will not get done greeting people at the reception until 10 pm at night, or perhaps later. Given that factor, how much energy do you think either bride or groom will have left for enjoyable sex on the wedding night? It won't do anything wonderful for the post nuptial intimacy. On the other hand, a couple that gets married a say, 1:00 in the afternoon will be done by about 5:00 p.m. There is still time left in their day to get on the road, to a hotel, and settled in. The time of relaxation will help both husband and wife time to talk through and overcome the jitters that go along with sex on the wedding night.

Another factor that would impact sex on the wedding night is travel time. If you are across the country on your honeymoon, there is an extensive amount of travel time. Well, what else might you do with that time? How about that sex on the wedding night? It would be wise for couples to limit the traveling that gets done immediately after the ceremony. The less time there is for travel, the more time that can be devoted to intimacy.

Good wedding planning includes the planning for sex on the wedding night. It should be as relaxed and enjoyable as possible for both bride and groom. He has the initiative. She has the lingerie. If they both take communication and planning seriously, then sex on the wedding night will be a memory for them to cherish instead of stress they have to overcome.

Wedding Photography Business - Ten Essential Equipment to Get Started

Starting a wedding photography business can be a daunting task. However, knowing what equipment you need to begin your business goes a long way in making that leap easier. Outlined are ten must haves to get your business started.

* Camera -- It goes without saying that you need to invest in a good camera. It is important to get a sturdy reliable digital single lens reflex (DSLR) model, because a wedding photographer's camera is his workhorse. Depending on your preference and your budget, of course, scout around for what's available and read countless reviews on what the market is offering. Do your homework and do it well! You do not want to spend money and effort in repairing a less than satisfactory camera.

* Tripod -- Invest in a sturdy tripod. Steer clear of the less stable ones that threaten to blow over with the slightest breeze, no matter how low they are priced. At a shoot, your concentration should be on the subjects in front of you and not on making sure your tripod does not topple over. Also, a tripod is a must have for those group shots, most importantly so, if you do not have image stabilization built into your lens.

* Zoom lens 70 -- 200mm -- This zoom lens correctly allows you to captures all those quaint moments unobtrusively, i.e. loving glance, ring exchange, flowers, corsage, bride's hair clip, pearl earring - the possibilities are endless. It ensures that romance, candid shots and detail is added to your album and is a great way of documenting all the finer details of the wedding day.

* Wide angle zoom lens 17 -- 55mm -- This is your group lens and is ideal for the bridal party, family formal and informal shots. It allows you to capture all the subjects in the view finder effortlessly, without cutting out any limbs or subjects. This lens is of paramount importance for all those group photos that you take on that wedding day, which, trust me, are usually a lot.

* Flash -- The need for a flash cannot be stressed enough. A good image is all about the amount of light let in and if there is not enough light, you run the risk of having under-exposed images. A flash helps mitigate this and is a must have for evenings as well as indoor shoots where the lighting is insufficient.

* Memory cards -- This is perhaps one of the most important must haves to invest in. Secure Digital (SD) or Compact Flash (CF) cards that are good quality and a decent speed guarantee that the images captured are of outstanding quality and will never get lost. Do not opt for cheap cards that compromise on reliability and performance. This is part of the vehicle, so to say, of your final product and it must deliver the desired outcome for both you and your clients. Also if you can, invest in larger cards that can allow you to shoot in RAW, maximizing the opportunity to correct your digital negatives after the shoot.

* Back up equipment -- It is important to have back up equipment. Whether it is that used DSLR camera or a couple of memory cards on standby. Accidents happen and you can find yourself without a memory card or worse still, a properly working camera. Back up equipment comes in handy in such situations. Also, it is advisable to have a laptop that allows you to download your images at the venue, so that you have backup photos in the event of any loss or damage.

* Camera Bag -- A practical must have is a protective camera bag to carry all your equipment. Not just any bag will do, as some inner linings cause scratch marks on your equipment, while others provide poor equipment support. Most camera bags have handy compartments that allow you to store your equipment neatly, making it very easy for you to find them when you need to use them. Also some of them are kitted with soft felt inner landing to cushion your equipment as you go about your shoot.

* Cleaning equipment -- It is essential to invest in a good cleaning kit for your lens, which basically should contain a soft cloth, blower, cleaning swabs and cleaning solution. There are many things Photoshop can do, but the one task that belies it is a serious smudge from a dirty lens. It also follows that after investing in cleaning equipment, be sure to use it!

* A back like a duck -- As a wedding photographer, it is helpful to have a back like a duck - that is, be able to handle demanding and emotional situations without letting them get you down.

A wedding can be a stressful event and expectations, emotions and other general behind the scene hiccups, can threaten to throw your shoot. It is therefore important to remain chirpy and professional and this will ultimately translate into the photos you take and ensure greater success of your wedding photography business.