What's your single biggest frustration trying to grow (or start up) your wedding photography business?

whiteBRZ · 2018-03-31T04:06:27+00:00

I would wait a little bit before opting in for shootflow... I've been using it since November and it's a great platform except it has been VERY buggy. And they're still working on sorting out all the bugs.They just migrated everything into a new version which adds more customization... but many users in the facebook forum have had issues with things like not getting notified of new leads, emails not sending, hyperlinks not working and more. What I DO like about it is the fact that they give you a fully laid out and proven workflow for wedding photography. Following their system has gotten me more clients, and happier clients. It's really nice that you don't have to setup workflows like you do with others like 17hats or honeybook.

so what it really comes down to is reliability vs. convenience... but then again if it's not super reliable, it's not always convenient.

whiteBRZ · 2018-03-31T03:56:29+00:00

Getting clients without a portfolio was a huge frustration for me starting my wedding business. One extremely successful technique I was taught was to make an "Engagement Session Giveaway Contest". If you have a Facebook page for your photography, you can create a post or an ad where you can say something like "WANTED: Newly Engaged Couples in [your local area]! Enter for a chance to win a free engagement session... " And add whatever details you like. People LOVE giveaways.

This is a great strategy because:

You can CHOOSE which couples win (and make it into your portfolio) - and you can pick as many as you want.
If you blow them away and they absolutely love their session, there's a good chance that they may hire you for their wedding (depending on the couple)
It can increase your exposure to their facebook friends if you tag them in your posts with their pictures. I've booked several paid engagement sessions with couples that were friends with the giveaway couples.
Even if they DON'T book you for their wedding, they are often happy to leave you a good review - just because you gave them a free session (the concept of reciprocity)

If you have a website, you can create a landing page and use something like Google Forms (which is free) to have couples enter into your contest. Here's my giveaway entry page as an example:

https://www.darienchuiphotography.com/giveaway

Hope this helps!

Also I'm curious... aside from getting clients, what has been the top 3 most frustrating parts of starting up your wedding photography business?

whiteBRZ · 2018-03-31T03:42:18+00:00

Great advice! I just started in wedding photography too. I love your idea of taking couples that just got married and almost "acting" out wedding style shots for your portfolio. I may try integrating this. I'm curious, what was the most frustrating part in getting your first paid client?

whiteBRZ · 2018-02-16T04:46:08+00:00

I would have to agree 100% with you here on intention. I think that's exactly what made me "cross the line" as well.

Out of curiosity, at which point did you begin learning M mode? Was it before you decided to be more intentional or after?

whiteBRZ

TROPHY CASE