4. Plan Ahead—Then, Be Flexible
Weddings can be a little crazy, to say the least. That being the case, it’s important to do everything you can to be prepared. We always meet with our clients for a pre-wedding consultation a few weeks before their wedding to walk through the photo schedule and make sure they have reasonable expectations for the day. This helps us to identify any scheduling “problem areas” and gently address them with the couple before their wedding day. For example, if a couple is in love with one of our past weddings where we had three hours of creative portrait time, but they’ve only given us a 15 minute time slot for photos, then they need to know that we cannot accomplish the same type of photos in such a short amount of time. However, if they love our documentary work, then 15 minutes is probably going to be all they need for us to be able to capture the photos they’re looking for. The key here is, and always will be, communication.
You may find it helpful to have a clause in your contract that requires a pre-wedding consultation. Not only will it help you to be better prepared, but your clients will love knowing that you have thought through their day enough to be able to advise them on their photo schedule. However –don’t forget that this is their day and ultimately, your job is to serve them, regardless of any scheduling decisions they may make.
Airika & Gerald Pope (a.k.a. “The Popes”) are a husband and wife photography team. Although based in Seattle, they are passionate about artistically interpreting wedding stories for couples in love all over the globe. To connect with them and their work, you can visit their photography blog at www.blog.thepopes.com.
I really loved these! Especially the last one!
Thanks for sharing all the great tips! They’re really helpful… it’s so great to have someone who’s done it before lay it out in more concrete and solid terms/advice. 🙂
And your photos are gorgeous, as always. 🙂
I am on the edge of my seat for the rest of the tips! I am photographing my friends wedding next month (I am not a wedding photographer and do not pretend to be). Thanks for sharing!
You guys are the BEST! Thank you so much for making it real, and sharing so open with all of us! I love you guys! And yes, photos are BEAUTIFUL!!!
If you haven’t checked out The Pope’s website, you must!!
This is so fun! Our first guest blog. Thanks for the opportunity, MeRa!
Ladies, I hope that you find these tips helpful, and if you have any questions about them, please don’t hesitate to ask us in the comments. We’d be happy to answer! Also, we’re hoping to post some more wedding photo biz mini-lessons on our blog in the coming months, so we’d love to have you connect with us there as well!
Thanks again for reading, and we wish you much happiness & success! ~The Popes
Oh my goodness, so helpful!!! Thanks for these tips! There definitely going to be useful!!
Thank you so much. These tips are so great!!!
so great!! can’t wait to get to the next post!
Love the tips. Thank you so very much.
If you’re looking for the best photographers Tacoma has to offer, check out this blog.
This is really what I needed to read. I always struggle with “Have Confidence—Or at least pretend that you do.” I have done less stressful events than weddings for friends and family and everyone has absolutely loved the pictures that I have taken. They even encourage me to go full time. Well, this article has given me the kick in the pants that I need/deserve, lol. By February, I am going to book my first paid wedding event. Thanks again.
Sheryl
Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site accidentally, and I’m shocked why this accident didn’t took place earlier! I bookmarked it.