Wedding Albums...After the Big Day

Hi blog world!!

I often talk about the wedding day photography itself but I wanted to touch a little on the wedding photography "favors." After the wedding day you deliver wonderful, beautiful photos to the client. They pop the disc into their computer and view them and are pleased. They of course know the story of their wedding that your photos are telling, but what about people who missed it, or were too busy being good hosts? What next?

Wedding albums are important. I don't understand why all photographers don't include even a simple, basic wedding album in their package options. Sure, it's great to have a copyright-free disc of photos that you can look at on a computer, but people still like having that tangible album. Something to hold and look at away from a computer...something to share with friends and family, or take to co-workers. Wedding albums can come in all different shapes and sizes with custom photo covers or fancy leather-bound design. They are meant to tell the story of the wedding day. (I often think about the very beginnings of older Disney movies where there's always a magical-looking book in the start which opens to then start telling the story) As a photographer it is important to have a lot of input from your client in the design, choice of photos and layout for the album. Then, it's up to you to use your creativity to make the client something special. However, if you're not good with graphic design or can't seem to place the photos in a way that is pleasing, there are lots of websites to help out there!!

One of my personal favorite companies to use is Capri. Here is their link:
http://www.zookbinders.com/Capri/CapriPHP/

They offer many different options and help with layout and design if needed.

Also, for those photographers are a tight budget  there are other great sites such as:

http://www.shutterfly.com/

http://www.ritzpix.com/

http://www.zookbinders.com/home

In the end, wedding albums are still important. They help to take those timeless images you captured and put them into something tangible so it can be passed down from generation or simply kept for those rainy days, (or days when the computer decides not to work properly... i.e. your hard drive reader dies)

Brides on a Dime Expo

Speaking of bridal shows... I wanted to share with everyone a very special bridal show coming up at the end of this month. It's called "Brides on a Dime Expo" and it benefits St. Anthony's Bridal. a non-profit that supports and helps brides have the wedding of their dreams! They even have free use of wedding gowns :)

Be sure to check it out, it's a great cause!!

http://10kbrides.blogspot.com/

Bridal Shows.. Are they Worth It?

As a wedding photographer, there are many different ways of advertising and getting your name out there. A few weeks back I talked a little about SEO and linking your website to other sites. That is one of many great ways but the most common way is probably the bridal show. Bridal shows are like trade shows for brides where brides can come and view all types of wedding vendors in person. They are a great way to come in contact with hundreds of potential brides in a short period of time. However, there is one drawback to this... they cost a lot of money!

Most bridal shows average anywhere from $500-$1,500 per table/booth. Extra fees are tacked on if you want a corner booth, or electricity hookup. Also you have to add in the costs of the handout materials and your table display itself. It can add up very quickly and you can be looking at a cost of $2,500 or more. BUT if you land that one large wedding, based on your pricing, it should pay for itself. So, what I want to know from all you other photographers out there... is it worth it?

I'm interested to hear your comments!!!

PS- I do realize there are smaller, more localized shows that cost less, however the attendance rates of these shows are often tiny compared to the larger shows.

Technology Rocks...!

I often try to keep up on the latest and greatest technology, and stumbled upon this article from The New York Times. For photographers out there that not only have fun with their SLR's but can also take some cool shots with their iphones, this is for you!!!

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE0DD163EF93AA25754C0A9649D8B63&ref=photography

An App That Pays You, by Helping Sell Your Photos

By ROY FURCHGOTT

Published: July 19, 2012

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Usually you have to pay for an app, but Foap is a free app that offers to pay you by putting your iPhone photos on sale online.

The offer is pretty straightforward. Take a picture with your phone, then send it to Foap. Its virtual stock photo agency puts the picture up for sale for $10. If it sells, the fee is split in half. Payments are made through PayPal.

The company said it accepted only photos it thought would sell. It said the approval process should take less than 24 hours, but in my test it took close to two days.

Foap said it did not want photos that used filters or effects (sorry, Instagrammers), or anything that made your pictures arty. (Yet if you browse the choices at foap.com, you will see plenty of both.)

You sell all rights when you send the photos. If you send in a picture of your grandmother and it shows up on a poster saying, ''Help Elderly Drug Addicts,'' tough luck. You have no recourse. ROY FURCHGOTT

Pinterest... a tool for photographers

Hi everyone!

For those of you who haven't caught on to the Pinterest craze yet I wanted to suggest it!! Yes, it's another social networking type site that takes up way too much of your time, BUT it can be a great tool for us photographers :) We all know that not every pose we do can be 100% original so it's great to see other photographers work and ideas so we can then build off of them.

On Pinterest you can get ideas on wedding poses, unique ways to shoot a bride, cool ways to show decorations, etc. It's pretty amazing actually. I would like to share a link to just one of the many "Weddings" boards on the site. Check it out and see how many creative photo ideas you can get from it!

http://pinterest.com/ninagarcia/weddings/

A little on Marketing... SEO/links

For those of you who don't know, I am also a marketing consultant in my spare time, focusing on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) One of the important aspects for photographers like myself, is to get their site higher on the ranks of Google. It's even more challenging for photographers because it is such a broad market. Take a look at my business, there are thousands of wedding photographers in the Washington DC metro area, so it is essential to get my website recognized!!!

I found an interesting article by Carrie Swaills that I'd like to share. It covers the topic of hyper-linking or getting links to your website from other professionals pages. Enjoy!

5 WAYS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS TO GET LINKS (MARKETING)

It sounds crazy, but the number one way to market for free is to get other websites to link back to your website. It’s all…. about the link backs my friends.

It does have to do a lot with SEO (search engine rank) in that every time someone links to you Google analyzes it and “scores” your website and the more people that link to your website from their websites the higher you will show up in searches for photography in your area. What does being higher in a search mean? Excuse my “SEO for dummies” explanation. It means that when people are searching for a photographer they see you first, and it’s free! It is, of course, hard work behind the scenes, but it’s worth it in the end.

Here are a few ways you can get some link backs of your own. Thanks for being so patient for this blog post. I was intending on putting it up last Thursday or Friday, but I was in Vail and out of town for a wedding so I just took a couple days off from the blogosphere.

1. Wedding Websites – if you’re a wedding photographer registering on websites like weddingwire.com, theknot.com, and all those other ones will usually allow you to put a link to your website. A lot of these wedding websites have a system set up where you can pay to be listed in their system, just stick with the free options. All you really want to get out of this is a link back to your website. There are literally hundreds of these types of websites, and some of them are owned by the same company. When you list on one you might find that listing on a few other sites you didn’t sign up for, but that’s okay. Google “wedding websites” and just start going at it!

2. Yellow Pages – Any websites like yellow pages allow you to have a business listing for free and will let you put your website up. There are several and these can be hugely helpful to bring your search engine rank higher.

3. Wedding Blogs – Having a wedding or photoshoot featured on a wedding blog is a great way to be linked to and show off your work. There are other websites and newborn blogs you could potentially submit a session to be published on.

4. Photography Websites – Guest blog for someone looking for writers and you’ll be linked to.

5. Connect with other Vendors – If you are a wedding photographer connecting with local wedding planners, wedding venues, florists, DJs, etc. is a great way to be linked to. Offering them the use of your photos in exchange to a link on their website is a great way to make friends in the business and get linked to. When you give wedding vendors the use of your photos they are usually incredibly grateful and will help refer clients to you too. If you do newborn or family photography you can connect with midwives, birthing centers and hospitals to provide them photos for their websites and get a link back in exchange.

20 Things You Wish You Knew About Photography Posing....

Hi!

For those of you who aren't professionals in the business, or even for those that are, it never hurts to be reminded of certain "tricks" when practicing our photography. A friend of mine sent me this link the other day and I love it... everything in the article is very true! Most of it I already practice but it never hurts for a refresher... so here it is:

http://photographyawesomesauce.com/20-things-i-wish-i-knew-about-photography-posing/

My favorite is the "never shoot below a person" trick. I have used this for years teasing my family and getting on the top set of stairs to take photos at Christmas. It's amazing that it really works!! So try it!

One other point I loved is the "let one pose become many." So true!! Instead of making your client move all around the place, try YOU moving as the photographer. Switching up angles is one of my favorite things to do. Here's one of my examples: