For every business, including wedding photography business, customer is the most important think to concern with. Where you will get money if you don’t have customer for your business? To have more customers you need to increase your market and sales with get in touch with more people and advertize your business so people will know your business. Although you have win a lot of competitions and exhibitions, but photography competition and exhibitions is just for limited person. Not everybody interest with photography exhibition yet they still need wedding photographer. So make sure they know your business so when they need wedding photographer, they will turn to you.
One simple strategy to boost up wedding photography business in every purpose both sort and long term is photographing the guest on the wedding when they arrive. It will increase your sales and potential market for customer in the future. If you offer the guest to take a photograph each time they arrive at the church you will have four benefits:
1. The wedding couple must have record of all attendants on their wedding. You can use this advantage as selling point.
2. It will be not often, but there is opportunity of reprint orders from the guest you photographed.
3. The guest you take the photograph can be your future customers if they love your work that make them remember you.
4. In the wedding party it is less likelihood to be asked for taking large group of every attendant, it can waste time for this shot.
You know that you must come very early on the wedding ceremony so you must arrive before the guests arrive. So you must prepare your self with checking your equipment for exposure and flash light. Flash light is recommended with appropriate values on the setting of auto flash. Daylight exposure on the camera is set manually. And don’t forget to choose a great spot to take a picture as ten guest arrive.
Background is really important for the great result of your photograph, so you must inspect the church and find a good sport for the background before the guest arrive so you don’t have to be confused to seek for background. Remember to choose more than one location with different background to fit with different guests. And don’t forget to aware with lighting strength and direction on the location so you will know the good technique to capture photograph.
On the outside location of the church you must avoid direct sunlight because is can mess up the result. You better try to find shaded are to position the guests in front of the sun. This is good to prevent half close eyes that often happen if the guests see sunlight. If you have sunlight behind the object you concern with your exposure reading. You must get closer and directly reading face of the guess.
Bright background can reduce the attractiveness of the photograph and detract view from the real subject. It is better to choose trees or bushes as your background than sky.
Do not take close up shot and preferring full length shot to make the whole outfit look. If you cannot do it due to unattractive background you can do three-quarter.
If you can, ask the ushers to hold the guest enter the church before you photograph them. Of course it will hard to do if much guest comes in the same time or rain come. But you can do something like inside the church photograph or at the reception, even tough the preference still before the guests enter the church.
Flash is something useful, especially when you photograph ladies that wearing brimmed hats to shadows her face. So don’t forget to always turn it on.