Wedding Photography Buzz - Digital Wedding Secrets

There are two types of wedding photography assistants who you can hire: ones who have great potential to branch out on their own as a wedding photographer – and ones who have their hearts set on being a good one but have not acquired the necessary skills yet.

I tend to look for that delicate balance between the two. So essentially, what I personally need in a wedding photography assistant or a second shooter is someone who can almost read my mind. When covering weddings, it is my camera as the main photographer who the couple and their families will look at – so the second photographer should be willing to take a backseat in this department. One who likes to hog the limelight, I would not be able to work with harmoniously.

More importantly, a wedding photography assistant and a second shooter should like be an extension of my own arm. He or she should anticipate which items I would need and where we need to be next. Not getting to distracted by the events, being able to control a crowd during group pictures and being the ultimate professional – these are the qualities that you also need to look for in a second shooter if you want to succeed in the business.

Are you the type of wedding photographer who barks out commands, or say them softly but firmly? If you want to be taken seriously in the business, there’s a need to convey your authority to the second shooter who you will be working with.

If you don’t want to come off as someone who’s abrupt, have a good, long talk with the assistant or second shooter who you’ll be working with. Tell him or her that unless you get everything right, you will be wasting everyone’s time – including the bride’s and groom’s – as well as that of their guests and families.

As such, everything needs to be done quickly and efficiently. Just imagine how disastrous it would be if you are unable to shoot the newlywed’s first kiss because your assistant forgot to load your camera’s batteries!

All in all, if you want to have a successful wedding coverage, preparation is the key – and hiring a good assistant or second shooter is also a must.

Here’s the thing. When you are in the wedding photography business, there are 1,001 tiny details that you need to attend to. But two of the most important factors that you should not forget if you want your business to take off the ground are your websites and wedding photography portfolio. Let’s deal with it one at a time.

First, you do need to have a website constructed so that your existing and potential customers will have a way to gain access to samples of your work, or simply get more information about your wedding photography business.

Second, you do need to have a portfolio which showcases a collection of your best work. Make sure that it’s a concise collection, about 15 to 20 of your best photos will do.

Now, here’s a collection of some links that will help you out when building a portfolio and a website.

- GoDaddy.com and 1and1.com are a couple of cheap yet reliable web hosting providers – which is the first thing that you need to look for when building a website.

- When purchasing a pre-made portfolio, check out BluDomain.com which is known for their higher-end portfolios.

- CarbonMade.com is a site similar to BluDomain.com where you can buy pre-made portfolios – it’s a slightly cheaper but less flashy alternative.

- SimpleViewer and AutoViewer are flash galleries which are easy to use and customizable.

- Also, check out this report created by Photoshelter which indicates the factors that image buyers look for in a photographer’s website.

As a final note, make sure that the domain name that you will choose matches your business name – then you’re all set!

When I was first starting out in the wedding photography business and I had zero clients, I remember trying to give away my services practically for free – just so that I can gain enough experience covering wedding events. But later on, I realized that I did need to put a tag price on my services if I want to be considered as a professional wedding photographer.

Basically, you need to create that delicate balance between a pricing that will you’re your wedding photography efforts financially worth it – while avoiding driving away clients because your prices are too high.

Here’s a great formula that you can use if you want to come up with a reasonable pricing for the wedding photography packages that you offer:

Price = Rate *(Expenses for Planning + Shooting + Editing + Travel) *(10% Incidentals)

To learn more about how you can properly create a price list for the wedding packages that you offer, visit FotoQuote which provides price quotations for various types of photography.

When creating a price list for the wedding packages that you plan to offer, make sure to include details like what is included with the package – and the rates for any additional services that they may require.

If there’s one aspect of running a wedding photography business that is bound to turn it into a resounding success, that is none other than networking. If you’re still in the startup process, go all out with your networking efforts. Use social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Flickr and even Twitter to get your work out there.

Have your closest family, friends and colleagues spread the word about the wedding photography business that you have. Create a network of everyone who is connected in the wedding industry and make sure that they know what your business is all about. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising.

If you know that you cannot handle a particular wedding event by yourself, refer them to other wedding photographers who can. The ‘competition’ will follow suit and start referring clients that they cannot handle to you. By harnessing the power of networking, your wedding photography business will grow in no time at all.