It goes without saying that weddings are about the most stressful event you can photograph. But if you go about things the right way, you can make the big day go smoothly for you and the happy couple, and come out at the end of it all a veritable hero in the eyes of your clients.
Too good to be true?
Not at all! With a few simple tricks, you will be able to make the day much easier for everyone involved, and you might even be able to improve your bottom line while doing it!
Here’s how…
Suggest a Unique Album Experience
How often do you present your prospective clients with your prices and get asked if you can offer a discount?
A lot, right?
Well, one way to avoid that question is to offer your clients an album creation experience unlike any other. Album Registry is an interactive gift-giving platform that allows friends and family members to contribute to the costs of the couple’s professional photography services. Rather than your clients bearing all the costs associated with photographing their big day, their loved ones can chip in to help cover those expenses.
All you have to do is become a member of Album Registry, and once you do, give your unique link to your clients. They then supply their loved ones with the link, and friends and family can go on Album Registry to help fund the couple’s album. If the album isn’t completely funded, don’t worry! Your clients will still get a product by which to remember their wedding, perhaps a smaller album, for example.
There isn’t an easier way for your clients to get a high-quality album! Plus, your clients are more likely to get the album they want, and you might just improve your bottom line as well. It’s a win-win!
Suggest Taking Portraits Before the Big Day
It’s tradition to take wedding portraits on the day of the wedding, but why not turn convention on its head and suggest to your clients the portraits be taken care of in advance?
It might sound crazy to do so, but think of the benefits:
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The couple gets to give their wedding attire a test run to see how everything looks and fits.
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If something is awry with the attire, the couple has time to rectify the situation.
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Moving the portraits to an earlier day frees up time on the day of the wedding for the couple to rest, relax, and enjoy the event.
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Portraits taken in advance are much less stressful, which will show in the photos!
What’s more, just imagine how much more comfortable your clients will be with you if they have an opportunity to work with you prior to the wedding day. A portrait session will go a long way in alleviating that stress and wonder of whether or not they will get the quality photos they deserve. Plus, you can even have a large print made to greet guests as they enter the venue, which is a nice way to announce the newly married couple to the world.
Suggest Candid Portraits the Day of the Wedding
What better way to help relieve some of the stress of the wedding day than by taking candid portraits of the couple and the wedding party?
With all the worry about how everyone looks, what the caterer is doing, where the rings are, and the like, a little bit of levity will go a long way in terms of getting everyone relaxed and having more fun. It also means that you can capture lighter moments that add variety to the couple’s wedding album. Nothing pairs better with formal portraits than some off-the-cuff, silly portraits!
Crack a few jokes. Encourage silliness. Get grandma Edith giggling. The point is that if you create an environment in which laughter and smiles are abundant, the wedding party will feel better, and your images will be better as a result. Then, combine the candid shots with the formal portraits you took ahead of time, and the couple will have all the images they could possibly want to put in their crowdfunded Album Registry album. You’ll have happy clients, and you’ll be the hero of the day too!