Wedding Photography Podcast | How To Become A Successful, Full-time Wedding Photographer | Wedding Photography Tips

EPISODE #79: WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR THE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS? Summary: There’s not many wedding photographers out there who don’t want their business to be a success. But there is a difference between those who are ready to sacrifice other aspects of their life to make it happen and those who aren’t willing to invest the time, energy and money that is sometimes necessary. So this episode is all about being honest with yourself and addressing whether you’re ready and willing to make the necessary sacrifices to create a successful wedding photography business. It’s an opportunity to sit down and ask yourself a number of questions to evaluate just how much you really want this and what you will do to make it happen. Firstly, what is your definition of success and what are your reasons for becoming a wedding photographer? What are the goals you have set for yourself, how realistic are they, and what is your deadline for achieving them? And how much are you really willing to sacrifice in terms o

EPISODE #78: TREAT OTHER VENDORS LIKE YOUR BEST FRIEND. WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR THEM? Summary: Photographing a wedding is never a solitary job. Not only are you surrounded by the couple and their family and friends, but there are a whole host of vendors working behind the scenes to make the day special. Wedding coordinators, florists, DJs/MCs and venue staff - these are your trusted colleagues and without them you wouldn’t be able to capture the photos you do. This episode is all about the importance of building relationships with wedding vendors and treating them like close friends and acquaintances. Why? Because not only is part of being a good person, but it also assists you in capturing beautiful photographs and increases your chances of being referred by them for future weddings. It’s a great way to build your reputation amongst people whose opinions are valued by prospective clients and it doesn’t cost you a cent in marketing or advertising. Before, during, and after the wedding you should be thinking “What

EPISODE #77: TOP 12 REASONS WHY PROSPECTIVE COUPLES DON'T BOOK ME - PART 2 Summary: In the second part of this two-part series about reasons why clients decide NOT to book my services, I’ll discuss some of the ways to address this in your wedding photography business. Whether you’re charging above the budget of prospective clients, don’t have experience shooting at their venue or aren’t offering both photography and videography services, how can you book prospective clients and minimize the number who may go elsewhere? There are some reasons why prospective clients don’t book that you really can’t do anything about or doing so would compromise your business. While you can address other reasons by improving your reputation as a wedding photography or your people skills. I’ll discuss some of the strategies I use to handle these situations and how effective they have been to help me book prospective clients in the future. The important thing is not to be offended by rejections, but analyze “why” and how you can

EPISODE #76: TOP 12 REASONS WHY PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS DON'T BOOK ME - PART 1 Summary: As wedding photographers looking to grow our businesses and book more clients, we’re always looking for success stories of how others have achieved the goals we set for ourselves. But when it comes down to it, there’s a lot we can learn from why prospective wedding photography clients don’t decide to book our services and end up going elsewhere. This episode looks into some of the reasons why prospective wedding photography clients have decided not to book me in the past. From liking someone else’s style over mine to getting another referral from family and friends and simply that my price was too high, we’ll look into some of these reasons. In the early years, sometimes it came down to a lack of authority in the wedding photography world, with few online reviews and no experience shooting at their venue or their type of wedding. While in other instances it was because I didn’t offer both photography and videography services,

EPISODE #75: YOU NEED TO PRODUCE MORE CONTENT THAN YOU CONSUME Summary: Have you ever spent days on end immersed in wedding photography education - listening to podcasts, watching online tutorials or even chatting with other wedding photographers - and realize at the end of the week that you haven’t actually done anything practical to help book more weddings? While learning is an essential part of improving your skills and business management as a wedding photographer, it’s so important that we aren’t consuming more than we are producing. It’s easy to get carried away on the wedding photography education side of things, particularly if you’re just starting out and are struggling to book clients. You might think that if you are constantly learning, then your time is being put to good use. But learning is only useful if you transform it into actionable tasks which will ultimately help grow your business. You can compare it to something as simple as eating and exercise. We need to eat to keep going as humans, bu

EPISODE #74: HOW IS THAT GOING TO HELP ME BOOK MORE WEDDINGS? Summary: As wedding photographers, we’ve got a lot on our plates. Most people don’t realize that aside from actually shooting weddings, we’re marketing and branding our businesses, networking with other vendors, and constantly developing our people skills. Clients don’t appear just like that and it’s an ongoing process to ensure we are booking enough weddings to make our businesses financially viable. With so many things to deal with behind the scenes, it can be really easy to become overwhelmed and lose focus. Which is why it’s important to step back and ask yourself, “How is that going to help me book more weddings?” At the end of the day, we need to be making a profit and investing our time, energy, and money in the right area is crucial to ensure that happens. In this episode, we’ll chat about different ways you can use your time and money efficiently to ensure you book more weddings (as well as discuss a few areas that might not be so useful).

EPISODE #73: THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE TO YOUR CLIENTS Summary: It never ceases to amaze me just how many of my clients have had bad customer service from other prospective wedding photographers before they found me. From not responding to their emails to totally changing their tune once the booking has been secured, it’s so important to not underestimate how valuable amazing customer service is and how it can be vital in the success of your business. In this episode, we’re chatting all about what you can do to give your clients the best wedding photography customer service possible and make their experience one they'll never forget. This is particularly important if you are just starting out and don’t have an extensive portfolio to showcase your work. It’s exactly how I laid the foundations for my wedding photography business and still at the core of how I run things today. Answer their emails in a timely manner, know their questions and concerns before they do, and most of all, tre

EPISODE #72: WHAT I LEARNED FROM SHOPPING FOR A HOME THE PAST  FEW WEEKS Summary: Purchasing a home is perhaps the biggest financial commitment we make in our lives and as my wife and I venture into the world of real estate looking for our first home, I’ve started to draw some parallels with my wedding photography clients. As we search online using Zillow and attend open homes, I’ve found that being a potential home-owner customer has some similarities with the brides and grooms who are in the market for a wedding photographer. From ideas about customer service to the thought processes you go through and even the step-by-step procedures you need to take, we’ll discuss how choosing a home can be similar to selecting a wedding photographer to document your special day. It’s a decision you don’t want to get wrong, not only because of the financial expense but the emotional stress that goes along with it. Using my insight as a potential homeowner, I’ll chat about the lessons I learned from being a customer in the

EPISODE #71: WHEN IS ENOUGH...ENOUGH, AND IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THINGS UP IN YOUR BUSINESS? Summary: Whether you’re just starting out in wedding photography or you’ve been at it a few years, chances are there will be a point where you ask yourself “Is this really working?” Being self-employed is challenging at times and if you’re not getting enough leads, not making ends meet or just having general wedding photography business struggles, you might be thinking that enough is enough and it’s time to throw it all in. This episode looks at how we can approach this situation when it arises and should you just give up or tackle it from a different angle. While it’s important to follow your heart and believe in yourself, you need to base your business success on facts and numbers. If the earnings aren't coming in to make ends meet or you’re not getting the creative satisfaction you wanted out of your current wedding photography business, then you need to change things up. Have you tried different techniques and strate

EPISODE #70: RECAP OF WPPI 2017 Summary: The WPPI Convention is the largest wedding photography conference in the United States and this year was held in the Entertainment Capital of the World - Las Vegas. It’s an opportunity to connect with wedding photographers from across the country, learn about the latest trends and technology, and be inspired through information classes and discussions. This year I was lucky enough to attend and wanted to give my listeners a recap of why I went, what happened while I was there, and the take-home lessons I learned. From trade show to classes, networking events and parties, there is so much going on that you need to pace yourself. But you can see first-hand what vendors across the country are offering, from prints and online galleries to the latest equipment, and make connections that you otherwise wouldn’t back home. The WPPI Convention is not just about how you can improve your wedding photography business, but also connect with new colleagues and find out the latest tr

EPISODE #69: IT'S TAX SEASON: HAVE YOUR DONE YOURS...CORRECTLY? Summary: It’s that time of year again, and for those of us who are self-employed, doing your taxes is a burden to say the least. Not only can it be a time-consuming task, but unlike most people, we’re going to be paying tax, rather than receiving a refund. So this podcast is designed to help you do this accurately and efficiently with some of my top tax income tax return tips for wedding photographers. We’ll talk about why we have to do taxes in the first place and what it means as a self-employed individual, as well as the importance of keeping up-to-date records of what you are earning and spending. Whether you opt to do your taxes yourself or through a CPA, it’s important that you are accurate and only write off business expenses and report all the income you make...it's the right thing to do! I’ll give you some of my top tax tips from the last several years as a professional wedding photographer and my insider advice for completing your tax r

EPISODE #68: HOW TO KEEP YOUR PASSION FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY WHEN YOU LOSE IT. Summary: Let’s face it. No matter what industry you work in, there are times when you lose your motivation and wake up feeling uninspired and frustrated. So this episode is all about what to do when that happens and how to reignite your passion for wedding photography and stay in the business. We’ll chat about some of the reasons you might lose your passion in the first place, from stressful situations on wedding days and not enough time to capture portraits, to having too much work maintaining the business side of things. Perhaps you’re not getting the emotions you need from clients or their budget inquiries are below your starting point. Or it might be as straight forward as no longer getting the same enjoyment you used to out of capturing a couple’s special day. So if this happens, what should you do to reignite your passion for wedding photography? First and foremost, you need to remember why you got into wedding photography i

EPISODE #67: WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING WITH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PODCAST Summary: This week’s wedding photography podcast is all about what’s happening in my world and keeping you up to date with all the ways you can currently connect, learn or have your questions answered with me! If your New Year’s resolution was to take your business to the next level, then this is a brief introduction to how I can help you do just that through my wedding photography education tools. We’ll chat about my weekly wedding photography business videos which will help you with all the behind-the-scenes stuff, as well as my “Success in Wedding Photography” program and how you can become a member of it. I’ll also give you some info about the daily podcast ASK WPP where you can get all your wedding photography questions answered, as well as my first online workshop “Book Your Next Wedding” which is taking place in early March. I’ll let you know who this is geared towards (and who it isn’t) and how you can get an early bird price on it. T

EPISODE #66: NEVER JUDGE A COUPLE BY THEIR BUDGET FOR PHOTOGRAPHY Summary: After a few instances of prospective couples approaching me with low wedding photography budgets (below what I charge), I wanted to address the importance of not judging them on this or disregarding their inquiry. In many cases, people don’t know the going rate for wedding photography and just come up with a rough figure, and some will be willing to increase their budget if they feel they are getting superior quality or service. In this podcast, I’ll chat about what to do if you get inquiries from couples with wedding photography budgets that are lower than your starting rate. We’ll discuss why it’s really important that you respond and show the same level of urgency and service. If a prospective couple's budget is below your starting point, ask them if there's any way they can increase it; otherwise, graciously recommend wedding photographers you know that will do a great job for that price. Remember to always leave the door open for

EPISODE #65: RECAP OF LAST MONTH'S WEDDING IN INDIA PART 2 Summary: Following on from my recap of Last Month’s Wedding in India Part 1 which looked at the logistics and planning of an Indian destination wedding, in this episode, we’ll get into the nitty gritty of actually photographing the entire event. I’ll explain what took place on each of the four-day celebrations, including the bridal shower and Mehndi ceremony at the bride’s parents house, followed by a lively Sangeet at a museum-like venue, and the Hindu ceremony and reception at a party plot in Ahmedabad. This episode includes some of my insights and lessons learned from photographing an Indian destination wedding. I’ll explain the challenges of working alongside local videography and photography teams, and some of the time constraints we were under. I’ll also talk about some of the real joys and privileges of photographing a destination wedding in India, particularly the people I got to meet along the way. From the bride and groom’s immediate family

EPISODE #64: RECAP OF LAST MONTH'S WEDDING IN INDIA PART 1 Summary: In the middle of 2016, I was lucky enough to be contacted by Indian couple Labdhi and Manoj about capturing their Southern California e-session. After getting to know them, we started chatting about their upcoming destination wedding in India (Ahmedabad, Gujarat) and before I knew it I was flying across the world to capture their special day. But it wasn’t quite as straightforward as that, and in this first episode of a two-part podcast, I talk about the logistics and challenges of capturing a destination wedding in India. From securing visas and flight itineraries, to planning exactly what equipment to take, I share my insights and advice from this recent trip. I’ll chat about the cultural differences of photographing an Indian destination wedding, including the different rituals and events that take place over multiple days, as well as the challenges of finding ATMs and good WIFI! I’ll also give you an insight into what it’s like to shoot a

EPISODE #63: 2017 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR MY BUSINESS AND LIFE Summary: A few weeks ago I sat down with my wife and wrote down my New Year’s resolutions for not only my business, but also life in general, and it’s these nine goals that I want to share with you in this podcast. If you’re running your own business, then it’s so important to hold yourself accountable and have a clear structure of what you want to achieve to ensure you don’t just end up stuck in the same place year after year. From setting financial goals as to how much I want to save, to having a clear plan of exactly how I aim to achieve that, I like to set quantitative goals that I can monitor throughout the year. I’ll share with you my goal setting and tracking tips, as well as the apps I use which help me keep track on a daily basis. But it’s not just business resolutions, but also personal goals and lifestyle changes that I want to address in 2017 to create that all-important balance. For me. it’s things like spending more quality time w

EPISODE #62: DID I MEET MY 2016 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION GOALS FOR MY BUSINESS?  Summary: As we ring in the New Year 2017, it’s the perfect time to look back at your wedding photography business goals for 2016 and set new resolutions. When you are your own boss, it’s important that you are constantly motivating yourself. A new year is as good a time as any to evaluate what worked during the past twelve months (and what didn’t) and reassess what you want to achieve in the coming year. In this podcast, I take a look back at the wedding photography business goals I set in 2016 and ask myself whether I achieved what I set out to. From connecting better with other wedding vendors and venues, to being financially savvy when it comes to investing my hard earned money, this is a moment to reflect on these past resolutions and redefine where I want my business to be heading. I’ll talk about some of the resolutions I need to work more on (like not always giving people the benefit of the doubt) and address some of the crea

EPISODE #60: WHAT I’M MOST PROUD OF AS A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER Summary: So much of our time as wedding photographers is spent trying to book new clients and grow our businesses, constantly looking for ways to make our small enterprise dreams a reality. No doubt you’ve had stressful times throughout the year, whether it be dealing with finances or juggling your personal and professional life. But with the holiday season in full swing, it’s time to step back and reflect on your accomplishments and the wedding photography achievements you’re most proud of. This podcast is my personal reflection and what I’m proud to have achieved thus far in my business, and hope it inspires you to do that same. I’ll look back at just how far I’ve come from taking my very first steps as a wedding photographer in 2007 and some of the challenges I’ve overcome along the way. There are tangible moments that we can gauge our success, such as getting X number of online reviews or photographing a new and unique style of wedding, as well

EPISODE #60: IF YOU DON’T TAKE WHAT YOU DO SERIOUSLY, YOUR PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS DEFINITELY WON’T. Summary: It may sound obvious, but taking your wedding photography business seriously and handling all aspects in a professional manner are key to its success. It’s not just about taking great images but being aware of how your actions impact on your clients and seeing things clearly from their perspective. From your clients’ very first impression, whether that be through a beautifully presented website, email contact or phone call, right through to the nitty-gritty details of having a business license and insurance, there are so many aspects you need to consider. What is the overall client experience you are presenting and how does this create trust from their point of view and, most importantly, how professional is the way you handle each and every encounter? Episode 60 looks at five things I’m doing right now to create the most professional experience for my clients and a successful wedding photography business