Starting a successful Wedding Photography Business in India can be challenging with the growing competition. However, with the right strategies and tools, you can turn your passion into a thriving profession.
If you are a photographer or planning to jump into this profession, you are at the right place. Here we are going to talk about the frequently asked questions and clear some misconceptions about Wedding Photography Business in India.
Let’s get started:
How to Start Wedding Photography business in India – harshphotography
Declutter Your Mind
Break the bubble of your thoughts! First of all, don’t jump into any work without planning and even if you do, then it is called for ruin. This Business does not get along with luck.
Write down your short-term goals; from day to day and month to month. Writing down will help you declutter your thoughts about the work and plans that are possible practically.
Use The Right Tools
“A camera is just a tool, it’s the perspective of a cameraperson that gets captured.” However, if you don’t have the tools or gears for professional photography, it’s nearly impossible to fulfill the client’s requirements.
Before jumping into this profession, you must have worked with professionals and you have had come across the gear and additional tools used by them to capture the live moments of any function.
➤ The foremost thing would be a camera and full-frame cameras provide bigger and better pixels, and high resolution.
➤ The basic focal lengths for lenses are wide 16-20mm, for portraits get 35-50 mm, and for tele or zoom lenses get 70-200mm for photography.
➤ Get a stable tripod and lighting stand. Add-ons like on-camera flash and triggers for off-camera lighting work.
➤ A good quality bag to keep your camera safe, batteries, and of course a memory card on which your data gets collected.
➤ Last but not least, the magic tools; editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, for editing photographs.
Build Your Portfolio
Your portfolio can get you the work you want, so spend some time building it. For a good Wedding Photography Business portfolio, it requires various things listed below:
1. Learn, work, and get experienced! There’s no shortcut. If you are a newbie, try to work for your family or friends, get out of your comfort zone, and wander for a while to capture moments. Always remember, that quality is considered over quantity.
2. Get Online! If you are not online what’s the point of your Wedding Photography Business portfolio. Social media is a blessing for working professionals or small businesses. Almost every business is online these days and even clients search online due to budget issues.
3. Work with any professional wedding photographer who allows you to use the done work in your portfolio. Collect a few well-edited photographs and add them to your portfolio.
4. Do your research and collect data on wedding venues and event companies and contact them. Make sure to present yourself in a good manner so they are willing to collaborate with you. In most cases, you’ll get the contract as many companies are ready to get an extra commission.
5. Since the wedding business is on the upsurge, the leading Wedding Photography Business requires quality photographs for their website or social media platforms, you can sell them your pictures accordingly.
Marketing of Wedding Photography Business
Wedding Photography Business marketing
Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) is secondary only when your work speaks louder. It is done by your clients and their experience and satisfaction with your service. But first, get your customers.
#MarketingRule Don’t push people to where you want to be; meet them where they are; ONLINE. Nowadays every business is online but the point is how much you stay active on it. The first rule of online marketing is to stay active and engage with your audience.
➤ Build a Wedding Photography Business website so when your potential customers search for the ‘wedding photography business in India’ search engines will pop your name at least at #top5. Be consistent while posting your work i.e., wedding photographs and blogs. Remember, your blog content should be written simple and easy to understand and avoid unwanted information.
➤ Make the right use of Social Media Platforms; understand your audience on each platform.
1- Post daily if possible or a maximum of 3 times a week as per the guidelines of any online platform.
2- Make a set of 12-14 hashtags and add them relatively and alternatively.
3- Keep the aesthetics in your grid as well as keep changing it accordingly after a few months.
4- Save your time and energy by scheduling content with the help of an available online application like Facebook Creators Studio.
5- Do not make content on spot, it will be overwhelming for you. Instead, keep a backup of the upcoming month at least.
6- Use your old data; photos or videos by editing or creating reels (short clips) with them. (optional)
➤ Google ads: Use paid options like Google Ads to help you reach your audience according to your niche or brand.
1- Simply go for google ads online and select your target.
2- Select the region (local or global). It can be as small as your nearby areas to different states and countries.
3- Now, the google ad is ready to run and as soon as any potential clients watch it, you reach your goal. The matter is in your hand. Also, pay only when any customer clicks your ad or calls for your service.
➤ Events or Campaigns: Reach any event or campaign where you can brand your service with or without sponsorship.
Work Management
There is a lot on the plate when you are thinking about Wedding Photography Business in India. Photographers often get overwhelmed with it when there are a lot of tasks. From getting clients, handling social media marketing, to working on wedding projects, the post-editing work, and delivering the precious work to the client.
So, let’s divide it systematically so that you can save time as well:
– PRE-BOOKING STAGE
This phase includes the time when your Wedding Photography Business is lined up with inquiries. The inquiries can be from any platform, be it references, emails, phone calls, or DMs on social media.
*One of the most common mistakes here is the photographers don’t track their emails for days and lost some golden opportunities. Remember, to get notified of each and every email. (I know it’s hectic with all spam ones but it’s rewarding)
Always reply within 24 hours or less because you need the work to build your business. Draft your basic information and services you provide in advance for email or DM so that you reply as soon as possible.
Lastly, take a gentle follow-up with your potential customers so that they’ll know you are interested.
Extra tip: Always ask the potential client about the venue so you can get an idea of the budget at least. This will help you pre-plan the budget of the service only if possible.
– BOOKED STAGE
You’ve reached your goal but the work is not even started yet. Get ready with your checklist of all the tools and gears required for shooting wedding photography.
Prepare an official contract and make sure to the customer signs it on time. Always ask the client to deposit the half amount in your account as per business norms. Generally, if there’s any trip included during the wedding photography project, the client bears the amount of it as well as the food cost and stay.
– SUBMISSION STAGE
Now’s the time when the real test begins. The client is waiting for their D-day photographs and videos wanting them to be the best of all. Ensure the best experience for the client because you never know they might have referred you further. Always be on time and even if there’s a delay, inform the client in advance.
Apart from all of it, make sure you ask your clients to leave you generous feedback online which will help your Wedding Photography Business boom online. Eventually helping you grow your BRAND.
Branding of Your Wedding Photography Business in India
Branding of your service is the key tool for your business to grow. There are three main reasons for ‘why to brand’?
➢ It helps you and your business to distinguish from other competitors in the market i.e., it’s your identity.
➢ It will help your customers to connect with you emotionally and give them an idea of what to expect from your service.
➢ Branding makes your service reliable for clients.
HOW TO STRATEGIZE BRANDING?
➢ The term branding will start from having a logo (classic & minimal) that will leave a lasting impact on customers or clients.
➢ Branding will define who you are as a company and don’t mix branding with marketing as it is for consumers to buy your service or product.
➢ Having an active website will help in branding as it makes it more reliable and provides your work and experience under one roof for your potential customers or clients.
➢ Connect or collaborate with top Wedding Websites to get your Wedding Photography feature on their website.
➢ Press release your articles and blogs that you share on your website. This way your reach will be more than your target audience eventually increasing the traffic on your website and social media platforms.
Pro Tip – It is true that one learns from their experience however one must always be eager to learn. Invest in self-learning courses and keep a learning attitude throughout your journey. To reach somewhere, one must never stop exploring the various aspects of their work
FAQS
1- How to get clients?
2- How much does Wedding Photography cost in India?
3- Is Wedding Photography worth it?
4- Why Wedding Photography in India is expensive?
