Okay, listen up, brides (and grooms, but usually brides are the ones weeding through the internet for everything involving the wedding…)- there are a lot- A LOT- of wedding photographers out there. There are so many amazing ones who will definitely take care of you and love you and give you everything you have ever dreamed of. And I love them. And I hope I am seen as one of them. Then, sadly, there are “jump ship photographers”–People with nice cameras who charge next to nothing and offer the world. Except their world is more like a blue bouncy ball with green splotches on it… and the green splotches are really just the gunk that sticks to the edges of the lawn mower. POINT IS- not every ‘photographer’ is, or should be, a photographer. These jump ship photographers come into the industry for a year or two, rip off some people, undercut the industry, and then realize they hate it/ can’t do it, and they leave.
So what in the blue bouncy ball world sets a pro apart from a wannabe? Many many things. And listen, let me be up front and say that I am NOT the right photographer for everyone. It could be my pricing, my style, my love of all things Harry Potter, or my ridiculously good fashion. This, I have come to learn, is a good thing. In the beginning, I felt like I had to book every single person who sent me an email. I took it personally when people would move on or pick someone else. Now I see it as fate- maybe we wouldn’t have gotten along. Maybe I would not have made them happy. Maybe they would not have made ME happy (it is a two way street…). So if you already know I’m not your cup of tea, awesome. Move on and good luck! But for those of you who wish to learn what I feel sets a pro apart from a wannabe, read on, my friend.
Customer Service– It goes for big box stores, it goes for small businesses. Customer service is key. No business is perfect- I am definitly not a great business person. I’m a person-person. I make mistakes ALL the time because I am human (like minor mistakes- I sometimes misplace emails or throw away a Best Buy Receipt). However, when I make a mistake that affects my client, I make it right. I also understand that a wedding is a stressful thing. For almost all of my couples, this is their first wedding. I have been through countless weddings and I usually have solutions to some of their problems. I make myself available and offer suggestions. I approach my couples as a friend genuinely interested in their lives instead of dollar signs.
Friendship – As I just mentioned, friendship is important to me. I enjoying building relationships with my couples and getting to know them. I WANT to know them. I want to be a part of their day really and truly. Weddings are special for me and this is because I get to photograph my friends getting married over and over. I build these friendships on trust and by getting to know my couples before their day. We communicate in person and via email/text/phone/messenger pigeon. We work together during their engagement sessions and I constantly remind them in little ways that they are important to me.
Professionalism – I am a 26 year old woman and therefore I like yoga pants. I could live in them if possible. Yet, on a wedding day, you’ll find me respectably dressed. Yes, I crawl and crouch and run in a dress. Why you ask? No one really cares, right? By the time the wedding rolls around, I am very comfortable and familiar with the bride and groom. Maybe their parent’s as well. But that’s it. I do not want guests to judge me and my services based on how I am dressed. I want them to look at me and see me as a professional. This will instantly ellivate their opinion of my work. I greet people with smiles and hold my tongue when a guests tells me about a really cool shot I should do that they saw on Pinterest. When things don’t go as planned, I freak out on the inside and then calmly take over. I even let family members snap a group photo once I have mine. Think about some of your best customer experiences. I’ll bet they have something to do with a professional acting…. well, professional!
Trust– Trust is a must. If my clients do not trust me to capture the images, I lose my ability to freely create. That’s why I am being hired- for my creativity and unique vision. I gain this trust in many different ways, but one way is through the engagement session. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to get to know my clients and to show them exactly what it will be like to work with me. Most are surprised by how easy it is and by how laid back I am. We have FUN. Really, we do. Anxieties go out the window and before they know it, they trust me to take care of them. I have worked with couples who didn’t trust me, or whose parents didn’t trust me and it was HARD. They were constantly over my shoulder questioning hat I was doing. It was only after the wedding that they trusted me, having seen the final results. I was so happy to have finally gained it, but boy oh boy did I wish I had earned it months earlier.
Conversations – As I mentioned before, I am not everyone’s photographer. If you like selective colorization or dark, moody images, or hash tags of “PNW” and pine trees in every shot, I am not, I repeat, AM NOT the photographer for you. There are many wonderful photographers who will hashtag the crap out of the photos that depict you living authentically. But not me. I have my style and that’s it- it’s mine. That isn’t to say it doesn’t branch out and grow constantly, because it does. I cannot, however, change the core of what makes my style mine. It is very important that I sit and talk with my clients so that they know exactly what to expect. I do not want anyone to be misguided or feel misinformed. I don’t want someone thinking they will get 2990293 photos when realistically they will get 800. These conversations will lay the ground work for trust, friendship, and success.
If you are on your way to getting married, congratulations. It’s stressful and overwhelming but with the right support, it won’t be.
Choose wisely, and best of luck!
xoxo
allie